10 Warning Signs of A Psychopath: Unmask This Predator

✅ Today's Wednesday • 📖 9 mins read

— By Dr. Sandip Roy.

You must spot the warning signs of a psychopath. If not, and they get too close, you might regret it.

You might think psychopaths (“psychos”) are parasites and predators that are easy to spot. But far too many of them appear and act as ordinary people. They could be your lawyer, surgeon, or favorite media person.

Beneath that nice front, they have an ulterior motive. But you only get to know it when you trust them too much. At the first chance, your personal angel may turn into a toxic friend.

Know who you are dealing with, whether you are just getting to know this person or suspect something is off with their behavior.

“Psychopath” = an egotistic master of charm who is emotionally empty and can exploit others without remorse.

Research by Sanz-García & Gesteira (2021) reveals:

• Percentage of psychopathy in the general adult population: 4.5%.
• PCL-R (“gold standard”) measured percentage: about 1.2%.
• Percentage in offender/prison populations: 10–35%.

10 Hidden Signs of A Psychopath

Most psychopaths may not harm us until given a chance. They reveal their true colors the moment they see your weakness. So, you must learn to recognize them.

Here are 10 signs that you might be dealing with a psychopath:

1. Manipulative Nature

Psychopaths are expert manipulators. That they are your friendly neighbor or bartender is a manipulated view.

Their usual tools are niceness, flattery, and lies. They will sometimes pretend to be helpless, traumatized, or incapable. Only in extreme cases do they bring out their scare tactics and sheer force to make you do what they want.

Even a homicidal psychopath can seem like a fun person to be with. Until it’s time to reveal their cold stares and cold hearts.

And they don’t fear consequences. All that matters to them is that their heartless schemes give them something—cruel fun, the upper hand, or material benefit.

2. Superficial Charm

Charm is a verb for a psychopath. Their charm and charisma are put-on acts.

But it’s always superficial, shallow.

They are charming as long as the lights are on. As soon as the curtains fall, they are their true, dark personalities.

Some questions you could ask to reveal their shallowness:

• “What are your long-term goals, and how do you plan to achieve them?”
• “What values do you hold most dear, and how do they influence your decisions?”
• “What do you think is the most important emotion to experience in life, and why?”
• “How do you typically respond when someone shares their problems or feelings with you?”
• “How do you think people perceive you, and do you think that perception matches your real self?”

They give vague, image-focused answers that sound polished but lack depth.

• Their grand goals have no clear steps or concrete plans.
• Their values are prestige signals (e.g., success, popularity, luxury) rather than deeper principles (e.g., honesty, kindness, responsibility).
• Emotions are framed around “looking good” and claims that others find them “amazing.”
• They have little self-awareness, and their sympathy is shallow rather than empathetic.

Their first impressions and smooth mannerisms can make them irresistible, like many covert narcissists.

2. Grandiose Self-Importance

Psychopaths often talk about their grandiose self-importance.

They have inflated ideas of who they are. They actually believe they are extraordinary and superior to others around them.

This grand “ego” makes them expect special treatment from others.

This sense of being deserving of special treatment or being owed a favor despite doing little or nothing is called entitlement in psychology. Highly entitled people seek status, prestige, and dominance (Lange & Redford, 2018).

Their grandiosity (“big ego”) makes them highly sensitive to criticism. They see even helpful comments as personal attacks.

They just cannot stand being pointed out for their shortcomings or weaknesses. Reactively, they get angry when they are compared to more successful or capable people.

Tip: Avoid giving them strong negative feedback to protect yourself from their “reptilian” response.

3. Pathological Lying

They are champion liars.

Everyone lies and deceives at one time or another, but psychopaths do so more persistently, blatantly, and stylistically.

Their lies are beautifully convincing. Even when you know they are lying, you want to believe them.

They often lie and add fake details to whatever they say for no clear reason. They may lie to check if you can be manipulated.

One key psychopathic trait is pathological lying—lying habitually, compulsively, and exaggeratedly.

They have no difficulty at all looking people straight in the eye as they lie. Moreover, they are good at pretending to be moved by your emotions.

They can seamlessly fit into any social situation, mirroring and amplifying the dominant emotions in the scene, without actually feeling anything.

To those not involved, it may seem strange that anyone can be fooled by the tricks used by psychopaths. While the psychopaths, when caught, are unfazed.

When caught in an obvious lie, they are not embarrassed or thrown off track; rather, they act as if nothing is wrong, offer a facile explanation, or simply change the topic.

— Robert Hare & Adelle Forth

Over time, people stop trusting anything they say as their lies get exposed.

5. Lack of Remorse or Guilt

One clear sign of psychopathy is a lack of remorse or guilt.

What makes them even more evil is that psychopaths don’t feel bad about what happens to the people they hurt.

They can send you on a faulty rollercoaster and then shrug their shoulders when you fall.

Mostly, they are unconcerned about facing consequences for their acts. This emotional detachment lets them carry on with their harmful actions without being weighed down by guilt or regret.

Long-term, they are very dangerous to be around because of this.

6. Shallow Emotional Response

Psychopaths have shallow emotional responses—cold and limited.

They can’t genuinely feel or express deep emotions like love, fear, or sadness. They may not hate you, but they won’t be able to love you in the way you expect.

People around them often find that interactions and expectations go unmet. They don’t fully feel your sadness or joy.

This emotional thinness leads to superficial relationships and makes lasting, meaningful bonds difficult.

“Having a relationship with a psychopath is like being with an emotionally hollow person.”

7. Callousness and Lack of Empathy

Lack of empathy and callousness are typical traits of psychopaths.

• Callousness = an insensitivity and indifference to others’ feelings, suffering, or needs.

Psychopaths struggle to understand or care about others’ feelings. They seem cold when everyone else is having high emotional reactivity.

This inability to be moved by others’ emotions makes them act in blatantly selfish ways.

Over time, people move away from this person as they realize that this person will never look out for their well‑being.

8. Failure to Accept Responsibility

Psychopaths are notorious for refusing to accept responsibility for their actions.

They often blame others for their own failures and wrongdoings, never admitting their part in causing harm.

This blame-shifting behavior makes them resistant to learning from their mistakes and making amends, further straining their personal and professional relationships.

It is hard to have the psychopath on your team and trust them to own up when they screw up.

9. Impulsive Behavior

Impulsiveness is another typical trait of a psychopath.

They often act on a whim, not thinking about the consequences or potential ramifications of their actions.

This impulsive behavior makes them unpredictable and less trustworthy, especially in high-stakes or high-risk situations.

Their actions can frequently have unexpectedly dangerous outcomes. So, people often feel insecure around them, never fully knowing how they would react in a given circumstance.

10. Criminal or Antisocial Activity

Psychopaths are more likely than the general population to engage in criminal or antisocial behavior. This can range from white‑collar crimes to violent offenses.

A striking feature of much of the antisocial behavior shown by individuals with psychopathy is that it is mostly instrumental in nature, i.e., goal-directed towards achieving money, sexual opportunities, or increased status.

— Cornell, Warren, & Hawk, 1996

Their antisociality may stem from less gray matter in their brains, which makes it harder to process empathy, moral reasoning, and prosocial emotions like guilt and embarrassment (The Antisocial Brain: Psychopathy Matters, 2012).

Clinically, many of the traits linked to psychopathy are found in Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD).

ASPD describes individuals who repetitively engage in “irresponsible, delinquent, and criminal behavior” (Glenn & Johnson, 2013).

Psychopathy and ASPD overlap but are not identical. Psychopathy is more about emotional deficits and interpersonal style, while ASPD focuses more on observable antisocial behaviors.

Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R)

The Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), by Dr. Robert Hare, consists of 20 items. Clinicians use a three-point scale to rate each item: 0 means not present, 1 means somewhat present, and 2 means definitely present.

20-item Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R)

Final Words

Stay vigilant. Psychopaths can seriously impact your mental well-being if you regularly interact with them.

Knowing how they act and think can help you make better decisions when dealing with them. However, not all “psychos” show all the traits listed above, and many may well mask their giveaway signs.

Ask an expert for help if you suspect someone you know might be a psychopath.

√ Also Read: 4 Types of Psychopaths: Traits of Psychopathy Explained

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