Addicted To Being Good? The Psychopathology of Heroism

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http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/kuszewski20091117/

Sociopath:
  • low impulse control
  • high novelty-seeking (desire to experience new things, take more risks, break convention)
  • no remorse for their actions (lack of conscience)
  • inability to see beyond their own needs (lack of empathy)
  • willing to break rules
  • always acts in the interest of himself

X-altruist:

  • low impulse control
  • high novelty-seeking
  • little remorse for their actions (would “do it again in a heartbeat”)
  • inability to see past the needs of others (very high empathy)
  • willing to break rules
  • acts in the best interest of others, or for the “common good” (because it is the right thing to do)
The defining characteristic that separates the two personality types is their ability to empathize, either not at all or too much, which then drives the extreme behavior of each.

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