Psychopathy and Empathy: Can Psychopaths Understand What Others Feel?

Psychopathy is one of the most widely discussed personality constructs in forensic psychology. It is commonly associated with characteristics such as manipulation, superficial charm, impulsivity, lack of remorse, callousness, and antisocial behavior. One of the most important psychological characteristics associated with psychopathy is a reduced capacity for empathy. However, describing psychopaths as simply having “no empathy” is an oversimplification. Research suggests that empathy is made up of different processes, and individuals with psychopathic traits may have difficulty with some forms of empathy while retaining others. Understanding this distinction can help explain why some individuals with psychopathic traits are capable of recognizing another person's emotions while showing little emotional concern for that person's suffering.

Empathy generally refers to the ability to understand and respond to another person's emotional experience. However, empathy is not a single ability. Researchers commonly distinguish between cognitive and affective empathy. Cognitive empathy involves understanding another person's thoughts, emotions, or perspective. Affective empathy involves emotionally responding to another person's feelings, such as feeling concern when witnessing someone who is suffering. Blair (2005) argues that these different forms of empathy should be considered separately because a person may have the ability to understand another individual's emotional state without necessarily sharing or responding emotionally to that experience.

This distinction is particularly important when examining psychopathy. A person with psychopathic traits may recognize that another individual is frightened, upset, or in pain, but that recognition does not necessarily produce the emotional response that would normally discourage harmful behavior. In other words, understanding someone's emotions and actually caring about those emotions are not necessarily the same thing. This may help explain why some individuals with psychopathic traits can be socially skilled and manipulative while simultaneously displaying little remorse or concern for the consequences of their actions.

Research supports the idea that psychopathy is more strongly associated with deficits in affective empathy than with a complete absence of cognitive empathy. Campos et al. (2022) conducted a large meta-analysis examining the relationship between psychopathy, antisocial behavior, and empathy. Their analysis included a substantial body of research and found that psychopathy was particularly associated with reduced affective empathy. This finding is important because it challenges the assumption that individuals with psychopathy are simply incapable of understanding other people. Instead, they may be able to recognize and interpret another person's emotions while having a weaker emotional response to those emotions.

The difference between these forms of empathy can have important consequences for behavior. For example, imagine that an individual understands that another person is afraid. Cognitive empathy allows the individual to recognize the fear and understand why the person is experiencing it. However, affective empathy would involve experiencing an emotional reaction to that person's fear, such as concern or distress. If the cognitive ability is present but the affective response is reduced, the person may recognize the victim's fear without feeling motivated to stop causing it. In a forensic context, this distinction may be especially relevant to understanding manipulation, exploitation, aggression, and lack of remorse.

Meffert et al. (2013) provide particularly interesting evidence regarding this issue. Their study examined emotional responses in individuals with psychopathy and compared spontaneous emotional reactions with responses when participants were specifically instructed to empathize. The researchers found that individuals with psychopathy showed reduced spontaneous responses to the experiences of others. However, when they were deliberately instructed to empathize, their responses became more similar to those of individuals without psychopathy. These findings suggest that people with psychopathic traits may not always automatically experience another person's emotions, but they may possess some ability to deliberately understand or represent another person's emotional experience.

This research creates an important distinction between being unable to empathize and not automatically engaging in empathy. A psychopath may potentially understand what another person is experiencing without naturally sharing that person's emotional state. This ability may even contribute to manipulation. If someone can accurately recognize another person's emotions without experiencing the same emotional concern, they may be able to use that knowledge strategically. For example, recognizing another person's insecurities could potentially allow an individual to manipulate or exploit those vulnerabilities.

The neurological perspective provides another explanation for these empathy differences. Rijnders et al. (2021) reviewed research examining empathy and facial-affect processing in psychopathy and discussed differences in emotional processing, including the involvement of brain systems such as the amygdala. The amygdala plays an important role in processing emotionally significant information, including fear and distress. Differences in how emotional information is processed may therefore contribute to the reduced emotional responses associated with psychopathy. Rather than simply lacking an understanding of emotions, individuals with psychopathic traits may process emotionally meaningful information differently.

These findings also raise an important question about criminal responsibility. Psychopathy itself does not automatically mean that a person is legally insane or incapable of understanding right from wrong. A person can potentially understand that an action will harm another individual while still having a reduced emotional response to that harm. This distinction is important in forensic psychology because emotional deficits and legal responsibility are not the same thing. The presence of psychopathic traits does not, by itself, establish that a person lacks the capacity required for criminal responsibility.

The relationship between psychopathy and empathy is therefore more complex than the common stereotype of the “emotionless psychopath.” Current research suggests that psychopathy may involve specific deficits in emotional empathy rather than a complete inability to understand other people. Individuals with psychopathic traits may recognize emotions and understand another person's perspective while experiencing less emotional concern for that person's suffering. This combination may help explain characteristics frequently associated with psychopathy, including manipulation, callousness, reduced guilt, and antisocial behavior.

Ultimately, understanding the relationship between psychopathy and empathy is important not only for understanding criminal behavior but also for improving forensic assessment and treatment. The research suggests that empathy should not be treated as an all-or-nothing ability. Instead, researchers and forensic professionals should consider the different components of empathy and how they function independently. The question is not simply whether psychopaths can feel empathy, but rather which aspects of empathy they can experience, which they struggle with, and how those differences influence their behavior. This distinction provides a more accurate and scientifically grounded understanding of psychopathy and its relationship to criminal behavior.

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• Blair, R. J. R. (2005). Responding to the emotions of others: Dissociating forms of empathy through the study of typical and psychiatric populations. Consciousness and Cognition, 14(4), 698–718.
• Campos, C., et al. (2022). Refining the link between psychopathy, antisocial behavior, and empathy: A meta-analytical approach across different conceptual frameworks. Clinical Psychology Review, 94, 102145.
• Meffert, H., Gazzola, V., den Boer, J. A., Bartels, A. A. J., & Keysers, C. (2013). Reduced spontaneous but relatively normal deliberate vicarious representations in psychopathy. Brain, 136(8), 2550–2562.
• Rijnders, R. J. P., et al. (2021). Unzipping empathy in psychopathy: Empathy and facial affect processing in psychopaths. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 131, 1116–1126.