Psychopath "Tells"

Discussion in 'Psychology' started by maxpi, Nov 15, 2011.

  1. maxpi

    maxpi

    I've been reading up on psychopaths. About 3% of men and 1% of women are psychopaths, also termed sociopath, same thing... All psychopaths are narcissistic but not all narcissistic people are psychopaths. I'm thinking that Psychopaths are essentially autistic people that have cobbled together enough of a personality to be charming.. They do not have a value system in place. That is the essence of Autism, inability to put together a value system and they have no empathy for man or beast. They "win" all the time because they always run their own agenda. They consider polite, cooperative people to be weaklings.... We've all encountered them but we didn't always know what we were dealing with...

    I'm finding them here and there, I don't want to have to stop and deal with any of them so I wanted to have a list of clues that would raise flags so I could just sidestep that particular type of cowpatty in the great cow pasture of life... So far I have:


    --Wide eyed stare, reptilian , a look like they are appraising you
    --Play the Victim Card early
    --don't respond to slaps until actually slapped
    --adept at juggling lots of things
    --Jargon Masters
    --sudden or intimidating intrusion of space
    --charm and charisma
    --tantrums
    --no affection for animals
    --entangling stuff. They are hypnotists actually, shock, confusion, etc., are inductions for hypnosis
    --natural Neuro Linguistic Programmers: they are about the mind manipulation

    If anybody can add to this, please, feel free to do so..
     
  2. --is any one of my ex girlfriends
     
  3. You don't have to be on the lookout for them.

    They are on the look out for victims who meet their criteria. In a casual encounter, if your response to them doesn't fit the victim profile they move on.

    A person who is not a sociopath is unlikely to recognize a victim whereas a sociopath would.

    Just my .02.

    [​IMG]

    This guy writes some good stuff, if you're into that sort of thing.
     
  4. maxpi

    maxpi

    I have a problem with one currently, he's a violent guy but at his age it's not much of a problem but he's just ANNOYING me. We're pool shooters and he's worked on my mind to where I was afraid to touch the table almost.. that led to reading up to figure out how he could do that, then I noticed that I had a few more of them in my day to day environment.. they are all lying con artists and it really is a good idea to learn to spot them and avoid them, warn them off if necessary, they only go where the victim is a pushover... One out of fifty people overall and one out of thirty three men, that's enough to where a list of tells is a worthwhile project...

    I'm going to add "rude behavior" to the list of tells, it's not exclusive to psychos, in fact I know one con artist type, she has all the tells pretty muchly but I've not seen rude behavior until I called her out and provoked her... maybe there is another area to work on, techniques for pushing their buttons and getting them to expose themselves...
     
  5. I wouldn't include the "no affection for animals" bit. My experience is that sociopaths have mentally "de-humanized" their intended prey, and for the most part all people. They will tend to still have affection for animals because they don't view them with the same level of contempt. Remember, the sociopath is adept at manipulating people into doing what he/she needs to fulfill their sense of well-being.

    The pity card is a good one and that is definitely a big part of the ploy. It's a way to manipulate the prey into letting down their guard and getting them into "their" world. That's where the charm, charisma comes into play. It just comes naturally for the sociopath to toy with another's emotions as they've been doing this most of their life.

    .
     
  6. Lornz

    Lornz

    What's with the pop psychology? Not too long ago you were targeting introverts...

    Your thoughts about autism are way off base. Autistic people have little empathy due to them not employing theory of mind, but they can still be compassionate. They prefer reason over emotions, but I see that as a positive trait. On the other hand, psychopaths have a great sense of empathy; they are without sympathy, though.

    There is a difference between not understanding social relations and exploiting others for personal gratification.
     
  7. Peri

    Peri

    "On the other hand, psychopaths have a great sense of empathy; they are without sympathy, though. "






    Actually they are exactly characterized by their LACK of empathy.
     
  8. You might want to read some professional material before forming too strong of beliefs. That whole post is very inaccurate, especially regarding autism. Googling dsm iv would be a good start.
     
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    You might want to find another place to play pool.
     
  10. +1

    And his estimates of how pervasive they (sociopaths) are is way off too. A good easy read on the subject and what to do about them if you find them in your life is The Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout. Sociopaths are actually closer to 4% (one in 25) of the population, indeed lack any empathy, use pity as their weapon of choice, and are cultivated in the U.S. by our socioeconomic path more than any other country in the world. You cannot win with a sociopath. Her advice is to walk away and burn the link.
     
    #10     Nov 15, 2011