How to recognize a psychopath? Three hidden signs

It is extremely difficult to determine with certainty whether a person is a psychopath. However, there are some types of behavior that may indicate that it still has the corresponding problems. A psychopath is, by definition, a person who experiences problems with understanding why other people have feelings, and this lack of empathy can be seen in certain details - for example, what kind of drinks a person likes. This article will describe three types of behavior that may indicate that a person has a propensity for psychopathy. Interesting fact: men are more prone to psychopathy than women. Now that you know this, you can begin to study three things that you should pay attention to, if you suspect that someone in your environment can be a psychopath.

They are immune to the yawn of other people

In one of the studies, the researchers gave 135 students the task: to fill in a questionnaire that was supposed to reveal their propensity for psychopathy. After that, the participants were given three videos to watch in random order. On one of them was a man with a neutral face, on the other - laughing, and on the third - yawning. And when the participants watched these videos, the researchers closely followed their faces, trying to notice any activity of the facial muscles.

Psychology of yawning

The results of the research showed something very interesting: those participants who scored the most balls during the filling of the psychopathic questionnaire also had one similar feature - emotional remoteness from what was happening, sometimes even with a clear disposition of dislike. And it was these people who were least likely to have a standard human response to yawning. In most cases, when people see someone yawning next to them, they are also drawn to a yawn. People inclined to psychopathy completely ignored any incentives caused by other participants in a video recording of a yawning person.

What are psychopaths?

Scientists note that people who have psychopathic traits are often insincere, selfish, self-confident and insensitive. The reaction (to be more exact, the lack of reaction) on a videotape with a yawning person is one of the most outstanding examples of the psychopathic feature of the lack of empathy, but this is only one element of a large and complex mosaic. If you are interested in checking whether one of your friends is "heartless", or if you suspect that someone close to you may be a psychopath, you can just yawn next to them. Or there is another way out: you can look at their account in the social network "Instagram" and calculate how many self you can find there. That allows to pass to the next item of definition of psychopathic behavior.

They make a lot of selfies

In addition, that psychopaths are not able to respond to yawning, scientists also noted that they most often post a lot of selfie. Such actions are a sign of personal violations, and the expulsion of selfies is a kind of signal for society. In one of the studies, scientists examined the relationship between the personality traits of a person and the way these people present themselves in social networks. The study involved 800 people aged 18 to 40 years, and people of different nationalities were represented. The aim of the study was to study the habit of doing selfi in connection with narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy. These three features are collectively known as the "Dark Triad", and they have become the focus of modern psychology of personality.

Questions to psychopaths

Scientists concentrated on people's personalities, asking them how attractive they are, how badly they want others to pay attention to them, how much they are concerned about morality, whether they have a tendency to manipulate people, and so on. Participants also asked how often they use social networks, including how often they post photos and how much they edit them before posting on the social network.

"The Dark Triad"

The study showed that people with a high level of self-bias (that is, those who value themselves exclusively for appearance) and narcissism spend much more time in social networks. Also, scientists have found that people prone to narcissism and psychopathy are much more likely to post selfies. Moreover, those of them that have shown high levels of self-objectification and narcissism are most likely to greatly edit their photos before posting them on social networks. It is worth noting that all these features are subclinical, that is, their presence in humans does not mean that he has a full-fledged mental disorder and his mental health is under threat.

They order black coffee

This item can easily be attributed to a person who simply wants to reduce the consumption of dairy products and sugar. One study showed that if you prefer to drink black coffee without any supplements, you will be more prone to psychopathy. The study was conducted with the participation of thousands of volunteers, and its results showed that people who prefer bitter foods and drinks, such as black coffee, are more prone to the "Dark Triad", that is, to narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy, and to everyday sadism. The list of bitter products that were used during the study included radish, celery and tonic.