ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITY: Personality disorder characterised by egocentrism, lack of conscience, impulsive behaviour, and charisma. The term antisocial personality is often used interchangeably with the terms "sociopath" and "psychopath." (1)

(For the sake of brevity, I will refer to this disorder as psychopathy from here on).

Egocentrism is a preoccupation with one's own concerns and insensitivity to the needs of others.

Psychopaths do not experience anxiety, guilt, or feelings of remorse, even when they have caused great distress in other people, although some think that secondary psychopaths do report guilt over their behaviours.

Psychopaths change jobs and relationships suddenly and can be assaultive or reckless. They often have a history of truancy from school and may have been expelled.

They feel contempt for anyone they can take advantage of.

They lack insight into the connection between their behaviour and its consequences.

They are very charming and persuasive and have good insights into the needs and weaknesses of others. They often inspire feelings of trust and confidence.

Hervey Cleckley's basic criteria of the psychopathic personality are as follows:

1. Superficial charm and good intelligence
2. Shallow emotions and lack of empathy, guilt, or remorse
3. Behaviours indicative of little life plan or order
4. Failure to learn from experience and absence of anxiety
5. Unreliability, insincerity, and untruthfulness

Another interesting fact is that psychopathic personality is undoubtedly caused by both environmental as well as genetic influences.

In an American study they found psychopathic behaviour in 1 out of 20 men and 1 out of 100 women. Pamela Jayne, MA suggests that every 1 out of 10 men is psychopathic.

Many people who have known psychopathic personalities report an unusual attractiveness about the disordered individual. Not all, but many victims have claimed that psychopaths are often quite physically attractive. Is this just a coincidence? It has also been reported by psychologists that autistic children are often very beautiful, of an unusual physical beauty. Autism is also related to Aspberger's Syndrome. All of these disorders cause a lack of empathy with other people. (This is not to say that autistic people are psychopathic, but that the disorder seems to lie within the same "spectrum" of sorts.)

Dr. Robert Hare wrote in his book Without Conscience, that psychopaths often make very intense eye contact, or have unusually piercing eyes. Other researchers have also mentioned the "reptilian gaze" of the psychopath, resembling that of a predator about to consume his or her prey. Victims of the psychopath also often refer to the "laser beam" stare.

Strangely enough, women often confuse this gaze with sexuality, and find it attractive. Many films depicting seductive yet immoral creatures such as vampires, often depict the vampire as having a very strong, psychopathic stare. Some psychologists have compared the psychopath to the vampire, or state that the psychopath has a "vampiric personality" or lifestyle, as well as being parasitic.

A therapist I work with mentioned three ways that one can often spot psychopathy in a child. She said that any one of these can be a sign: One, bedwetting (not related to any medical disorder), a fascination with fire and/or firesetting (pyromania), and cruelty to animals.

Psychopathy is basically a regression to self-centred, egocentric behaviour. Dr. Benjamin Wolman, author of Antisocial Behavior, believes that the new "epidemic" of psychopaths comes either from children who live impoverished lives with poor parenting, or rich parents with a very lax attitude in regards to discipline. Psychopathy is either genetic, sociologically influenced, or a combination of both. Many young psychopaths today are a product of society, not genetics, this is why Dr. Wolman is so concerned about the "epidemic" of psychopaths today.

Wolman also writes that sociopaths are charming and manipulative people -- they are incredibly social and magnetic. Then there are psychopaths who are also uncaring and could care less about anything except themselves. He calls these "passive psychopaths." Psychopaths don't care about anyone in general though, and the those who feign being caring and thoughtful are only acting.

A new book (The Sociopath Next Door) coming out in 2005 by Harvard psychologist Martha Stout warns us that 4% of the population is psychopathic.

1 The information for this page was compiled from the psychology textbooks Psychology In Action (Second Edition), Understanding Abnormal Behaviour (Sixth Edition), Antisocial Behavior, and The Sociopath Next Door.