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Updated
Reading 2 min.
in collaboration with
Amélie Boukhobza (Clinical psychologist)
Medical validation:
January 9, 2024
Do you regularly show an absence of guilt or remorse and do you enjoy manipulating others? Be careful, you may have psychopathic behavior. Update with our psychologist Amélie Boukhobza.
Psychopathy, a spectrum of personality traits and behaviors
Should we remember it? Not all psychopaths are serial killers. Some even blend into society skillfully (they make up about 1% of the general population).
“Contrary to popular belief, psychopaths are not all criminals or violent individuals. Psychopathy manifests across a spectrum of personality traits and behaviors, which can vary in intensity.recalls Amélie Boukhobza.
Furthermore, real psychopaths are rarely aware of their psychopathy.
In parallel, “some people with mild psychopathic traits may have some awareness of their idiosyncrasies and seek to understand and manage these traits“, relates the expert.
Here are some of them presented to us by Amélie Boukhobza:
Lack of empathy
“The inability to understand or share the feelings of others, often perceived as a lack of compassion, is a clear sign of psychopathy“.
Lack of sincerity or authenticity
“Lying, exaggerating to impress or manipulate others is another serious sign of psychopathy“.
A tendency towards manipulation
“Using others for one’s own ends, without regard for their feelings or well-being, is a typical character trait of psychopaths. Here they use “emotional” manipulation and/or the use of flattery“.
An absence of remorse or guilt
“Not feeling guilty and/or regretting one’s actions, even if they cause harm to others, is another characteristic trait of psychopaths.“, warns the psychologist.
Antisocial behavior
“These acts that go against social norms, such as lying, deceiving, violating the rights of others or enjoying violating the law, fall within the spectrum of psychopathy.“, relates Amélie Boukhobza.
Insensitivity or cruelty towards animals or others
“Yet another typical psychopathic behavior: behaving in a cruel or insensitive manner, especially towards vulnerable living beings. This goes beyond childish behaviors (removing wings from flies or swatting ants) and persists into adulthood“.
Pronounced narcissism
“A constant need for admiration, a feeling of superiority, self-importance, omnipotence and a lack of consideration for the feelings of others, can reveal the presence of psychopathic disorders in an individual.“.
An inability to maintain lasting relationships
“Difficulty establishing or maintaining healthy and lasting relationships, particularly due to a lack of personal commitment, is a clear sign of psychopathy.“.
Lack of responsibility
“Difficulty taking responsibility for one’s own actions, often by blaming others or justifying one’s behavior, also falls within the spectrum of psychopathy.“.
One or more of these traits”are nevertheless not sufficient to characterize psychopathic traits. These same traits can also be found to different degrees in ordinary individuals.“, recalls the expert.
In fact, they should not be used.to diagnose yourself or someone else. Psychopathy is a complex disorder that can only be assessed by a mental health professional“, she concludes.
Slide: These ten signs that allow you to recognize a psychopath