Traits of a female psychopath – article

[emilie18]

Excellent article in June’s Psychology Today differentiating the traits of male vs female psychopaths:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/articles/201906/what-makes-female-psychopaths-different

Some points the author made:
• Since more data is available for killers and con artists than for “mean girls” who merely defy social conventions, they are disproportionately represented in case studies of female psychopathy.
• Females who develop the disorder may show it through verbal and relational aggression— perhaps harming someone socially through gossip or ostracism. Female psychopaths appear to have a stronger need for others’ approval, worse self-image, and more anxiety relative to males. They might use flirtation and sexual behavior, feign suicide attempts, or pretend to be the victim of an assault to get what they want.
• Motivations are often different for females: “Males tend to be motivated by sex or strivings for domination and power over victims; females tend to be driven more by profit, notoriety, or some other practical end.” Violent male psychopaths often harm strangers. But … when psychopathic females are serial killers, they typically target family members.
• The game of manipulation becomes more important than the outcome. Males typically just want to win.
• Females with psychopathic traits respond normally to emotional words. … they score better on emotional intelligence than males.

The author also points out that when rating psychopathic traits on the Hare Psychopathy Checklist, woman often don’t score as high as men – they had higher scores on the interpersonal and lifestyle facets of psychopathy (manipulativeness, grandiosity, impulsivity) than they did on emotional and antisocial facets (lack of remorse and delinquency), and are less physically violent than male offenders.

Well worth the read especially if you are not sure the woman who is making your life miserable is a psychopath, on another spectrum of abnormal behavior, or just a miserable human being.

• This topic was modified 3 months, 2 weeks ago by  emilie18.

[Donna Andersen]

emilie18 – thank you so much for posting about that article!

[Author]

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