![]() In this sense, Marsh believes that autism holds a useful parallel, because there are greater and lesser degrees of autistic traits and because early intervention can make a big difference in later outcomes. (Not everyone in the mental health community agrees that psychopathy is a spectrum-based disorder.) In fact, it is common to have some degree of psychopathic tendencies, if not the condition itself: According to PsychopathyIs, as much as 30% of the population displays some degree of reduced empathy, risk-taking, and overly high self-regard, though the percentage of people with high degrees of these traits is much smaller. “But as a scientific community, we have to recognize that psychopathy has all the hallmarks of a true disorder and that all of us will be better-the people who are affected, their families, and the broader community-if we take it seriously.” “Psychopathy is a condition that causes people to do things that reduce our compassion for them, and so there’s a resistance to funding and treating it,” said Georgetown University psychologist and neuroscientist Abigail Marsh, PhD, who studies psychopathy and is cofounder of PsychopathyIs, an organization that promotes awareness of the condition and provides support and resources for affected families. While it is true that people with the condition display a range of disconcerting tendencies-including low empathy and remorse, grandiosity, impulsivity, and sometimes aggressive or violent behavior-new findings show not only that people with psychopathy have varying degrees and types of this condition but that the condition and its precursors can be treated. Yet the reality of this condition is far more nuanced than these stereotypes hold. ![]() It is a term that tends to conjure images of violent criminals or public figures capable of heinous or egregiously selfish acts on a broader scale.
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