Why Do We Let Psychopaths Abuse Us In Plain Sight? | Biomedgrid

What do Hitler, Madoff, Ted Bundy, and Stalin have in common? They are all easily identified as psychopaths by the lay person. We notice extremes like the dark triad (psychopathy, narcissism, Machiavellianism), displayed by a cynical, calculating, merciless leaders, but we are oblivious otherwise. What we fail to realize is that most psychopaths are not either CEOs or behind bars. The culprit for the “misunderstanding” of psychopathy, mis-diagnosis, and ubiquitous ignorance about the lurking danger of these people is often viewed as the professional definitions. The criteria for psychopathy are infested with ambiguity (confusion with kin personality disorders such as Borderline Personality Disorder, Narcissism, or Anti-Social Personality Disorder), vagueness (dimensional identification), and inconclusive scientific research of the genetics and the neurology underpinning of lack of mpathy, manipulation, and ruthlessness. We believe that the blame rests primarily in the recipient's end of the phenomenon: important cognitive mechanisms play a significant role in our inability to recognize the charming cult leader, the lies and gaslighting of our abusive spouse, and our tremendous need to please the psychopath's superiority, posing impossible standards on us.