Psychopathy and Sexuality

Psychopathy is a constellation of extreme personality traits including impulsiveness, sensation seeking, selfishness, callousness, and an antisocial lifestyle. It forms part of the so-called dark traits of personality, together with other socially aversive features such as narcissism, Machiavellianism, and sadism. Although largely unrelated to sexual dysfunction, dark traits determine sex life in countless ways. They are associated with higher sexual arousal, unconventional sexual interests, and risky sexual behaviors. They foster an uncommitted mating style that prioritizes quantity over quality through opportunistic short-term relationships. In fact, dark personalities do that with remarkable success, almost tripling the number of partners. Their relationships are however turbulent and burdened with infidelities and jealousy, and they often draw on deceptive, manipulative, or aggressive tactics to obtain or retain desired partners. Dark traits also lie at the root of a range of sexual offences, including rape and serial sexual murder.