Heck, Coping with Difficult People describes most of the psychos on your list. For that matter, we could be talking about my goddamn mother-in-law.
-- Uh, posting on ET (, masquerading to be normal and friendly,) enquiring as to how the prey manages to discover him, so that they become more effective at their game? :eek:
Paticia Highsmith's Ripley is the proto fictional psychopath. He is controlled and manipulative but not without compassion for his fellow man. Empathy, no, but if they fit his profile of 'worthwhile individual' he has time for them. He has high standards and those that do not live up to them are insignificant. He does not see human's as being particularly special as a species generally. He likes to play games and sees most people as stupid. He is not gratuitous with his violence and is not a sadist. It's just that his skewed logic cannot understand the motives for most people's lives. He is a survivor but takes extreme risks when necessary. In Highsmith's books (five novels, the 'Riplaid') he comes out as antihero. Highsmith was not a particularly warm person herself (read Beautiful Shadow) and loved her Ripley character. Cultured, attractive, suave, intelligent, cold and potentially lethal. Ripley has higher standards than the masses. He is a great connoisseur. A lover of fine things. But ultimatley an extreme and disturbing man. Think of the butchers of the Third Reich and compare them to Ripley. There's a little Ripley in all of us.
I meant to say "superficial empathy", but apparently I skipped a word. It's a matter of semantics, I guess. They do possess the ability to put themselves in other's shoes, which is why they are so good at manipulating others. They are severely lacking in compassion, though. Some also like to use the term "cold empathy", which I find quite fitting. Autistic individuals, on the other hand, (usually) lack the ability to read others, but can relate to emotion when they understand the context.
Yes, they can see the silly motivations in general humanity. They know what most people want/need. Don't we all. Most people are very predictable.
Oh, I would also add they have a grandiose sense of their own importance. A sort of anti-humility. They think themselves the centre of the universe. They think they are gods.
Well, people suffering from autism will have great difficulty with this. That is why the OP is completely wrong. They are better at it than just seeing "silly motivations in general humanity". If you ever get to know a sociopath -- you will become surprised by how accurately he/she can read others. This requires a fairly developed theory of mind, which indicates a certain level of empathy.
Empathy means to share the feelings of others. This is different to understanding their compulsions and needs. The former is identifying with their sorry/joy/guilt etc. etc, the latter understanding the reasons for it. It is more of a logical insight.
I read an interview with Simon Baron-Cohen, in which he said that psychopaths have functioning cognitive empathy, but lack the affective part. It is the opposite for autistic people. Understanding the feelings of others cognitively would fall in the category of empathy. It is a matter of semantics, though. The definitions are a little muddy. Most speak of empathy when they actually mean sympathy.