Do you suspect someone is a psychopath? Experts say this one shocking reaction can confirm it

Experts have advised that if you suspect someone is a psychopath, you just have to look into their eyes. Researchers at Cardiff and Swansea universities investigated the effect of “nasty” images in a 2018 study, like mutilated bodies and threatening dogs, on participants who were psychopathic and even some who were not. What they found was shocking.

What did the researchers find?

The researchers found that while looking at the pictures, the psychopaths’ eyes did not experience pupil enlargement, which was described as an “unusual reaction.” However, on the other hand, the pupils of non-psychopathic participants widened and dilated while looking at the shocking pictures, which is a natural response.

“Our findings provide physical evidence of an emotional deficit common to psychopathic offenders,” lead author Dan Burley, from Cardiff University’s School of Psychology, said at the time.

“The pupil has long been known to be an indicator of a person’s arousal,” Burley added. “The pupil usually dilates when an image shocks or scares us. The fact that this normal physiological response to threat is reduced in psychopathic offenders provides us with an obvious physical marker for this condition.”

The withdrawn and cold response in the psychopaths’ eyes is often referred to as a “psychopathic stare” or “psychopathic eyes.” Researchers were shocked to find that when psychopaths were shown positive and optimistic images, their pupils actually dilated. The research found that psychopathy may not be related to a difficulty responding to emotion, but instead a specific reactivity to threatening information.

“Many psychopathic offenders appear to be bold, confident and can act in a cold-blooded manner. It’s much easier to act bold if you have no feelings of fear, and to be cold-blooded if there is no emotion to get in the way of the act,” said Professor Robert Snowden from Cardiff University, who supervised the research.

Professor Nicola Gray, a clinical and forensic psychologist from Swansea University, who provided clinical supervision for the project, explained, “This is one of the first times we have objective, physiological evidence of an emotional deficit underpinning the offending behavior of psychopathic offenders that does not depend on invasive methods or expensive equipment.”

“We hope to be able to develop this methodology to assist with clinical assessment and intervention in offender populations,” Gray added.

Some notorious serial killers considered to be psychopaths include serial killers Ted Bundy, Fred West and Richard Ramirez.

Psychopathy is not an official diagnosis, but sociopathy is, although the two words are often used interchangeably. Sociopathy is the unofficial term for antisocial personality disorder (ASPD ). “Psychopathy can only be evaluated and assessed using the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised,” David Tzall, a licensed psychologist, told PsychCentral, adding that people tend to confuse psychopathy with antisocial personality disorder.

“They are similar in scope but different in terms of details,” he clarified. “ASPD is a diagnosable personality disorder characterized by a pervasive pattern of disregard for the rights of others, the safety of themselves and others … and socially accepted norms and rules.”

Meanwhile, he added, “psychopathy is a personality construct that describes a set of interpersonal, affective and behavioral traits that are similar to those observed in ASPD.”