Personality traits, such as psychopathy and narcissism are replacing the old notion of ‘evil’.
It’s hard to think of acts more despicable than the brutal attacks, kidnappings, rapes and murders carried out by the psychopath Ted Bundy, for example. Especially as when he faced justice for them, he did it with a wink and a matinée idol smile.
Psychology offers a way to understand why people commit such acts. While evil definitely can’t be pinpointed in the brain, research has started uncovering neural structures and patterns of activity linked to psychopathy and narcissism.
Science shows us that people with such traits simply think and feel differently, enabling them to act in morally corrupt ways. A lack of empathy has long been seen as a hallmark feature of psychopathy and, to some extent, narcissism.
But psychologists have recently discovered a group of people with so-called ‘dark personality traits’, such as psychopathy and narcissism, but also above average levels of empathy, dubbed dark empaths.
This could make them dangerous in everyday situations as they could use their empathy to mask selfish intentions. It’s immediately clear how a dark empath could be dangerous, using their empathy to manipulate others or to mask their selfish, even sinister, intentions.
They would perhaps be less Bundy and more Pedro Rodrigues Filho, the Brazilian vigilante who specialised in murdering suspected criminals and whose story inspired the fictional serial killer Dexter.
After being released from prison in 2007, Rodrigues claimed to have stopped killing and even started speaking out against crime.
The full-blown clinical disorders of narcissistic personality disorder and clinical psychopathy (sometimes known as psychopathic personality disorder) are estimated to affect one to five per cent and one per cent of the population, respectively.
Clinical levels of psychopathy are particularly common among criminals such as serial killers, with an estimated 15 to 25 per cent of male prisoners in the US believed to possess them.
But the simple truth is we all have a dark side. Many of us are a bit narcissistic or have some psychopathic traits without necessarily suffering from a disorder. Hence, psychologists prefer to view these darker aspects of ours as personality traits rather than disorders.
Dr Nadja Heym, associate professor of personality psychology and psychopathology at Nottingham Trent University, explains that these traits aren’t necessarily something you either have or don’t have, like a broken leg, for example.
Instead, everyone’s traits exist somewhere on the continuum. Psychopathic and narcissistic tendencies can be triggered by certain situations, get stronger or weaker over time and express themselves differently in different people.
Darkness within
The extent of our dark traits can be measured by questionnaires that have been designed to evaluate what scientists call the ‘dark triad’ of personality traits.
Added to psychopathy (callousness, recklessness and impulsivity) and narcissism (egocentrism with a sense of grandiosity), the triad is completed by Machiavellianism (being socially manipulative and calculating for one’s own ends or to gain power).
The majority of people will score fairly low on the dark triad, but about a third will have elevated levels significantly above average. The majority of people with these elevated dark traits are unlikely to be criminals, although they may be unpleasant to be around.
“These are people who probably have quite high self-confidence, are quite bolshy, quite assertive; people who get their way,” says Heym. “They might not be the friendliest people and they do things that are good for their own goals even if that means overstepping others.”
But, as Heym points out, there are also problems for those people who are low on dark traits, such as finding it difficult to be heard. “I don’t want to say ‘pushover’, but that’s the general term people would use to refer to them.”
A surprising discovery
Heym first came across dark empaths in 2021 while investigating dark traits in almost 1,000 people in the UK.
Her team had asked participants to complete a test to measure dark traits, as indicated by how much they agree with statements such as ‘most people can be manipulated’, ‘people who mess with me always regret it’, ‘people see me as a natural leader’ and ‘it’s not wise to tell your secrets’.
This research was then combined with surveys assessing levels of aggression and two types of empathy: affective empathy (which involves feeling the emotions of others) and cognitive empathy (being able to understand how others feel or think and take their perspective).
What Heym and her team found was surprising. While there was a traditional dark triad group, with high levels of dark traits and low self-reported scores on empathy (about 13 per cent of the sample), they also found another group with high scores on dark traits, but above-average scores on both types of empathy (about 20 per cent).
The existence of this dark empath group seemed to clash with previous research that suggests the dark triad is linked to low empathy. Both dark groups reported being more aggressive than the people with low levels of dark traits, with the traditional dark triad group (low empathy) edging it.
This isn’t referring to serial-killing levels, though: participants were only measured on indirect aggression, such as socially excluding others, making them feel guilty or making malicious jokes at their expense.
Indirect aggression was used in this study, Heym explains, as it’s more gender-neutral and widespread, and so produces more data. People with high levels of dark traits would also be more prone to violence than others, however. To assess the dark traits, Heym and her team used a scale from zero to five.
“We’re not talking about pathological levels. There may have been individuals who scored particularly high, but in general they were somewhat above the mean,” she stresses.
“People would normally average at around 2.5, but these groups scored on average around 3.5.”
The rest of the sample had low levels of dark traits and varying levels of empathy. There was a ‘typical group’ (34 per cent of the sample) with low levels of dark traits and average levels of empathy, and an ‘empaths group’ (33 per cent) with low levels of dark traits, but high levels of empathy.
“This was a good study because it was the first to analyse the relationship between empathy and dark traits,” says Dr Emanuele Fino, a psychologist at Queen’s University Belfast, who was not involved in the research. “It really stimulated a debate.”
Hidden dangers
So, given that about one in five people is expected to be a dark empath, the chances that all of us know a few are high.
This raises a number of questions, such as just how dangerous can they be? And what are the signs that can help us spot a dark empath? In terms of the second question, it comes partly down to their specific combination of traits.
Most people with dark traits are charismatic and if they’re high on narcissism, their constant boasting may reveal them. Chances are they’re also vain, whether strutting around in full armour of designer gear or sporting a carefully curated scruffy look.
For those with high levels of psychopathy, on the other hand, they may go on about themselves less, but they can appear more sinister. They may be unsettlingly unpredictable, deceitful and lack a moral compass.
They may also care little about what others think about them, says Heym. And while Machiavellianism is the most common of the dark traits, it’s probably the hardest to identify.
These people seem nice, but they’re master manipulators, constantly working behind the scenes to expand their power through rumours, using information against others, spreading misinformation and befriending powerful people that can help them advance.
So how does empathy affect the mix? In Heym’s study, the dark empaths were the most extroverted, so they’re social and outgoing, and while this could simply reflect their love of going to parties, there may be a murkier motive.
“It’s likely down to their desire to dominate others and to show their power,” suggests Fino. This idea is supported by the study, in which the dark empath group, along with the traditional dark triad, was the least agreeable (friendly, kind and altruistic).
Rather than caring about others, dark empaths, in Fino’s view, may make use of their empathy strategically for their own benefit. Backing this up are the results of a previous study investigating empathy in narcissists.
By measuring their heart rates as they watched videos of people talking about their trauma, researchers found that the participants could show real empathy, but only if they were asked to take the perspective of the subject of the video.
This suggests they have the capacity for empathy, but often choose not to use it. According to both Heym and Fino, it’s the very fact that dark empaths have empathy that makes them difficult to identify, which ultimately makes them so potentially dangerous.
Their outward displays of empathy, or ability to sometimes regulate their behaviour, can help make them appear ‘normal’, meaning they may not leave an obvious trail of destruction in their wake.
Instead, in Heym’s view, those around them are left with a vague feeling that “there’s something not quite right about that person.” That said, dark empaths are more likely to be found out in a romantic relationship, especially if they’re around long enough for cracks to appear.
Repeated cheating and lying breaking promises, aggressive behaviour and abusive control, for example, are not uncommon. “They may seem really nice and caring, and then suddenly they just do these horrible things and it’s really confusing,” says Heym.
Another area where you might find a dark empath is in a position of power, which attracts people with dark traits generally. “These people seek power for the sake of being powerful, for the sake of dominating," says Fino.
Dark drive
Recently, Heym has attempted to replicate her 2021 findings with a study of nearly 800 American participants.
The preliminary results, yet to be published but presented at scientific conferences, support her previous outcomes. They also provide some additional clues. This time, her team found that the levels of aggression in the dark empath group were nearly on par with the traditional dark triad group – making them just as dangerous.
The researchers looked at how driven the various groups were and discovered that the dark empath group was significantly more goal-orientated and hungry for success than the others, including the dark triad.
Similarly, they were more fun-seeking and responsive to rewards, which suggests they may be more open to taking risks. “They’re go-getters, or what we refer to as ‘successful psychopaths’,” says Heym.
But while it’s sometimes said that a fifth of all CEOs are psychopaths, it’s a myth that most psychopaths go for such jobs, she adds. “With [traditional] psychopathy, we wouldn’t expect a lot of achievement drive; they often don’t really care to do well. But if they do want something, then they’ll go for it.”
When traditional psychopaths do have drive, however, there’s a high risk that they’ll fail. If you’re unpredictable, aggressive and lacking in morals, the chances are other people will eventually complain about you being a bully or a fraud.
“We’ve all seen people who have become leaders in a short time, but then they’ve collapsed because maybe they’ve been involved in scandals or lied,” says Fino.
Indeed, it’s not hard to think of such cases in the world of politics. The danger with dark empaths is that they can hide more easily and create less chaos. “Not all dark empaths will become an important person, a CEO or a politician,” says Fino.
“But those who do are perhaps the most dangerous individuals because they’re able to disguise their personality and do that in a way that people believe even in the long term.”
There does appear to be a limit to what dark empaths can achieve, however. Heym and Fino collaborated recently to test whether people with dark traits can also be high in emotional intelligence, which is ultimately linked to success in the workplace.
Assessing 536 participants in the UK and Romania, their study found that this was the case: people with dark traits had average emotional intelligence. Confusingly, researchers disagree about how emotional intelligence differs from empathy.
But Heym suggests that one key difference is behaviour rather than thoughts or feelings. If you talk to somebody who has just lost a loved one, for example, you may dial down your energy levels and not go on about your most recent date.
“It’s about putting ourselves on a similar level to the other person so we can sync, so we can be better connected,” says Heym. “People with high emotional intelligence are good at doing that. That’s different from empathy, which is about understanding how others feel.”
Perhaps what’s lacking in dark empaths is a willingness to change their own behaviour to connect with others. It would make sense: those with dark traits don’t necessarily care deeply about others, they simply opt to use their empathy as a tool to get ahead.
Living with a dark empath
So what should you do if you suspect that someone in your life is a dark empath? According to Heym, “you may not need to completely eradicate them from your life; they might be people you can interact with.”
But, she adds, “they wouldn’t be the ones you’d be giving the deepest of your heart to.” Romantic relationships may be difficult and chances are they won’t work out unless you can put up with a lot of bad behaviour.
Still, dark empaths do have the capacity to understand how their partner feels, so it’s important to be clear about your feelings as this might get through to them. The real question, perhaps, is whether a dark empath would want to do the things that could make their partner happy, if it doesn’t directly benefit them.
The situation is difficult in the workplace, too. Dark empaths can approach you as a friendly colleague, but they may be trying to get information to use against you. So be careful with what you share, advises Heym.
There’s also the possibility that if you question the motives of someone with dark traits, they may become vengeful. They might exclude you or spread gossip, and they’ll look to exploit the fact that many people find it embarrassing to admit when they’ve been manipulated and so won’t call out a dark empath’s behaviour.
Whether dark empaths are able to reduce their levels of dark traits through therapy, remains to be seen. Personality is tricky to change in a significant way, and then there’s also the fact that these people tend to be confident and may see no reason to change.
If they were open to the idea, though, interventions might work best if targeted at the dark empath’s motivation to use their empathy, according to Fino.
A study on narcissism suggests that such programmes should aim to reframe empathy in a way that makes it look good to them. For example, by telling a manager with dark traits that happy employees are more productive.
It’s likely that the more someone relies on empathy, the less aggressive they’ll be. In the end, however, we’re still left with the question of whether criminal psychopaths could be dark empaths, or whether they all belong in the traditional, low-empathy, dark triad group.
Heym would like to run a study using an actual test of empathy, such as measuring people’s heart rates while they watch somebody talk about a personally distressing experience. That may be a good approach to study those in prison, she suggests.
Ultimately, if we could find out whether or not criminals with dark traits can have empathy, it might change how we try to rehabilitate prisoners. Heym has little hope anything could cure serial killers like Ted Bundy, though.
About our experts
Dr Nadja Heym is an associate professor of personality psychology and psychopathology at Nottingham Trent University. She supervises undergraduate students in the Dark Traits project lab.
Dr Emanuele Fino is a senior psychology lecturer at Notting Trent University. His research focuses on social psychology and the assessment of mental well-being.
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