Martha Stout is an American psychologist

Psychologist

Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...

 and author.

She completed her professional training in psychology

Psychology

Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...

 at the McLean Psychiatric Hospital

McLean Hospital

McLean Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts.It is noted for its clinical staff expertise and ground-breaking neuroscience research...

 and obtained her Ph.D.

Doctor of Philosophy

Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...

 at Stony Brook University. She served on the clinical faculty of the Harvard Medical School

Harvard Medical School

Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....

 for over twenty-five years and also served on the academic faculties of The New School for Social Research, the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology

Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology

The Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology, known as MSPP, is a graduate college of psychology founded in 1974. With nearly 600 students, MSPP offers 11 graduate academic degree programs and 1 academic graduate certificate across four departments, Clinical Psychology, Counseling...

, and Wellesley College. She has written several books on psychology that appeal to the popular market, including The Sociopath Next Door, The Myth of Sanity: Divided Consciousness and the Promise of Awareness, and The Paranoia Switch: How Fear Politics Rewires Our Brains and Reshapes Our Behavior and How We Can Reclaim Our Courage.

In her book The Sociopath Next Door: The Ruthless Versus the Rest of Us, she advises developing an awareness of the nature of anti-social behavior

Anti-social behaviour

Anti-social behaviour is behaviour that lacks consideration for others and that may cause damage to society, whether intentionally or through negligence, as opposed to pro-social behaviour, behaviour that helps or benefits society...

 in order to avoid becoming its victim and proposes thirteen rules as self-help guidelines to assessing relationships and behavior for these characteristics, as well as offering advice on handling situations when one encounters the behavior. She provides the first modern psychological definition of conscience, and clarifies the sustaining nature of conscience in human life.

Stout currently is in private practice as a clinical psychologist

Clinical psychology

Clinical psychology is an integration of science, theory and clinical knowledge for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and personal development...

 in Boston and resides on Cape Ann, Massachusetts

Cape Ann

Cape Ann is a rocky cape in northeastern Massachusetts on the Atlantic Ocean. The cape is located approximately 30 miles northeast of Boston and forms the northern edge of Massachusetts Bay. Cape Ann includes the city of Gloucester, and the towns of Essex, Manchester-by-the-Sea, and...

.

Books

• The Myth of Sanity
• The Paranoia Switch
• The Sociopath Next Door: The Ruthless Versus the Rest of Us