You would think with the lack of emotional response that the rest of us have, you might think that psychopaths are fearless. You might be surprised to discover that they have proven that psychopaths do possess a capacity to fear. Then you might ask, “What do psychopaths fear?” It turns out they fear pretty much the same things that we do.
When I say that they fear the same things that we do, I am not saying that they fear the same way that we do. Those are two very different distinctions.
In the lab, it has been determined that psychopaths identify fear in very much the same way we do. For instance, if you are in a dark alleyway and an unidentified male pops out from behind the dumpster and sticks a gun in your ribs. This scenario is easily interpreted as a fearful situation.
If you are a typical human being, your entire physiology goes into an immediate state of panic, where you will probably try to rationalize only one of three responses. Should I run, prepare to fight, or freeze in place? And that’s basically it for normal folks.
Psychopaths, on the other hand, lack the panic trigger. This alert mechanism is greatly muted, which is an incredible gift in dangerous situations. In the alleyway gunman scenario, the psychopath will be able to evaluate the scene in detail, quickly analyzing the terrain, weather conditions, the distance between the location at hand, and any possible exits. Is the gunman wearing shoes? If so, are they dress shoes or tennis/running shoes? How tall is he? What is his average gate in comparison to the psychopath’s? Does he appear to be fit? Does he have commanding control of the weapon? Quickly evaluating all the details before deciding how to respond next, without even breaking a sweat.
You can see how this panic-free-response-in-the-face-of-fear is an advantageous skill set in certain circumstances, such as in military operations, special teams, the emergency room, or surgery.
They simply do not have the same knee-jerk reaction and are able to keep their analytical mind intact, and they are envied for being unshakeable even in the most frightening or confusingly difficult of times. This is why they make great judges, lawyers, politicians, media personalities, and CEOs. They find comfort in stressful environments such as law enforcement, journalism, and Wall Street.
Their perceived lack of emotion under stressful circumstances and ability to weigh the details without panic to get the job done is almost unparalleled. Almost, I say, because these traits are also seen in the most altruistic individuals in our society. This who will sacrifice all for the greater good or in the defense of others.
It appears that these totally opposite personalities share this characteristic of being unshakeable in the face of fear and clearly moving forward steadfastly against the odds. On one end of this spectrum, you have psychopaths like Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy and on the other end of the spectrum, you will find altruistic individuals like Martin L. King Jr. and Mother Teresa.
In psychopaths, men do tend to have more control in this area than psychopathic women who are more likely to experience more unsettledness, diagnosed with mental disorders, and are more prone to promiscuity.
So, what do psychopaths fear? The same things that we do, they just do not respond in the same way that we do. You can see how this could be considered a superpower in certain scenarios and certainly comes in handy when they are in the process of abusing or exploiting a potential victim.
This is also why they do not respond to threats, any kind of threat, even one that could be potentially dangerous for them. They are confident, calm, and analytical enough to feel assured that they will have the upper hand and be able to find a way out of this (whatever the situation might be) in plenty of time before they would have to suffer any inconvenient