A new study suggests that most psychopaths do not suffer from mental illness, but are instead “executing a well-functioning, if unscrupulous strategy” during violent incidents.
Canadian researchers studied 289 murderers, rapists and other violent offenders and determined that violent psychopaths tended not to hurt their own family. The researchers characterized this trait as an evolutionary predisposition “that historically increased reproductive success at the expense of others.”
Those with mental disorders are more likely than psychopaths to hurt themselves or their family, according to the study, because mental disorders disrupt psychological mechanisms designed to protect family.
The study's authors note that their findings contrast studies that describe psychopathy as a pathology, and supports the notion that psychopathy is “an evolutionary strategy largely favoring the exploitation of non-relatives.”
Read the study HERE.