An ongoing study, led by Ryan Murphy, Ph.D., an economist at Southern Methodist University, shows where most psychopaths reside. Murphy's research, which has not yet been released, combines prior studies from other scientists that determine the levels of psychopathy by state.

Psychopaths Reside Among Us

Murphy based most of his research on the 2013 published paper of Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, which examined five big personalities per state, and another study that was not published but shows how to determine psychopathy from those traits.

Murphy claims the state with the highest number of "psychopaths" is Washington, D.C., followed by Connecticut, New Jersey, California, and with New York and Wyoming tying for fifth place. Murphy stated that it was surprising that Washington D.C. had the highest concentration despite his previous research. According to Murphy's research, the states with the least concentration of psychopaths were West Virginia, Vermont, Tennessee, North Carolina, and New Mexico.

What Makes A Person A "Psychopath"

Psychologist Maria Konnikova, Ph.D., stated in 2012 that psychopathy can be characterized by four major factors, groups or traits such as interpersonal, affective, lifestyle, and antisocial.

Murphy stated that the data collected for his study treat psychopathy as a spectrum and not a binary categorization, meaning that even though there are "true psychopaths" in each state, the average level of psychopathy can vary in each region. In regards to Murphy's findings of psychopath dense states, his findings coincide with previous findings that theorized where psychopaths tend to dwell.

"It's difficult to generalize from a single cross-section of data, but the prominence of, or closeness to large, urban centers in each state appears to have a high correspondence with the psychopathy data," Murphy stated.

Professional Psychopaths

Murphy tried to find a link between the state where more people with psychopathic tendencies live in and their social or cultural trends. Murphy referred to data collected by Kevin Dutton, a University of Oxford professor, which listed the occupations that had the most psychopathic people included lawyers, salespeople, surgeon, journalist, clergyperson, and civil servants.

Dutton's research revealed that the least psychopathic professions include, craftsperson, therapist, beautician, teacher, doctor, creative artist, and accountant.

Murphy stated that his study still needs more research. A person who lives in any of the states mentioned does not make him or her a psychopath.