Are psychopaths the result of natural selection?

at New study Publishing in the Journal of Evolutionary Psychology, the researchers argue that psychopaths are not necessarily mentally ill, but rather the result of normal development.

dimensional analysis

“Psychopathy has been conceptualized as a mental disorder, but there is increasing evidence that it may instead be an alternative and adaptive strategy.” Development, they write in the preamble.

To try to see more clearly, scientists compiled and reviewed sixteen old studies that linked psychopathy and dysphoria (a long-devil physical property, Ed.). “We analyzed 16 studies that examined the relationship between psychopaths and dysphoria in different populations. Conclusion: There was no difference in the rate of left-handedness between high and low levels of psychopathy. -Perpetrators of psychopathy,” They reported.

Survive in a hostile world

For them, the personality traits that characterize psychopaths — aggressiveness, insensitivity, and an inability to feel remorse — have evolved to help humans survive in a hostile and competitive world, which in fact constitutes an advantage over others.

If this study’s methodology isn’t too solid, it nonetheless points to a debate that is further exciting the psychiatric world: What is mental illness, and can we really think in terms of categories? For example, the inclusion of a new disease in the latest DSM5 called ‘Mourning sick’ It has caused the reaction of many psychiatrists, who consider that there is no bereavement “Abnormal”.