Robert Hare, biography of a criminal psychologist

Robert Hare is one of the great authorities on criminal psychology.. In particular, she has studied psychopathy in depth, for over 30 years. His work is one of the most complete in relation to this topic and that is why he is one of the intellectuals most consulted on the matter, even by entities such as the FBI.

One of Robert Hare’s great contributions is the famous PCL scale. This has become an instrument used throughout the world to detect psychopathic traits and, in particular, the possibility of these leading to violent acts.

Robert Hare has received a large number of awards around the world. He has also worked in criminal investigation centers and was a prison counselor in the United Kingdom. There he designed programs for the care of psychopathic criminals.

Psychopaths do not have emotional empathy, but they do have intellectual or cognitive empathy.

Who is Robert Hare?

Robert Hare was born in Calgary (Canada), in 1934.. Not much is known about his personal life, but we do know about his work. He studied psychology at the University of Alberta and completed a master’s degree at the same institution. He later received his doctorate in experimental psychology from the University of Western Ontario in 1963.

He then joined as a professor at the University of British Columbia (Vancouver, Canada). There he began a brilliant career, focused on psychopathology. and psychophysiology. Years later he would become the director of the Hare Laboratory at the same university.

Robert Hare has conducted extensive research on psychopathy. This has allowed him to provide a large amount of empirical evidence associated with this topic. It was based on the studies carried out by Hervey Cleckley, a pioneer in the research of psychopaths. Hare expanded and specified the concepts of his predecessor.

Psychopathy

Robert Hare has shed new light on the traits that define a psychopath. He has said that not everyone who fits into that category is necessarily a criminal. Many of them live in society, without any problems: they get married, have children and are successful in their professions. Only some end up committing crimes.

One of Hare’s most controversial claims is that psychopaths are “born.”. No matter what type of environment they develop in, from a very early age they show traits of indifference and cruelty towards others. There wouldn’t even be a genetic determinant of this, but it simply happens. Therefore, it is a condition that has no cure.

Hare has also said that around 1% of the population is psychopath, in the strict sense. Another 3% of humans would have some traits of psychopathy, but they do not fall into this category, although they are very close. Most of them are not detected by others. They even tend to be highly appreciated and powerful people.

The general traits of psychopaths

According to Robert Hare, the essential trait of psychopaths is their lack of emotional empathy.. Most of the time they do have intellectual empathy, that is, they are capable of putting themselves in the other person’s shoes and detecting what they feel. However, that does not provoke any feelings or emotions in them.

Hare has sometimes referred to psychopaths as “emotional idiots,” implying that they lack emotional intelligence. They also do not distinguish good from evil, they do not suffer from anxiety, they do not feel fear and they are able to walk over others without feeling any remorse.

However, these people show another face to society. They tend to be extroverted and it is not unusual for them to be charming to others.. They care a lot about their appearance and know how to seduce others with their personality. They are talkative, impulsive, and show a lot of anger when they don’t get what they want.

An authority on the subject

In 1980, Robert Hare unveiled his famous PCL (Psychopathy CheckList) or checklist in psychopathies. There he synthesized the traits that define a psychopath. A little more than a decade later, he published the Psychopathy CheckList- Revised or revised psychopathy checklist (PCL-R). This required and complemented the first instrument.

These tools made him famous throughout the world and made him an authority on the subject. Your book Without Conscience: the disturbing world of psychopaths around us, published in 2003, has been translated into several languages. It is considered a classic on the subject, despite the disturbing revelations it makes.

Hare says that almost all of us know a psychopath, but we don’t know it. He points out that they always play cat and mouse, but they never lose the role of the former. In any case, if someone manages to detect them, it is best to stay away from them. They are skillful manipulators, to the point where Robert Hare himself confesses to having fallen into their traps.

You might be interested…