006

006. Can psychopaths learn empathy or not?

Inside the Mind of a Psychopath – Empathic, But Not Always

Brain imaging shows psychopaths can empathize but do not empathize spontaneously

Jul 24, 2013

"So psychopathic individuals do not simply lack empathy. Instead, it seems as though for most of us, empathy is the default mode. If we see a victim, we share her pain. For the psychopathic criminals of our study, empathy seemed to be a voluntary activity. If they want to, they can empathize, and that explains how they can be so charming, and maybe so manipulative. Once they have seduced you into doing what serves their purpose, the effortful empathy would though probably disappear again. Free of the constraints of empathy, they is then little to stop them from using violence."