The Uncanny Persuasiveness of Psychopaths

In his book The Wisdom of Psychopaths, Dr. Kevin Dutton—a renowned psychologist and expert in social influence—convincingly demonstrates that, paradoxical as it may sound, even we have something to learn from psychopaths. “Psychopaths know no fear or pity; they are charming, attractive, and endlessly self-confident. Traits common to psychopaths are often found in leaders. Lack of remorse and willingness to manipulate, inflated self-esteem, inexhaustible charm, and an extraordinary gift for persuasion—all this allows them to do whatever they want, whenever they want, without caring about the consequences or feeling the slightest pang of conscience.” (Dutton)

Before we explore why psychopaths are so persuasive, let’s take a closer look at psychopathy itself—who psychopaths are and what defines them.

What Is Psychopathy?

Psychopathy is a psychopathological syndrome characterized by a constellation of traits such as callousness toward others, reduced capacity for empathy, inability to feel genuine remorse for harming others, deceitfulness, egocentrism, and shallow emotional responses. (Polunina, Bruhn)

This definition covers many key aspects of psychopathy, including the absence of guilt, remorse, and shame. However, it doesn’t mention their charm, persuasive abilities, or manipulativeness—traits that play a significant role in both their lives and their relationships with others. For a more complete picture, consider the definition by Dr. Robert D. Hare, PhD:

“Psychopaths are social predators who charm, manipulate, and ruthlessly plow their way through life, leaving behind a broad trail of broken hearts, shattered expectations, and empty wallets. Completely lacking in conscience and empathy, they take what they want and do as they please, violating social norms and rules without the slightest sense of guilt or regret.” (Hare)

Dr. Hare’s description highlights their charm and persuasiveness: “The ability to make a good impression is one of their strongest suits.” (Hare)

How Is Psychopathy Measured?

To determine if someone is a psychopath, Robert Hare developed the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), which remains the gold standard for diagnosing psychopathy. The test consists of 20 statements, and the subject must indicate how well each applies to them: “yes, often” (2 points), “yes, sometimes” (1 point), or “no, never” (0 points). The maximum score is 40; the higher the score, the more pronounced the psychopathic traits.

Some statements directly relate to charm, persuasiveness, manipulativeness, and deceit:

• Superficial charm (the ability to speak convincingly, make a great first impression, pretend, and be hypocritical);
• Pathological lying (cunning and cleverness in moderate psychopathy; deception, trickery, scheming, and dishonesty in pronounced cases);
• Cunning, slyness, and a tendency to manipulate others for personal gain.

Other statements, while not directly about verbal traits, can only be fulfilled by someone with exceptional persuasive skills:

• Financial parasitism (manipulating others to live at their expense, exploiting others financially, treating others’ property as their own);
• Promiscuity (numerous sexual relationships with little selectivity);
• Multiple short-term marriages and divorces (lack of genuine commitment to long-term relationships).

It’s hard to imagine someone living off others, leading a promiscuous lifestyle, or having multiple marriages without near-perfect persuasive abilities. While these behaviors don’t always require manipulation, it’s extremely difficult—if not impossible—without it.

Why Are Psychopaths So Persuasive?

Returning to Dr. Hare’s work, key symptoms of psychopathy related to communication include talkativeness, superficiality, cunning, and manipulativeness. These traits make people with psychopathic tendencies so persuasive that they could be excellent salespeople, lawyers, politicians—and, of course, con artists.

The speech of psychopaths is often well-structured and free of contradictions. Ironically, it’s not the mistakes in their speech that arouse suspicion, but the lack thereof. Even if they contradict themselves, inattentive listeners rarely notice. “Our vigilance is dulled not by what they say, but by how they say it and what they do while speaking.” (Hare)

Paul Ekman, a world-renowned expert on the psychology of lying, provides a vivid example in his book Telling Lies of how a natural-born liar (and psychopaths are certainly natural-born liars) fooled both journalists and police:

“Billionaire Howard Hughes, a major figure in the film industry and owner of an airline and the largest casino in Las Vegas, hadn’t been seen in years, fueling public curiosity. When Clifford Irving claimed that the reclusive Hughes had allowed him to write his biography, publishers paid huge sums for the rights. It turned out to be a hoax! Irving was a master con artist. When we interviewed him, he never made a single mistake and told his story the same way every time. There were minor inconsistencies, but when we caught him, he easily admitted them. An average liar has a well-rehearsed story they can repeat endlessly without slipping up. An honest person, however, usually makes small mistakes, especially in long, complex stories like Clifford’s.” (Ekman)

Ekman notes that “liars give themselves away through their behavior, usually for two reasons—one cognitive, one emotional.” Psychopaths have a huge advantage here: they can structure their speech and stick to a story, but more importantly, they lack the emotions that typically betray liars. The main emotions associated with lying are fear of detection, guilt, and the thrill of deception. (Ekman)

Psychopaths lack guilt and remorse and are incapable of empathy. This means they don’t experience pangs of conscience. As for fear of being caught, it’s likely absent as well—psychopaths are emotionally shallow and “completely indifferent to the possibility of being exposed.” (Hare) At most, a psychopath might display the thrill of deception, but you’re unlikely to see fear or guilt in their nonverbal cues.

Why Are Psychopaths So Hard to Catch?

Psychopaths are natural-born liars, perfect deceivers, and manipulators. Even professional lie detectors struggle to spot their deception, let alone ordinary people who often become their victims.

One key factor in their persuasiveness is that they simply don’t care what they’re lying about. While a mentally healthy person may not feel strong emotions when telling a white lie, serious lies cause significant stress. Psychopaths, however, feel nothing—even if they’re lying about murder or assault.

“Given their talkativeness and ability to lie, it’s no surprise that psychopaths successfully deceive, trick, and manipulate others without the slightest pang of conscience.” (Hare)

How Psychopaths Spot Vulnerability

Psychopaths are remarkably adept at sensing weakness in their victims, even by something as subtle as the way someone walks. In The Wisdom of Psychopaths, Kevin Dutton describes an experiment by psychologist Angela Book:

“She gave students a self-report psychopathy scale, then divided them into high and low scorers. She showed them videos of 12 people walking and asked them to rate each person’s vulnerability on a scale of 1 to 10.” (Hare)

As expected, psychopaths were exceptionally good at detecting weakness—almost as if they have a “nose” for ideal victims, making them easy to deceive.

The Role of Charm and Social Bias

Psychopaths’ manipulative and deceitful interactions are further aided by their ability to present themselves positively, increasing their attractiveness to others. We tend to trust and be lenient with those we find likable, and psychopaths exploit this human weakness for their own gain.

Additionally, many people firmly believe in the good intentions of others. In his book Detecting Lies and Deceit, Aldert Vrij explains why people are more likely to assume statements are truthful than deceptive:

“First, in everyday life, people encounter more truthful statements than lies, so they tend to assume observed behavior is sincere. Second, social norms discourage suspicion. Third, people hold stereotypical beliefs about how liars and truth-tellers behave (for example, people are more likely to believe someone who appears calm and confident, even if they’re lying, and to distrust someone who seems anxious, even if they’re telling the truth). Fourth, people may be unsure whether deception is actually occurring.” (Vrij)

Thus, the success of psychopaths’ persuasiveness, deceit, and manipulation is due to both their own personality traits and the psychological tendencies of healthy individuals, who are generally poor at detecting lies and prone to various behavioral stereotypes.

Real-Life Examples and Pop Culture

History is full of stories about psychopaths who achieved their goals through their persuasive talents, often with deadly consequences. Notorious psychopaths like John Wayne Gacy (who killed over 30 young men), Gary Tison (a born killer who manipulated the justice system), Jeffrey MacDonald (who murdered his wife and children and blamed drug addicts), Kenneth Bianchi (who killed twelve women and convinced some experts he had multiple personality disorder), Joe Hunt (a master manipulator who created an investment scheme for the wealthy), Clifford Olson (who convinced the government to pay him $100,000 to reveal the locations of his victims), and Ted Bundy (who brutally murdered dozens of young women while pretending to be disabled) all relied on their powers of persuasion and manipulation. But it’s not just killers—“white-collar psychopaths” also use deceit and manipulation to swindle friends and family, gain trust, and get away with it.

A great example of a persuasive psychopath in pop culture is the film Filth by director Jon S. Baird. The main character, Bruce Robertson (James McAvoy), is a corrupt cop and a psychopath who thinks only of his own benefit. To achieve his goals, he constantly lies and manipulates. His entire life is a web of deceit. Throughout the film, Bruce competes with colleagues for a promotion, using psychological tricks and persuasiveness to prove his competence. One memorable scene shows him writing gossip about a coworker in the bathroom, then storming into the office to demand that such behavior not be tolerated. The character displays all the hallmarks of psychopathy: lack of guilt, shallow emotions, egocentrism, pretentiousness, irresponsibility, and antisocial behavior.

Summary: Why Psychopaths Are So Convincing

To sum up, the main reasons for the persuasiveness of psychopaths are:

1. Personality traits such as lack of guilt and shame, shallow emotions, talkativeness, and deceptive charm make lying easier for them;
2. Psychopaths stick to a single line of behavior and, if they slip up, quickly find an excuse or change the subject;
3. Their speech is often well-structured and smooth, inspiring trust; if it is contradictory, people usually don’t notice;
4. Their emotional shallowness prevents them from feeling fear of exposure, guilt, or shame, as well as the thrill of deception;
5. They are indifferent to the content of their lies;
6. They don’t care what others think of them, even if exposed;
7. They are highly skilled at sensing others’ weaknesses;
8. They can make a positive impression, encouraging trust and leniency;
9. Most people are poor at detecting lies and are more accustomed to being deceived.

To conclude, here are lines from a story signed “A Psychopath in Prison”:

“He will choose you, disarm you with words, and overwhelm you with his presence. He will delight you with his clever plans. You’ll have a good time with him, but you’ll pay for it all. He’ll lie with a smile and terrify you with a glance. And when you no longer interest him, he’ll drain you and leave you unbalanced and stripped of self-worth. You’ll be much sadder, but not much wiser, and you’ll spend a long time thinking about what happened and where you went wrong. If someone like that knocks on your door, will you open it?”