Quote:Psychopaths, in general, have a hard time forming real emotional attachments with others. Instead, they form artificial, shallow relationships designed to be manipulated in a way that most benefits the psychopath. People are seen as pawns to be used to forward the psychopath’s goals. Psychopaths rarely feel guilt regarding any of their behaviors, no matter how much they hurt others.

But psychopaths can often be seen by others as being charming and trustworthy, holding steady, normal jobs. Some even have families and seemingly-loving relationships with a partner. While they tend to be well-educated, they may also have learned a great deal on their own.

Sociopaths, in general, tend to be more impulsive and erratic in their behavior than their psychopath counterparts. While also having difficulties in forming attachments to others, some sociopaths may be able to form an attachment to a like-minded group or person. Unlike psychopaths, most sociopaths don’t hold down long-term jobs or present much of a normal family life to the outside world.

Quote:Factor 1. Traits
Factor 1 traits are sometimes called 'Classic Psychopathy Characteristics', or 'True Psychopathy Characteristics'. These are the traits that describe the Psychological, Mental or Emotional Characteristics. They pertain to how the person feels, his emotional make-up, his thought process and the general mindset resulting of these.

Factor 2. Traits
Factor 2 traits are sometimes referred to as 'False Psychopathy Characteristics'. These are the traits that describe an individual's Conduct, his Activities and Demeanor. They pertain to Antisocial Traits, Criminal and Aggressive Deviant Features in the Individual Lifestyle, Actions and Behavior.

Quote:A person may score at different levels on the different factors, but the total score indicates the overall extent of psychopathic personality. Higher scores on factor I are associated with emotional stability and social efficacy, as well as reduced empathy. Higher scores on factor II are associated with maladaptive tendencies, including aggressiveness, substance use problems, negative feelings and suicidal ideation. Scores on the two major factors tend to be only moderately correlated.

• Social Influence
  
• Fearlessness
  
• Stress Immunity
  

• Machiavellian Egocentricity
  
• Rebellious Nonconformity
  
• Blame Externalization
  
• Carefree nonplanfulness
  

• Coldheartedness
  

Quote:At age thirty-five, a diagnoses psychopath with a lengthy record of criminal behavior and violence decided to turn her life around. She took a great many courses in prison and, following her release at age forty-two, obtained a university degree in counseling psychology. She began working with street kids and has not been charged with any offense during the past five years. Some people in the community consider her a success story. However, she has been dismissed from several jobs over the misuse of funds and making threats against her coworkers and supervisors. ... Some of those who know her think she is an interesting woman whose criminal past was the result of unfavorable social conditions and bad luck; others think she is much the same person she always was - callous, arrogant, manipulative, egocentric - with the only discernible difference being that she now manages to remain out of contact with the law.

Quote:An ex-con, previously diagnosed by a prison psychiatrist as a psychopath, calmly told the police that he had stabbed another man in the bar because the man refused his request to vacate a table. His explanation: He was cultivating a don't-mess-with-me image at the time and the victim had defied him in front of the other bar patrons.

Quote:Dave's coworkers were consistent in their descriptions - they found him rude, selfish, immature, self-centered, unreliable, and irresponsible. Virtually all reported that they initially liked him but over time grew to distrust him, and they said that they knew the stories he used to gain their cooperation were lies. ...
During his meeting with Babiak, Dave described himself as a hard worker, a strong leader, a "team builder", honest, intelligent, the guy responsible for really "making" the department. In fact, he suggested that his boss leave the company and he take over. ...
While those closest to him were convinced of Dave's manipulations, irresponsibility, and lack of integrity, those higher up in the organization had been convinced - by Dave - of his management talent and potential. Despite clear evidence of his dishonesty, they were still "charmed" by him.

• Being a psychopath is very defining, but it doesn't have to be shoved down your readers' throats. Quite commonly I see people including the fact that their character is a psychopath in every other sentence, or even having their character call themselves one. While that's fine (you do you), remember that actions speak louder than words: simply exemplifying the traits of a psychopath in your posts will eventually give people the impression that there's something not quite right about your character.
  
• Remember that psychopaths are often times very charming and manipulative - many of them can even hide the fact that they're a psychopath. Just because your character is one, doesn't mean everyone will be aware of it (ICly). You can have fun having a secret psychopath who fools others into trusting them, or you can have a very transparent psychopath who is openly diabolical.
  
• Inspiration is great, but make sure the inspiration you're using is reliable! Not every media character who is described as a "psychopath" actually is! Double check the list yourself when fleshing out your character.