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Not all psychopaths are violent, and some are able to live successful lives, according to the findings of a recent study conducted by Virginia Commonwealth University doctoral candidate Emily Lasko and assistant professor of psychology Dr. David Chester, Ph.D.
The researchers behind the study “What Makes a ‘Successful’ Psychopath? Longitudinal Trajectories of Offenders’ Antisocial Behavior and Impulse Control as a Function of Psychopathy” wanted to understand why some psychopaths are able to interact successfully with society.
“Psychopathic individuals are very prone to engaging in antisocial behaviors, but what our findings suggest is that some may actually be better able to inhibit these impulses than others,” says Lasko, the study’s lead author and a researcher in VCU’s Social Psychology and Neuroscience Lab, which Chester directs.
Lasko and Chester used the terms “successful” and “unsuccessful” to refer to the life outcomes of the psychopathic individuals. For example, a psychopath deemed successful may have a high-profile job working as a lawyer or a CEO; a psychopathic individual deemed unsuccessful is usually incarcerated. The researchers theorized that successful psychopathic individuals develop traits that help them inhibit their antisocial behavior.
The researchers studied data from 1,354 juvenile offenders who attended court hearings in Arizona and Pennsylvania. The study showed that successful individuals with high psychopathy correlated with a high ability to exercise control and inhibit violent impulses. “Psychopathy is not a personality trait simply composed of deficits,” Lasko says. “There are many forms that it can take.”
