The results showed that all three Dark Triad traits were associated with a stronger night preference. That is, evening people were consistently higher in narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy than their morning counterparts.
Late nights
Obviously, not every night owl is a psychopath, but psychopaths are more likely to stay up late, according to science. So if you're already suspicious of someone in particular, knowing they're up until all hours could be another bit of evidence that you might just be right. PsyBlog quotes Peter K.
"Psychopaths have no moral compasses and are propelled through life by their obsession with self," psychotherapist, Dr. Paul Hokemeyer tells Bustle. Some obsessive nighttime rituals can include working out a lot or grooming themselves in a way that makes them seem "perfect" to not only themselves but others.
A psychopath's goal might be to become rich or famous. But quite often, they have little idea about how to make these things happen. Instead, they insist that somehow, they'll get what they want without putting in the effort to get there.
If you're a night owl, a psychologist will tell you that you have an evening-oriented "chronotype" — meaning that you feel more alert later in the day than those annoying morning people. Recent research shows that you are also more likely to be a psychopath.
Although sociopathy and psychopathy cannot be diagnosed until someone is 18, one of the hallmarks of both conditions is that they usually begin in childhood or early adolescence. Usually, the symptoms appear before the age of 15, and sometimes they are present early in childhood.
The researchers speculate that it has to do with evolution. They argue people high in the darkest Dark Triad traits slowly evolved to become night owls because the night is the best time to be a psychopath.
Results showed that persons high in psychopathy were more likely to perceive fantasizing about sexual relations with other people and expressing emotions towards a person other than the partner as infidelity. But a different pattern emerged among those high in Machiavellianism.
One brain imaging study found that people who scored high on the psychopathy scale had a massive dopamine response to amphetamines–almost four times that of other participants. It's no wonder that substance use is so high among people with psychopathic traits.
What turns on the psychopath? The psychopath is sexually motivated by power—everything is a means to an end. If having a sexual relationship with a woman means that she will then trust him more or give him more money, he will perform the sexual task with Herculean bravado.
There are some areas where psychopaths may experience normal emotions and grief is one such area. In response to death of a person with whom there is a bond, some psychopaths can experience sadness and this may even bring about feelings of guilt which are otherwise impossible to feel. Crying may be a part of this.
Karin Roelofs, at the Donders Institute at Radboud University in the Netherlands, confirmed that the brains of psychopaths showed poor connectivity between the amygdala — the brain region key for processing emotions, especially fear — and the more “judging,” wiser prefrontal cortex.
Plus, since psychopaths usually feel little remorse for the lies they tell, it can be very hard to detect whether a psychopath is lying or not. This is what makes it possible for psychopaths to pass lying detection tests such as polygraphs.
Studies show psychopaths usually speak in a controlled manner. They don't emphasize emotional words like other people do. Their tone remains fairly neutral throughout the conversation. Researchers suspect they craft a calm demeanor intentionally because it helps them gain more control in their personal interactions.
Psychopaths face chronic boredom throughout their lives, leading to a persistent need for excessive stimulation. Some suggest psychopaths are hardwired to require more arousal than other people, meaning they need to do exciting things all the time to feel normal levels of arousal or entertainment.
“Sometimes, people with psychopathy use a stare as a deliberate means of controlling and intimidating others,” she continues.
Eye contact practices in psychopaths
Studies confirm that psychopathic in-person eye contact is just as minimal while speaking. Psychopaths also steer clear of the eyes when viewing images of human faces. A study examining this had offenders, both psychopaths and non, look at images of different human faces.
Psychopathy is a maladaptive personality style that is marked by hypersexual activity that may put the individual or others at risk for unintended consequences such as pregnancy, STDs, pain, and emotional distress.
They usually don't care about other people's feelings and only think about themselves. Non-criminal psychopaths sometimes can be successful in relationships. They might try to make other people think that they care about them, but it's actually all an act.
It's possible that people high in psychopathy treat others with cold disregard just for the fun of it, or it may be due to their desire to get something out of you. However, it's also possible that they can't help themselves.
The volunteers who were lower in psychopathic traits were nearly twice as likely to yawn as those who were high in those traits. Still, there were individuals who were low in psychopathic traits who didn't yawn at all.
Psychopaths do have feelings … well, some feelings.
While psychopaths show a specific lack in emotions, such as anxiety, fear and sadness, they can feel other emotions, such as happiness, joy, surprise and disgust, in a similar way as most of us would.
It's hard not to yawn when someone else does, because yawning is so contagious. Even dogs can catch them. But according to a study from 2015, published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, psychopaths aren't so susceptible.