The profile of the psychopath

If I tell you to imagine a psychopath, surely the first images that come to mind are of murderers with weapons, dark screams, suspenseful situations and dark, reddish colors. This is the general idea we have about psychopaths, but is this exactly what a psychopath is?

A psychopath does not have to always present this type of image that cinema or literature provides us with, he does not necessarily have to be a ruthless murderer, nor does he have to present violent behavior continuously. On the contrary, he can display seductive and charming behavior if it would serve his goal.

In reality, a psychopath is a person who lacks the ability to put oneself in the shoes of others, that is, lacks empathy, not feeling emotions for those people around him. They are individuals who also have no remorse, so harming another, whether physical or psychological, does not cause them any problems.

What traits define a psychopath?

According to Robert Hare, a researcher in criminal psychology and professor at the University of British Columbia, approximately 1% of the population would be psychopaths, of which the majority can go unnoticed in society, even passing for good workers and managers.

Psychopaths usually have a wide repertoire of behaviors, activating one or another, depending on the environment in which they find themselves, that is, they can become as chameleon-like as they intend to be. They are like skilled actors on their stage, showing to the rest of the individuals the character that best suits their objective.

We can say that they are charming liars. At first they show themselves as people we can trust, kind, with money, but over time they have only made us enter their spider web of false promises and lies.

Another trait that characterizes them is their constant search for new challenges, through which they manage to climb the social ladder to achieve higher positions, and thus enjoy more power and possibilities of manipulating others. But in this quest, they keep their backs covered, taking risks to the detriment of others. That is, they never risk their property or their position, but rather that of other colleagues, family members or people.

They also tend to be stealthy in their movements and suspicious, moving perfectly within the legality of social norms even if they do not share them, which does not mean that they are not sometimes caught in their manipulative tricks. They are individuals who do not take responsibility for their mistakes, since they have difficulty accepting them, which is why they do not usually attend psychological consultations.

There is currently no effective treatment for this disorder., since most specialists say that resocialization is somewhat difficult, although certain programs are beginning to be put into practice that show some effectiveness in reducing recidivism. These programs are applied in specific centers, with a very structured and specialized environment.