Psychopath
Early Warning
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PREDATORS
The Disturbing World
of the Psychopaths Among Us
Magazine: Psychology
Today, January/February, 1994
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Jeffrey Dalmer. Ted Bundy. Hannibal Lechter. These are the
psychopaths
whose stunning lack of conscience we see in the movies and in
tabloids.
Yet, as this report makes abundantly clear, these predators,
both male
and female, haunt our everyday lives at work, at home, and in
relationships. How to find them before they find you.
She met him in a
Laundromat in London. He was open and friendly
and they hit it off
right away. From the start she thought he was
hilarious. Of course,
she'd been lonely. The weather was grim and
sleety and she didn't
know a soul east of the Atlantic.
"Ah, traveler's
loneliness," Dan crooned sympathetically over
dinner. "It's the
worst."
After dessert he was
embarrassed to discover he'd come without his
wallet. She was more
than happy to pay for dinner. At the pub,
over drinks, he told
her he was a translator for the United
Nations. He was, for
now, between assignments.
They saw each other
four times that week, five the week after. It
wasn't long before he
had all but moved in with Elsa. It was
against her nature,
but she was having the time of her life.
Still, there were
details, unexplained, undiscussed, that she
shoved out of her
mind. He never invited her to his home; she
never met his friends.
One night he brought over a carton filled
with tape
recorders--plastic-wrapped straight from the factory,
unopened; a few days
later they were gone. Once she came home to
find three televisions
stacked in the corner. "Storing them for a
friend," was all
he told her. When she pressed for more he merely
shrugged.
Once he stayed away
for three days and was lying asleep on the bed
when she came in
midmorning. "Where have you been?" she cried.
"I've been so
worried. Where were you?"
He looked sour as he
woke up. "Don't ever ask me that," he
snapped. "I won't
have it."
"What--?"
"Where I go, what
I do, who I do it with--it doesn't concern you,
Elsa. Don't ask."
He was like a
different person. But then he seemed to pull himself
together, shook the
sleep off, and reached out to her. "I know it
hurts you," he
said in his old gentle way, "but I thing of
jealousy as a flu, and
wait to get over it. And you will, baby,
you will." Like a
mother cat licking her kitten, he groomed her
back into trusting
him.
One night she asked
him lightly if he felt like stepping out to
the corner and
bringing her an ice cream. He didn't
reply, and
when she glanced up
she found him glaring at her furiously.
"Always got
everything you wanted, didn't you?" he asked in a
strange, snide
way. "Any little thing little Elsa
wanted,
somebody always jumped
up and ran out and bought it for her,
didn't they?"
"Are you kidding?
I'm not like that. What are you talking about?"
He got up from the
chair and walked out. She never saw him
again.
There is a class of individuals who have been around forever and
who are
found in every race, culture, society, and walk of life. Everybody has
met these people, been deceived and manipulated by them, and
forced to
live with or repair the damage they have wrought. These often charming--
but always deadly--individuals have a clinical name:
psychopaths. Their
hallmark is a stunning lack of conscience; their game is self-
gratification at the other person's expense. Many spend time in prison,
but many do not. All take far more than they give.
The most obvious expressions of psychopathy--but not the only
ones--
involve the flagrant violation of society's rules. Not surprisingly,
many psychopaths are criminals, but many others manage to remain
out of
prison, using their charm and chameleon-like coloration to cut a
wide
swathe through society and leaving a wake of ruined lives behind
them.
A major part of my own quarter-century search for answers to
this enigma
has been a concerted effort to develop an accurate means of
detecting
the psychopaths among us.
Measurement and categorization are of course
fundamental to any scientific endeavor, but the implications of
being
able to identify psychopaths are as much practical as
academic. To put
it simply, if we can't spot them we are doomed to be their
victims, both
as individuals and as a society.
My role in the search for psychopaths began in the 1960s at the
psychology department of the University of British Columbia.
There, my
growing interest in psychopathy merged with my experience
working with
psychopaths in prison to form what was my life work.
I assembled a team of clinicians who would identify psychopaths
in the
prison population by means of long, detailed interviews and
close study
of file information.
From this eventually developed a highly reliable
diagnostic tool that any clinician or researcher could use and
that
yielded a richly detailed profile of the personality disorder
called
psychopathy. We named
this instrument the Psychopathy Check list (Multi-
Health Systems; 1991).
The checklist is now used worldwide and provides
clinicians and researchers with a way of distinguishing with
reasonable
certainty true psychopaths from those who merely break the
rules.
What follows is a general summary of the key traits and
behaviors of a
psychopath. Do not use
these symptoms to diagnose yourself or others.
A diagnosis requires explicit training and access to the formal
scoring
manual. If you suspect
that someone you know conforms to the profile
described here, and if it is important for you to have an expert
opinion,
you should obtain the services of a qualified (registered)
forensic
psychologist or psychiatrist.
Also, be aware that people who are not psychopaths may have some
of the
symptoms described here.
Many people are impulsive, or glib, or cold
and unfeeling, but this does not mean that they are psychopaths.
Psychopathy is a syndrome--a cluster of related symptoms.
Key Symptoms of
Psychopathy
Emotional/Interpersonal:
--Glib and superficial
--Egocentric and
grandiose
--Lack of remorse or
guilt
--Lack of empathy
--Deceitful and
manipulative
--Shallow emotions
Social Deviance:
--Impulsive
--Poor behavior
controls
--Need for excitement
--Lack of
responsibility
--Early behavior
problems
--Adult antisocial
behavior
GLIB AND SUPERFICIAL
Psychopaths are often voluble and verbally facile. They can be amusing
and entertaining conversationalists, ready with a clever
comeback, and
are able to tell unlikely but convincing stories that cast
themselves in
a good light. They can
be very effective in presenting themselves well
and are often very likable and charming.
One of my raters described an interview she did with a prisoner:
"I sat
down and took out my clipboard," she said, "and the
first thing this guy
told me was what beautiful eyes I had. He managed to work quite a few
compliments on my appearance into the interview, so by the time
I
wrapped things up, I was feeling unusually...well, pretty. I'm a wary
person especially on the job, and can usually spot a phony. When I got
back outside, I couldn't believe I'd fallen for a line like
that."
EGOCENTRIC AND
GRANDIOSE
Psychopaths have a narcissistic and grossly inflated view of
their own
self-worth and importance, a truly astounding egocentricity and
sense of
entitlement, and see themselves as the center of the universe,
justified
in living according to their own rules. "It's not that I
don't follow
the law," said one subject. "I follow my own
laws. I never violate my
own rules." She then proceeded to describe these rules in
terms of
"looking out for number one."
Psychopaths often claim to have specific goals but show little
appreciation regarding the qualifications required--they have no
idea of
how to achieve them and little or no chance of attaining these
goals,
given their track record and lack of sustained interest in
formal
education. The
psychopathic inmate might outline vague plans to become
a lawyer for the poor or a property tycoon. One inmate, not
particularly literate, managed to copyright the title of a book
he was
planning to write about himself, already counting the fortune
his best-
selling book would bring.
LACK OF REMORSE OR GUILT
Psychopaths show a stunning lack of concern for the effects
their
actions have on others, no matter how devastating these might
be. They
may appear completely forthright about the matter, calmly
stating that
they have no sense of guilt, are not sorry for the ensuing pain,
and
that there is no reason now to be concerned.
When asked if he had any regrets about stabbing a robbery victim
who
subsequently spent time in the hospital as a result of his
wounds, one
of our subjects replied, "Get real! He spends a few months
in hospital
and I rot here. If I
wanted to kill him I would have slit his throat.
That's the kind of guy I am; I gave him a break."
Their lack of remorse or guilt is associated with a remarkable
ability
to rationalize their behavior, to shrug off personal
responsibility for
actions that cause family, friends, and others to reel with
shock and
disappointment. They
usually have handy excuses for their behavior, and
in some cases deny that it happened at all.
LACK OF EMPATHY
Many of the characteristics displayed by psychopaths are closely
associated with a profound lack of empathy and inability to
construct a
mental and emotional "facsimile" of another person.
They seem completely
unable to "get into the skin" of others, except in a
purely intellectual
sense.
They are completely indifferent to the rights and suffering of
family
and strangers alike. If
they do maintain ties, it is only because they
see family members as possessions. One of our subjects allowed her
boyfriend to sexually molest her five-year-old daughter because
"he wore
me out. I wasn't ready
for more sex that night." The woman found it
hard to understand why the authorities took her child into care.
DECEITFUL AND
MANIPULATIVE
With their powers of imagination in gear and beamed on
themselves,
psychopaths appear amazingly unfazed by the possibility--or even
by the
certainty--of being found out.
When caught in a lie or challenged with
the truth, they seldom appear perplexed or embarrassed--they
simply
change their stories or attempt to rework the facts so they
appear to be
consistent with the lie.
The result is a series of contradictory
statements and a thoroughly confused listener.
And psychopaths seem proud of their ability to lie. When asked if she
lied easily, one woman laughed and replied, "I'm the
best. I think it's
because I sometimes admit to something bad about myself. They think,
well, if she's admitting to that she must be telling the truth
about the
rest."
SHALLOW EMOTIONS
Psychopaths seem to suffer a kind of emotional poverty that
limits the
range and depth of their feelings. At times they appear to be cold and
unemotional while nevertheless being prone to dramatic, shallow,
and
short-lived displays of feeling. Careful observers are left with the
impression they are play-acting and little is going on below the
surface.
A psychopath in our research said that he didn't really
understand what
others meant by fear.
"When I rob a bank," he said, "I notice that the
teller shakes. One
barfed all over the money. She must
have been
pretty messed up inside, but I don't know why. If someone pointed a gun
at me I guess I'd be afraid, but I wouldn't throw up." When
asked if he
ever felt his heart pound or his stomach churn, he replied,
"Of course!
I'm not a robot. I
really get pumped up when I have sex or when I get
into a fight."
IMPULSIVE
Psychopaths are unlikely to spend much time weighing the pros
and cons
of a course of action or considering the possible
consequences. "I did
it because I felt like it," is a common response. These
impulsive acts
often result from an aim that plays a central role in most of
the
psychopath's behavior: to achieve immediate satisfaction,
pleasure, or
relief.
So family members, relatives, employers, and coworkers typically
find
themselves standing around asking themselves what happened--jobs
are
quit, relationships broken off, plans changed, houses ransacked,
people
hurt, often for what appears as little more than a whim. As the husband
of a psychopath I studied put it: "She got up and left the
table, and
that was the last I saw of her for two months."
POOR BEHAVIOR CONTROLS
Besides being impulsive, psychopaths are highly reactive to
perceived
insults or slights. Most
of us have powerful inhibitory controls over
our behavior; even if we would like to respond aggressively we
are
usually able to "keep the lid on." In psychopaths,
these inhibitory
controls are weak, and the slightest provocation is sufficient
to
overcome them.
As a result, psychopaths are short-tempered or hotheaded and
tend to
respond to frustration, failure, discipline, and criticism with
sudden
violence, threats or verbal abuse. But their outbursts, extreme as they
may be, are often short-lived, and they quickly act as if
nothing out of
the ordinary has happened.
For example, an inmate in line for dinner was accidentally
bumped by
another inmate, whom he proceeded to beat senseless. The attacker then
stepped back into line as if nothing had happened. Despite the
fact that
he faced solitary confinement as punishment for the infraction,
his only
comment when asked to explain himself was, "I was pissed
off. He stepped
into my space. I did what I had to do."
Although psychopaths have a "hair trigger," their
aggressive displays
are "cold"; they lack the intense arousal experienced
when other
individuals lose their temper.
A NEED FOR EXCITEMENT
Psychopaths have an ongoing and excessive need for
excitement--they long
to live in the fast lane or "on the edge," where the
action is. In many
cases the action involves the breaking of rules.
Many psychopaths describe "doing crime" for excitement
or thrills. When
asked if she ever did dangerous things just for fun, one of our
female
psychopaths replied, "Yeah, lots of things. But what I find most
exciting is walking though airports with drugs. Christ! What a high!"
The flip side of this yen for excitement is an inability to
tolerate
routine or monotony.
Psychopaths are easily bored and are not likely to
engage in activities that are dull, repetitive, or require
intense
concentration over long periods.
LACK OF
RESPONSIBILITY
Obligations and commitments mean nothing to psychopaths. Their
good
intentions--"I'll never cheat on you again"--are
promises written on the
wind.
Horrendous credit histories, for example, reveal the lightly
taken debt,
the loan shrugged off, the empty pledge to contribute to a child's
support. Their
performance on the job is erratic, with frequent
absences, misuse of company resources, violations of company
policy, and
general untrustworthiness.
They do not honor formal or implied
commitments to people, organizations, or principles.
Psychopaths are not deterred by the possibility that their
actions mean
hardship or risk for others.
A 25-year-old inmate in our studies has
received more than 20 convictions for dangerous driving, driving
while
impaired, leaving the scene of an accident, driving without a
license,
and criminal negligence causing death. When asked if he would
continue
to drive after his release from prison, he replied, "Why
not? Sure, I
drive fast, but I'm good at it. It takes two to have an
accident."
EARLY BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS
Most psychopaths begin to exhibit serious behavioral problems at
an
early age. These might
include persistent lying, cheating, theft, arson,
truancy, substance abuse, vandalism, and/or precocious
sexuality.
Because many children exhibit some of these behaviors at one
time or
another--especially children raised in violent neighborhoods or
in
disrupted or abusive families--it is important to emphasize that
the
psychopath's history of such behaviors is more extensive and
serious
than most, even when compared with that of siblings and friends
raised
in similar settings.
One subject, serving time for fraud, told us that as a child he
would
put a noose around the neck of a cat, tie the other end of the
string to
the top of a pole, and bat the cat around the pole with a tennis
racket.
Although not all adult psychopaths exhibited this degree of
cruelty when
in their youth, virtually all routinely got themselves into a
wide range
of difficulties.
ADULT ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOR
Psychopaths see the rules and expectations of society as
inconvenient
and unreasonable impediments to their own behavioral
expression. They
make their own rules, both as children and as adults.
Many of the antisocial acts of psychopaths lead to criminal
charges and
convictions. Even within
the criminal population, psychopaths stand out,
largely because the antisocial and illegal activities of
psychopaths are
more varied and frequent than are those of other criminals. Psychopaths
tend to have no particular affinity, or "specialty,"
for one particular
type of crime but tend to try everything.
But not all psychopaths end up in jail. Many of the things they do
escape detection or prosecution, or are on "the shady side
of the law."
For them, antisocial behavior may consist of phony stock
promotions,
questionable business practices, spouse or child abuse, and so
forth.
Many others do things that, though not necessarily illegal, are
nevertheless unethical, immoral, or harmful to others: philandering
or
cheating on a spouse to name a few.
ORIGINS
Thinking about psychopathy leads us very quickly to a single
fundamental
question: Why are some people like this?
Unfortunately, the forces that produce a psychopath are still
obscure,
an admission those looking for clear answers will find
unsatisfying.
Nevertheless, there are several rudimentary theories about the
cause of
psychopathy worth considering.
At one end of the spectrum are theories
that view psychopathy as largely the product of genetic or
biological
factors (nature), whereas theories at the other end posit that
psychopathy results entirely from a faulty early social
environment
(nurture).
The position that I favor is that psychopathy emerges from a
complex--
and poorly understood--interplay between biological factors and
social
forces. It is based on
evidence that genetic factors contribute to the
biological bases of brain function and to basic personality
structure,
which in turn influence the way an individual responds to, and
interacts
with, life experiences and the social environment. In effect, the core
elements needed for the development of psychopathy--including a
profound
inability to experience empathy and the complete range of
emotions,
including fear--are in part provided by nature and possibly by
some
unknown biological influences on the developing fetus and
neonate. As a
result, the capacity for developing internal controls and
conscience and
for making emotional "connections" with others is
greatly reduced.
CAN ANYTHING BE DONE?
In their desperate search for solutions people trapped in a
destructive
and seemingly hopeless relationship with a psycbopath frequently
are
told: Quit indulging him and send him for therapy. A basic
assumption of
psychotherapy is that the patient needs and wants help for
distressing
or painful psychological and emotional problems. Successful therapy
also requires that the patient actively participate, along with
the
therapist, in the search for relief of his or her symptoms. In
short,
the patient must recognize there is a problem and must want to
do
something about it.
But here is the crux: Psychopaths don't feel they have
psychological or
emotional problems, and they see no reason to change their
behavior to
conform with societal standards they do not agree with.
Thus, in spite of more than a century of clinical study and
decades of
research, the mystery of the psychopathy still remains. Recent
developments have provided us with new insights into the nature
of this
disturbing disorder, and its borders are becoming more
defined. But
compared with other major clinical disorders, little research
has been
devoted to psychopathy, even though it is responsible for more
social
distress and disruption than all other psychiatric disorders
combined.
So, rather than trying to pick up the pieces after the damage
has been
done, it would make far greater sense to increase our efforts to
understand this perplexing disorder and to search for effective
early
interventions. The
alternatives are to continue devoting massive
resources to the prosecution, incarceration, and supervision of
psychopaths after they have committed offenses against society,
and to
continue to ignore the welfare and plight of their victims. We have to
learn how to socialize them, not resocialize them. And this will
require serious efforts at research and early intervention. It is
imperative that we continue the search for clues.
By Robert Hare, Ph.D.
Excerped from Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the
Psychopaths Among Us
(Simon &Schuster) by Robert Hare,
Ph.D. Copyright
1993 by Robert Hare.
A SURVIVAL GUIDE
Although no one is
completely immune to the devious machinations
of the psychopath,
there are some things you can do to reduce your
vulnerability.
* Know what you are dealing with. This sounds easy but in fact
can be very
difficult. All the reading in the world
cannot
immunize you from the
devastating effects of psychopaths. Everyone,
including the experts,
can be taken in, conned, and left
bewildered by
them. A good psychopath can play a
concerto on
anyone's heart
strings.
* Try not to be influenced by "props."
It is not easy to get
beyond the winning
smile, the captivating body language, the fast
talk of the typical
psychopath, all of which blind us to his or
her real
intentions. Many people find it
difficult to deal with
the intense, predatory
state" of the psychopatb. The
fixated star,
is more a prelude to
self-gratification and the exercise of power
rather than simple
interest or empathic caring.
* Don't wear blinders. Enter new relationships with your eyes
wide open. Like tile rest of us, most psychopathic
conartists and
"love-thieves" initially hide their dark side by putting their
"best foot
forward." Cracks may soon begin to appear in the mask
they wear, but once
trapped in their web, it will be difficult to
escape financially and emotionally unscathed.
* Keep your guard up in high-risk situations.
Some situations
are tailor-made for
psychopaths: singles bars, ship cruises,
foreign airports, etc.
In each case, the potential victim is
lonely, looking for a
good time, excitement, or companionship, and
there will usually be
someone willing to oblige, for a hidden
price.
* Know yourself. Psychopaths are skilled at
detecting and
ruthlessly exploiting
your weak spots. Your best defense is
to
understand what these
spots are, and to be extremely wary of
anyone who zeroes in
on them.
Unfortunately, even
the most careful precautions are no guarantee
that you will be safe
from a determined psychopath, In such cases,
all you can do is try
to exert some sort of damage control.
This
is not easy but some
suggestions may be of help:
* Obtain professional advice. Make sure the clinician you
consult is familiar
with the literature on psychopathy and has had
experience in dealing
with psychopaths.
* Don't blame yourself. Whatever the reasons for being involved
with a psychopath, it
is important that you not accept blame for
his or her attitudes
and behavior. Psychopaths play by the
same
rules--their
rules--with everyone.
* Be aware of who the victim is. Psychopaths
often give the
impression that it is
they who are suffering and that the victims
are to blame for their
misery. Don't waste your sympathy on them.
* Recognize that you are not alone. Most psychopaths have lots
of victims. It is certain that a psychopath who is
causing you
grief is also causing
grief to others.
* Be careful about power struggles. Keep in mind that
psychopaths have a
strong need for psychological and physical
control over
others. This doesn't mean that you
shouldn't stand
up for your rights,
but it will probably be difficult to do so
without risking
serious emotional or physical trauma.
* Set firm ground rules. Although power struggles with a
psychopath are risky
you may be able to set up some clear rules--
both for yourself and
for the psychopath--to make your life easier
and begin the
difficult transition from victim to a person looking
out for yourself.
* Don't expect dramatic changes. To a large
extent, the
personality of
psychopaths is "carved in stone." There is little
likelihood that
anything you do will produce fundamental,
sustained changes in
how they see themselves or others.
* Cut your losses. Most victims of psychopaths
end up feeling
confused and hopeless,
and convinced that they are largely to
blame for the problem.
The more you give in the more you will be
taken advantage of by
the psychopath's insatiable appetite for
power and control.
* Use support groups. By the time your
suspicions have led you
to seek a diagnosis,
you already know that you're in for a very
long and bumpy ride.
Make sure you have all the emotional support
you can muster.
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