Reading time: 9 minutes
— By Dr. Sandip Roy.What comes to mind when you hear the term “psychopath”? A deranged prisoner in a high security? A serial killer?
Rude surprise: Psychopathy affects about 1% of the general population. That’s nearly 79 million psychopaths in our world today, many of them hiding in plain sight, outside prison.
Inside prison, between 5% and 25% of men are psychopaths, as researchers Neumann and Hare (2008) found.
A basic definition of a psychopath is that this person cannot connect emotionally with others and has a need to act impulsively and antisocially. Are there different types of psychopaths?
Want to know how dangerous they can be? Read on.
- You can’t expect kindness from psychopaths. They have “fear-blindness”—an inability to recognize fear or worry about what might happen.
- When focused on a goal, psychopaths cannot process threats. They can’t even stop themselves once they make up their mind to come after you.
What are the 4 types of psychopaths?
There are four possible types of psychopaths:
- primary,
- secondary,
- distempered, and
- narcissistic.
Each of them has some unique characteristics, but all of them have these:
- Emotional apathy: They lack empathy and remorse, feel no guilt or shame, have shallow emotions, have a grandiose sense of self-importance. They can manipulate, deceive, and hurt almost anyone if it suits them.
- Reckless antisociality: They are antisocial by nature (with a disdain for social norms and laws), are irresponsible, impulsive, and reckless. They have an unstable lifestyle, with a history of criminal or aggressive behavior.
Here are the 4 types of psychopaths explained:
1. Primary Psychopaths
Primary psychopaths are thought of as born psychopaths. Their genes predispose them to psychopathy more than environmental factors like childhood trauma.
Children with high psychopathic traits show problems recognizing fear (“fear-blindness”).
- They don’t understand what might happen if they did something wrong, so they do it to find out.
- They cannot form genuine relationships with their parents, teachers, friends, or lovers.
This study‘s authors write:
“A subset of antisocial children and adolescents show callous-unemotional (CU) traits, characterized by lack of guilt, remorse, emotionality, and empathy, that produce a chronic and severe antisocial pathway. CU traits can be measured as young as 4 years of age…”
Many of them openly live an antisocial and criminal lifestyle, harmful to both themselves and society, but some are good at hiding their true nature to blend in with society.
They are often referred to as “classic” or “true” psychopaths due to their lifelong antisocial tendencies. They are severely and persistently antisocial. And are very likely to indulge in criminal or violent behavior before they are adults.
Research suggests that primary psychopaths may have a dysfunction in their brain’s emotional processing centers, particularly the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex (Blair, 2003; Marsh & Cardinale, 2012; Viding et al., 2012).
Psychopathic behavior has long been attributed to a fundamental deficit in fear that arises from impaired amygdala function.
— Larson & Baskin-Sommers, 2013
This brain ‘glitch’ may be the reason they cannot experience empathy or fear.
Neuroimaging studies suggest that primary psychopaths have reduced gray matter in the prefrontal cortex, which may make it difficult for them to control their behavior or make rational decisions.
While there is no cure for psychopathy, treating these people means helping them control their dangerous urges and reduce the risk of harm to others.
Even worse, primary psychopaths are also often resistant to therapy. And that makes them the most dangerous of all types of psychopaths.
- First, they don’t seek therapy, as they don’t see anything wrong with their behavior.
- Second, they lack the motivation to change despite enforced therapy.
For those who want to know more: Six genes have been shown to influence the risk of developing psychopathy: ANKK1, DRD2, DRD4, MAOA, COMT, and 5-HTTLPR.
2. Secondary Psychopaths
Secondary psychopathy develops in response to environmental adversities.
These psychopaths often have a history of childhood abuse, neglect, or trauma.
Their early childhood troubles may cause them to struggle to control their emotions and face problems forming healthy relationships.
They often develop a deficit in recognizing and responding to fear-related stimuli, such as fearful facial expressions (Marsh and Blair, 2008).
Unlike primary psychopaths, secondary psychopaths may better respond to treatment. They can learn to manage their psychopath traits and symptoms, improve their quality of life, and get better with treatment and support.
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) can help them build coping mechanisms and strengthen their emotional regulation skills.
- Mindfulness-based therapy can help them become more aware of their thoughts and feelings and improve their ability to resist acting on their emotions.
Medications may help them learn impulse control, and develop better coping mechanisms.
Research has shown that individuals with secondary psychopathy may have differences in brain structure and function compared to those without the disorder (Rilling, 2007; Dolan and Fullam, 2009; Jones, 2009; Harenski, 2010; Finger, 2011; Marsh, 2011a).
They may not have received the stimulating environment necessary to develop gray matter in areas of the brain involved in emotional regulation, decision-making, and empathy.
Secondary psychopaths are sometimes referred to as sociopaths (Dutton, Kevin, 2012).
3. Distempered Psychopaths
Distempered psychopaths are psychopaths with a mercurial temper. People know them for their sudden outbursts of rage or frenzy.
A distempered psychopath can be a primary or secondary psychopath.
They have anger issues. They are controlled by their anger and can lash out at others in response to even minor provocations.
Distempered psychopaths also have extreme mood swings. They can quickly change from episodes of intense anger or aggression to periods of extreme calm or even euphoria.
These psychopaths often have strong sex drives and can become obsessed with sexual urges during their frenzies.
They typically engage in highly impulsive, reckless, and risky behaviors.
They don’t have a Plan B. Because of their explosive, unplanned actions (that lead them to commit crimes), these psychopaths are more likely to be in prison.
Distempered psychopathy is usually treated with anger therapy, cognitive-behavior psychotherapy, and medication to control their reactivity.
Emotional attachment is something no psychopath (or sociopath) ever has.
4. Narcissistic Psychopath
Narcissistic psychopaths, in particular, exhibit traits of both psychopathy and narcissism, which includes a grandiose sense of self-importance, a need for admiration, and a lack of empathy.
They can easily exploit others for their own benefit without feeling any guilt or remorse. They manage to stay immune to shame or sorrow even when they harm others.
Worse, they can approach someone they previously exploited to help them out and deceive them again.
A narcissistic psychopath can be a primary or secondary psychopath.
[If you have a narcissist in your life, you must read: How To Confuse A Narcissist?]
Since are often highly competitive and aggressive, and enjoy taking risks, they may engage in impulsive, reckless, and even downright cruel acts to impress or coerce others.
Narcissistic psychopaths can be highly dangerous. Their need for control over others can lead them to charm others into doing their dirty work and then scapegoat them for the negative consequences.
Narcissistic psychopaths are sometimes called Charismatic Psychopaths. They have impeccable social skills and charming mannerisms.
They are attractive and friendly at first contact. Their high levels of charm and exuberance draw people to them.
- The good part is that they are less likely to have a criminal record.
- The bad part is that they might have escaped being caught because of their fine charm and demeanor.
Some famous examples of charismatic psychopaths are Ted Bundy, Charles Manson, and Jim Jones. All of them used their charm and social skills to trap innocent victims.
Robert Hare, a leading expert in psychopathy, notes,
“Psychopaths are social predators who charm, manipulate, and ruthlessly plow their way through life, leaving a broad trail of broken hearts, shattered expectations, and empty wallets.”
Further Reading: Kiehl, Kent. “A Cognitive Neuroscience Perspective On Psychopathy”, 2006
10 Traits of A Psychopath
Can you spot the 10 warning signs of a psychopath?
You cannot mark out a psychopath just by their actions or criminal records. Many psychopaths live among us, working as surgeons, lawyers, professors, plumbers, or any other profession.
It is hard to recognize these high-functioning psychopaths — they act and behave like normal people. Their psychopath traits lie hidden in their core personality and emotions.
When psychologists discuss psychopaths, they refer to people who have a certain set of personality traits, including ruthlessness, fearlessness, mental toughness, charm, persuasiveness, and a lack of conscience and empathy.
- 1. Impulsivity.
- 2. Lack of empathy.
- 3. Superficial charm.
- 4. Pathological lying.
- 5. Proneness to boredom.
- 6. Lack of remorse or guilt.
- 7. Shallow emotional response.
- 8. Grandiose sense of self-worth.
- 9. Cunning and manipulative behavior.
- 10. Irresponsibility and failure to plan ahead.
Note: a diagnosis of psychopathy should only be made by a trained mental health professional.
FAQs
What is primary psychopathy?
Primary psychopathy refers to individuals who are born with psychopathic traits. This means they have an innate lack of empathy, guilt, and concern for others. Primary psychopaths are often called “cold-blooded” because they were probably born with their brains set up for psychopathic traits. Their personality quirks appear from an early age, rather than developing later under stressful environments.
What is secondary psychopathy?
Secondary psychopathy is associated with more reactive and impulsive behaviors that develop due to factors like childhood trauma, abuse, or other environmental influences. Secondary psychopaths, sometimes referred to as sociopaths (Dutton, Kevin), mostly exhibit psychopathic behaviors due to a close link to their life experiences and upbringing.
What’s the difference between a psychopath and a sociopath?
Psychopaths are believed to be born with antisocial and “cold” traits, often due to genetic and neurological factors. Sociopaths are thought to develop their antisocial behaviors and apathy due to external factors, like a troubled childhood or previous trauma or abuse.
Psychopaths can typically blend into society and may even achieve success in professions like business or politics. Sociopaths have a harder time functioning in mainstream society and may have more obvious behavioral issues, such as frequent run-ins with the law.
Final Words
Usually, when we feel scared, our skin reacts with electrical signals (like piloerection or goosebumps), and we show a startle response.
Psycho types don’t have those. They have low fear, and this “fear-blindness” is a bigger issue than their lack of other emotions.
- Their brains cannot perceive or process threats and fear-related stimuli.
- They cannot recognize fear in the faces or body language of others.
Both make them outstandingly dangerous and violent.
√ Also Read: Feeling Bored With Life? These Are The Reasons.
√ Please spread the word if you found this helpful.
• Our Story!
