 Hey Psych2Goers, welcome back to our channel. Have you ever heard of a dark empath? I'm sure you've probably heard of an empath, someone who ranks high in effective and cognitive empathy. They have an acute sense of what others are feeling and thinking, but dark empaths don't necessarily rank high in effective empathy, but cognitive empathy, while also displaying dark triad traits. The dark triad is a term used to group three malevolent personality traits in psychology. The dark triad comprises of the traits of Machiavellianism, Narcissism, and Psychopathy. Those who are part of the dark triad personality type rank low in empathy and high in the three dark traits. An average score may mean you rank low in the dark traits and average in empathy, while empaths are ranked high in empathy and low in the dark traits. But a dark empath ranks high in both dark triad traits and empathy, but just because you display empathy doesn't mean you often share another's feelings emotionally. That's effective empathy. Dark empaths can often use cognitive empathy to their advantage due to their dark traits, meaning they know what it is you want and feel, but dark empaths may use it against you. There are plenty of reasons being a dark empath may have its advantages. Possessing a great deal of empathy and ranking high in dark triad traits, such as psychopathy, could be very useful in certain occupations. Surgeons, soldiers, first responders, and others in intense and high demanding jobs may find it useful to have a bit of cognitive empathy, understanding others, but being able to shut off absorbing others' emotions and relating so much that you often need to recharge. Seeing other people's motives and desires helps them make important decisions, and although they understand others' feelings, they have the ability to choose not to be empathetic if needed. They may even have some secrets up their sleeve based on the unique combo of empathetic and dark triad traits. So what are some of those secrets? Here are five secrets dark empaths don't want you to know. Number one, they know how to get the right reaction from you. Because empaths are so in tune with others' emotions, they can learn very quickly what strongly touches their emotions. Maybe a certain subject subtly gets on your nerves, or perhaps a certain someone or topic ever so slightly brightens your mood. Many dark empaths can easily pick up on these emotions and in turn know exactly what to bring up, what to say, or what to do to get this reaction out of you. They've simply observed how you react and know exactly what to say. This isn't to say dark empaths aren't genuine in what they say or do. Their sensitivity to your desires and feelings just gives them a boost in predicting how it is you'll react. Number two, they often know how to act by watching films and television. It's being noted by psychologists that some dark personality types obsessively watch TV and films, observing normal human responses for emotional mimicry. Basically, they want to further develop cognitive empathy. Since they rank high in cognitive empathy, they may know just how to act in the right situations, but sometimes it may feel forced to others. This is because their effect of empathy ranks low. A study by day city and associates found when subjects high in the dark triad trait psychopathy imagined pain to themselves, brain regions including the anterior insula, anterior mid-singulate cortex, right amygdala, and somatosensory cortex, displayed average response to pain, implying they are indeed sensitive to the thought of pain. But when they imagined pain of others, these brain regions did not become active. Number three, they can often tell when you lie. Since dark empaths and empaths alike can notice the subtle reactions and changes in moods and others. Some can often tell when your emotions don't line up with what you're saying. Nobody knows what someone is exactly thinking. No one's a mind reader, but empaths are often more sensitive to mood changes and the little subtleties in others' expressions. Knowing when someone is lying means they could or could not use it in a negative way. Depends on how high they rank on dark triad traits. Number four, they know how to get what they want. Because dark empaths can read others easily, they know what to say to get what they want. For example, on a date with someone, a dark empath may pick up on their date's subtle desires, pay attention to their reactions, see what they respond best to, and alter their words and actions to fit exactly what they want. Even if this doesn't fit who they really are, they simply know how to get what they want. And number five, they can manipulate you. Dark empaths can often use their high level of cognitive empathy as a means of manipulating others. Often noticing your subtle reactions and feelings, they may just know exactly how to use your emotions against you. Some dark empaths have a hard time with boundaries and often focus on fulfilling only their needs. If you notice the end of every argument or discussion, their needs are only met. They may be manipulating you. This isn't to say every dark empath wants to manipulate others, but if they needed to, they wouldn't have a hard time. So have you ever heard of a dark empath? Let us know in the comments down below. If you wanna hear more of the dark empaths, check out our other videos on the topic. If you found this video insightful, don't forget to click the like button and share this video with a friend. Subscribe to Psych2Go and hit the notification bell icon for more content like this. And as always, thanks for watching.