When we hear the word psychopath, we usually think of the cold murderer who kills his victim in a gruesome manner with visible pleasure. Nothing could be further from the truth, not every cold killer is a psychopath and not every psychopath kills.
General
In psychiatry, opinions are divided about the terms psychopath and antisocial personality (ASPD). Based on Cleckley’s (1941) psychopathy concept, the Canadian Robert Hare developed the Psychopathy Checklist (PCL; Hare, 1980) for its measurement and later the revised version the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 1991).
The concept of psychopathy is interpreted more broadly than the antisocial personality disorder from the DSM-IV (which focuses almost exclusively on socially deviant behavior) and reflects affective and interpersonal characteristics as well as socially deviant behavior.
According to DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), ASPD has many similarities with the clinical diagnosis of Psychopathy. Of persons diagnosed with psychopathy, 80-90% meet the diagnosis of ASPD. Conversely, a minority (30-40%) of individuals with ASPD meet the diagnosis of psychopathy.
ASPD often occurs in combination with (symptoms of) other cluster B personality disorders, especially borderline and narcissistic personality disorders, making it sometimes difficult to make a distinction.
It is estimated that 1% of humanity is psychopath and not all of them are behind bars. In fact, a lot of them even have high-quality functions and actually go very far. Snakes in suits will soon be published by the expert in the field of psychopathy, Hare. Includes handy checklist (an adapted version of PCL-R for business).
An interesting article on this subject is Psychopaths in suits on Intermediair.nl, which also makes clear how difficult it sometimes is to find out whether you are dealing with a psychopath. This is in contrast to someone with ASPD, who generally shows deviant behavior much sooner.
the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised
The checklist consists of twenty characteristics that may be present in a person to a greater or lesser extent. For each characteristic, a 0 for ,no,, 1 for ,some,, and 2 for ,definitely applicable, is recorded.
It is not recommended for laypeople to use this test to diagnose friends or family, but to leave this to a qualified professional. However, it gives a good idea of whether you could be dealing with a psychopath.
The prototype psychopath scores 40, someone with a score of 30 or higher qualifies for the diagnosis of psychopathy. People without criminal backgrounds score on average around 5. Many non-psychopathic criminals average around 22.
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PCL-R Psychopathy Checklist Hare |
0 |
1 |
2 |
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1 |
Eloquence and superficial charm |
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2 |
Exaggerated sense of self-worth (egocentrism) |
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3 |
Hungry for stimulation/tendency to boredom |
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4 |
Pathological lying |
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5 |
Cunning and manipulative |
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6 |
Lack of remorse or guilt |
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7 |
Superficial affect (superficial emotional receptivity) |
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8 |
Insensitive and lacking empathy |
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9 |
Parasitic lifestyle |
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10 |
Weak control of behavior |
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11 |
Random sexual behavior |
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12 |
Behavioral problems in early childhood |
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13 |
Missing realistic long-term goals |
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14 |
Impulsive |
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15 |
Irresponsible behavior |
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16 |
Unable to take responsibility for own actions |
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17 |
Short-term marriages/cohabitation |
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18 |
Juvenile delinquency |
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19 |
Violation of parole |
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20 |
Criminally versatile |
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Total |
Declaration
Source: Psychology magazine (November 2001)
Psychopaths have major problems with their feelings towards other people and with relationships. Eight of the twenty characteristics in the checklist are related to this.
Smooth talker/shallow charm.
Superficial in contact with others. They have a quick chat but often come across as very charming.
Highly inflated self-esteem.
They are braggarts who have an overly positive assessment of their talents and skills.
Pathological lying.
Psychopaths are notorious liars who usually have no qualms about being caught in a lie. They have an excuse or reason for everything.
Lack of remorse or guilt.
Psychopaths have no feelings of guilt or remorse for the things they do to others.
Not taking responsibility for one’s own behavior.
They are unable or unwilling to take responsibility for their own behavior. It is always others who are to blame and otherwise an alternative excuse can be found.
Cunning and deceit/manipulative behavior.
The prototypical psychopath manipulates and deceives others and doesn’t care what that means for them. They often exhibit criminal behavior in the form of fraud and embezzlement, for example, and non-criminal behavior in the form of adultery and extorting money from family members.
Lack of emotional depth.
Psychopaths appear to others as cold and uncaring. Their ’emotions’ often appear dramatic, short-lived and unreal.
Cold/lack of empathy.
In all their behavior, psychopaths show little respect for the rights, feelings and well-being of others. They view other people as fools who can be manipulated and consider themselves the most important person there is.
In addition to problems with their feelings towards other people and with relationships, psychopaths exhibit very problematic behavior in their lifestyle.
Hungry for stimulation/tendency to boredom.
Psychopaths have a very strong need for stimulation and an unusually strong aversion to boredom. They usually lead fast lives with a lot of risky behavior and experimentation with drugs, and find school, work and long-term relationships boring and boring.
Parasitic lifestyle.
A psychopath often chooses to feed on the pockets of family, partner or friends, and avoids having a permanent job.
Inadequate control of behavior.
Characteristic is that they are often short-tempered and have difficulty controlling themselves. A psychopath often responds to failures, criticism and frustrations with violence, insults or threats. This can end as quickly as it started.
Impulsiveness.
Psychopaths often behave extremely impulsively without really considering the pros and cons of their behavior: Relationships are often ended, jobs are quit and they move without informing others and without properly considering the decision.
Irresponsible behavior.
Psychopaths show no sense of responsibility or loyalty to family, friends, employers, landlords, or others. Dealing with money is often sad. They are in debt, deal poorly with business relations, and are often a huge burden to their family.
Lack of realistic long-term goals.
Psychopaths have no long-term plans or goals. They live from day to day and constantly change their plans, and are not bothered by the fact that their lives are quite meaningless.
Behavioral problems at a young age.
Childhood is characterized by numerous problems such as lying, fights, theft, robbery, arson and expressions of violence against people and animals. The psychopath is therefore often known from an early age as the black sheep of the family.
Youth crime.
In their teens they behave very antisocially and face arrests and convictions.
Violation of parole.
As an adult, the incarcerated psychopath makes escape attempts, does not return from weekend leave, commits crimes while on parole, and does not adhere to the conditions of the suspended prison sentence.
Three remaining characteristics concern: sexual promiscuity, a past with many marriages and/or cohabiting relationships, a criminal history with many different types of crimes.