Experts claim that more women are psychopaths than previously thought. These are the seven most important signs to look out for

From Patrick Bateman to Tom Ripley, on-screen psychopaths are usually men, not to mention violent criminals.

This could fuel the assumption that the vast majority of psychopaths are men – but one academic now claims this may be misleading.

Dr. Clive Boddy, an expert at Anglia Ruskin University, says female psychopaths are “more common than we think” because studies have long failed to identify them.

Signs of psychopathy in women are different to men – and often come in the form of sexually seductive and manipulative behaviour, Dr Boddy told MailOnline.

Other important signs include spreading lies or rumors and ‘verbally expressing violence’, in the form of shouting or shouting.

Female psychopaths exist on screen, including Alex Forrest (played by Glenn Close) in Fatal Attraction and Villanelle (Jodie Comer) from the BBC series Killing Eve.

According to Dr. Boddy, female psychopaths are more likely to use deception and sexually seductive behavior to gain social and financial advantage than male psychopaths.

‘Psychopaths are driven by a need to have power and control over other people through whatever means they have at their disposal,’ he told MailOnline.

‘For male psychopaths, this can lead to physical domination through violence, bullying and threats.

‘For female psychopaths, this can lead to manipulation through seduction, relational aggression and spreading rumors and lies about people, aimed at gaining personal advantage and preference over those people.’

Furthermore, people are generally more likely to attribute general psychopathic traits to men than to women – such as insincerity, deceitfulness, hostility, unempathy, and a lack of emotional depth.

“Even if women exhibit some of the key traits associated with psychopathy, because these are seen as masculine traits, they may not be labeled as such, even though they should be,” he said.

Current scientific evidence suggests that male psychopaths outnumber females by approximately six to one.

But Dr. Boddy thinks the true ratio of male to female psychopathy is about 1.2 to one – up to five times higher than previously suggested.

“Due to a lack of studies on female psychopaths, not enough is known about them,” he said.

According to the academic, the signs of psychopathy that women typically exhibit are sexual in nature – and include flirting, seduction and manipulation.

Psychopathic women also express violence, but this is usually verbal rather than physical in nature – such as shouting, cursing or yelling.

It is therefore more subtle than the violence expressed by male psychopaths because it is usually more physical.

“Female psychopaths also tend to use words rather than violence to achieve their goals, which is different from the way male psychopaths typically operate,” he said.

The academic is concerned that studies may fail to identify female psychopaths because they are largely based on profiles of criminal and male psychopaths.

Part of the problem is a commonly used method of diagnosing psychopathy known as the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale, which aims to identify male psychopathy symptoms.

“If female psychopathy expresses itself differently, then measures designed to capture and identify male, criminal psychopaths may be inadequate in identifying female, non-criminal psychopaths,” he said.

‘This has implications for the criminal justice system as current risk management decisions involving partners and children may be incorrect.

‘It also has implications for leadership selection decisions in organisations, as female leaders cannot automatically be assumed to be more honest, caring and concerned with issues such as corporate social responsibility.’

Dr. Boddy will give a talk on female psychopaths at the Cambridge Festival on March 16, where he will present evidence from his own and other research to argue that there are more female psychopaths than anyone previously thought.

The expert, who has been researching the effects of psychopaths in the workplace since 2005, recently revealed the top signs that your boss is a psychopath.

These include a “superficial charm,” a lack of remorse or sincerity, a tendency to cheat, and being emotionally shallow.