The 10 types of psychopaths, according to Kurt Schneider

Kurt Schneider was a German doctor, psychiatrist and philosopher who pioneered the classification of types of psychopaths. He is considered the main representative of the Heidelberg School, along with Karl Jaspers.. His work left an important mark on the history of psychopathology.

The Heidelberg School was characterized by an approach to mental disorder that emphasized biological factors. In the members of this current there was a strong influence of Emil Kraepelinwho had made efforts to classify disorders from the point of view of their manifestations and not their causes.

Kurt Schneider’s classification of types of psychopaths has had great influence on subsequent developments in psychiatry. It is based on the idea that a psychopath is someone who deviates in an ambiguous way from behavior normative. From that point of view, there are ten types that are as follows.

1. Hyperthymic

The first type of psychopath is hyperthymic, which is characterized by having a happy, active and impulsive mood. Schneider spoke of this type of people as the “sanguine temperament of the light-blooded man.” He defines them as quarrelsome, nice and talkative, prone to crimes such as offenses falsehoods, scams and small transgressions.

2. Depressives

This is one of the types of psychopaths with a dark mood, although this characteristic is not always easy to recognize in them, since they tend to hide what they feel. In some, melancholy prevails, while in others, bad mood or paranoia. Both this type and the previous one are prone to alcoholism. The paranoid depressive can become very insensitive.

3. Insecure, one of the types of psychopaths

Within this group, there are two types of psychopaths: sensitive and ananchastic.. The former are very impressionable, but have difficulty expressing their emotions.

Anankastics turn their insecurities into obsessions, which become very rigid and inflexible. Although these types of personalities appear “strange” and sometimes “suspicious,” they rarely commit a crime.

4. Fans

In this case there is a group of overrated ideas that are lived with great emotional intensity. There are passive fans and fighting fans.

Generally, this typology occurs in mature men or women. They may commit minor crimes based on their convictions.but generally they only carry out acts of disruption of social life.

5. In need of estimation

The distinctive feature of this type of psychopath is vanity.. They need to appear to be more than they are, both to themselves and to others. They deliberately tell lies and believe them.

They falsify their emotions and that is why they cannot establish intimate bonds and do not know how to love.. There are eccentrics (they attract attention with unusual acts), braggarts (they boast) and pseudologues (they organize structured fantasies to deceive others).

6. Labile

This is one of the types of psychopaths that can be confused with depressives. However, in this case, The person has very intense episodes of sadness or bad mood, like storms, but then they pass, almost unexpectedly.. They are often addicts and may commit emotional or occasional crimes. It is typical of younger people or the very old.

7. Explosives

Explosive psychopaths have a violent mood, which is unleashed even for insignificant reasons. In most cases it corresponds to women under 50 years of age.

They are prone to getting involved in crimes of various types; they disrespect, disobey and are harmful to their environment. These are childlike personalities, poorly developed and with little self-control.

8. Heartless

They represent the psychopath at its finest, without compassion, shame, shame or guilt. Its characteristic feature is a low development of consciousness. They tend to be sullen, cold and asocial.

They commit all kinds of crimes and misdemeanors, many of which can include brutality. However, many of them are able to live out their unscrupulousness without formally breaking the law.

9. Abulicos

They are extremely impressionable people, who are permeable to all types of stimuli. They are affable, reasonable, but fickle and malleable. This type of personality It is very frequently associated with theft, embezzlement, fraud and prostitution.. They may commit crimes only due to pressure from their group or environment. Generally, it corresponds to young people.

10. Asthenics

There are physical and mental asthenics. Both maintain a vigilant observation of themselves, in one case focused on the body and in the other, on the mind.. In both cases there is a feeling of estrangement from themselves. Many times they come to suffer from imaginary illnesses, due to their hypervigilance. They rarely get involved in crime and are rather frequent patients of the hospital.

Kurt Schneider’s types of psychopaths are a classification that is considered obsolete today. However, several of his approaches served as a basis for later developments, which do not deny this categorization, but rather have adjusted it.

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