A new study has found a simple method based on head movement during a conversation to determine whether the woman in front of you has high levels of psychopathy.
A study conducted by researchers at the University of New Mexico analyzed “head-tracking” algorithms and recordings of 213 incarcerated American women who were interviewed by police.
The aim of this study was initially to evaluate nonverbal behavior and its relationship to psychopathy.
The researchers found that women who scored higher on the psychopathy assessment kept their heads completely still or with “minimal movement” during interviews.
To diagnose a participant as psychopathic, the researchers used an assessment called the Hare Psychopathy Checklist, or PCL-R, a 20-item checklist of scored personality traits and dispositions. All recorded traits and behaviors can rate a person on a scale ranging from 1 to 40 points.
Anyone who scores 30 points or more is classified as a psychopath.
The researchers found that the lower the level of head movement, the higher the inmates' scores on the psychopathy assessment.
The study claims to be the first to link women with psychopathic tendencies to nonverbal communication.
“Nonverbal behaviors (i.e., head dynamics) represent an important, but understudied, form of communication that may enhance our ability to detect certain forms of psychopathology, including psychopathy,” the researchers wrote. “We believe our findings help identify a unique pattern of "Distinctive head dynamics for women scoring high on psychopathy, specifically, demonstrate a more stable head posture during the administration of the clinical interview."
However, it should be noted that this finding may not apply to the general population, as all participants were female prisoners, and their behavior may be a result of being in prison.
The study was published in the Journal of Personality and Individual Differences.
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