Are you a trustworthy person? Ask a Psychopath

We all know someone with psychopathy.

But few know the truth about it. We’re helping change that… by helping you know the signs. Know about treatment options and resources. And know you’re not alone.

James Fallon is a professor of neuroscience at University of California at Irvine, and the author of the book The Psychopath Inside. He considers himself a "prosocial psychopath."

He joins us today on zoom to discuss what it is like to be psychopathic.

[lizjane]

I think he's basically saying he has no "moral compass" but is able to adhere to certain behaviours that he knows are socially representative of trust (eg: punctuality). I know a psychopath who is undiagnosed, if he was I suspect he would not be a borderline case. He is obsessively punctual, and obsessively adheres to certain behaviours that "represent" trustworthiness to others - but clearly the internal moral compass is completely absent

[tombackhouse]

This guy is a renowned neuroanatomist with decades of experience, who pals around with psychologists professionally. It always amazes me how many armchair experts pop up beneath his videos and start trying to correct him; "Actually technically I think he means...", "Actually he's not a psychopath because...", "Actually according to the DSM-5..." I feel like whatever you're about to say, he probably already knows.

[MimiMadness]

So basically you can trust him to be on time and be where he says he is and mostly tell the truth. He plays by “the rules” so in a way that most people follow these rules most of the time so does he. What you cant trust is that he wont do anything to cause you harm in a situation where it would be a grey area in the rules or he will gain something he wants because he doesnt have the ability to consider your feelings. Sounds like most people honestly.

[invisiblemissx]

3:30 - There are no 'tells' because they don't feel guilt or remorse about anything. This makes psychopaths so believable!

[jdm]

He takes over 4 minutes to evade the question in every possible way all while smiling.

"You can Trust me" -Every Psychopath

[farmer]

I appreciate him explaining the gray area and concepts of it. You really would have to dictate what you feel is trustworthy; is it just being reliable and competent, is it being able to tell someone something in confidence, or is it feeling like you can believe the info you're given without feeling like it's a lie and your being tricked. Many of these things can be opinion based and a relatively healthy adult can decipher them, a child not so much. And trust is a spectrum. We all to various degrees are trustworthy and I love how he points it out and explains it.

[plunderersparadise]

-are you trustworthy?
-10 mins later
*Always* there and stuff

[Mad_Madalyn]

Okay, this answer overwhelmingly confirmed that he is not trustworthy, lol. Which isn't to say that he is dangerous. But most definitely dishonest and manipulative.

I find this interesting to think about. Trust in the context of relationships is about honesty and respecting boundaries. If you're manipulative, you aren't these things and people can sense this.

[coalblooded]

1:40 where he says he interprets them saying, "I can't trust you" to really mean them saying, "I can't trust myself with you" is spot on.

[JANKBOTEKO]

RIP ❤ Thank you for your expertise and honesty.

[christopherhorn]

I'm pretty upfront, don't trust me, and im only dealing with you because you are useful. Hopefully you benefit, because i will.

[debee]

The fact that he equated trustworthiness to being on time should tell you everything 😅

[blulikefriendlyhit]

I feel relatable to this man. One time in my life, I watched a friend of mine and understood through his behavior that responses get you other responses, and I like good responses from other people, so I started doing that, acting expressive. I was pretty good at reading the other's emotions and knew how to respond to them so that it matched the emotion that I was percieving in them.
Because of that, I completely discarded the notion that I could be a psychopath... that is until I found out that psychopaths can have cognitive empathy. At this point, I am really wondering if I care about something, or just feel it because I expect myself to.
When I kill a fly, I feel remorseful, but that is such an extreme that I wonder "Do I really feel it or am I just setting myself to think I feel remorse?" Sometimes I have to think to be sad in a situation where I should be sad.
I've learnt to manipulate people into being happy just cause I like them to be. People are much better when they are in a good mood.
I probably don't have psycopathy, but some symptoms just hit too close to home, so I'm trying to figure out myself what I truly am.


I wrote this cause if anyone has this figured out and maybe had the same experience as me, be sure to tell me, would appreciate greately

[JuanPabloBerthoud]

Short answer: NO, Don't be fooled by his charming long talking and avoidance of responding, the sweet background music and his gaslighting on what the question really was.

[mishi]

He reeeally danced around that one. The answer is no.

[Tedanson]

If someone asked me if I'm a trustworthy person I'd say yes, not give some roundabout answer about what does that really mean. I trust this guy about as far as i can throw him and that ain't far!

[theinterfaithshepherd]

A person who is trustworthy will not take 5 minutes to answer a simple question.

[mmmfun]

This man is a well renowned scientist. He was the one that found there was a significant difference between a normal Human brain and a psychopathic brain . He found the difference is in the anterior lobe or lack of it. He discovered, breaking protocol, his brain was the most psychopathic brain in the study in regards to the anterior lobe difference. He also found out Liz’s Bourdin was a relative of his. The are mental predators but there, obviously, on a large spectrum. I chose not to be in the presence of a psychopath. I know better then that. They charm and can influence you in ways you aren’t even aware of till your world is over.

[michaelfleming]

“I don’t know what trust is.” ...proceeds to back that up to-a-T. He thinks trust is having ppl rely on your punctuality.

[ant]

The evil clown pic in the bottom corner of the room really captures the vibe of this interview