Do Psychopaths Blink Less? — Psychology Unfolded

Yes. Psychopaths tend to blink less than average people. While it’s a common observation that psychopaths blink less, no study on the internet sheds light on the topic. However, many researchers have examined the phenomenon of blinking. It’s the right time to combine these studies and correlate them with psychopaths.

Before we discuss psychopaths, let’s discuss what’s the purpose of blinking?

Why do we blink?

The average person blinks between 15–20 times a minute. There is a clear function of blinking, which is to lubricate our eyes and protect them from dust. However, scientists have long been speculating that we blink more than what is to do with the cleansing functions. Keeping this in mind, blinking has something to do with physiology also.

There is a fascinating fact about blinking; that it is not arbitrary. While it may seem spontaneous, it’s not. When we blink, it can be predicted with great accuracy. Researchers have found that while reading, we often blink when we have finished following a sentence. While listening to a person, we tend to blink when they pause between sentences. If a group of young men is watching a movie, they all blink when the action pauses for a moment. What this signifies is that we enter a state of momentary rest during blinking.

A team of researchers investigated the brain responses of volunteers while they’re watching videos. They discovered that when volunteers blinked, their brain activity spiked in areas that operate when the mind is in a state of wakeful rest.

This study provides some enormous implications for our topic. Now we discuss why psychopaths blink less.

Why do psychopaths blink less?

Our discussions so far have led us to form an informed opinion about blinking. We tend to blink when our mind seems exhausted. Temporarily, it resorts to a brief moment of wakeful rest. It also implies that while blinking, we are not paying attention to our surroundings.

Psychopaths are very active whenever somebody is around them. They are continuously observing everything around them. While neurotypicals may not pay attention to little everyday things, psychopaths do that. They live in physical reality. Due to having brains like predators, they need to be aware of everything in their vicinity.

Another reason for psychopaths being so active is that they think of the world as hostile to them. When you’ve lots of enemies around you, and when you’re harsh towards everyone, it makes sense that you’re alert all the time.

Psychopaths are very controlling and pay great attention to little details. They have to criticize others, and for that, they should have a great observation. This kind of behavior makes psychopaths blink less. Remember again. Psychopaths notice everything around them. They do blink but not so often because they can’t afford to skip even a minor detail.

People who have met a lot of psychopaths would agree that they blink less. While some people suggest that psychopaths blink less intentionally to intimidate others, in my opinion, it’s far from reality. While it might still be true in some cases, it’s more of a physiological activity than a controlled activity.

Originally published at https://psychologyunfolded.com on April 16, 2021.