Psychopaths are ‘useful for society’

PSYCHOPATHS can be useful to society – as their lack of empathy makes them good at taking difficult decisions, research has found.

One of the toughest decisions a person can ever have to make is whether to sacrifice one life to save many.

However, researchers found this is less of a problem for people with psychopathic tendencies.

In tests, they are much better at performing emotionally fraught tasks such as shooting down a passenger plane before it crashes into a tower block.

In experiments carried out by a team at the University of Plymouth, participants were confronted with moral dilemmas in which they had to decide whether to sacrifice a person by performing a harmful action against them in order to save a larger group. The participants used virtual reality headsets and apparatus that allowed them to simulate physically harming an individual to save others.

But the results showed that people with strong psychopathic traits carried out their tasks more forcefully.

Researchers said it shows psychopaths can be a force for ‘greater good.’

The latest findings add to growing evidence suggesting it is possible there might be a positive face to psychopathy, or – at the very least – to some of its components. Lead author Dr Kathryn Francis said psychopathy is generally characterised by antisocial behaviour and impaired empathy.

As such, individuals with strong psychopathic traits may find it less emotionally challenging to carry out actions that others might find uncomfortable.

This result indicates that, in certain circumstances, psychopathic traits could be considered beneficial, since they can lead to a more vigorous response.

Co-author Dr Sylvia Terbeck, of the University of Plymouth, said: ‘This study opens up the possibility to assess psychopathy using novel virtual reality technology – which is vital to better understand how and why people with these behavioural traits act in certain ways.’