Psychopathy, currently in disuse in the clinical setting, can be equated with DSM’s antisocial personality disorder. It is now beginning to be replaced by the term sociopathy. It is about people who manipulate, transgress and violate social norms for their own benefit, without having any kind of remorse.

In this article we will discuss the diagnostic criteria of psychopathy according to Cleckley . Cleckley was the initiator of the study of psychopathy, and expressed his criteria in his famous work The Mask Of Sanity (1941).

Hervey Cleckley

Hervey Cleckley was an American doctor, born in 1903 and died in 1984. Cleckley was the pioneer of research on psychopathy , and proposed a series of diagnostic criteria for it. The diagnostic criteria of psychopathy according to Cleckley were described in 1941 in his book “The Mask of Sanity”.

These criteria were the basis for the subsequent criteria used in the various classifications that have subsequently been developed, including the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). Thus, Cleckley was the initiator of the study of psychopathy, and after him came authors such as Blackburn and Hare (the latter ended up being the most relevant author).

In addition, Cleckley introduced the concept of “semantic dementia” , to refer to what he considered the main characteristic of psychopathy.

Semantic dementia consisted in the separation between word and action, resulting in subjects who were “highly asocial, aggressive and impulsive, who lacked feelings and guilt (sometimes not completely), and who would be incapable of creating lasting bonds of affection with other people […] emotional superficiality, apparently pleasant social treatment and inability to learn from experience”.

Cleckley’s diagnostic criteria for psychopathy

Cleckley developed his criteria for psychopathy (1941, 1976) through studies he carried out on various real cases. These criteria comprised a series of significant features in the field of psychopathy, some of which were shared with others already designated by Gray and Hutchinson (1964).

His list of criteria would include the most significant and complex description of that time, and the features would remain until Hare’s description in 1991.

Thus, the diagnostic criteria for psychopathy according to Cleckley are a total of 16:

  • Presence of an external charm and of a remarkable intelligence.
  • Absence of hallucinations or other signs of irrational thinking
  • Absence of nervousness of psychoneurotic manifestations.
  • Instability, little formality.
  • Falseness and insincerity.
  • Lack of feelings of remorse or shame .
  • Inappropriately motivated antisocial behavior.
  • Insufficient reasoning and lack of capacity to learn from the experience
  • Pathological egocentrism and inability to love.
  • General poverty in the main emotional relationships.
  • Specific loss of intuition.
  • Insensitivity in general interpersonal relationships .
  • Fantastic and unrecommended behavior, with and without drink.
  • Suicide threats rarely carried out.
  • Impersonal, trivial and poorly integrated sex life.
  • Failure to follow a life plan .

The term psychopath

The term “psychopath” began to be used with the appearance of Hervey Cleckley’s book, The mask of sanity , published in 1941. From that moment on, the term “psychopath” began to refer to a theoretical construct with very defined personality characteristics that differentiate it from the common criminal.

This “common criminal” is the one who would be diagnosed as antisocial according to the classification manuals of mental disorders (DSM-IV and ICD-10).

Thus, the term psychopath, despite its official classification as an antisocial personality disorder, presents a series of features and characteristics that make up a differentiated subgroup within the broader concept of antisociality .

What are these people like?

Psychopaths, at present (and according to most manuals and experts, although there are slight discrepancies) are defined as people with characteristics such as irresponsibility, dishonesty, emotional insensitivity, cruelty and lack of remorse towards their actions (that is, they have no feelings of guilt). Many of these traits were already defined in the diagnostic criteria of psychopathy according to Cleckley,

In other cases, behavioral traits may be more subtle or “hidden”, and manifest themselves in the form of manipulative behaviors, superficial charm, etc. Such behaviors can cause confusion in the people around them as to the true evil of the psychopath’s intentions.

Psychopaths are usually skilled and socially accepted people; they use their skills as a “social weapon” to achieve their purposes. They are people who have learned the “rules of the game” in order to get close to people from whom they can benefit.

In line with the diagnostic criteria of psychopathy according to Cleckley, for psychopaths human relationships are not necessary, but rather they only have the utility of providing them with what they are interested in obtaining .

It is from here that the need to learn social norms and social interaction arises, in order to take advantage of people and use them, manipulate them, mistreat them or even (in extreme cases) kill them at will.

Bibliographic references:

  • Alba, J.L. and Garrido, V. (2012). Psychopathy. Case studies. Psychopathy in the 21st century: Notes for reflection, Criminology and Justice, 18-24.
  • APA (2014). DSM-5. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. Madrid. Panamericana.
  • Millon, T. (1998). Personality Disorders. Beyond DSM-IV. Barcelona: Masson.
  • WHO (2000). ICD-10. International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Edition. Madrid. Pan-American.