Extracted from an article by Robert Matthews in the Sunday Telegraph Review, May 4th 1997
While such personality disorders as psychopathy, paranoia and obsession/compulsion all have strictly defined criteria, psychiatrists are still struggling to decide precisely what constitutes a socialised psychopath.
One of the more obvious characteristics of socialised psychopaths is that they give the impression of talking “at” you. Prof Jeremy Coid describes it as like being regarded as a cardboard cut-out. “Even in a sexual relationship with them, you are still just an object for their personal gratification,” he says.
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