AI could detect signs of psychopathy based on head movements, study finds

Psychopathy is a personality disorder characterised by antisocial behaviour, remorselessness, deception, and interpersonal manipulation. Automated techniques that analyse non-verbal behaviours may be useful to evaluate the presence of these nefarious tendencies, the experts believe. The results are interesting because excessive non-verbal cues like head movements, blinks and hand-gestures have been linked to deception. The study, published in the Journal of Research in Personality, represents an'important first step' in demonstrating the feasibility of using computer vision in conjunction with psychology, the authors claim. 'I've been interviewing individuals high on psychopathic traits for more than 20 years,' study author Kent A. Kiehl, a psychology professor at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, told PsyPost.