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- [Amanda] Hey, Psych2Goers, welcome back to our channel.
We wanted to let you know
that we truly value your ongoing support.
It's viewers like you that help us in our goal
to spread awareness about mental health and psychology.
Together, we can continue to help make psychology
and mental health more accessible to everyone,
so thank you.
Now, onto the video.
When you hear that someone is an empath,
you may think it's a good thing.
They have a great sense
of what others are feeling or thinking
and they have a great deal of empathy as well.
But what if someone possessed cognitive empathy
and displayed traits of a dark personality type?
Would they use your feelings against you?
Know exactly how to behave to appear kind and normal
while hiding their true intentions?
Well, a dark empath may do just that.
A study by Heym and associates found
that out of a group of 991 participants,
19.3% were dark empaths.
Those with dark personality types
are thought to be so based
on their rank of dark triad personality traits
and lack of empathy.
The dark triad is a term used
to group three malevolent personality traits in psychology.
The dark triad comprises the traits
of Machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy.
Dark triad personality types rank high
in the three dark traits, while low in empathy.
While empaths are ranked low in dark traits
and of course, high in empathy.
But a dark empath ranks high
in both dark triad traits and empathy.
But just because you display empathy
doesn't mean you share another feelings emotionally.
That is effective empathy.
Dark empaths often use cognitive empathy
to their advantage, meaning they know what it is you want
and feel but dark empaths may use it against you.
So to help you recognize if you're being manipulated
by someone who has both cognitive empathy
and malevolent traits,
here are five signs of a dark empath.
Number one, their kindness often feels fake.
Your partner cuddles
with you after a romantic evening with you.
They say comforting words
when you're worried and they compliment you
at seemingly the right time
but you can't shake this feeling
that something is off.
Something doesn't feel sincere about it at all.
In fact, they sound a bit forced
or fake with certain actions.
So what's going on?
Dark empaths know what to say
and how they should act to appear
as if they're the perfect partner.
So they may sound a bit forced
when they pay you certain compliments
or go forward with certain actions.
It's important to look out for dark triad traits
and other signs before jumping to the conclusion
that they're a dark empath
because they may just be a people pleaser.
Number two, they manipulate you.
Dark empaths often will use their insight
into cognitive empathy as a means
of manipulating others.
Since they are aware
of what you might be feeling or thinking,
they know exactly how to use your emotions against you.
They may have no boundaries
and only focus on fulfilling their needs.
If you notice at the end of every argument
or discussion that only their needs are met,
they may be manipulating you.
Number three, they guilt trip you.
In the study from Heym and associates,
dark empaths displayed higher indirect aggression
than your average person.
This was especially true in guilt tripping tactics.
If you notice your partner often uses guilt
as a means of getting you to do what they want,
this may be the first sign that they're a dark empath.
Number four, they love malicious humor.
Dark empaths also demonstrated
especially high indirect aggression and malicious humor.
Sigmund Freud, the famous founder of psychoanalysis,
called this type of humor tendentious.
It's the worst type of humor
and is destructive in nature.
When one uses malicious humor,
they often make hurtful jokes
that put others beneath them,
giving them a feeling of superiority over others.
And number five, they spread rumors.
Those who have the dark triad trait
of Machiavellianism often enjoy deceiving, manipulating
and exploiting others
in order to achieve their own needs and desires.
Dark empaths have an easy way
of manipulating others by narrowing in
on their feelings and weaknesses.
They may spread rumors about what they've sensed
you're most insecure about or vulnerable about.
They know exactly how to hurt you
because they have the ability to understand
what it is you're feeling on a cognitive level.
They simply need to understand what it is that hurts you,
and spread gossip and rumors focused on that
to get exactly what they want.
So have you met a dark empath?
Do you know someone who shows these signs?
Which one jumps out at you?
What will you do next?
Let us know in the comments below.
If you found this video helpful,
don't forget to click the Like button
and share this video with someone
who you might think is suffering
from a toxic relationship.
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As always, thanks for watching and we'll see you next time.