Do they instinctively know how you’re feeling?

Psychopaths are partially defined as people without empathy, so they shouldn’t be able to understand what people are thinking. But as it turns out, the exact opposite is true.

That’s right: according to some studies, psychopaths are actually better at reading people than the rest of us.In one study, the participants watched videos of people expressing emotions. Then the participants tried to judge what those people were feeling based on micro-expressions (otherwise known as small changes in their faces). Instead of failing miserably, the psychopaths picked up on a bit more than the rest of the participants did, particularly when it came to emotions like fear and anxiety.

Then again, they could just know you really, really well. We recommend watching out for how they react to your feelings, rather than if they’re picking up on them at all: if they show empathy and are keen to help you feel better, then you know you’re friend is a winner (psychopath or not).

These are the tell-tale signs that your friend is a psychopath