I doubt that. They may turn on and off the appearance of empathy. But real empathy* would not serve a psychopath too well.
I have an ex husband with some less than lovely personal traits. Genes being what they are, he passed a few on to our children. So I have long had a keen interest in understanding constructive uses for less than lovely traits.
My ex was a soldier who served his country for more than 2 decades and was honorably discharged. He is an honorable man. But he's not very warm-fuzzy.
* "Empathy has many different definitions that encompass a broad range of emotional states, including caring for other people and having a desire to help them..."
I have an ex husband with some less than lovely personal traits. Genes being what they are, he passed a few on to our children. So I have long had a keen interest in understanding constructive uses for less than lovely traits.
My ex was a soldier who served his country for more than 2 decades and was honorably discharged. He is an honorable man. But he's not very warm-fuzzy.
* "Empathy has many different definitions that encompass a broad range of emotional states, including caring for other people and having a desire to help them..."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empathy