http://www.psychologytoday.com/htdocs/prod/ptoarticle/pto-19940101-
000027.asp
PREDATORS
The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us
By Hare, Robert -- Publication Date: Jan/Feb 94
Summary: Surveys ways to find predators before they find you. The
male and female psychopaths who haunt our everyday lives at work, at
home and in relationships; Discussion of the key traits and behaviors
of psychopaths, such as lack of remorse or guilt and adult antisocial
behavior; Origins; Solutions; Excerpted from 'Without Conscience: The
Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us.' INSET: A survival
guide (how to reduce your vulnerability).
effrey Dalmer. Ted Bundy. Hannibal Lechter. These are the psychopaths
whose stunning lack of conscience we see in teh 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.
PHOTOS: Pictures of psychopaths
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.
o 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.
o 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.
o 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.
o 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.
o 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:
o Obtain professional advice. Make sure the clinician you consult is
familiar with the literature on psychopathy and has had experience in
dealing with psychopaths.
o 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.
o 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.
o 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.
o 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.
o 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.
o 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.
o 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.
o 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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