A life-long criminal sexually assaults and kills nearly 100 women over 35 years. In jail, he proudly draws portraits of his victims from memory.
The creator of a Ponzi scheme bilks thousands of investors out of billions of dollars, devastating many lives.
A married shoe salesman and officer in the Jaycees performs at children’s hospitals as “Pogo the Clown.” He also drugs, assaults, and kills 33 young men, interring many in the crawl space of his home.
A common response to such crimes is disbelief. A common explanation is, “Those people are crazy.” Some may substitute “crazy” for psychopaths.
But what is psychopathy?
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.) lists seven traits, at least three of which must be present for a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). Not everyone with ASPD, though, is a psychopath. The Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL—R) rates examinees on twenty traits to reach a diagnosis.
Defined behaviorally, psychopathy is marked by irresponsibility, impulsivity, deceitfulness, a need for stimulation, a general disregard for law and the rights of others, and an absence of remorse. Neurologically, there is evidence that the psychopathic brain lacks the ability to empathize, and perhaps also to fear punishment and learn from it.
Not all psychopaths are, legally speaking, criminals. And there are degrees of the disorder. Many successful people have psychopathic traits or…
