As of 2021, approximately 1.2% of the general adult population is estimated to suffer from some form of psychopathy, based on data using the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R). Statistically speaking, that means that it is almost guaranteed that many of us have met a psychopath.
In fact, you might have met hundreds of them.
When considering disorders of the mind, psychopathy is surprisingly common. It is twice as common as anorexia, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia, and nearly as common as narcissism, bulimia, obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, and panic disorder.
There is an atypical group of psychopaths that exist in the greater populace. Known as high functioning psychopaths, they do not possess violent tendencies, and are in many cases highly successful, contributing members of society. They may still retain the tell-tale characteristics of a psychopath (callousness, lack of empathy, grandiosity, etc.) but they do not engage in the aggressive behavior that one may see associated with a violent psychopath.
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Psychopathy experts Emily Lasko and David Chester argue that a high-functioning psychopath’s likelihood of success in life is dependent on their level of conscientiousness. If they can plan for the future, self-regulate, and make good decisions, then their psychopathic traits were, as they stated in their paper, “compensated for.”
