People Who Read People: A Behavior and Psychology Podcast

On psychopaths, dark traits, and "dark empaths," with Nadja Heym

03.23.2023 - By Zachary ElwoodPlay

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play

A talk with Nadja Heym, a psychology researcher who specializes in dark traits, like psychopathy, narcissism, and sadism, and who has researched so-called "dark empaths": people with dark traits who have a good amount of empathy. We delve into some nuance in the area of psychopathy. Topics discussed include: How she defines psychopathic traits; The misuse of the term "psychopath" (and related misuse of other terms like "narcissist"); Can we say from a brain scan if a brain is "psychopathic"?; "Bad seed"-like concepts of how psychopaths arise; Can an environment (like a highly competitive job) make someone have more psychopathic traits?; What are "dark empaths"? 

Support the Show. To get ad-free episodes, and more, get a premium subscription. To learn more about the show, go to behavior-podcast.com. I'm on Twitter at @apokerplayer. See a summary of my work.

More episodes from People Who Read People: A Behavior and Psychology Podcast