These types should be treated with caution: About one in eight people shows psychopathic traits. But what does that actually mean? And what are the causes behind this? Dominik Schwarzinger provides information.

When talking about psychopaths, most people think of the personnel who get a stage in true-crime documentaries, thrillers and horror films. Many representatives of this type never attract criminal attention. Instead, they can be found in the family, at work, in the neighborhood or in the circle of friends. At first glance, they often appear charming and funny, although on closer inspection it turns out that their nature is an enormous stress factor for the environment.

Kai Spanke

Editor in the arts section.

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How do people become psychopaths? What can we expect from them? Are there also psychopaths? And is this severe form of antisocial personality disorder curable? Dominik Schwarzinger has written a book on the subject with his colleague Heinz Schuler, who died in 2021, and explains in the book podcast what distinguishes psychopaths and what reliable findings research has been able to show so far.

Heinz Schuler's and Domnik Schwarzinger's "Die Masken der Psychopathen" has been published by C.H. Beck, has 256 pages and costs 18 euros.

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