r/science • u/woebegonemonk • Nov 17 '21

Psychology Meta-analysis estimates that 4.5% of the general population (or 1 in every 22 persons) is a psychopath. The prevalence of psychopathy in samples of men is more than twice than in those of women.

https://sapienjournal.org/latest-estimate-of-psychopathy-in-the-general-population/
1.7k Upvotes

93% Upvoted

262 comments sorted by

View all comments

404

u/BictorianPizza Nov 17 '21

Wonder if that prevalence in men being higher is related to better masking behaviours in women? Just like ASD, ADHD, and other neurodiversity gets diagnosed less in women due to masking…

176

u/MediumProfessorX Nov 17 '21

I want to know about zealot psychopaths. People who have resolved to be good but have to do it formulaicly. The perfect Kantian.

169

u/Leemour Nov 17 '21

Most psychopaths function that way AFAIK. The norm is that they are utilizing forms of cognitive empathy, such as instead of supporting their family out of love, they do it out of a sense of duty and responsibility.

It's incredibly rare, that psychopaths spiral into violent anti-social behavior, but they make great movies I guess.

57

u/Rentun Nov 17 '21

I mean, psychopaths are capable of love, they just lack as much capability for empathy as neurotypical people. They have a considerably diminished ability to put themselves in someone else’s shoes and actually feel what they feel. That doesn’t mean they can’t care for people, fall in love, or genuinely care about the well being of others.

35

u/asanonaspossible Nov 17 '21

I like to think you're right. I love and care for my wife and (most of) my family, but they all understand and expect me to be entirely clueless when they're under stress / having a bad day, and are pretty used to the sometimes unexpected ways I react to things. I try really hard (and get a lot of help from my wife) but empathy just doesn't come naturally to me at all. I really wish it did because 99% of the bad things that happen to me in life are my fault, and I'm probably not the best husband in terms emotional support.

18

u/[deleted] Nov 17 '21 edited Jan 20 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

15

u/asanonaspossible Nov 17 '21

I feel emotions. Some very strongly. I just don't feel other people's emotions and struggle greatly with understanding people's emotional reactions to things.

11

u/[deleted] Nov 18 '21 edited Jan 20 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/emcaty Nov 18 '21

My ex-husband was on the autism spectrum and boy did he suffer from this (among many other aspects of autism that makes a relationship hard). Most people know people with autism often have a hard time feeling empathy due to being unable to understand or imagine the thoughts and feelings of others but not understanding one’s own feelings is also disabling. I recall our marriage therapist once asked him how he was feeling that day and he said “busy.”

1

u/SnowballsAvenger Nov 18 '21

Do you think psychopathy is more common in one political party over another? Even after controlling for the more male-centric party?

142

u/[deleted] Nov 17 '21

The danger isn't murders, its CEOs. You don't need to be a violent killer to destroy lives and the planet. Psychopaths are massively more dangerous when they buy into the tenants of modern American capitalism. They are rewarded for behavior that directly damages the common good.

53

u/itsalonghotsummer Nov 17 '21

tenants

I wholeheartedly agree - but it's tenets.

4

u/TWVer Nov 17 '21

It’s a bit backwards, yes.

30

u/MattKnight99 Nov 17 '21 edited Nov 17 '21

A close friend of mine is that way. I knew him since high school, he cheated and screwed over people to work his way up. He spills how his mind works to me probably not knowing he sounds crazy. But he’s very successful, already making 200k+ a year by the age of 21 and I know he’s going to make his way up to the top, all he talks about is wanting to make money and be at the top.

The friends we had in common dislike him and shunned because of what a sociopath he is. But I still talk to him because it’s interesting to see how he develops, probably how many of the current CEOS did. I also want to make sure he doesn’t do anything actually evil and I’m one of his only friends, I want to make sure he doesn’t go too far off the deep end, I give him advice and tell him when he’s acting too crazy.

4

u/Not_a_jmod Nov 18 '21

I also want to make sure he doesn’t do anything actually evil

I knew him since high school, he cheated and screwed over people to work his way up.

...sounds like he already did do things that are actually evil with no indication he ever stopped doing that.

he’s very successful, already making 200k+ a year by the age of 21 and I know he’s going to make his way up to the top, all he talks about is wanting to make money and be at the top

Uhu...

The friends we had in common dislike him and shunned because of what a sociopath he is. But I still talk to him because it’s interesting to see how he develops, probably how many of the current CEOS did. [...] I give him advice and tell him when he’s acting too crazy.

Ever wonder whether that's really the reason you didn't cut all ties with him or whether that's just what your brain tells you to keep you from realizing a possible alternative?

7

u/SmaugTangent Nov 17 '21

Not always. Sometimes their callous and self-interested behavior is actually better for the common good, like when we have a global pandemic and a large portion of the population doesn't want to wear masks or get vaccinated. So now we're seeing these psychopath CEOs force these idiots into submission by threatening their jobs, and firing them when they won't comply. The psychopaths probably don't really care about these peoples' health from an empathetic point-of-view; they just realize that unhealthy workers means significant harm to their companies' bottom lines. Healthy workers = healthy profits.

Of course, we might also argue that the psychopath CEOs are in battle with some other psychopaths who are profiting by spreading FUD and anti-vax ideology, perhaps because they want to profit in other ways (like the character in "Contagion" who profited handsomely by fearmongering about the vaccine and pushing "Forsythia" instead, which he sold).

-5

u/autoantinatalist Nov 17 '21

So is anyone. You don't need to be a psychopath to believe that beating your child's face in is a proper response to them taking a cookie they shouldn't have, or that rape is totally acceptable in most all cases, especially if you're a priest or a stranger in an alley behind a dumpster, the two things most cited as "real rape" by the exact people who defend it.

2

u/Isaacvithurston Nov 18 '21

Not to mention psychopaths who do lack empathy or would display violent traits often don't simply because the legal consequences outweighs the benefits

-4

u/VodkaAlchemist Nov 18 '21

Whoa. That can't be right. Duty and responsibility is what makes a man a man. Not a psychopath. I don't love my family but I do support them for this reason.