The Influence Of Psychopaths

Psychopaths are misunderstood in societies across the world, which is perhaps why so many of them end up in prisons, or worse, as our corporate leaders. Media portrayal clashes with psychologists’ efforts to dispel misconceptions and restrains stakeholders, like parole officers or colleagues of psychopathic leaders, from understanding how to prevent the destruction that psychopaths can potentially cause. However, the first step in effectively improving how we interact with psychopaths is properly identifying them. Many people either do not know what a psychopath actually is, or have skewed interpretations of them. When we can accurately identify a psychopath, we become one step closer to preventing these people from receding into aggressive …show more content…
It is true that psychopaths can have aggressive tendencies, but their more prevalent and defining qualities include a lack of empathy, callousness, superficial charm, sexual promiscuity, and an inclination to pathological lying (Lilienfeld & Fowler, 2016). Simplified, psychopaths do not have a conscience. The contrite feelings most of us experience when we do something wrong are unfamiliar to a psychopath. Because they are aware that this lack of morality is unacceptable, most will mimic the ethical standards that the rest of us hold in order to blend in. For example, after a tragedy, a psychopath will likely atch the reactions of others in order to mirror their emotions and seem “normal.” Psychopaths are also highly manipulative and will not feel guilty when they use others to achieve their goals. They learn at an early age to conceal these motivations and become skilled at the art of conning others for their own benefit. The difference between a psychopath and a sociopath, terms that some use synonymously, is that while a sociopath will not hide their indifference to others’ feelings, psychopaths use emotional masks, charm, and deliberate planning to get their way. (Robinson, …show more content…
A psychopath’s ability to recognize emotion and then detach themselves from it allows them to convince others they care and yet still be able to take advantage of them. What people find to be the most troubling and ironic when dealing with psychopaths is that they are often likable due to their confidence and compelling charm. Psychopaths will blame-shift when confronted with criticism about their deceptive behavior, using techniques such as suggesting that a person is just reading too far into things, or that the other person doesn’t want to take responsibility for their failures. Undiagnosed psychopaths are often seen by those who know them as eccentric due to their off-the-cuff yet extremely driven manner. It’s important to be wary of these more “mild” psychopaths so that we may not be exploited by