How can you tell if someone is a psychopath?

Answer 1

A "psychopath" is a person with an antisocial personality disorder, manifested in aggressive, perverted, criminal, or amoral behavior without empathy. This is different defined from the separate classification "sociopath."

NOTE

Many people will erroneous consider themselves or others "psychopathic" based on any number of personality quirks, lack of empathy, or disregard for authority. As with any mental disoder, genetic or acquired, classification into broad categories is only possible where similar patterns of behavior exist. Only a mental health professional can determine an individual's status or treatment.

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Some attributes that are associated with "psychopaths" or "sociopaths":

Disorganized Episodic Aggression: (psychopath-born)

Ritualistic behavior

Attempts to conceal mental instability

Compulsivity

Periodic search for help

Severe memory disorders and an inability to tell the truth

Suicidal tendencies

History of committing assault

Hypersexuality and abnormal sexual behavior

Head injuries; injuries suffered at birth

History of chronic drug or alcohol abuse

Parents with history of chronic drug or alcohol abuse

Victim of childhood physical or mental abuse

Result of an unwanted pregnancy

Product of a difficult gestation for mother

Unhappiness in childhood resulted in inability to find happiness

Extraordinary cruelty to animals

Attraction to arson without homicidal interest

Symptoms of neurological impairment

Evidence of genetic disorder

Biochemical symptoms

Feelings of powerlessness and inadequacy

Organized Sociopathic Hatred :

Superficial charm and "good" intelligence

Absence of delusions and other signs of irrational behavior

Absence of "nervousness" or psychoneurotic manifestations

Unreliability

Untruthfulness and insincerity

Lack of remorse or shame

Inadequately motivated antisocial behavior

Poor judgment and failure to learn by experience

Pathological egocentricity and incapacity for love

General poverty in major affective reactions

Specific loss of insight

Unresponsiveness in general interpersonal relations

Fantastic and uninviting behavior with and sometimes without drink

Suicide rarely carried out

Sex life impersonal, trivial, and poorly integrated

Failure to follow any life plan

How Society Sees PsychopathsPsychopaths are simply people who do not feel empathy or react to stimuli the way normal people would. They will feel no consequences to their actions whatsoever, and morality is an abstract concept to which they can never feel obligated. They will not react to death, incest, violence, sadism, or any shocking behavior the way a normal person would, and are immune to feeling regret or compunction. A psychopath will never feel the need to apologize or seek forgiveness.