Today's Thursday • 8 mins read
— by Dr. Sandip Roy.
Psychopaths share certain traits. They lack a clear sense of right and wrong.
And they do not fear much. They often break rules, make grave threats, and make people fear them.
Psychopathy refers to a sense of high impulsivity, low remorse, and thrill-seeking (Paulhus & Williams, 2002).
Psychopathy is present in around 1.2% of adult men and 0.3% to 0.7% of adult women in the United States (Frontiers in Psychology, Aug 2021).
The High-Functioning Psychopath
High-functioning psychopaths are unique. Typically, they don’t violate the laws or act in antisocial or criminal ways.
Also known as “pro-social psychopaths,” they have difficulty feeling true empathy for others but still keep their behavior roughly within socially acceptable bounds. They can be charming, nice, and persuasive.
They could be a coworker, a date, or a banker. Or your favorite car mechanic, morning walk company, or even a longtime friend.
Neuroscientist James Fallon discovered that his “own” brain fit the pattern of a psychopath while he was researching psychopaths’ brain scans. It showed low activity in brain areas linked to empathy, morality, and self-control. He took genetic tests and got more bad news: “I had all these high-risk alleles for aggression, violence, and low empathy.”
So, they are unnoticeable as psychopaths. You see them as pleasant and smart people who rarely lose their calm.
But if you truly knew them, you would pray that they never lose their calm. If triggered, they can get violent and cause serious harm.
The Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) is the “gold standard” for evaluating and defining psychopathy.
Hidden Dangers of A High-Functioning Psychopath
High-functioning psychopaths can seamlessly blend into society and function normally, keeping their innate tendencies in control. But they are a potential threat to humanity.
- They do not feel empathy, sympathy, fear, shame, or guilt.
- Cannot react humanely to other people’s fears or pains, often giving flat reactions.
- Their charming manners and sharp intellect can trap others into becoming their unsuspecting victims.
- They lack self-control and often act on impulse. They can act recklessly without thinking about the safety of others or themselves.
N.B.: “High-functioning” in psychology means someone who can work and live in society without showing obvious signs of their illness. They frequently have above-average intelligence.
How To Unmask The High-Functioning Psychopath
1. Watch How They Adapt Too Easily
High-functioning psychopaths often succeed in their fields because they adapt fast.
Many of them turn early hardship, like an abusive childhood, into survival skills. These skills can fuel strong careers. Many rise in high‑stakes fields such as finance, law, or politics.
They rehearse social norms so well that it can feel almost natural. They switch roles effortlessly depending on the setting, whether social, cultural, or professional.
This ability to adapt can make them hard to spot. But noticing how they change their persona too easily across contexts can be a clue. Ask yourself, is this person adapting too smoothly and quickly to hide their true self?
2. Spot the Subtle Manipulation
Their charisma and charm make them instantly likable. But those are planned acts.
High-functioning psychopaths work hard to build trust early on.
- They charm you with calculated gestures like gifts, praise, or staged vulnerability.
- They blend humor, flattery, and false modesty to lower your defenses and win you over.
Beware: They study your fears and desires with unsettling precision. Then later, turn this knowledge against you.
Their lying is constant, habitual. They range from mild gaslighting to complex cons. Fraud schemes are often disguised as urgent opportunities. Sometimes, they test you with needless lies just to test your limits before launching their main scam.
Over time, many live parasitic lives, draining people emotionally and financially.
If someone’s being charming, acting too nice, but it all feels too strategic or too rehearsed, take note. This may be a mask.
3. Notice the Lack of Genuine Emotion
A lack of empathy and emotional coldness are hallmarks of psychopathy.
High-functioning psychopaths lack authenticity and diversity in their emotional displays. So, if you watch close, their expressions may feel off or oddly timed.
Their faces rarely show fear, concern, or authentic sadness. Even in intense moments of suffering, they stay detached, sometimes with a blank or wooden look.
This emotional detachment often leaks out as grandiosity, entitlement, or open contempt for people who are socially weaker than them.
When asked for help, their first thought is often, “What’s in it for me?”
Worse, they feel no real remorse. They justify the harm they cause and reject any call to feel guilty.
If someone’s emotions look staged or their indifference feels inhuman, it may be the mask slipping.
4. Watch For Their Covert Aggression
Physical violence is rare in high-functioning psychopaths, but they use covert forms of control, like passive aggression.
Passive aggression is when they indirectly express negative feelings instead of opening up honestly. This can include procrastination, sarcasm, or giving the silent treatment.
Gaslighting, verbal hostility, emotional bullying, and reputation sabotage are some of their other tactics.
Their anger is not random. It’s measured, deliberate, and aimed at wearing people down. They strip away a rival’s confidence step by step until compliance feels like the only option.
If someone’s dominance comes through steady intimidation rather than open conflict, you may be seeing the psychopath’s mask at work.
5. Notice How They Use Intelligence to Control
They often have above-average cognitive and social intelligence. This makes them highly persuasive.
They thrive in complex, fast-paced, high-pressure settings.
They can create chaos, then step in as problem-solvers. This crisis management skill wins admiration from their peers and rivals.
They can prey on people’s trust, exploiting their vulnerabilities for personal gain at the first chance they get.
So, their intelligence looks impressive, but it’s often a tool for dominance. If someone’s brilliance feels less about solutions and more about control, it may be their mask slipping.
6. See The Abuse Behind the Relationship
Their relationships are transactional, or give-and-take liaisons. Though with far more taking than giving.
Love, for the high-functioning psychopaths, is a performance. Their show of love is to gain favors, admiration, or resources.
Romantic affairs with psychopaths follow a predictable arc: idealization, devaluation, and eventual discard.
Their hot-and-cold behavior keeps partners anxious. To the point that they blame themselves for the psychopath’s emotional volatility.
If the affection of this person you are dating always feels conditional or staged, the mask may be slipping.
7. See Their Potential Dangers To Society
High-functioning psychopaths pose a latent (“yet-untriggered”) threat to society.
They can act warm, guileless, and honor-bound to build alliances. Many long-term allies never realize they are being used to quietly serve the psychopath’s ambitions.
They exploit loopholes in corporate and political systems. They are not ashamed to take bribes, commit fraud, or harm the environment under the guise of public welfare.
Their charm and credibility delay accountability, which lets them inflict widespread harm long before being discovered.
If someone’s influence looks polished but leaves destruction in its wake, you may be seeing the psychopath unmasked.
Diagnosing A Psychopath
About 1.2% of U.S. adult men and 0.3% to 0.7% of U.S. adult women are considered to have clinically significant levels of psychopathic traits. About 15% to 25% of prison inmates show psychopathic characteristics (Burton & Saleh, 2020).
The Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) is the “gold standard” diagnostic tool to measure a lifetime pattern of psychopathic behavior (Hare & Neumann, 2008).
Psychopathy is not an official diagnosis in the DSM-5. Experts link it to Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) and Conduct Disorder with CU traits.
New findings show that people with psychopathy have varying degrees and types of the condition. And that the warning signs for psychopathy are often present early.
High-Functioning vs. Low-Functioning Psychopath
| Features | High-Functioning Psychopaths | Low-Functioning Psychopaths |
|---|---|---|
| Tendencies | Non-violent | Violent |
| Success in society | Often successful | Struggles to function |
| Organization | Conscientious and organized | Undisciplined, impulsive, disorganized |
| Social Skills | Charismatic, glib talkers | Have trouble handling social situations |
| Planning Abilities | Skilled in scheming | Lack of planning skills, unsophisticated |
| Deceitfulness | Avoid deceitful acts when under watch | Always devious, even under watch |
Final Words
There’s another high‑functioning condition called high‑functioning depression. Despite being depressed, these people keep up a normal daily routine and can manage how they act and appear in public.
High-functioning psychopaths are wolves in sheep’s fur. They can damage you without letting anyone, even you, know.
Many business leaders have psychopathic traits. Often called corporate psychopaths, they use their social charm, calmness in high-stress situations, and risk-taking capacity to rise to the top.
“There’s evidence to suggest that deep within the corridors of the brain, psychopathy and sainthood share secret neural office space.” — Kevin Dutton
√ Also Read: Do Psychopaths Actually Not Feel Empathy?
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