20 Signs of a Psychopath: Traits & Characteristics

What Is a Psychopath?

Psychopaths have a severe form of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), a serious and chronic personality disorder. All personality disorders interfere with a person’s mood, thinking, decision-making, and behavior, as well as affect their ability to function, interact with others, and maintain close, healthy relationships.² Both sociopaths and psychopaths describe individuals with more severe forms of APSD, but psychopaths represent the most extreme and dangerous form of ASPD.^1,3,4

Psychopaths often engage in criminal, cruel, or socially irresponsible behavior, including lying, stealing, or being violent or abusive toward others. Because psychopaths have no empathy for a person’s needs or rights, they also feel no remorse—even when their actions harm others. These combined traits and deficits mean that psychopaths are likely to engage in crime, violence, abusive behavior, and additional forms of cruel or dangerous behaviors.^1,3,4,6

20 Signs of a Psychopath

Many psychopathic people are pathological liars and master manipulators, which can make it much more difficult to spot the signs of a psychopath. Psychopathic traits and characteristics often become more obvious when you have more frequent interactions with a person, at which point the symptoms of psychopathy may become more evident.

Here are 20 signs of a psychopath to look out for:

1. Superficial Charm & Charisma

Psychopaths can be very charming, charismatic, and persuasive people. This can be especially so with female psychopaths, who are more social and emotional than their male counterparts. While they lack true empathy, they are often very skilled at “faking” prosocial behaviors like flattery, kindness, and false sympathy. They may use these skills to get what they want from people, but eventually, they are unable to keep up with the act. Over time, the charm and charisma will probably wear off, unmasking an underlying coldness or cruelty.^1,6

2. Unnecessary Cruelty or a Mean Streak

Once the superficial charm and charisma wear off, a psychopath will often demonstrate moments of cruelty or meanness. These may include gossip, biting comments, lashing out aggressively at others, or being entertained when they hurt or embarrass someone. Cruelty and meanness are hallmark signs of a psychopath and typically lead to a pattern of violating the rights of others.^1,3,6

3. Lies, Exaggerations, & Dishonesty

Many psychopaths are prone to pathological lying. They may exaggerate the truth to get their way, inflate their ego, or get others to think, feel, or do what they want them to. Normal people generally feel guilty or at least a little worried about being caught in a lie, but a psychopath’s lack of conscience makes lying a guilt-free activity. In fact, deception is even a listed symptom of ASPD and can show up as a person ‘faking’ remorse and concern for other people.^2,6,7

4. Lack of Accountability & Playing the Blame Game

Psychopaths commit some of the cruelest, most violent, and most heinous acts in society. However, they rarely take responsibility for their actions. Instead, they are more likely to blame others, make excuses, and try to justify their actions, no matter how bad they are. This sign of a psychopath is indicative of their lack of morals and conscience, meaning they do not have the same sense of ‘right and wrong’ that most people do.^6,7

5. Need for Power, Control, & Dominance

Many psychopaths seek out positions of power and authority because they enjoy domination and control of other people. According to research, psychopaths may search for and secure positions of leadership in the corporate world, suggesting there is a grain of truth in the stereotype of the “psychopathic CEO.”⁸ There is also a known overlap between psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism (immoral and exploitative tendencies), which can lead to this hunger for control.^7,9

6. Sadistic Enjoyment of Pain & Suffering

Sadism is a word that describes a sick sense of pleasure from the pain and suffering of others. For some psychopathic people, the pain of others is sexually arousing. On the other hand, pleasure is non-sexual and has more to do with excitement, power, or the ‘rush’ of the experience.^3,6,7 Not all psychopaths are sadistic, but this quality is not an uncommon trait in a psychopath, which may explain why psychopathic traits predict violent and sexually violent crimes with 80% accuracy.¹

7. Boredom & Thrill-Seeking Behaviors

Because psychopaths lack some of the normal emotional wirings that most individuals have, it takes a lot more to excite them, make them happy, or thrill them. Psychopaths are overall less impulsive than sociopaths because they aren’t driven by strong emotions, but their dulled emotional response may cause them to seek out thrills. This may be why psychopaths are more likely to engage in crime, violence, sexual promiscuity, and drug or alcohol use.^1,3,6

8. Disregard for Rules, Laws, & Norms

Psychopaths do not follow the same code of ethics as most people in society, which is why they often behave in immoral or illegal ways. These may include minor offenses like inappropriate comments and profanity, or serious offenses such as crime and violence. Not all psychopaths are violent criminals, but a high percentage of those who commit crimes (especially violent crimes) have psychopathic traits.^1,5,6

9. Unaffected & Unafraid of Consequences

Many individuals who engage in criminal behaviors live in fear of being caught. However, psychopaths don’t always possess this same worry. This may be partially explained by the fact that psychopaths are believed to have abnormalities in areas of the brain that create normal fear responses and those related to impulse control and good long-term decision-making.^3,4

10. Detached, Cold, & Callous Demeanor

Psychopaths often display a cold, callous, and apathetic demeanor.^1,6,7 The differences in the structure of their brains are believed to limit their ability to experience a normal range of human emotions, making them less likely to experience strong feelings.^3,4 In situations when others are sad, upset, anxious, or excited, a psychopath may seem oddly detached or apathetic.⁷

11. A History of Childhood Behavior Problems

Antisocial personality disorder can be diagnosed only after the age of 18, but the signs and symptoms of ASPD usually begin in childhood or early adolescence.² Most psychopaths show signs of conduct disorder before the age of 15, and the most severe psychopaths may be able to trace their behavioral issues to before the age of 10.⁵ Some common signs of a psychopath in childhood include frequent fights, lying, stealing, cruelty to animals or other children, and a disregard for rules or authority.^2,5

12. A Trail of Short, Broken Relationships

Because of an inability to empathize with other people, it makes sense that psychopaths have trouble forming and maintaining close relationships. While they may be able to use their charm or powers of persuasion to fool somebody into liking them, they usually lack the ability to sustain these relationships over time.⁷ This is why most psychopaths have very short, shallow relationships, as well as a long trail of individuals who they’ve betrayed, hurt, or turned into enemies.

13. Exploitation of Others for Personal Gain

A psychopath will use, abuse, and exploit others, especially when it means getting something they want. In their pursuit of power, wealth, and fame, there are no lengths they won’t go to in order to achieve their goals. This is bound to leave many casualties in their path, and a psychopath will have no remorse when they need to throw someone under the bus in order to get ahead, even when this person has helped them along the way.^1,3,5,6,8

14. Calculated & Strategic Planning

While sociopaths are driven by emotions, a psychopath is cool-headed and calculated in their decision-making.^1,3,6 This can make them more dangerous as it’s not as easy to predict what they will do or when they will make their move. Some psychopaths devise detailed plans on how to con, exploit, or take advantage of people who are naturally generous. While psychopaths are not generally patient individuals, they are typically less impulsive than sociopaths.^3,6

15. A Lack of Conscience

Even when they harm another person, a psychopath will not feel genuine remorse for their actions, and may not be phased by the consequences of their actions when they get in trouble. This also makes them especially dangerous because they are less likely to limit their behavior based on fears of getting caught and feeling guilty after. Psychopaths are also less likely to learn from their mistakes.

16. Abnormal Ways of Thinking

Abnormal thoughts are common in psychopaths because their brains are wired differently. This could cause them to make strange, odd, or off-putting comments during normal conversations. A psychopath may occasionally provide a disturbing view into their twisted minds when talking about strange things they like, mean comments about others, or statements that make it clear they don’t care about anyone else.

17. Poor Attention Span & Loss of Interest

One of the less commonly known signs of a psychopath is a poor attention span, which can show up in similar ways as symptoms of ADHD. A psychopath becomes easily bored with activities, tasks, and people, and is always looking for something more exciting to do or see. This can lead them to quickly lose interest in goals, projects, or relationships that once seemed important to them. Additionally, this may be linked to a pattern of irresponsible decision-making or abandoning tasks before finishing them.^6,7

18. Violent Tendencies, Abuse, or Aggression

One of the most dangerous signs of a psychopath is a tendency towards violence, aggression, and abuse. Psychopathy is one of the strongest predictors of violent behavior, including crimes and sexual violence. Unfortunately, many violent psychopaths will re-offend, even after receiving treatment, rehabilitation, serving prison time, or having other legal consequences.^1,3,4,6

19. Hostile & Oppositional by Nature

Another less commonly known psychopath trait is a hostile and oppositional demeanor. While psychopaths can pretend to be friendly and charming for a short time, their true nature is aggressive. Psychopaths are more likely to hold racist, sexist, or misogynistic views toward others, and treat people in malicious or unkind ways.^1,6 They may be more argumentative and combative, seeking out conflict and confrontation (while most people try to avoid it).

20. Masters of Deception

A final warning sign of a psychopath is a person who seems to be especially skilled at the art of deception. Psychopaths are masters of deception and use distortions of truth, gaslighting, and other dishonest tactics to emotionally manipulate others and falsely represent the facts. Unfortunately, psychopaths in treatment may use these deceptive tactics to fool counselors and treatment providers into thinking they have improved. One study found that psychopaths with the highest treatment success scores were most likely to re-offend.⁹

Is There a Psychopath Test?

The most commonly used psychopathy test is the Psychopathy Checklist, or PCL-R, which is a 20-question survey used to identify the traits, characteristics, and signs of a psychopath.⁶ Technically, psychopathy is not a diagnosable condition listed in the DSM 5 but is instead a more severe form of APSD.²

Psychopaths display the symptoms of APSD and also a range of other traits, characteristics, and behaviors. The only way to formally be diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder is to set up an appointment with a licensed health or mental health provider. During this appointment, the clinician will ask questions to determine whether or not a person reports the symptoms of APSD, and can verify if they have the disorder.

Psychopath Vs. Sociopath

The terms psychopath and sociopath are often used interchangeably, but experts believe that they represent different forms of APSD. It is generally believed that sociopathy is a severe form of APSD while psychopathy is the most severe form.^1,3 Some experts also argue that sociopathy is a learned pattern of behavior, but psychopathy is caused by biological or neurological abnormalities in the brain.^1,3,4

Differences between psychopaths and sociopaths include:^1,3

Treatment of Psychopathy

Antisocial personality disorder is the underlying condition that drives psychopathy and is among the most difficult mental health issues to treat. Research suggests that psychopaths rarely seek treatment on their own and that when they are forced into treatment, it usually does not lead to long-term improvements or changes.⁵ In fact, some studies comparing treated and untreated psychopaths found that treatment increases the likelihood of crime and violence in those with a history of these behaviors.⁹

Still, there is always hope for a person who has a sincere desire to change and improve themselves, no matter what their diagnosis is. Therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), sometimes in addition to medication, may help people with ASPD manage their symptoms and improve their relationships, decision-making, and behavior.⁵

Final Thoughts

Because of the severity of psychopathy and the poor response to treatment, most people are advised to limit their contact with psychopathic people in order to avoid becoming victims. Knowing the signs and symptoms of a psychopath can help you identify a person with these dangerous traits, and finding the right therapist who has experience and knowledge of ASPD can help you learn ways to cope and heal from these interactions.