Dr. George Simon (In sheep's clothing) sheds a new light on the character disordered among us...:

Some professionals (and non-professionals) insist that disordered characters actually do feel guilt and shame but that they effectively utilize — or perhaps over-utilize — certain “defense mechanisms” such as “denial” and “projection” to assuage the emotional pain associated with that guilt or pain. This is because they continue to accept the tenets of classical psychology (i.e., that everyone is neurotic to a greater or lesser degree) and because believing that all individuals are fundamentally similar makes it hard for them to imagine how anyone could behave in a manner that appears so shameless unless they were in fact defending themselves against real pain underneath it all.

My work has taught me, however, that being embarrassed at being uncovered or found out is not the same as being ashamed of oneself. Shame is one of those mechanisms that makes a person think twice about doing something wrong in the first place. Moreover, a person who truly feels ashamed of himself is certainly not likely do the same shameful things over and over again. Character-disordered people will sometimes claim they didn’t come clean with themselves or others because they were ashamed. But this is often a lie they tell because they know a neurotic person is likely to find it plausible.

Individuals overly invested in the classical explanations of human behavior might also tend to believe that those who commit criminal behaviors in a manner that is so careless, reckless, impulsive, and thoughtless, do so because they have a subconscious desire (arising out of pangs of conscience) to be caught. There has never been any empirical support for this notion, but that has not kept many from adhering to it. In fact, there is mounting evidence that some of the most seriously disturbed characters act the way they do because they experience few if any pangs of conscience. A very renowned researcher, Dr. Robert Hare, has aptly titled his very revealing book about the most seriously disturbed character — the psychopath — Without Conscience.

Stop being manipulated!
http://www.drgeorgesimon.com/drsimonsblogarchives.html