The Psychopath in our Midst
Hear the word psychopath and people think of mad axe murders. Of ruthless Hannibal Lector types or shower scene killers from ‘Psycho’. But the truth is you probably met one today, probably where you work.
Psychiatrists now talk about the successful psychopath, earlier called the industrial psychopath. These are people who meet all the diagnostic criteria, but lead relatively successful, relatively ordinary lives. Sure they lie, cheat and steal. But you don’t have to be a psychopath to do that. And if they are clever, educated and physically attractive they can do terrible damage.
So how to spot them? Recently researchers have identified two core factors. The first they have called “fearless dominance” and the second “impulsive anti-sociality”. The first reveals itself in an individual’s seeming immunity from worry, stress or nervousness. They are bold and brave and thrill seeking. They have a sort of social zest, a need to take charge, push ahead.
The second is a general susceptibility to deviance. Massive unreliability, failure to learn from experience and lying. They act on whims and want immediate gratification, whatever the cost.
But can these two factors be teased out to make the characteristics more obvious to the lay person? One recent study (Personality and Individual Differences, 2008 vol. 45) has done just that. First, the fearless dominance stuff. The psychopath shows clear signs of narcissism. This is manifest in terms of their vanity and exhibitionism. They may be particularly prone to using false and fabricated awards, certificates, or degrees showing their achievement and brilliance. They often have a conceited air of superiority and a manner of natural authority. They are at once anti the authority of others, but also eager to exercise their authority over others.
Many show exaggerated perceptions of deservingness which is a form of psychological entitlement. They appear to have and like to show off their self-sufficiency. Thus they can have overpowering self-belief. This often foxes others into believing that they must have something to be proud of. They therefore accept that the psychopaths are of superior ability, experience and know how. All these are classic traits of the con artist.
The second dimension of impulsive anti-sociality is less attractive. Psychopaths are both callous and interpersonally manipulative. They have a long history of an erratic life style and criminal tendencies. Nearly always their school record bears evidence of what is now politely called counter-productive school behaviour. There is often a lot of anger in the successful psychopath. They ruminate on revenge. And they show significant displaced aggression, meaning they see aggression in others when it is essentially in themselves. And of course there is the criminal tendencies stuff: stealing, lying, cheating. Everything from bigamy (surprisingly common) to impersonation. But worse there can be the violence stuff which is associated with the movie based psychopath.
Some researchers now think there really are two type of psychopath. The stable, extraverted, narcissistic con-artist and the lazy, disagreeable, aggressive criminal. Both are low on social control and ultimately socially toxic. Both are egocentric and conscienceless.
But the successful psychopath can not only survive but thrive in the business world. They prefer situations of great change and flux with little monitoring. They happily exploit the trust and naivety of good people, cheating them out of everything they have from their fortune to their self-respect.
The con-artist and the axe murderer. Not quite though that is how the cinema portrays them. The moral: beware the bold, self-confident, smooth talking manager with a shady or unknown past. It may just be the successful psychopath in your midst.
