Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Ten Subtypes
of Psychopathy
THEODORE MILLON ROGER D. DAVIS
As the chapters of this book will attest, psychopaths have been described as having a parade of characteristics.
Some observers see psychopaths as impulsive, immature, naive, aimless, and flighty; others view them as
sly, cunning, and well educated, capable of clever long-range plans that deceive and exploit others. On the
one hand, psychopaths have commonly been noted for their cruel aggressiveness and for the keen pleasures
they derive from disrupting and intimidating others; on the other, these individuals are sometimes pictured as
lacking in hostile intentions and are believed to experience extreme discomfort when their actions prove harmful
or upsetting to others.
Such diametrically opposed conceptions stem in part from a failure to recognize that psychopathic behaviors
spring from appreciably different personality patterns. That is, social deviation may arise as a consequence
of fundamentally different styles of lifeeach of which may lead, however, to similar repugnant actions. In
this chapter, we will differentiate the disorder into the several personality subtypes that we believe lie at its
foundations. To highlight these different pathways to psychopathy, we will describe 10 variants of this
disorder, each of which is found primarily in one or another of the DSM's, ICUs, and other systems'
personality disorders. We believe that these types account for the great majority of those currently classified
as psychopathic. Since we are concerned with differentiating subtypes, our focus is on discriminant
characteristics. However, all psychopaths exhibit certain commonalities, notably a marked self-centeredness
and disdain for the needs of others. In addition to this central core, they often display in common several
subsidiary features that make differential diagnoses extremely difficult. Nevertheless, it is instructive for
pedagogical purposes to highlight their more discriminable clinical characteristics and personality backgrounds.
as evidencing an unscrupulous, amoral, and deceptive approach to relationships with others. More than
merely disloyal and exploitive, these psychopaths may be found among society's con artists and
charlatans, many of whom are vindictive toward and contemptuous of their victims.
The unprincipled psychopath often evidences a rash willingness to risk harm and is usually fearless in the
face of threats and punitive action. Malicious tendencies are projected outward, precipitating frequent
personal and family difficulties, as well as occasional legal entanglements. Vengeful gratification is often
obtained by humiliating others. These narcissistic psychopaths operate as if they have no principles other than
exploiting others for their personal gain. Lacking a genuine sense of guilt and possessing little social conscience, they
are opportunists who enjoy the process of swindling others, outwitting them in a game they enjoy playing, in
which others are held in contempt because of the ease with which they can be seduced. Relationships survive
only as long as this type of psychopath has something to gain. People are dropped with no thought to the
anguish they may experience as a consequence of the psychopath's irresponsible behaviors.
These psychopaths display an indifference to truth that, if brought to their attention, is likely to elicit an
attitude of nonchalant indifference. They are skillful in the ways of social influence, are capable of feigning an
air of justified innocence, and are adept in deceiving others with charm and glibness. Lacking any deep feelings
of loyalty, they may successfully scheme beneath a veneer of politeness and civility. Their principal orientation is that of outwitting others"Do unto others before they do unto you." A number of these psychopaths
attempt to present an image of cool strength, acting arrogant and fearless. To prove their courage, they may
invite danger and punishment. But punishment only verifies their unconscious recognition that they probably
deserve to be punished for their unprincipled behaviors. Rather than having a deterrent effect, it only
reinforces their exploitive behaviors.
In many ways, the unprincipled psychopath is similar to the disingenuous psy chopath, to whom we
will turn next. They share a devious and guileful style, plotting and scheming in their calculations to
manipulate others. However, the disingenuous psychopath, a variant of the histrionic personality,
continues to pursue a strong need for attention and approvalcharacteristics not present in the
unprincipled psychopath, who exhibits a basic self-centeredness and an indifference to the attitudes and
reactions of others. Unprincipled psychopaths prey on the weak and vulnerable, enjoying oying their
dismay and anger; disingenuous psychopaths, by contrast, seek to hold the respect and affection of those they put
aside in their pursuit of new sources of love and admiration.
THE DISINGENUOUS PSYCHOPATH
The disingenuous psychopath's behavior is typified by a veneer of friendliness and sociability. Although
making a superficially good impression upon acquaintances, this psychopath frequently shows a more
characteristic unreliability, impulsive tendencies, and deep resentments and moodiness among family
members and other close associates. A socially facile lifestyle may include persistent seeking of attention and
excitement, often expressed in seductive behaviors. Relationships are shallow and fleeting, frequently disrupted
by caustic comments and impulses that are acted upon with insufficient deliberationcharacteristics typically found
among histrionic personalities, which the disingenuous psychopath most resembles.
Others often see this subtype as irresponsible and undependable, exhibiting short-lived enthusiasms and
immature stimulus-seeking behaviors. Notable also among these disingenuous psychopaths are tendencies to be
contriving and plotting; to exhibit a crafty and scheming approach to life; and to be insincere, calculating, and
deceitful. Not likely to admit responsibility for personal or family difficulties, this psychopath manifests a
cleverly defensive denial of psychological tensions or conflicts. Interpersonal difficulties are rationalized, and
blame is projected upon others. Although self-indulgent and insistent on attention, the disingenuous type
provides others with erratic loyalty and reciprocal affection.
A flagrant deceitfulness is a principal prototypal characteristic of this variant of psychopathy. These
individuals are more willful and insincere in their relationships, doing everything necessary to obtain what
they need and want from others. Moreover, and in contrast to other psychopaths, they seem to enjoy seductive
play, gaining gratification in the excitement and tension thus engendered. Often they are calculating and
guileful when someone else has what they covet, be it the attention of a person or some tangible possession.
Developmentally, their need for the approval of others gradually erodes over time, and is replaced by the means
used to achieve approval. In the end, only a manipulative and cunning style remains.
The deceitfulness of the disingenuous psychopath is extended to the self. The attention and
commendation of others are always perceived as consequences of the psychopath's own plotting and
scheming behaviors; rarely are they seen as expressions of unconditional regard. Beneath the surface, such
psychopaths' greatest fear is that no one will care for or love them unless they are made to do so. Despite this
recognition, they attempt to persuade themselves that their intentions are basically good, and that their insincerely motivated scheming is appreciated for its intrinsic worth. Throughout these mixed internal
messages, nevertheless, the disingenuous psychopaths persist in seeking what is most important to
themselves, always angling and maneuvering to acquire it. These psychopaths are no less self-deceptive
about their motives than they are about those whom they deceive.
Although their weak points are usually concealed through veils of deceitfulness, disingenuous persons
are often fearful that others may see them as indecisive or softhearted. When mildly crossed, subject to
minor pressures, or faced with potential embarrassment, these psychopaths may be quickly provoked to anger,
often expressed in a revengeful or vindictive way. The air of superficial affability is extremely precarious, and
they are ready to depreciate anyone whose attitudes touch a sensitive theme. When the thin veneer of
sociability is eroded, there may be momentary upsurges of abuse and rage, although these are infrequent.
Disappointed and feeling frustrated in life, these persons lose control and seek revenge for the
mistreatment and deprecation to which they feel subjected. In contrast to other psychopaths, explosive
individuals do not move about in a surly and truculent manner. Rather, their rages burst out
uncontrollably, often with no apparent provocation. In periods of explosive rage, they may unleash a torrent
of abuse and storm about defiantly, cursing and voicing bitter contempt for all. This quality of sudden and
irrational belligerence, as well as the frenzied lashing out, distinguishes these psychopathics from the other
subtypes. Many are hypersensitive to feelings of betrayal or may be deeply frustrated by the futility and
hopelessness of their lives.
When explosive psychopaths are faced with repeated failures, humiliations, and frustrations, their
limited controls may be quickly overrun by deeply felt and undischarged resentments. Once released, the
fury of the moment draws upon memories and emotions of the past that surge unrestrained to the surface,
breaking out into a wild, irrational, and uncontrollable rage. From the preceding descriptions, it would not be
unreasonable to hypothesize that explosive psychopaths possess beneath their surface controls a pattern
similar to that of individuals described as "sadistic borderlines." Usually under control, but lacking the
cohesion of psychic structure to maintain controls across all situations, these individuals periodically erupt
with precipitous and vindictive behaviors that signify their psychopathic style.
Whether justified or not, certain persons come to symbolize for explosive psychopaths the sense of
frustration and hopelessness that sparks their explosive reactions. As the psychopaths see it, these symbolic
figures must be obliterated. Many such psychopaths have established "safe partners" for abuseindividuals who
have come to symbolize their failures and frustrations, who "know" their inadequacies. The mere presence of
these symbolic individuals stirs deep feelings of failure and reminds them of the ways life has violated their
hopes and their integrity. Because they are unable to resolve the real sources of their resentment and frustration,
they come to feel that these symbols of futility and hopelessness must be removed from the scene. Confronted
by their madequacies, explosive psychopaths may be provoked into panic and blind rage. The resulting violence
is a desperate, lashing-out act against symbols rather than reality.
When physical assaults are directed against persons other than safe partners, they are often the product
of verbally unskilled psychopaths' seeking to terminate altercations in which they feel incapable of responding
effectively. Unable to verbalize what they feel and why, feeling outmaneuvered and humiliated, the
psychopaths respond in the only way possible to remove the irritation. Thus impotence and personal failure
become the source of these aggressive acts, which serve to release accumulated tensions. Because these
explosive psychopaths may be provoked by otherwise innocuous interactions, their victims often seem rather
incidental and arbitrarily selected. The explosions are not so much a social response as an emotional release.
behavior, often reverting to the very customs previously opposed. In contrast, the hostile and opposing manner of
abrasive psychopaths is part of the core of their being. Their knack of belittling and denigrating anyone in
the name of whatever principle they happen to espouse is well rehearsed and persistent. Criticism of others as
"good for them" may even be viewed as an essential corrective mechanism. Believing that they take no
personal satisfaction in telling people off or in having ulterior motives for doing so, these individuals feel
unconstrained, free to say and do anything they please "to set people right."
Those with whom abrasive psychopaths relate know their pretensions of principled behavior to be but a
thin veneer. Faced with any opposition, especially from persons they consider of lesser stature than themselves,
these persons spew forth bitter complaints of how they are utterly unappreciated and ill treated. Anything
personal they have done to others does not really reflect their character, but is merely a j ustified reaction to the
uncaring treatment to which they have been exposed. Thus, they are justified in what they say and do, with no
qualms of conscience or remorse for having acted in the most obnoxious way. As the argument is joined, the
deeper origins of their personality style are perpetually reactivated and refueled.
Unlike the malevolent psychopaths, however, the tyrannical psychopaths seem to be stimulated by resistances
or weaknesses, which encourage attack rather than deter it or slow it down. Some are crudely assaultive and
distressingly vulgar, whereas others are physically restrained, but overwhelm their victims by unrelenting
criticism and bitter tirades. This variant derives a special sense of satisfaction from forcing victims to cower
and submit. Among those who are not physically brutal, we see verbally cutting and scathing
commentaries that are both accusatory and demeaning. Many intentionally heighten and dramatize their
surly, abusive, inhumane, and unmerciful behaviors. Although these individuals are in many respects the
purest type of classical psychopaths, they do exhibit features of several personality disorders, most notably
the DSM-III-R's sadistic and the DSM-IV's negativistic personality disorders.
Especially distinctive is this type of psychopath's desire and willingness to go out of the way to be
unmerciful and inhumane. Often calculating and cool, tyrannical psychopaths are selective in their choice
of victims, identifying individuals who are likely to submit rather than to react with counterviolence. Quite
frequently, they display a disproportionate level of abusiveness and intimidation, in order to impress not only
their victims but those who observe the psychopaths' unconstrained power. More than any other subtype, these
individuals derive deep satisfaction in creating suffering and in seeing its effect on others. In contrast to the
explosive psychopaths, for whom hostility serves primarily as a discharge of pent-up feelings, the tyrannical
psychopaths employ violence instrumentally as a means to inspire terror and intimidation. These experiences
then become the object of self-conscious reflection, providing the psychopaths with a sense of deep
satisfaction. Many other subtypes, by contrast, have second thoughts and feel a measure of contrition about
their actions.
Much of what drives tyrannical psychopaths is their fear that others may recognize their inner insecurities
and low sense of self-esteem. To overcome these deeply felt inner weaknesses, they have learned that they can feel
superior through overwhelming others by the force of their physical power and brutal vindictiveness.
THE MALIGNANT PSYCHOPATH
Malignant psychopaths represent structurally defective variants of the psychopathic pattern. Their features
frequently blend with those of the paranoid personality disorder. They are characterized best by their
autocratic power orientation and by their mistrust, resentment, and envy of others. Underlying these features is a
ruthless desire to vindicate themselves for past wrongs by cunning revenge or callous force, if necessary.
In contrast to the other subtypes, the malignant psychopaths have found that their efforts to abuse and
tyrannize others have only prompted the others to inflict more of the hostility and harsh punishment
experienced in childhood. The psychopaths' strategy of arrogance and brutalization has backfired too often,
and they now seek retribution, not as much through action as through fantasy. Isolated and resentful, they
increasingly turn to themselves, to cogitate and mull over their fate. Left to their own ruminations, they begin
to imagine a plot in which every facet of the environment plays a threatening and treacherous role. Moreover,
through the intrapsychic mechanism of projection, they attribute their own venom to others, ascribing to
them the malice and ill will they feel within themselves. As the line between objective antagonism and
imagined hostility becomes thin, the belief takes hold that others are intentionally persecuting them. Not infrequently, persecutory delusions combine with delusions of grandeur; however, these latter beliefs play a
secondary role among malignant psychopaths, in contrast to their primacy among fanatic paranoid
personalities.
Preeminent among malignant psychopaths is their need to retain their independence and cling tenaciously
to the belief in their own self-worth. The need to protect their autonomy and strength may be seen in the
content of their persecutory delusions. Malevolence on the part of others is viewed as neither casual nor
random; rather, it is seen as designed to intimidate, offend, and undermine the individuals' self-esteem.
"They" are seeking to weaken the psychopaths' "will," to destroy their power, to spread lies, to thwart
their talents, to control their thoughts, and to immobilize and subjugate them. These psychopaths dread
losing their self-determination; their persecutory fantasies are filled with fears of being forced to submit to
authority, of being made soft and pliant, and of being tricked to surrender their self-determination.
SUMMARY
In this chapter, we have described 10 psychopathic subtypes. Difficult as it may be to discriminate among
several of these subtypes, we believe there is value, especially in this chaotic era, in attempting to distinguish
the many varieties of those whose character and acts incline them to be antisocial, criminal, and violent. Note,
however, that the number 10 is by no means special. The types have been synthesized inductively, through clinical
observation and experience, clinical lore, and a reading of the research literature. Taxonomies may be put
forward at levels that are more coarse or more fine-grained. Although other authors might have chosen 8, 9,
or 11 types, we believe that those explicated herein are approximately comparable in their level of
abstraction. Furthermore, we hope that by noting relationships between psychopathy and the personality
patterns of the DSM, ICD, and other nosologies, we have made it clear that "psychopathic behav ior" need
not refer only to the classic psychopath of tradition, but may instead be broadened to include other clinically
relevant and useful organizing principles.