The Brains of Altruistic and Psychopathic People (W/ Abigail Marsh) | How to Be a Better Human | TED

Why is American culture so fascinated with psychopathic people and true crime stories? Why don’t billionaires give more? What makes some people so generous that they’d undergo surgery to donate an organ to a complete stranger? These are the kinds of questions that Abigail Marsh, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Georgetown University, studies. Chris and Abigail discuss the brain differences between extreme altruists and psychopathic individuals, why psychopathic traits do not necessarily correlate with aggression, how parents can support children with behavioral issues, and what we can all do to train ourselves to be more altruistic.

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Host: Chris Duffy (Instagram: @chrisiduffy | chrisduffycomedy.com)
Guest: Abigail Marsh PhD (LinkedIn: @abigail-marsh)

Links:
abigailmarsh.com/disordersofaggression.org
TED Talk: Why some people are more altruistic than others

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Post from TED on December 03, 2025

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