Subtle signs someone is a psychopath

What makes a psychopath?

The simple question continues to intrigue us.

And while the following list has to be taken with a fistful of salt, the different studies provide interesting reading into psychopathic traits:

You might be a psychopath...

1. If you’re a lawyer, a CEO or a journalist

According to a survey conducted by psychologist Kevin Dutton, the Great British Psychopath Survey, there are a number of psychopathy-prone professions, including the above three as well as being a clergy person, a chef and a surgeon.

2. If you often push to get your way, regardless of the consequences

A study of two types of psychopathy – primary and secondary – found that the former can be cooperative and helpful, while the latter are destructive. The author of the study said:

People with this character trait want to get their way, have no fear of the consequences of their actions, and can withstand stress very well.

3. If you stay up late

Dr Peter K. Jonason said those who score high on ‘Dark Triad traits’ – Machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy – tend to exhibit psychopathic tendencies.

They also tend to be late sleepers.

4. If you don’t yawn when you see someone else yawn

A study published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences found that those with psychopathic tendencies were less likely to yawn when they saw another person yawning.

Reciprocal yawning has been linked to an evolutionary indication of empathy.

5. If you lack self-control and are keen on rewards

Although not all psychopaths end up as criminals, many do. Of those, a number exhibit lack of control and a tendancy to obsessively seek rewards.

6. If you like coffee

An experiment instructed 500 men and women to rate how much they liked salty, sour, bitter and sweet foods.

Their personality was then measured to see their level of narcissism, aggression and selfishness.

Results found that those who scored higher on aggression and narcissism liked bitter food more than those who did not.

Super-tasting, that is, having a high sensitivity to bitter compounds, has been consistently linked to increased emotionality in humans.

Nontasters, in contrast, report being more relaxed and placid than tasters.

…people high in sensation seeking tend to have an increased preference for spicy food.

Caffeine consumption is positively correlated with other facets of sensation seeking behavior, such as experience seeking and disinhibition.

HT Spring.org

More:The 10 professions with the most psychopaths

More:The simple way to spot if someone might be a psychopath