re: Do you know a psychopath?

My father-in-law is bordering on psychopathy. Luckily he lives several hours away and only have to see him once or twice a year. Dude's been married at least 5 times and they were all the woman's fault.

He's in his mid sixties, yet is on about 3 dating apps and is always looking for wife Number 6. His parents recently died and he inherited a lot of money, and he now acts like he's better than everyone else, like he earned the money himself. Everything is about him and his entertainment.

His latest escapade had a woman calling the cops on him because he wouldn't leave her residence after she told him she didn't want to date him anymore. She wouldn't tell him why and he thought he had a right to get a reason from her so he parked out in front of her house and blared his radio and honked his horn for two hours. Then when she left he followed her for miles honking and riding her tail.

That's not really the psycho part, either. The fact that he called his daughter (my wife) and told her all this like it was normal and he did nothing wrong is the crazy part.

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schizophrenic

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Was she the garden variety and fairly harmless or was she full blown and needed the facility?

I had an aunt Ethel who had to be institutionalized in the Great Depression not so much for the safety of other but for her safety as others would take advantage of her if she were allowed to roam on her own.

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I scored a 5 because some of these traits can apply to completely normal people lol.

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Recall from the OP that the Hare Psychopathy Checklist is used in the context of criminal behavior assessment. I doubt very much that any tRant posters would come close to qualifying for any of the traits.

I presented it for amusement purposes only. Some of us may be able to say that we know a person who definitely qualifies as a psychopath, but a true psychopath would never apply the checklist to himself. His narcissism would prevent that.

A prominent trait of psychopaths that I see missing from the checklist is arrogance. Of all the case studies I’ve read, every true psychopath thinks he is smarter than those who want to bring him to justice for the crimes he’s commited. From Ted Bundy to the BTK killer, each of them relished challenging the authorities to catch them. Of course, it is always this trait of arrogance that ultimately brings them to justice.

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One of the 5 worst narcissist I met in life was this guy

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Narcissist? Definitely. Psychopath? Definitely not. All leaders must have a degree of narcissism to withstand the tide of criticism that comes with their jobs, I think. President Trump has a few of the traits maybe, but he expresses a genuine concern for the country and its direction.

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Interesting, but psychos aren’t really interested in checklists and evaluations. They already see themselves as being near perfect.

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Narcissist? Definitely.

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Not just a narcissist, but the full blown disorder Mayo Clinic LINK


Have an exaggerated sense of self-importance
Have a sense of entitlement and require constant, excessive admiration
Expect to be recognized as superior even without achievements that warrant it
Exaggerate achievements and talents
Be preoccupied with fantasies about success, power, brilliance, beauty or the perfect mate
Believe they are superior and can only associate with equally special people
Monopolize conversations and belittle or look down on people they perceive as inferior
Expect special favors and unquestioning compliance with their expectations
Take advantage of others to get what they want
Have an inability or unwillingness to recognize the needs and feelings of others
Be envious of others and believe others envy them
Behave in an arrogant or haughty manner, coming across as conceited, boastful and pretentious
Insist on having the best of everything — for instance, the best car or office
Become impatient or angry when they don't receive special treatment
Have significant interpersonal problems and easily feel slighted
React with rage or contempt and try to belittle the other person to make themselves appear superior
Have difficulty regulating emotions and behavior
Experience major problems dealing with stress and adapting to change
Feel depressed and moody because they fall short of perfection
Have secret feelings of insecurity, shame, vulnerability and humiliation


This is about 20 points and working around him for about 6 months in the early 80's I can check off about 16 of them. He was also a little Howard Hughes like when it came to germs and human contact. He was much younger then and unless he sought professional treatment I can assure this did not get better.

Back in the 50's and 60's he was on the "do not date" list up in NYC for the low key families not know to flaunt their wealth to intimidate.