3 ms·

is there a term for the opposite of psychopaths? why is intense concern for what others think of you and how you react considered normal?

platz 14y ago
Perhaps neuroticism includes it, but I think the term has been retired from usage in the past couple decades.
dmor 14y ago
I think that is generally referred to as self-consciousness, and it can be very extreme (to the point of paranoia and anxiety attacks) or more tame, as in the stereotype of the average teenager.
georgeorwell 14y ago
empath? https://www.google.com/search?q=empath https://www.google.com/search?q=empath
dkarl 14y ago
It seems like the opposite of psychopathy would be a mix of insecurity, guilt, social anxiety, and intrusive, excessive, uncontrollable empathy. Imagine that every time an ambulance went by with its lights and siren on, you were overwhelmed with fear and sadness for whoever was hurt, while at the same time feeling guilty for no reason, and being afraid that whatever happened to the poor person in the ambulance, you would be blamed for it.
nnq 14y ago
There's the hypo-mentalism - hyper-mentalism axis: http://edge.org/conversation/the-imprinted-brain-theory http://edge.org/conversation/the-imprinted-brain-theory (scroll to the second picture for a tl;dr, ignore the genetics thing if it's not your thing...)
DanBC 14y ago
It's hard to talk about opposite. Some people with borderline personality disorder have a hyperactive amygdala - this means they're hyper aware of perceived risk and what people think about them, and what they think about themselves. BPD has a high correlation with various eating disorders and with attachment problems. Sometimes people with BPD can be involved in horrific deliberate self mutilation, but without wanting to die at that point. I guess that comes quite close?
Millennium 14y ago
I think the article tried to put neuroticism on the other end of the spectrum from psychopathy.
michaelochurch 14y ago
I'm an anti-psychopath, and most people wouldn't consider me empathetic, because I have such a moral extremism about me. Actually, I think of psychopaths as lawful evil, so the opposite is chaotic good. Chaotic good tend to have strong empathy but a sort of moral extremism/pathological honesty that can override it. In fact, they're willing to be disliked if they believe they're doing good for others or the world. The chaotic-good anti-psychopath is the anti-authoritarian who insists on Living in Truth (Vaclav Havel's concept) whereas psychopaths revel in manipulation and lies.

platz 14y ago

Perhaps neuroticism includes it, but I think the term has been retired from usage in the past couple decades.

dmor 14y ago

I think that is generally referred to as self-consciousness, and it can be very extreme (to the point of paranoia and anxiety attacks) or more tame, as in the stereotype of the average teenager.

georgeorwell 14y ago

empath? https://www.google.com/search?q=empath https://www.google.com/search?q=empath

dkarl 14y ago

It seems like the opposite of psychopathy would be a mix of insecurity, guilt, social anxiety, and intrusive, excessive, uncontrollable empathy. Imagine that every time an ambulance went by with its lights and siren on, you were overwhelmed with fear and sadness for whoever was hurt, while at the same time feeling guilty for no reason, and being afraid that whatever happened to the poor person in the ambulance, you would be blamed for it.

nnq 14y ago

There's the hypo-mentalism - hyper-mentalism axis: http://edge.org/conversation/the-imprinted-brain-theory http://edge.org/conversation/the-imprinted-brain-theory (scroll to the second picture for a tl;dr, ignore the genetics thing if it's not your thing...)

DanBC 14y ago

It's hard to talk about opposite. Some people with borderline personality disorder have a hyperactive amygdala - this means they're hyper aware of perceived risk and what people think about them, and what they think about themselves. BPD has a high correlation with various eating disorders and with attachment problems. Sometimes people with BPD can be involved in horrific deliberate self mutilation, but without wanting to die at that point. I guess that comes quite close?

Millennium 14y ago

I think the article tried to put neuroticism on the other end of the spectrum from psychopathy.

michaelochurch 14y ago

I'm an anti-psychopath, and most people wouldn't consider me empathetic, because I have such a moral extremism about me. Actually, I think of psychopaths as lawful evil, so the opposite is chaotic good. Chaotic good tend to have strong empathy but a sort of moral extremism/pathological honesty that can override it. In fact, they're willing to be disliked if they believe they're doing good for others or the world. The chaotic-good anti-psychopath is the anti-authoritarian who insists on Living in Truth (Vaclav Havel's concept) whereas psychopaths revel in manipulation and lies.