"Psychopath" in pop culture has become a kind of catch-all slang term for pure evil.
It's not just serial killers any more: Politicians, athletes, your boss, maybe even your friends— all of them are being labeled psychos.
But while it's possible your control-freak boss or that girl you knew in college is a psychopath, the term is mostly used in a way that's completely wrong.
Pop-culture references aren't helping the situation. Sorry guys, but Norman Bates isn't a psycho, and Sherlock Holmes might not be, either. Disappointingly, not even Patrick Bateman of "American Psycho" may be a true psychopath.
These are the five ways we're all getting psychopathy wrong in almost every instance.
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1) It's not very clear what a psychopath is.
With the ease that TV psychologists throw around the word "psychopath," you might think we have a better handle on what that label actually means.
But the label is ill-defined. The words "psychopaths,""psychopathy," or the closely related "sociopathy," never appear in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) — the veritable bible of mental illnesses.
Instead there's an entry for antisocial personality disorder, which is what most people would consider psychopathy. Traits include impulsivity, disregard for other people, a lack of empathy, and a penchant for manipulation.
Scientists are certain there's a biological component to psychopathy — but your upbringing likely also has a heavy hand. (The difference between a born psychopath and a made one is usually cited as the difference between a psychopath and a sociopath, respectively, but this distinction isn't universal.)
And the mere presence of antisocial traits doesn't necessarily make someone a psychopath, either. It's not as fun as an online quiz, but to actually assess a psychopath requires a trip to the doctor's office and a detailed personal and medical history.
But because "psychopath"isn't a diagnosis, you still won't find yourself with that label, but diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder.
2) Psychopaths aren't always violent criminals.
Tons of cases of psychopathy go completely unnoticed — perhaps even to the psychopath themselves.
Famously, this happened to neuroscientist James Fallon, who accidentally discovered he was a psychopath while examining images of brain scans.
“I go to the bottom of the stack, and saw this scan that was obviously pathological,” he told Smithsonian Magazine. The image turned out to be his own brain, showing low activity in the areas that are linked to empathy and self-control.
Later, a genetic test confirmed he had all the biological makings of a psychopath (he’s apparently also related to Lizzie Borden, so there’s that). Fallon considers himself a “pro-social” psychopath, meaning he isn’t violent and more or less follows societal rules.
Fallon has said frequently that he believes this is because he experienced a safe and loving childhood.
3) Psychopaths aren't crazy.
Actually, psychopaths are quite sane.
Try this test: If the psychopath in a TV show or movie is shown hearing voices or experiencing other delusions, they're not a psychopath.
Psychopathy is a personality disorder, not a mental disorder. Hallucinations and other signs of mental illness usually portrayed as part of psychopathy are actually severe psychosis, or a loss of one's sense of reality.
That's why Norman Bates of Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" isn't actually a psychopath — he thinks he's obeying the wishes of his mother. Not only would a psychopath likely not care much about his mother's directives, he would be firmly in touch with the reality of her death (and probably not care very much about it).
Patrick Bateman might fall into this category too — psychotic instead of psychopathic — depending on your interpretation of events in "American Psycho."
Delusional serial killers like Charles Manson and Son of Sam? Also not psychopathic.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider