First and foremost, not all psychopaths are killers and neither are all killers psychopaths.
The idea that all psychopaths are killers comes mostly from generalized media that tend to classify all psychopaths as Hannibal Lecter types who’ll pull out a damn hatchet as soon as they see you. It makes a really interesting story but sadly, it over-generalizes a lot of groups (like depressives, schizophrenics and psychopaths).
I think it’s a bunch of personality traits that make a psychopath and these traits make the person think, talk and do things in a certain way. For instance, they might look decent or even appealing on the outside, but on the inside, they might be very lonely. Since they don’t have any social or emotional reactions innate, they have to act them consciously. Even if those become a habit, there is still a delay. The same goes for rare situations like when they have to react to the death of a loved one. You see, they wouldn’t break down in tears naturally. They tend to have what some would call “unempathetic responses” –like a dark humor, a lack of sympathy or anything of that matter. In addition, with psychopaths, facial expressions would never match up and they are known for their unconcerned attitude.
Now, this is a light description of some psychopaths. There are some who can be very cynical, very sarcastic, smug as hell, have strong narcissistic traits and feel the need to constantly play “power games.”
Simply put, there are different types of psychopaths. While some can be very calm and reserved and show their strong dislike for socializing, others can be very rude and manipulative and act with a sense of entitlement. However, regardless of their “unique” personality traits, psychopaths like to engage in hobbies.
Serial killing, starting cults, finding elite supply…isn’t that what they all do?
Well, on a serious note, let’s take a look at some of the hobbies enjoyed by a majority of psychopaths.
Listening to music
Psychopaths lack empathy and may not have a conscience, but they still have their hearing abilities. They may not have an emotional connection with humans, but they do enjoy listening to music.
In fact, I’d say they prefer music because of the powerful energy they can get from it. Music holds power and psychopaths constantly yearn for power. In rock music, for example, there are screaming, breakdowns and tempo changes while with rap, there’s an impressive and strong wordplay. Even the captivating sounds in movies and video games appeal to psychopaths. They’d love any music with solid rhythms or bold lyrics so that they “feel” the power of music.
Here’s a Quora answer to the question, “Do psychopaths enjoy music?”
“My goodness, I’m a psychopath and of course, I love music. But, it has to be something masterful, a bit percussive, but deep, basso and complex.”
Painting
A psychopath cannot “feel” art emotionally like others seem to do but they acknowledge the beauty of art. The emotional experience and enjoyment people seem to get from painting are completely lost on them. But they do appreciate the aesthetic qualities and the effort that goes into creating a piece of art.
Compared to music, painting is a completely different story. For psychopaths, painting is merely an expression of genuine creativity. Individuality is extremely important to them and these two (painting and individuality) go hand in hand.
Here’s another Quora reply to the question, “Do psychopaths/sociopaths enjoy painting?”
“Painting or art overall is a weird one for me. I don’t like pointless things and a lot of art is pointless. But, I like pretty things and painting means creating something fancy and impressive.”
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