Overall, the team found no evidence that psychopaths were more intelligent than people who don't have psychopathic traits. In fact, the relationship went the other way. The psychopaths, on average, scored significantly lower on intelligence tests.
Yet they may also picture someone who's highly intelligent. However, research shows that psychopaths are no more likely to be highly intelligent than the average person. So why does this misconception occur? Popular culture, with its frequent portrayals of “evil genius” characters, may be partly to blame.
It could be helpful to know that a sociopath can be extremely smart. They tend to have an above-average IQ and may want to show you just how smart they are. In fact, they may use their intelligence to figure out ways to scheme against people or manipulate circumstances in their life to get what they want.
Psychopaths are really good at getting other people to do what they want. They may play on a person's guilt while lying to get someone else to do their work for them.
And with more-and-more psychopaths having magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans or functional MRI (fMRI) scans, some correlates have been found. In short, the brain of a psychopath is different than a normal brain.
There are some areas where psychopaths may experience normal emotions and grief is one such area. In response to death of a person with whom there is a bond, some psychopaths can experience sadness and this may even bring about feelings of guilt which are otherwise impossible to feel. Crying may be a part of this.
The study showed that psychopaths have reduced connections between the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), the part of the brain responsible for sentiments such as empathy and guilt, and the amygdala, which mediates fear and anxiety.
Psychopaths have been found to be capable of feeling love, but their abilities can vary from person to person. In some cases, a psychopath's feelings may grow over time and develop into something that allows them the capacity for empathy towards others.
Like healthy people, many psychopaths love their parents, spouse, children, and pets in their own way, but they have difficulty in loving and trusting the rest of the world.
Perhaps one of the reasons psychopaths appear smart is their confidence in social situations. Psychopaths can quickly take charge and they also have a superficial charm. Both factors can lead us into thinking they are also highly intelligent — but not so, it is probably all bluster.
“They are very sensation-seeking,” he says. “They don't like to sit and read books – they end up engaging in substance abuse.” In his own interviews, he has found psychopaths to be rather inarticulate, and to swear a lot. “They talk over you in a brusque, aggressive style,” he says.
Clinical observations at ASH have suggested 4 possible subtypes of psychopathy: narcissistic, borderline, sadistic, and antisocial. Issues related to the conceptualization of psychopathy are addressed, recognizing that additional data are needed to understand the observed variations in cases of psychopathy.
Psychopaths comprise about 1% of the general population and can be productive members of society. Their lack of emotions, such as anxiety and fear, helps them to stay calm in frightening situations.
Because psychopaths don't have mutually dependent and respectful romantic relationships, they can't have a healthy sex life, either. The psychopath is often a pro at seducing and getting someone into bed, but the process is more of a calculated game than an organic emotional—and then sexual—experience.
Psychopaths are often good at mind-reading, but bad at empathy. This means they can manipulate others while remaining emotionally detached from their actions. Differentiating between mind-reading and empathy also helps us to understand conditions like autism, which are linked to social differences.
Famous psychopaths have included: Theodore (Ted) Bundy, Clyde Barrow, Bernie Madoff, Chuck Yeager, James Bond and Sherlock Holmes. The authors presented their work in a Personality Disorders: Theory, Research and Treatment paper.
If a psychopath is married, they are rarely faithful and have many affairs. The sexual encounters lack any emotional intimacy and may be brief and short-lived. They also are likely to coerce others into sexual relations.
Results showed that persons high in psychopathy were more likely to perceive fantasizing about sexual relations with other people and expressing emotions towards a person other than the partner as infidelity. But a different pattern emerged among those high in Machiavellianism.
Studies show psychopaths usually speak in a controlled manner. They don't emphasize emotional words like other people do. Their tone remains fairly neutral throughout the conversation. Researchers suspect they craft a calm demeanor intentionally because it helps them gain more control in their personal interactions.
Our current understanding of psychopathy would suggest that it is a disease (of the mind) like any other personality disorder. Psychopathy would also meet the 'lay' definition of evil, and as such is used in day- to-day conversations to be synonymous with it.
There is no single known cause of psychopathy. Genetics, trauma, brain structure, exposure to violence during childhood, and environmental conditions are possible contributing factors.
Like other types of personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder is on a spectrum, which means it can range in severity from occasional bad behaviour to repeatedly breaking the law and committing serious crimes. Psychopaths are considered to have a severe form of antisocial personality disorder.
Individuals higher in psychopathy are more likely to aspire to power (but not achievement), financial success, and acquiring material possessions (Glenn et al. 2017) , demonstrating how motivations of psychopathic individuals may match, albeit deceptively and superficially, these preferences.