You may have heard of psychopaths in movies or TV shows, but did you know that they can be found in real life too? Psychopathy is a personality disorder characterized by a lack of empathy, a manipulative nature, and a constant need for excitement. While psychopaths can be found in both men and women, it’s often harder to spot a female psychopath due to societal expectations of women being nurturing and caring.
So, how can you tell if a woman is a psychopath? Experts suggest looking out for certain red flags. One of the top indicators is a lack of empathy. Psychopaths are unable to feel remorse or guilt for their actions, so they may not show any sympathy towards others who are in pain or distress.
New research reveals that ladies have one obvious tell to separate the sometimes-sour sweeties from the seriously psycho — whether they move their heads when they talk.
“Nonverbal behaviors (i.e., head dynamics) represent an important, yet understudied, form of communication that may enhance our ability to detect certain forms of psychopathology, including psychopathy,” said study authors from the University of New Mexico.
Using an automated detection algorithm, the research team determined that women who hold their heads perfectly still or with “minimal movement” while in conversation possess high levels of psychopathic propensities.
“Here, we utilized an automated technique to detect, extract and analyze head position and dynamics in relation to psychopathic traits in a sample of incarcerated women,” said scientists.
For their findings, analysts assessed the nonverbal tendencies of 213 female inmates.
The participants ranged in age from 21 and 57, and were detained at a medium- and maximum-security correctional facility in the US.
Researchers defined “psychopathic traits” as a combination of interpersonal dysfunctions such as manipulation, pathological lying, callousness, lack of remorse, impulsivity, irresponsibility and criminal versatility.
The investigators observed video-recorded interviews of each gal in the study.
“The head position was extracted frame-by-frame from [the] interviews,” explained the authors.
“Average head position (AHP) was calculated using the spatial information from all extracted frames.”
Head positions in each shot were categorized into one of three identified movement partitions: minimal, moderate, and extreme movement.
The less movement, the more psychopathic.
The probe also included a “Hare Psychopathy Checklist — Revised” exam — a common assessment developed in the 1970s by Canadian psychologist Robert D. Hare.
The 20-item checklist measured participants’ antisocial tendencies from 1 to 40 — the lower the score, the better. Folk earning a score of 30 or higher are considered psychopathic.
Dudes aren’t in the clear — the eerie findings line up with previous studies on imprisoned men, which found that males who steady their noggins are often psychos, too.
But surprisingly, lady loons are more common than most would think.
In conclusion, spotting a female psychopath can be challenging, but it is not impossible. By paying attention to their behavior and looking out for red flags, you can better assess whether or not someone may have psychopathic tendencies. Remember to trust your instincts and seek help if you feel that someone in your life may be a psychopath.