How to identify if a woman is a psychopath, according to science

Although we hear a lot about psychopaths, most people wouldn't know how to identify one.

Virtually nobody would know the gender specific signs either - what sets a female psychopath apart from a male counterpart.

A new study has revealed the telltale signs that a woman might be a psychopath, however.

This study was led by researchers at the University of New Mexico's psychology department.

Using head tracking algorithms to analyse recordings of women being interviewed by the police, researchers carved out some warning signs.

Female psychopaths' traits have been relatively unknown (Pexels)

Like male psychopaths, women keep their heads very still.

It's believed that this tactic is employed to hide potential clues that their body language may give away about their behaviour.

The researchers explained their findings: "Nonverbal behaviors (i.e., head dynamics) represent an important, yet understudied, form of communication that may enhance our ability to detect certain forms of psychopathology, including psychopathy.

"We believe our results help identify a unique pattern of head dynamics characteristic of women scoring high on psychopathy, specifically, exhibiting more stationary head positioning during clinical interview administration."

People described as psychopaths often exhibit traits such as antisocial behaviour and a lack of remorse or empathy.

In the research undertaken by the New Mexico team, candidates were assessed on the Hare Psychopathy Checklist.

Originally developed in the 1970s by psychologist Robert D. Hare, it is a 20-item checklist which scores people between one and 40.

Anybody who scores higher than 30 is considered a psychopath.

Psychopaths are noted for their lack of empathy (Pexels)

The researchers found that among women with lower amounts of head movement, their psychopathy scores were higher.

Given that psychopathy is often linked to re-offending, this data could prove useful for law enforcement.

This study comes after a British researcher warned that more women may have psychopathic traits than originally thought.

Dr Clive Boddy at Anglia Ruskin University said that psychopathic behaviour can often come in the form of sexually seductive and manipulative behaviour.

As it currently stands, male psychopaths outnumber the women by six to one.

But Dr Boddy believes it's more likely to be to 1.2 to one.

This would make the female psychopath population five times bigger than originally estimated.

This seems to have been acknowledged by this latest study out of New Mexico.

According to WebMD, psychopathy is rarely a standalone diagnosis, and individuals who display psychopathic characteristics are generally diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), which encapsulates key signs.

The DSM-5 criteria for ASPD shows that a person might have a pattern of ‘disregard for and violation of the rights of others, since age 15 years’, and three or more of the following:

· Failure to conform to social norms concerning lawful behaviours

· Deceitfulness, repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for pleasure or personal profit

· Impulsivity or failure to plan

· Irritability and aggressiveness, often with physical fights or assaults

Topics: Science, Mental Health, Health, UK News, World News

Ben Thompson