Why psychopathy is more common than you think, with Abigail Marsh, PhD

Speaking of Psychology

Kim Mills

Health & Fitness, Life Sciences, Science, Mental Health

4.3 • 781 Ratings

🗓️ 16 March 2022

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Most of us think we know what a psychopath looks like. The word brings to mind images of horror movies and criminals. But psychopathy is far more common than most people realize, and actually hard to recognize in other people. Abigail Marsh, PhD, of Georgetown University, discusses what researchers have learned about the causes of psychopathy and effective treatments for it, how to recognize psychopathy in those around you, and her work exploring the emotional processes and the brain differences that underlie both psychopathy and its opposite, extraordinary altruism. Links Abigail Marsh, PhD Speaking of Psychology Website Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Most of us have heard the term psychopath and may have an image of what a psychopath looks like,
0:08.0	whether that's Charles Manson or Ted Bundy or even the fictional Hannibal Lecter.
0:13.0	The word itself, psychopath, brings to mind horror movies, serial killers, arson, and other mayhem.
0:20.0	But psychopathy isn't just about terrible people who commit heinous crimes.
0:24.6	Psychopathy is more common than most people realize.
0:28.6	People with psychopathic traits show less empathy and remorse than other people.
0:32.6	They may lie, cheat, and steal, but they may also be friendly, smart, and basically unremarkable.
0:39.1	In other words, impossible to pick out of a crowd.
0:42.4	Although severe psychopathy affects just about 1% of people, some research suggests that
0:48.4	close to 30% of us have some level of psychopathic traits.
0:53.1	And we may even know people who fall under this broad umbrella.
0:57.4	So what do researchers know about the causes of psychopathy?
1:01.6	How is psychopathy related to other mental health disorders?
1:05.6	Are psychopaths born?
1:08.0	Or are they made by their family life, by their environment?
1:11.9	Are there effective treatments for it?
1:14.8	Can children show psychopathic traits?
1:17.2	And if so, how early?
1:19.3	And if you recognize psychopathic traits and someone close to you, what should you do?
1:31.4	Welcome to Speaking of Psychology, the flagship podcast of the American Psychological Association that examines the links between psychological science and everyday life.
1:37.1	I'm Kim Mills. Our guest today is Dr. Abigail Marsh, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Georgetown University.
1:47.0	She studies psychopathy as well as its opposite, extreme altruism and pro-social emotions, such as empathy, compassion, and remorse.
	...

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