Came across this today. Psychopath “diagnostic criteria”. These are all direct quotes.

1. Psychopaths show a disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others.
2. They fail to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviours.
3. They are always deceitful…. They are nasty, aggressive con artists.
4. They are massively impulsive and fail to plan ahead.
5. They show irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights and assaults.
6. They manifest a reckless disregard for the physical and psychological safety of others.
7. They are consistently irresponsible. Repeated failure to sustain consistent work behaviour… are their hallmark.
8. They show lack of remorse. They are indifferent to, or rationalize, having hurt, mistreated or stolen from another…. It can seem that labelling them as anti-social is a serious understatement.

From Furnham, Adrian. 50 Psychology Ideas You Really Need to Know. London: Quercus Publishing, p. 25. The heading of the chapter is “Seem Sane”. This is the statement at the start of the discussion:

“Psychopaths are without conscience and incapable of empathy, guilt or loyalty to anyone but themselves.”

Anyway, I just thought I would mention it.

SOME FURTHER RESEARCH: I have gone on Dr Google and found first this:

Even though it’s commonly used to describe someone who has a mental illness, psychopath is not an official diagnosis. The true definition of a psychopath in psychiatry is antisocial personality disorder (ASPD).

So I went and looked up ASPD and found this.

Antisocial personality disorder signs and symptoms may include:

• Disregard for right and wrong
• Persistent lying or deceit to exploit others
• Being callous, cynical and disrespectful of others
• Using charm or wit to manipulate others for personal gain or personal pleasure
• Arrogance, a sense of superiority and being extremely opinionated
• Recurring problems with the law, including criminal behavior
• Repeatedly violating the rights of others through intimidation and dishonesty
• Impulsiveness or failure to plan ahead
• Hostility, significant irritability, agitation, aggression or violence
• Lack of empathy for others and lack of remorse about harming others
• Unnecessary risk-taking or dangerous behavior with no regard for the safety of self or others
• Poor or abusive relationships
• Failure to consider the negative consequences of behavior or learn from them
• Being consistently irresponsible and repeatedly failing to fulfill work or financial obligations.

Obviously requires specialist training to identify ASPD or to know how to deal with it. Anyway, I just thought others might find this as interesting as I did.