New York Ranks Very High Among States With the Most Psychopaths

We sometimes feel we're living among a lot of crazy people in New York State. Now there's proof that it's true.

A new study, just in time for Halloween, identifies the number of psychopaths (people with excessive egocentricity and a lack of empathy and remorse) by state. The District of Columbia was also included in the study of the 48 continental states. And Washington, DC, with its dense populous of politicians, ended up #1. West Virginians were the least psychopathic group. The northeastern region of the United States didn't fare so well.

New York ranked 5th, tied with Wyoming, near the top of the list. Connecticut, California and New Jersey ranked 2nd through 4th.

The study was conducted by a Southern Methodist University researcher named Ryan Murphy. His findings were published earlier this year in the Social Science Research Network and also in Men's Health.

Murphy focused on agreeableness, extraversion, openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism--the so-called "Big Five" traits that comprise our basic personalities. Participants provided information about their personalities in a 2013 survey.