Psychopath

Until recently when I heard the term psychopath I just thought it meant someone who acted crazy or killed people. I never thought it was an actual mental illness until I saw the movie American Psycho and am now reading the book by Bret Easton Ellis. It is estimated that about 1 % of the population is born with this biologically inherited at birth personality disorder. The sufferer lacks empathy. They hid behind a normal mask that makes them seem like everyone esle. In other words they mimic human emotion. The reality is they understand emotions of love, hate, caring but they do not have them. This way they can pretend that they have these emotions based on their experience in this world. Psychopaths feel no shame or remorse for their actions simply because they have no real feelings. According the the book the only feelings Pat Bateman has are "hate & disgust". They thrive off of manipulating others and antisocial behavior.
"Psychopaths can have a superficial charm about them, enabled by a willingness to say anything to anyone without concern for accuracy or truth. Shallow affect also describes the psychopath's tendency for genuine emotion to be short-lived, glib and egocentric, with an overall cold demeanor. "
Psychopaths use charisma, manipulation, intimidation, sexual intercourse and violence to control others and to satisfy their own needs. What is missing, in other words, are the very qualities that allow a human being to live in social harmony with others.
A study was done with psychopathic inmates with 30 facial pictures that showed emotions. Psychopaths did not score as accurately as others in recognizing the different emotions besides fear and anger. Interesting..
This is not information from the book so I would def. read it if your into that stuff. The author is so good it makes me wonder if he himself is a psychopath. Who knows we might know one..;)