10 Subtle Signs of a Psychopath

Hello everyone and welcome to Top Tank. Today we are going to learn about 10

subtle

signs

of a

psychopath

. Now let's start social domination number one. How do

psychopath

s interact with the world? Do they communicate the same way you do A 2019 review of the journal of psycholinguistic research asked the same questions to find an answer, they compiled 34 different studies on psychopathic communication, but what did they find? Just think about an average conversation, most conversations are friendly and casual, two friends chatting over coffee, coworkers making fun of their boss, strangers exchanging. It's small talk, but some conversations are more competitive in business settings, For example, you may fight for power and status if you say too much, your opponent takes over, so you choose your words very carefully.

A psychopath sees every conversation as a competition. They crave social dominance, they need power in every relationship they establish, as if it were a commercial transaction, they set traps, withhold information and manipulate other people. Social interactions are in the mind of a psychopath. There is a hierarchy of power and status, and the psychopath wants to be at the top. How can you recognize this hunger for power in another person when talking to a psychopath? You may feel like you are defensive. You may be outclassed at every turn. They can notice every mistake you make or point out every little contradiction.

If you make a mistake, they will let you know because your mistakes give them power. Number two, massive generalizations for a psychopath. Everyone is their enemy, so they are always looking for reasons to criticize their community, their country or the whole world. Okay, let's say you see. Someone throws an empty can on the ground, how would you react? You may think that this person is trashed, so she must be careless and disrespectful. You like most people to judge people by their actions, but a psychopath can generalize anything. This comes from the same 2019 review, Psychopaths. They are prone to overgeneralization, especially if it is something negative, instead of judging a particular person, they criticize larger groups and communities, if one person litters, for example, they do not blame the individual, they assume that the entire city She is careless and disrespectful.

Listen to these huge generalizations. pay attention to radical assumptions and narrow opinions because psychopaths assume the world is full of terrible people number three lack of persuasive fluency psychopaths speak differently than most people this comes from a 2016 study in justice magazine criminal and behavior In this study the researchers interviewed a handful of psychopaths who observed these interviews, the researchers looked for patterns in phrasing and word choice, so what did they find? There are differences in the way a psychopath speaks. The researchers noted an increase in language disfluencies. Disfluencies are interruptions or interruptions in speech. Some people stutter.

Others. People use filler words like um or disfluencies usually mean stress or anxiety, the average person for example uses more filler words when they are nervous, their mind races, their heart rate skyrockets, so they have a hard time expressing themselves. clearly, oh, but a psychopath does things differently during In the interviews, the psychopaths used a specific type of disfluency, they did not stutter, they did not fill their speech with nonsense and likes. In fact, the researchers found very few stress-related words in their speech. Instead, a psychopath will use phrases like you know or to be honest.

These are still disfluencies, but they serve a different purpose. They don't fill space or save time. They are a

subtle

form of persuasion. Psychopaths can use these phrases to manipulate their listeners and gain power in the conversation. Personal pronouns number four, our 2016 study. discovered another important sign of psychopathy during their interviews most participants talked about various people they talked about their family and their friends they talked about people at work they told stories about others and referred to them by Their name psychopaths, on the other hand, only mentioned themselves, made very few references to other people, rarely mentioned family or friends, and barely showed any emotional attachment to others.

The most compelling evidence is the use of pronouns. The researchers counted exactly how many pronouns each interviewee used and which ones were used most frequently. Our psychopaths talked about themselves much more than most people, using so many personal pronouns that researchers call this subtle sign a reliable predictor of psychopathy, so next time you have a conversation, pay attention to the pronouns, right? How often do people say I and I? There is nothing wrong with talking about yourself, but a psychopath will not talk about anything else temporary tools number five, how do psychopaths treat their loved ones?

In our 2019 review, researchers explored how psychopaths view the people in their life, just think about this, why do you do it? friends with other people maybe you enjoy their company you can gather energy from the enthusiasm of others maybe you want to share your passions with people who understand you there are many reasons to make friends but psychopaths only have one they bond with others because they need some They can be a small favor it can be a connection or a social help there is always something to gain if you have nothing to offer a psychopath will leave the relationship because he sees his friends and family as tools as soon as you are no longer useful a psychopath will give you will throw away number six inappropriate emotions do you know someone who laughs at sad stories someone who cries when they're supposed to be smiling psychopaths rarely express their emotions they prefer to be emotionally distant many psychopaths discuss difficult topics without showing it? a hint of emotion Their emotional detachment is also a sign of psychopathy, but what happens when they show their emotions?

Well, let's say your friend tells you a sad story from his childhood. You're on the verge of tears, but he doesn't cry. In fact, they are laughing, we call this an inappropriate emotion. When a psychopath has a reaction, her external emotions may contradict her internal experiences. In other words, they can laugh when they want to cry. Biological needs number 7. Everyone has social and emotional needs. you crave companionship you crave physical affection you feel frustrated when someone ignores you because you want to be heard These are all valid needs that people feel regularly but a psychopath avoids their social or emotional needs many psychopaths pretend those needs don't exist they just talk about their basic evolutionary needs They need food They need water They need money They see the world through concrete desires, not social or emotional problems, so why do they think like that because psychopaths want to appear strong at all times that they want people to see?

For a psychopath, considering them fearless and resilient expressing their emotions is dangerous, it's a sign of weakness, that's why psychopaths avoid their emotions as often as they can number eight, strategic avoidance, do you know someone who leaves out important parts of their emotions? stories? Psychopaths use this trick to bait people and give them power in the conversation by leaving out details. They have all the cards. They have something you want to hear and they decide. When you hear it in the mind of a psychopath, this is a way to achieve social dominance. say something important happened on the news you didn't find out so you ask your friend but he goes around the topic omitting the most important details you keep asking for more but they keep tricking you this person is playing with you they know what you want but they They don't want to give it to you.

It is a subtle form of manipulation and self-contradiction number nine is common among psychopaths. Have you ever heard someone contradict themselves? Psychopaths contradict their own opinions, refute them, and retract their own opinions. their own arguments seconds after converting them, for example, a psychopath might say that money can never buy happiness and then a couple of minutes later they obsess over how much money they make, many psychopaths don't realize that they contradict themselves because His opinions are impulsive. and temporary psychopaths have no problem lying, so they say what catches their attention at the moment, not what they really believe, unfortunately, it is difficult to call them out if you say something, a psychopath can immediately become defensive, they give return to the argument and they will direct all their frustration at you, so keep an eye out for major contradictions.

Look how many times their opinions come and go. It can happen more than you realize. Number 10 emotional breakdowns. Psychopaths repress their emotions. They suppress their feelings for months or For years they ignore their problems, run away from conflicts, and disconnect from anyone who tells them to change. Ultimately, those repressed emotions have to escape, and when they do, the result can be catastrophic. Let's call this an emotional breakdown. An emotional breakdown can be triggered by something small and insignificant, but that small moment releases a cascade of powerful feelings. A psychopath can get angry for no reason, they will insult you, yell at you or get physical with you, they can fall into a depression of despair, crying for hours on end.

Landslides can be scary, uncomfortable, and dangerous. If someone you know experiences emotional landslides, they could be a psychopath. Hey, thanks for watching Top Think and be sure to subscribe because there's more awesome content on the way.