A psychopath is a person with a personality disorder whose features are also reflected in differences in brain structure, specifically a smaller volume of grey matter in the prefrontal part of the brain, which is responsible for empathy, conscience and self-reflection. These people are not to blame for their personality disorder, but living with them is a nightmare. How can you tell if there is a psychopath around you? Read on.
The short answer. You can recognise a psychopath by a combination of traits, not by a single behaviour. They lack empathy and guilt, can lie convincingly, are charming at first and gradually begin to control who you see and what you do. Psychopathy is a psychological construct, not a medical diagnosis that can be made from a distance. You will find twelve specific signs and ways to protect yourself below.
Table of contents
Psychopath or sociopath? The difference according to experts
Psychopathy is not listed as a separate diagnosis in the international diagnostic manual DSM-5. The official diagnosis is antisocial personality disorder, which mainly describes behaviour, such as breaking rules, lying, aggression and irresponsibility from childhood onwards. Psychopathy as a concept goes further and describes personality traits instead, such as a lack of empathy and remorse, superficial charm and the ability to manipulate.
The clinical tool for assessing psychopathy is the Hare Psychopathy Checklist (PCL-R), created by the Canadian psychologist Robert D. Hare. It contains 20 items, each scored by a trained professional on a scale from 0 to 2 points based on an interview and case records. In North America, a total of 30 out of a possible 40 points is considered the threshold for psychopathy, while in Europe the threshold tends to be lower, at around 25 points.
The term sociopath is no more formal than psychopath. Specialist literature often uses it as a synonym for antisocial personality disorder with a greater influence of environment and upbringing. Psychopathy, by contrast, is attributed more to innate and neurobiological factors, although in everyday speech the two terms are often used interchangeably.
Psychopathy is also commonly confused with narcissism, which focuses more on an excessive need for admiration and feeling special than on coldness and manipulation. The differences between the two disorders and how to deal with a narcissist are described in the article on the traits of narcissism.
How many psychopaths live among us
The most frequently cited estimate comes from the psychologist Robert Hare, according to whom roughly one per cent of the population has psychopathic traits. This is an estimate based on clinical practice, not a precise measurement across society as a whole.
A more precise figure came from an epidemiological study by Jeremy Coid and colleagues from 2009, published in the International Journal of Law and Psychiatry. Using the PCL:SV scale on a representative sample of households in the United Kingdom, it found a prevalence of 0.6%. The proportion was higher among men than among women, and similarly higher among younger age groups than older ones.
Jobs in which psychopaths excel
Although negative traits predominate in a psychopath, there are jobs that come naturally to them. These are jobs that require thinking with your head, staying calm and making a good impression in all circumstances. A psychopath does not burn out easily, keeps their emotions under control and can pursue their goals even if it means walking over others. They relish senior positions because, in their view, that is where they belong: at the top, above everyone else. The problem is that on the way to the top, a psychopath manipulates, exploits and destroys the people around them.
According to popular estimates, a psychopath will thrive in roles such as
- Chief executive
- Lawyer
- Politician
- Presenter
- Sales representative
- Surgeon
A psychopath also does not take responsibility, and emotional detachment from the consequences of their own decisions helps them in investing, too, where they can take risks at their clients’ expense without it bothering them. They do not care what happens to other people. All these professions require the ability to handle stress, think quickly or make an impression. A psychopath has these qualities, which is why these professions come naturally to them. Now let us look at 12 signs to help you recognise them.
A psychopath at work, how to deal with them
A colleague or manager with psychopathic traits can be recognised by the way they build a network of allies, which they then turn against people who get in their way, and by the way they see other people’s success as a personal threat. On the outside they appear confident and decisive, but beneath the surface they are mainly pursuing their own interests.
When dealing with them, it helps to keep your distance and communicate in a matter-of-fact way, ideally in writing, so that there is a record of what was said. It is better to avoid one-to-one personal conflicts and to have verbal agreements confirmed by email. The typical phrases and tactics a manipulator uses to turn a conversation to their advantage are described in the article on a manipulator’s tactics.
If you suspect that your own manager is showing this kind of behaviour, you will find a more detailed list of warning signs and how to protect yourself in that situation in the article on whether your boss is a psychopath.
1. Pathological liar
A psychopath is a born actor. Acting comes easily to them; in fact, they are masters of it. When lying, each of us shows certain micro-expressions and other cues that alert others to suspicious behaviour. One person looks at the floor, another taps their foot.
With a person who has this personality disorder, however, you will not notice anything. They give nothing away and behave completely naturally. Because they do not distinguish between “good” and “bad“, they use lies to their own advantage and have no problem doing so. Psychopaths can therefore lie chronically and be pathological liars who believe their own lies and cannot help themselves.
2. Master manipulator
With a psychopath, you will feel that you are the one doing things wrong. They will make you feel guilty and reproach you for anything and everything. They know exactly how people react and what they like to hear, and they take advantage of this a great deal.
They do not experience anything like this themselves, but they have observed certain behaviours in others that make people submit to them, and so they begin to control them. They will play on your emotions and act hurt, all with the aim of getting to you. It is entertainment for them; human emotions are a joke to them.
3. A cool head
They can keep a cool head and stay calm in any situation. Although this would come in handy for all of us at times, it is perfectly natural for the heart and the head to be at odds within us; it is a sign that we are fine. Psychopaths do not know this feeling; they think everything through with their head and from a logical point of view. Decisions are not a problem for them; they simply choose whatever is more advantageous for them, even at the cost of hurting others.
4. No sense of guilt
Because they do not feel much emotion, it does not even occur to them that their behaviour could hurt someone. Certainly do not expect an apology from them; they feel that everyone around them is to blame for everything. If you accuse them, expect them to come up with countless arguments to shift the blame onto you, adding a few hurtful words to bring you to your knees. And that is exactly what they love.
5. Captivating charm
At first, a psychopath may seem like a wonderful person who understands you. However, they are only putting on this act for other motives. They know that in order to control you, they first need to win your trust. They have a great ability to work out what works on you in particular. It is hard to recognise that they are only deceiving you; their true self only comes out later. They may also behave differently in public than in private. Recognise these signals in time and get away before it is too late!
What studies show about the psychopathic brain
According to neuroscience, the coldness and lack of guilt that characterise psychopathy are also linked to differences in brain structure. A key role is played by the prefrontal cortex, the area responsible for self-reflection, conscience and planning the consequences of one’s own actions.
According to a 2005 study by the psychologist Yaling Yang, the neuroscientist Adrian Raine and colleagues, published in the journal Biological Psychiatry, convicted psychopaths had 22.3% less grey matter volume in the prefrontal cortex than people without the disorder. The difference was found only in this convicted group; so-called successful psychopaths, who manage to avoid detection and punishment over the long term, had grey matter volume comparable to the control group.
6. Egocentrism
Psychopaths love themselves. They feel they are better than others and treat them accordingly, regarding people as objects to be discarded once they have had enough of them. Since they lack the capacity for reflection, they do not think they have done anything wrong. They only admit a mistake if their behaviour has not got them what they wanted. Their world revolves solely around their own success, which they achieve by amoral means.
7. No moral principles
They do not care about anything to do with humanity. You will not move them with emotional outbursts or blackmail. They do not care whether they have hurt you in any way; you serve a certain purpose for them, and once you have fulfilled it, they will leave you alone.
They do not respect your personal space or your free time. They need and want to keep you under control so they can dominate you. They will not tolerate defiance and resistance. Once they have found you, you belong to them. They have always had trouble following rules and never understood why some things are not allowed and why society frowns on them. They will do anything to benefit themselves. Psychopaths also like to take revenge and do not forgive. If you want to know more, read the article on how a psychopath takes revenge.
8. They damage your relationships
Because a psychopath wants to control everything, they will also try to influence the quality of your relationships. They want you to be dependent on them, so that they are the only person you have. They will start inventing all sorts of reasons why you should not talk to your friends or family. They will even pretend to know about something that never happened.
9. Their relationships lack depth
If you ask about the people around them, you will find that they do not spend their free time with anyone, and they feel no need to go out for fun or talk through their problems with someone.
Their relationships are based on pretence, and they keep them going with gifts and surprises that will impress you, but you will not sense any personal touch in them.
10. No privacy
A psychopath will keep watch over you. They will not want you to see anyone else and will be obsessively jealous. Whenever you go somewhere, be ready for the question “Where are you going?” They have to control everything, so they will want to keep you at home as much as possible. If you go out anyway, they will follow you and then try to convince you what a mistake you made by spending time with the wrong people.
11. Aggression and a short temper
Sometimes they may react disproportionately. You drop your fork at lunch and they nearly lose their mind. They get angry unexpectedly, so you will constantly feel that you have to be careful about what you say and do. You will walk on eggshells around them, and if something happens anyway, they will blame you, even when it is not your fault.
12. They make all the decisions
Their constant control comes from not wanting you to leave them before they leave you. They feel that they are the one in charge and must make all the decisions themselves: where you go for dinner, what you wear, who you will (not) see at the weekend. Before long, you will start losing yourself and they will be running your life.
Psychopath test, can you spot one yourself?
Many quick psychopathy tests circulate online, promising a result after ten questions. However, none of them replaces a clinical assessment using the Hare PCL-R checklist, which is scored by a trained professional on the basis of an interview and available records, not on the basis of the person’s self-assessment.
Completing an online test is therefore not a diagnosis, whether for you, your partner or a colleague. Rather than chasing a label, it is more useful to notice the specific, recurring patterns of behaviour described above and use them to decide whether and how to keep dealing with such a person. The typical communication tricks that manipulative people use to turn a conversation to their advantage are summarised in the article on recognising manipulation.
How to protect yourself if you suspect a psychopath in your relationship
The foundation of protection is not accepting the guilt a psychopath tries to make you feel, and not looking for the fault primarily in yourself. It helps to have someone around you with whom you can discuss the situation from a distance, because isolation from friends and family is often one of the first signs of control. How to recognise this kind of isolation and other toxic behaviour is described in the article on filtering out toxic people around you.
Manipulation is not always as obvious as threats. How to tell that someone is deliberately making you doubt your own perception of reality is described in the article on gaslighting, and the specific signs of abusive behaviour in a relationship are summarised in the overview of ten signs of psychological abuse.
If the behaviour escalates to threats, stalking or physical violence, contact a local helpline for victims of crime (in the Czech Republic: Bílý kruh bezpečí 116 006, free and non-stop), a local domestic abuse helpline (in the Czech Republic: ROSA 116 016 for women experiencing domestic violence), or a local crisis helpline (in the Czech Republic: Linka první psychické pomoci 116 123). If your life is in danger, call your local emergency number: 112 in Europe, 911 in the USA and Canada, 999 in the UK (in the Czech Republic: 158 or 112).
In the Czech Republic, the police can evict a violent person from a shared home for 14 days (section 44 of the Police of the Czech Republic Act, zákon o Policii České republiky). Under Czech rules, before this period ends, the person at risk can apply to the court for an interim measure, which the court decides within 48 hours and which lasts one month with the option of extension. The evicted person must hand over their keys and avoid any contact with the person at risk. Elsewhere, ask local police or a lawyer about protection orders.
If the points above have suggested that you are in contact with such a person, it is better to avoid them. It is best to avoid direct confrontation, because a psychopath can turn even an honest conversation to their advantage. Instead, look for support from people close to you or a professional, as described in the protection section above. In this article, you have learned about their 12 traits, which you can turn against them with clever questions. And who knows? Perhaps you will prompt a tiny moment of self-awareness, or at least bring them back down to earth.
Psychopaths tend to have long-term difficulties building close relationships because they lack empathy and the ability to form emotional bonds. Treat the patterns described as a warning sign, not as a label to stick on someone after a single incident.
