Do Psychopaths Really Understand Emotions?
It may depend on their childhood.
Reviewed by Ekua Hagan
KEY POINTS-
Individuals with psychopathic tendencies show a lack of empathy, but they can also be charming and manipulative.
Low empathy could stem from low awareness of others' emotions, while manipulation skills seem to suggest high awareness of others' emotions.
A study shows lower emotional awareness in those with greater psychopathy levels, but only if they also experienced childhood abuse/neglect.
Many high-psychopathy individuals without childhood abuse/neglect had high levels of emotional awareness, possibly helping them be manipulative.
When you hear the word psychopath, some scary people come to mind. In the extreme, psychopathy can be associated with torture, murder, and an utter disregard for the well-being of others.
An open question, however, is why psychopaths do not show empathy or remorse for the suffering they cause in others. One possibility is that they have low emotional awareness. In other words, they could fail to show empathy simply because they don’t recognize or pay attention to how others are feeling; that is, they may not really know about or understand others' emotions.
But another possibility is that they truly don’t care. In other words, they might be very aware that another person is suffering, but simply feel no desire to help them (and perhaps even enjoy it).
In a recent study [1], we tried to answer this question by measuring both emotional awareness and psychopathic tendencies in the same individuals. This allowed us to test whether higher psychopathy scores were associated with lower emotional awareness scores, or whether high-psychopathy individuals were just as aware of emotions as anyone else.
What did we find? As is often the case in research, the answer wasn’t a simple “yes” or “no.” Instead, as I will explain below, it appeared to depend on whether an individual experienced childhood maltreatment, such as abuse or neglect.
Before conducting the study, we weren’t sure what we might find. This is because some psychopathic traits seem to indicate high emotional awareness, while others suggest low emotional awareness.
For example, some psychopaths can be very charming and manipulative. This suggests they know how others are feeling and are good at exploiting that knowledge for their own gain. These so-called “successful psychopaths” can also attain corporate leadership positions that require good social and emotional skills [2].
On the other hand, many psychopaths have trouble paying attention to things that aren’t helpful in serving their own selfish goals [3]. So, you might think they are simply unaware of others’ emotions due to a lack of attention. Psychopaths show other traits linked to low emotional awareness as well, such as impulsivity and lack of reflective thinking [4, 5].
But there is also a third possibility: that some types of psychopathy are associated with low emotional awareness, while others are not. Although less frequently discussed outside of research settings, psychologists actually distinguish between two types of psychopathy: so-called “primary” and “secondary” psychopathy [6]. A major difference between these two types of psychopathy is in how a person’s traits were acquired.
Defining Primary vs. Secondary Psychopathy
People with primary psychopathy may have been “born that way". In other words, they may have genes that promote psychopathic personality traits, and no specific event may have caused them to start acting the way they do.
In contrast, secondary psychopathy may be caused by childhood trauma, such as abuse/neglect. In other words, psychopathic tendencies in such individuals may develop in response to traumatic events as a coping mechanism. To be clear, the vast majority of people who experience childhood trauma do not become psychopaths, but this does appear to happen on occasion.
People with primary and secondary psychopathy also show important behavioral differences. For example, individuals with primary psychopathy tend to be more socially successful, deceitful, ruthless, and manipulative, and their emotional responses appear dampened.
In contrast, those with secondary psychopathy can experience intense negative emotion (e.g., anger, frustration), they show greater risk-taking, impulsivity, short-term thinking, and antisocial/violent criminal behavior, and they often end up in prison [7]. When considering these differences, one might therefore think secondary psychopathy is more likely to involve low emotional awareness.
To examine this possibility, our study also gathered information about whether individuals had experienced childhood maltreatment, whether they felt intense negative emotions, and whether they showed other traits and behaviors consistent with primary vs. secondary psychopathy.
The Role of Childhood Abuse and Neglect
Our findings showed that emotional awareness was lower in people with stronger psychopathic tendencies, but only if they had experienced childhood abuse/neglect. This and other results suggested that emotional awareness was only lower in those with secondary psychopathy. In contrast, many people with primary psychopathy (i.e., high psychopathy without childhood trauma) still showed high levels of emotional awareness.
These results help make sense of certain aspects of psychopathy that might seem contradictory. For example, one might ask how a psychopath can be skilled at manipulating others’ emotions but also unaware of those emotions. Our study suggests that both of these things probably aren’t true for any single psychopath and that the specific type of psychopathy matters.
One type of psychopath may have high emotional awareness, and this may help them ruthlessly “manipulate their way to the top” in corporate positions through charm and deceit (primary psychopathy). Another type of psychopath may have low emotional awareness, act on their own emotions without reflecting on them, and make risky/impulsive choices that land them in prison (secondary psychopathy).
Our findings also link together with other work to highlight ways low emotional awareness in secondary psychopathy could result from early learning processes. If a child is left alone all day (parental neglect), or if they most often observe anger and feel fear/shame (in the context of abuse), then they would be expected to have trouble understanding emotions. This is because they simply wouldn’t get to see and experience a wide enough range of emotions in themselves and others to learn from.
In support of this idea, a previous study in our lab [8] specifically showed that emotional awareness was lower in people who had experienced abuse/neglect. In this light, one might even gain a bit of empathy for individuals with secondary psychopathy, as their undesirable traits may stem largely from getting “unlucky” with poor parenting and a lack of opportunities for social/emotional learning.
It's important to keep in mind that this was just a single study and that it recruited volunteer participants from around a university. While some participants had high psychopathy scores, this is still different than studying prisoners or ruthless businessmen. More research is needed to make sure we would see the same pattern when studying such individuals.
That being said, it is helpful to see how the puzzle of psychopathy, empathy, and emotional awareness may fit together and how childhood maltreatment may lead to these dangerous patterns of behavior. Exploring ways to improve emotional awareness in individuals with secondary psychopathy, as is done in some psychotherapies, may also be important as we seek ways to minimize its negative impact.
It may depend on their childhood.
Reviewed by Ekua Hagan
KEY POINTS-
Individuals with psychopathic tendencies show a lack of empathy, but they can also be charming and manipulative.
Low empathy could stem from low awareness of others' emotions, while manipulation skills seem to suggest high awareness of others' emotions.
A study shows lower emotional awareness in those with greater psychopathy levels, but only if they also experienced childhood abuse/neglect.
Many high-psychopathy individuals without childhood abuse/neglect had high levels of emotional awareness, possibly helping them be manipulative.
When you hear the word psychopath, some scary people come to mind. In the extreme, psychopathy can be associated with torture, murder, and an utter disregard for the well-being of others.
An open question, however, is why psychopaths do not show empathy or remorse for the suffering they cause in others. One possibility is that they have low emotional awareness. In other words, they could fail to show empathy simply because they don’t recognize or pay attention to how others are feeling; that is, they may not really know about or understand others' emotions.
But another possibility is that they truly don’t care. In other words, they might be very aware that another person is suffering, but simply feel no desire to help them (and perhaps even enjoy it).
In a recent study [1], we tried to answer this question by measuring both emotional awareness and psychopathic tendencies in the same individuals. This allowed us to test whether higher psychopathy scores were associated with lower emotional awareness scores, or whether high-psychopathy individuals were just as aware of emotions as anyone else.
What did we find? As is often the case in research, the answer wasn’t a simple “yes” or “no.” Instead, as I will explain below, it appeared to depend on whether an individual experienced childhood maltreatment, such as abuse or neglect.
Before conducting the study, we weren’t sure what we might find. This is because some psychopathic traits seem to indicate high emotional awareness, while others suggest low emotional awareness.
For example, some psychopaths can be very charming and manipulative. This suggests they know how others are feeling and are good at exploiting that knowledge for their own gain. These so-called “successful psychopaths” can also attain corporate leadership positions that require good social and emotional skills [2].
On the other hand, many psychopaths have trouble paying attention to things that aren’t helpful in serving their own selfish goals [3]. So, you might think they are simply unaware of others’ emotions due to a lack of attention. Psychopaths show other traits linked to low emotional awareness as well, such as impulsivity and lack of reflective thinking [4, 5].
But there is also a third possibility: that some types of psychopathy are associated with low emotional awareness, while others are not. Although less frequently discussed outside of research settings, psychologists actually distinguish between two types of psychopathy: so-called “primary” and “secondary” psychopathy [6]. A major difference between these two types of psychopathy is in how a person’s traits were acquired.
Defining Primary vs. Secondary Psychopathy
People with primary psychopathy may have been “born that way". In other words, they may have genes that promote psychopathic personality traits, and no specific event may have caused them to start acting the way they do.
In contrast, secondary psychopathy may be caused by childhood trauma, such as abuse/neglect. In other words, psychopathic tendencies in such individuals may develop in response to traumatic events as a coping mechanism. To be clear, the vast majority of people who experience childhood trauma do not become psychopaths, but this does appear to happen on occasion.
People with primary and secondary psychopathy also show important behavioral differences. For example, individuals with primary psychopathy tend to be more socially successful, deceitful, ruthless, and manipulative, and their emotional responses appear dampened.
In contrast, those with secondary psychopathy can experience intense negative emotion (e.g., anger, frustration), they show greater risk-taking, impulsivity, short-term thinking, and antisocial/violent criminal behavior, and they often end up in prison [7]. When considering these differences, one might therefore think secondary psychopathy is more likely to involve low emotional awareness.
To examine this possibility, our study also gathered information about whether individuals had experienced childhood maltreatment, whether they felt intense negative emotions, and whether they showed other traits and behaviors consistent with primary vs. secondary psychopathy.
The Role of Childhood Abuse and Neglect
Our findings showed that emotional awareness was lower in people with stronger psychopathic tendencies, but only if they had experienced childhood abuse/neglect. This and other results suggested that emotional awareness was only lower in those with secondary psychopathy. In contrast, many people with primary psychopathy (i.e., high psychopathy without childhood trauma) still showed high levels of emotional awareness.
These results help make sense of certain aspects of psychopathy that might seem contradictory. For example, one might ask how a psychopath can be skilled at manipulating others’ emotions but also unaware of those emotions. Our study suggests that both of these things probably aren’t true for any single psychopath and that the specific type of psychopathy matters.
One type of psychopath may have high emotional awareness, and this may help them ruthlessly “manipulate their way to the top” in corporate positions through charm and deceit (primary psychopathy). Another type of psychopath may have low emotional awareness, act on their own emotions without reflecting on them, and make risky/impulsive choices that land them in prison (secondary psychopathy).
Our findings also link together with other work to highlight ways low emotional awareness in secondary psychopathy could result from early learning processes. If a child is left alone all day (parental neglect), or if they most often observe anger and feel fear/shame (in the context of abuse), then they would be expected to have trouble understanding emotions. This is because they simply wouldn’t get to see and experience a wide enough range of emotions in themselves and others to learn from.
In support of this idea, a previous study in our lab [8] specifically showed that emotional awareness was lower in people who had experienced abuse/neglect. In this light, one might even gain a bit of empathy for individuals with secondary psychopathy, as their undesirable traits may stem largely from getting “unlucky” with poor parenting and a lack of opportunities for social/emotional learning.
It's important to keep in mind that this was just a single study and that it recruited volunteer participants from around a university. While some participants had high psychopathy scores, this is still different than studying prisoners or ruthless businessmen. More research is needed to make sure we would see the same pattern when studying such individuals.
That being said, it is helpful to see how the puzzle of psychopathy, empathy, and emotional awareness may fit together and how childhood maltreatment may lead to these dangerous patterns of behavior. Exploring ways to improve emotional awareness in individuals with secondary psychopathy, as is done in some psychotherapies, may also be important as we seek ways to minimize its negative impact.
Do Psychopaths Really Understand Emotions?
It may depend on their childhood.
Reviewed by Ekua Hagan
KEY POINTS-
Individuals with psychopathic tendencies show a lack of empathy, but they can also be charming and manipulative.
Low empathy could stem from low awareness of others' emotions, while manipulation skills seem to suggest high awareness of others' emotions.
A study shows lower emotional awareness in those with greater psychopathy levels, but only if they also experienced childhood abuse/neglect.
Many high-psychopathy individuals without childhood abuse/neglect had high levels of emotional awareness, possibly helping them be manipulative.
When you hear the word psychopath, some scary people come to mind. In the extreme, psychopathy can be associated with torture, murder, and an utter disregard for the well-being of others.
An open question, however, is why psychopaths do not show empathy or remorse for the suffering they cause in others. One possibility is that they have low emotional awareness. In other words, they could fail to show empathy simply because they don’t recognize or pay attention to how others are feeling; that is, they may not really know about or understand others' emotions.
But another possibility is that they truly don’t care. In other words, they might be very aware that another person is suffering, but simply feel no desire to help them (and perhaps even enjoy it).
In a recent study [1], we tried to answer this question by measuring both emotional awareness and psychopathic tendencies in the same individuals. This allowed us to test whether higher psychopathy scores were associated with lower emotional awareness scores, or whether high-psychopathy individuals were just as aware of emotions as anyone else.
What did we find? As is often the case in research, the answer wasn’t a simple “yes” or “no.” Instead, as I will explain below, it appeared to depend on whether an individual experienced childhood maltreatment, such as abuse or neglect.
Before conducting the study, we weren’t sure what we might find. This is because some psychopathic traits seem to indicate high emotional awareness, while others suggest low emotional awareness.
For example, some psychopaths can be very charming and manipulative. This suggests they know how others are feeling and are good at exploiting that knowledge for their own gain. These so-called “successful psychopaths” can also attain corporate leadership positions that require good social and emotional skills [2].
On the other hand, many psychopaths have trouble paying attention to things that aren’t helpful in serving their own selfish goals [3]. So, you might think they are simply unaware of others’ emotions due to a lack of attention. Psychopaths show other traits linked to low emotional awareness as well, such as impulsivity and lack of reflective thinking [4, 5].
But there is also a third possibility: that some types of psychopathy are associated with low emotional awareness, while others are not. Although less frequently discussed outside of research settings, psychologists actually distinguish between two types of psychopathy: so-called “primary” and “secondary” psychopathy [6]. A major difference between these two types of psychopathy is in how a person’s traits were acquired.
Defining Primary vs. Secondary Psychopathy
People with primary psychopathy may have been “born that way". In other words, they may have genes that promote psychopathic personality traits, and no specific event may have caused them to start acting the way they do.
In contrast, secondary psychopathy may be caused by childhood trauma, such as abuse/neglect. In other words, psychopathic tendencies in such individuals may develop in response to traumatic events as a coping mechanism. To be clear, the vast majority of people who experience childhood trauma do not become psychopaths, but this does appear to happen on occasion.
People with primary and secondary psychopathy also show important behavioral differences. For example, individuals with primary psychopathy tend to be more socially successful, deceitful, ruthless, and manipulative, and their emotional responses appear dampened.
In contrast, those with secondary psychopathy can experience intense negative emotion (e.g., anger, frustration), they show greater risk-taking, impulsivity, short-term thinking, and antisocial/violent criminal behavior, and they often end up in prison [7]. When considering these differences, one might therefore think secondary psychopathy is more likely to involve low emotional awareness.
To examine this possibility, our study also gathered information about whether individuals had experienced childhood maltreatment, whether they felt intense negative emotions, and whether they showed other traits and behaviors consistent with primary vs. secondary psychopathy.
The Role of Childhood Abuse and Neglect
Our findings showed that emotional awareness was lower in people with stronger psychopathic tendencies, but only if they had experienced childhood abuse/neglect. This and other results suggested that emotional awareness was only lower in those with secondary psychopathy. In contrast, many people with primary psychopathy (i.e., high psychopathy without childhood trauma) still showed high levels of emotional awareness.
These results help make sense of certain aspects of psychopathy that might seem contradictory. For example, one might ask how a psychopath can be skilled at manipulating others’ emotions but also unaware of those emotions. Our study suggests that both of these things probably aren’t true for any single psychopath and that the specific type of psychopathy matters.
One type of psychopath may have high emotional awareness, and this may help them ruthlessly “manipulate their way to the top” in corporate positions through charm and deceit (primary psychopathy). Another type of psychopath may have low emotional awareness, act on their own emotions without reflecting on them, and make risky/impulsive choices that land them in prison (secondary psychopathy).
Our findings also link together with other work to highlight ways low emotional awareness in secondary psychopathy could result from early learning processes. If a child is left alone all day (parental neglect), or if they most often observe anger and feel fear/shame (in the context of abuse), then they would be expected to have trouble understanding emotions. This is because they simply wouldn’t get to see and experience a wide enough range of emotions in themselves and others to learn from.
In support of this idea, a previous study in our lab [8] specifically showed that emotional awareness was lower in people who had experienced abuse/neglect. In this light, one might even gain a bit of empathy for individuals with secondary psychopathy, as their undesirable traits may stem largely from getting “unlucky” with poor parenting and a lack of opportunities for social/emotional learning.
It's important to keep in mind that this was just a single study and that it recruited volunteer participants from around a university. While some participants had high psychopathy scores, this is still different than studying prisoners or ruthless businessmen. More research is needed to make sure we would see the same pattern when studying such individuals.
That being said, it is helpful to see how the puzzle of psychopathy, empathy, and emotional awareness may fit together and how childhood maltreatment may lead to these dangerous patterns of behavior. Exploring ways to improve emotional awareness in individuals with secondary psychopathy, as is done in some psychotherapies, may also be important as we seek ways to minimize its negative impact.
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