While we may have a preconceived idea of what a ‘psychopath’ is, psychopaths are considered to have a severe form of antisocial personality disorder.
The NHS said: “Antisocial personality disorder is a particularly challenging type of personality disorder characterised by impulsive, irresponsible and often criminal behaviour.
“Someone with antisocial personality disorder will typically be manipulative, deceitful and reckless, and will not care for other people’s feelings.”
The NHS added that somebody with this disorder may exploit, manipulate or violate the rights of others, lack concern or regret about other people’s distress, be unable to control their anger and may blame others for problems in their lives.
However, according to a study published in Personality and Individual Differences, there is one simple sign that can identify a psychopath and it’s all to do with head movements.
How to tell if somebody is a psychopath by how they move their head
According to the study authors, people may move their heads less when they’re talking than those with lower degrees of psychopathy.
While this form of nonverbal communication was known to be common in men with the condition, the study authors have revealed that it appears to be just as common in women, too.
According to IFLScience: “Prior work has identified a number of surprising tell-tale signs in the body language of psychopaths.
“For example, men with high levels of psychopathy tend to use more hand gestures than those with lower scores, while short bursts of blinking have also been linked to the condition.”
Other signs of psychopathy
According to the experts at Psychopathy Is, these are signs of the condition in adults:
- Callous or uncaring in response to others’ suffering or distress
- Does not show remorse after hurting others or breaking rules
- Lies often and skilfully
- Manipulates people to get things
- Engages in risky or dangerous activities
- Tends not to plan ahead, leaves things until the last minute
- Irresponsible, fails to keep promises or follow through with plans
- May be superficially charming
- Doesn’t seem to care about performance at school or work
- Brags frequently
- Has trouble maintaining relationships, including friendships and romantic relationships
- May engage in violent or illegal behaviour
Psychopathy Is also noted: “There are many reasons people may be violent or engage in criminal activity.
“Most people who are violent or engage in criminal activity are not psychopathic. And many people with psychopathy are not violent.”