What is Psychopathy?

Psychopathy is a personality disorder signified by a pattern of lying, exploitation of others, recklessness, arrogance, sexual promiscuity, low self-control, and lack of empathy for others. Individuals with psychopathic traits appear to lack social emotions (love, empathy, guilt, and remorse). This means that they do not care about other people, feel remorse, or experience guilt … Read more

Web Conversation with Dr. Mary Ellen O’Toole, Psychopathy Expert and Forensic Psychologist

We are excited to share our most recent Web Conversation with an Expert, Dr. Mary Ellen O’Toole. Dr. O’Toole spoke to us about her time with the Behavioural Analysis Unit of the FBI, as well as how psychopathy relates to the behavior of serial sexual killers. She also spoke about using her knowledge on psychopathy … Read more

Ask the Expert: Dr. Kasia Uzieblo

Dr. Kasia Uzieblo is an Associate Professor of Criminological and Forensic Psychology at the Department of Criminology of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Brussels, Belgium) and Senior Researcher at the Research Department of the Forensic Care Specialists (Utrecht, the Netherlands). Her teaching, trainings, and research focus on sexual/family violence and forensic (psychological) assessment (e.g., risk assessment). … Read more

Aftermath 2022 Annual Report Now Available

The annual report for 2022 is now available on the Aftermath website. Click here to view the 2022 annual report. Some highlights include: New research on people with psychopathic traits, including: the factors that contribute to abusive dating behavior online, and whether people with psychopathic traits can identify vulnerable people to target (Spoiler alert: They … Read more

Predicting Dangerous Dating: Personality Traits that Predict Cyber Dating Abuse

Summary by Jennifer Pink and Dr. Nicola Gray Posting humiliating or intimate material involving a partner, snooping on their personal communications and sending them threatening messages are all forms of Cyber Dating Abuse.  As the psychological ramifications of cyber dating abuse are substantial, researchers are working to understand the emotional responses and personality traits associated … Read more

David Kosson answers common questions about psychopathy on Most Days podcast

Dr. David Kosson recently spoke with Brent Franson on the Most Days podcast. The two spoke for about an hour about the nature of psychopathy. Dr. Kosson covered a variety of different topics, including: the four validated components of clinical psychopathy assessed in the Psychopathy Checklist measures, links between psychopathy and violence, different subtypes of … Read more

Psychopathy versus Sociopathy versus Narcissism: What’s the difference?

Revised by Theresia Bedard and the North American Research Committee Psychopathy and Narcissistic Personality Disorder are psychiatric disorders with slightly overlapping symptoms. Sociopathy, however, is an older, outdated term for what is now called psychopathy. Unfortunately, the differentiation of these widely-used terms has caused much confusion among the general public and mental health professionals alike. … Read more