Difference between revisions of "Psychopathy"

From Wikispooks
Jump to navigation Jump to search
m (footnote: Violent Attachments)
(|constitutes=Illness, Personality disorder, Character disturbance + minor stuff)
 
(26 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
 
{{concept
 
{{concept
 
|wikipedia=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopathy
 
|wikipedia=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopathy
−
|constitutes=congenital disability
+
|constitutes=Illness, Personality disorder, Character disturbance
 +
|description=Up to 15% of corporations are headed by psychopathic personalities (<ref name=hare1/><ref name=babiak/><ref name=mathieu/>)   
 
}}
 
}}
−
''Not to be confused with [[sociopathy]]''
+
'''Psychopathy''' is the lack of a [[conscience]] and an unwillingness
−
 
+
<ref>
−
'''Psychopathy''' is the lack of a [[conscience]] paired with an unwillingness<ref>For the nature vs. nurture debate, see also:
+
For the nature vs. nurture debate, see also:
 
Cleckley, Hervey Milton (1955) The mask of sanity: An attempt to clarify some issues about the so-called psychopathic personality. Ravenio Books. Full text (5th edition, 1988): https://www.gwern.net/docs/psychology/1941-cleckley-maskofsanity.pdf  
 
Cleckley, Hervey Milton (1955) The mask of sanity: An attempt to clarify some issues about the so-called psychopathic personality. Ravenio Books. Full text (5th edition, 1988): https://www.gwern.net/docs/psychology/1941-cleckley-maskofsanity.pdf  
−
</ref> to bond, a ''dismissive attachment style''.  
+
</ref>  
−
<ref> They may, however, simulate attachment needs, stimulate and identify (''pseudo-identification'') with these needs in others mainly in four areas: sadistic, masochistic, hysteric and psychopathic. -  
+
to bond, a ''dismissive attachment style''.  
 +
<ref>  
 +
They may, however, simulate attachment needs, stimulate and identify (''pseudo-identification'') with these needs in others mainly in four areas: sadistic, masochistic, hysteric and psychopathic. -  
 
J. Reid Meloy, Ph.D., Violent Attachments, Jason Aronson 2002
 
J. Reid Meloy, Ph.D., Violent Attachments, Jason Aronson 2002
 
</ref>
 
</ref>
−
This is not to say that they necessarily behave completely selfishly, since other behavior patterns can be learned. However, unselfish behaviour does not come naturally to psychopaths, and requires more conscious effort.
+
This is not to say that they necessarily behave completely selfishly, since other behavior patterns can be learned. However, unselfish behaviour does not come naturally to psychopaths, and are likely in the service of superficial charm and deception.
 +
 
 +
==Forensic and clinical definition==
 +
{{FA|Psychopathy/Forensic and clinical aspects of Psychopathy}}
 +
{{FA|Psychopathy/Psychopathy and gender}}
  
−
"(Psychopaths are) people who I think, at the core, lack a real concern and emotional connection with people.  They don't seem to understand that other people have rights.  I think this is partly because of a stunning incapacity - a lack of capacity - for empathy.  I think if you wanted a shorthand term, it would be people who lack a conscience." - Robert Hare
+
{{SMWQ
 +
|text=(Psychopaths are) people who I think, at the core, lack a real concern and emotional connection with people.  '''They don't seem to understand that other people have rights'''.  I think this is partly because of a stunning incapacity - a lack of capacity - for empathy.  I think if you wanted a shorthand term, it would be people who lack a conscience.
 +
|subjects=psychopathy
 +
|authors=Robert Hare
 +
|source_details=(emphasis added)
 +
}}
 +
Psychopathic personality (psychopathy) is a condition marked by a constellation of '''traits''', including callousness,
 +
guiltlessness, dishonesty, superficial charm, egocentricity and poor impulse control.
 +
<ref name=berg>
 +
Joanna M Berg, Sarah F Smith, Ashley L Watts, Rachel Ammirati, Sophia E Green, and Scott O Lilienfeld.
 +
[https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ashley_Watts2/publication/269591371_Misconceptions_regarding_psychopathic_personality_Implications_for_clinical_practice_and_research/links/58ac94db92851c3cfda056f4/Misconceptions-regarding-psychopathic-personality-Implications-for-clinical-practice-and-research.pdf| Misconceptions regarding psychopathic personality: implications for clinical practice and research]. Neuropsychiatry, 3(1):63, 2013.
 +
</ref>
  
−
==Prevalence==
+
A key element is '''predatory aggression''' (as opposed to reactive aggression) - psychopaths are intra-species predators
−
Psychopaths are thought to make up as much as roughly 1 percent of the general populace and up to 25 percent of the prison population.<ref>https://www.livescience.com/7859-psychopath-answers-remain-elusive.html</ref> This is pretty easily tested, but the entire phenomenon is not given much attention and brought into the public consciousness much.
+
<ref name=meloy1>
 +
Meloy, J. Reid, Ph.D.,
 +
The psychopathic mind: origins, dynamics, and treatment, Jason Aronson 2002. available online.  
 +
</ref>
 +
. Predatory or instrumental [[aggression]] is cold and goal oriented with little or no empathy involved. Research originated from cats and how cats feel and react when they prey. Psychopaths view other humans much like a cat views a mouse - prey to be eaten and this mode of relating can be incredibly intense (i.e. psychopathic stare).
  
−
There is considerable evidence that psychopaths are over represented in management positions, that is to say that modern hierarchies are disproportionately headed up by psychopaths.<ref>Babiak, P., Neumann, C. S., & Hare, R. D. (2010). Corporate psychopathy: Talking the walk. Behavioral sciences & the law, 28(2), 174-193.</ref><ref>Mathieu, C., Neumann, C. S., Hare, R. D., & Babiak, P. (2014). A dark side of leadership: Corporate psychopathy and its influence on employee well-being and job satisfaction. Personality and Individual Differences, 59, 83-88.</ref>
+
===Prevalence===
 +
Psychopaths are thought to make up as much as roughly 1 percent of the general populace and up to 25 percent of the prison population.
 +
<ref>
 +
https://www.livescience.com/7859-psychopath-answers-remain-elusive.html
 +
</ref>
 +
This is pretty easily tested, but the entire phenomenon is not given much attention and brought into the public consciousness much. This number is almost certainly underestimated, as the [[Robert Hare|PCL-R test]] matches males and the prison population by definition.
 +
 
 +
=="Natural born leaders"==
 +
{{FA|Psychopathy/Psychopathy and heredity}}
 +
There is considerable evidence that psychopaths are over represented in management positions, that is to say that modern hierarchies are disproportionately headed up by psychopaths.
 +
<ref name=hare1>
 +
Hare, R. D.,Babiak, P. (2006). Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work. New York: Regan Books.
 +
https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/127744-snakes-in-suits-when-psychopaths-go-to-work
 +
</ref>
 +
<ref name=babiak>
 +
Babiak, P., Neumann, C. S., & Hare, R. D. (2010). Corporate psychopathy: Talking the walk. Behavioral sciences & the law, 28(2), 174-193.
 +
</ref>
 +
<ref name=mathieu>
 +
Mathieu, C., Neumann, C. S., Hare, R. D., & Babiak, P. (2014). A dark side of leadership: Corporate psychopathy and its influence on employee well-being and job satisfaction. Personality and Individual Differences, 59, 83-88.
 +
</ref>
  
 
Kernberg, in a lecture about malignant narcissism notes, that:
 
Kernberg, in a lecture about malignant narcissism notes, that:
−
 
 
{{SMWQ
 
{{SMWQ
 
|text=... on the surface they don't show to be that ill. Except that they are individuals with unusual needs of extreme grandiosity , extreme aggression, extreme antisocial features and extreme paranoid orientation.  
 
|text=... on the surface they don't show to be that ill. Except that they are individuals with unusual needs of extreme grandiosity , extreme aggression, extreme antisocial features and extreme paranoid orientation.  
Line 31: Line 71:
 
So they become very dangerous leaders of institutions... [[school]] systems... [[hospital]] systems... [[political parties]]... or [[nations]].  
 
So they become very dangerous leaders of institutions... [[school]] systems... [[hospital]] systems... [[political parties]]... or [[nations]].  
  
−
So... they don't become ordinary dictators - but they tend to establish totalitarian systems. They have to be loved... and feared at the same time, not just loved! They are not just narcissists who have to be admired and they are happy. They have to be loved because they are superior and the followers have to be afraid of them.
+
So... '''they don't become ordinary dictators''' - but they tend to establish totalitarian systems. They have to be loved... and feared at the same time, not just loved! They are not just narcissists who have to be admired and they are happy. They have to be loved because they are superior and the followers have to be afraid of them.
  
 
We have evidence that the personality of [[Stalin]] and of [[Hitler]] [...] presented these four features. [...] And, of course to these days [sic] we have such leaders all over the world... [[Idi Amin]] - nice illustration in Africa... and so on... and... ehm... we don't have to look very far... to find they today... eh... examples of that. [laughter].
 
We have evidence that the personality of [[Stalin]] and of [[Hitler]] [...] presented these four features. [...] And, of course to these days [sic] we have such leaders all over the world... [[Idi Amin]] - nice illustration in Africa... and so on... and... ehm... we don't have to look very far... to find they today... eh... examples of that. [laughter].
−
|subjects=authorities, The Establishment, psychopaths, insanity, society
+
|subjects=authorities, The Establishment, psychopaths, insanity, society, ideology
 
|source_URL=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOqlLy3kwXA
 
|source_URL=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOqlLy3kwXA
 
|source_name=Kernberg, O., lecture on narcissistic personality disorder, Bergen, Norway, 31.10.2017. 00:57:57
 
|source_name=Kernberg, O., lecture on narcissistic personality disorder, Bergen, Norway, 31.10.2017. 00:57:57
 
|date=2017
 
|date=2017
 +
|authors=Otto Kernberg
 
}}
 
}}
  
 
==Importance==
 
==Importance==
−
Psychopathy is of great importance to the [[deep state]], as it renders people more predictable. People who are totally selfish are also totally controllable by a suitable combination of threats and rewards. By contrast, people with a [[conscience]] are less likely to be so manipulated and are more emotionally robust. In the case of [[Tony Blair]] for example - lying to start a war in which over 1,000,000 people were killed could reasonably be expected to create psychological problems (i.e. at least sleepless nights or remorse). This does not seem to be an issue for Mr. Blair, whose only semblances of remorse are perfunctory in the extreme.
+
Psychopathy is of great importance to the [[deep state]].  
 +
People who are totally selfish are also totally controllable by a suitable combination of threats and rewards. Psychopaths foster these motivations, as it fits their own view of how people (and the world at large) ''function'' (machine-like). By contrast, people with a [[conscience]] are less likely to be so manipulated and are more emotionally robust.  
 +
 
 +
===Party politicians and CEOs===
 +
Examples abound.
 +
 
 +
In the case of [[Tony Blair]] for example - lying to start a war in which over 1,000,000 people were killed could reasonably be expected to create psychological problems (i.e. at least sleepless nights or remorse). This does not seem to be an issue for Mr. Blair, whose only semblances of remorse are perfunctory in the extreme.  
  
 
==Sociopathy==
 
==Sociopathy==
−
{{FA|Sociopathy}}
+
{{FA|Sociopathy}}  
−
Sociopathy is the learned behavior of emulating psychopaths.
+
{{FA|Psychopathy/Forensic and clinical aspects of Psychopathy}}
 +
On WS the term [[sociopath]] is used for ''sucessful'' psychopaths, people who end up as leaders (see Kernberg quote) rather than in prison; who are successful in hiding and deceiving the public about their underlying psychopathic traits.
 +
 
 +
Psychopathy is a spectrum ranging from normal to severely disturbed. Learning and genetic predispositions are intertwined. Intelligent psychopaths may channel their aggression in socially acceptable ways and may cause even more havoc when their crimes are non-arrestable or they can avoid being caught.
 +
 
 +
Another way of learning from a psychopath is by identification. These (often covertly) aggressive personalities
 +
<ref>
 +
Simon, G. K. (2011), Character disturbance: The phenomenon of our age, Parkhurst Brothers.
 +
</ref>
 +
become '''mercenary''', sometimes forming teams and close relationships with them. They imitate psychopathic behavior to gain psychopath's recognition and other advantages for opportunistic reasons (typical party politician). 
 +
 
 +
However, the psychological makeup of those - so called sociopaths - is in every aspect as disturbed, perverse and harmful as their counterparts in prison.
 +
<ref>
 +
Samenow, S. E. (2014), Inside the criminal mind, Broadway Books. avail. online as audiobook.
 +
</ref>
 +
They may be even more dangerous in exploiting others, who are merely seen as pawns (see i.e. [[Brzezinski]] "The Grand Chessboard" for the chessboard metaphor).   
 +
 
 +
===Devaluation and Deception===
 +
{{FA|Psychopathy/Forensic and clinical aspects of Psychopathy}}
 +
Psychopaths devalue other people to bolster their pathological grandiose self. They feel even more ''contemptuous delight'' if this devaluation is covert, manipulating the mark into harming them self. They may disguise them selves as "protectors" or  "solicitous helpers", first creating the "need" for "help" or "protection" by '''[[phobia induction]]'''. (see [[strategy of tension]],
 +
<ref>
 +
Hassan, Steven. Combating cult mind control. Vol. 90. Rochester, VT: Park Street Press, 1990.
 +
http://pncds72.free.fr/120_manipulation_mentale/120_21_emprise_sectes.pdf (slides in french)
 +
</ref>) This manipulation tactic is called [[Soft_power#Negative_reinforcement_aka_aversive_conditioning|negative reinforcement]] in classical conditioning which might seem to be a legitimate technique for [[social control]] to psychopaths.
 +
 
 +
Psychopaths may offer "gifts" which turn out to be rather annoying, rubbish or damaging (in the long run) - devaluing the mark - while playing the servant all along and '''expecting a great deal of gratitude in return'''. ([[Face masks]] and [[vaccines]] come to mind).
 +
 
 +
===Projection===
 +
{{FA|Psychopathy/Psychopathy and staged events}}
 +
Psychopaths engage in a special type of projection, a malignant type of dramatization. It has more in common with [[brainwashing]] or [[mind control]] techniques, which seems to come quite natural to them: it follows from deception (a core trait) and their wish for ''omnipotent control'' of their victims - they want others to accept their will as their own (which is a core definition of mind control).
 +
 
 +
They also project their inadequacy onto others (they know they are different in core traits), often with devaluing attributes like "insane", "psychopathic" (aka "[[conspiracy theorist]]"), rendering people helpless or putting them in a powerless position, muzzling them socially or physically (critics defined as ''ill'' and confined).
 +
 
 +
Not satisfied with fantasy the Psychopath engages in repeated rehearsal of perverse scenarios and [[strategy_of_tension|staged events]], not merely playing a role but living the part - for the moment, and then switching to another role if needed. He also expects that others - seen as possessed parts of his grandiose universe - play their role in his dramatization as perfectly as he does. He engages in a livelong quest for manipulating and coercing vulnerable marks to comply to the (covertly) devalued position, using deception or threatening violence if instrumental.
 +
 
 +
===Lying===
 +
{{FA|Psychopathy/Munchausen syndrome by proxy}}
 +
{{SMWQ
 +
|text=Even in the face of contrary evidence, the psychopath can lie so well that '''listeners doubt themselves first''', rather than question the psychopath.
 +
|subjects=lie, lying, deception, psychopathy, sociopathy
 +
|authors=Robert Hare, Paul Babiak
 +
|source_details=Snakes in Suits (emphasis added)
 +
}}
 +
Some even come to believe their own lies.
 +
<ref>
 +
They may cite the number of people they ave duped to "prove" that their lies are "correct", as in [[peudologia phantastica]] (Fenichel)
 +
</ref>
 +
<ref>
 +
Simon, G. K. (2011), Character disturbance: The phenomenon of our age, Parkhurst Brothers.
 +
</ref>
 +
This has merely practical reasons, because when they live the part of benevolent dictator, "helper" or even victim (if their grandiose aspirations are thwarted), they are more convincing by believing their own fabrications (i.e excuses) and lies. The sadistic teacher or torturer may really "believes" that he is helping others becoming a better person (and that he knows better, of course) or protecting his family or country.
 +
 
 +
"[[Philanthrope]]s" may believe in the "goodness" (i.e. [[The Good Club]] reflects this) of i.e their foundations or genetic research projects. A critical point is often reached when the '''unrequested''' offering of "help" or "benevolence" is rejected. Open hostility or rage may be instrumentally displayed to knuckle the "ungrateful" under to succumb to the devalued, (in his mind: slave-like) position.
  
−
==Weblinks==
+
==External links==
−
[http://www.fisheadmovie.com/ ''I Am Fishead''] is a documentary which explores the topic with world-renowned experts in the field.<br>[http://archive.today/2020.06.26-010326/https://bbsradio.com/cgi-bin/webbbs/webbbs_config.pl?md=read;id=19857 Promotional access code for viewing] - [http://archive.today/2020.08.04-165631/http://psychopathsandlove.com/i-amd-fishead/ Short synopsis] - [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2856738/ IMDB page.]
+
*[http://www.fisheadmovie.com/ ''I Am Fishead''] is a documentary which explores the topic with world-renowned experts in the field.
 +
**[http://archive.today/2020.06.26-010326/https://bbsradio.com/cgi-bin/webbbs/webbbs_config.pl?md=read;id=19857 Promotional access code for viewing]
 +
**[http://archive.today/2020.08.04-165631/http://psychopathsandlove.com/i-amd-fishead/ Short synopsis]
 +
**[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2856738/ IMDB page.]
  
 
{{SMWDocs}}
 
{{SMWDocs}}

Latest revision as of 21:25, 3 January 2022

Concept.png Psychopathy 
(Illness,  Personality disorder,  Character disturbance)Rdf-entity.pngRdf-icon.png
Interest ofRobert Hare
Subpage(s)•Psychopathy/Forensic and clinical aspects
•Psychopathy/Munchausen syndrome by proxy
•Psychopathy/Psychopathy and gender
•Psychopathy/Psychopathy and heredity
•Psychopathy/Psychopathy and staged events
Up to 15% of corporations are headed by psychopathic personalities ([1][2][3])

Psychopathy is the lack of a conscience and an unwillingness [4] to bond, a dismissive attachment style. [5] This is not to say that they necessarily behave completely selfishly, since other behavior patterns can be learned. However, unselfish behaviour does not come naturally to psychopaths, and are likely in the service of superficial charm and deception.

Forensic and clinical definition

Full article: Psychopathy/Forensic and clinical aspects of Psychopathy
Full article: Psychopathy/Psychopathy and gender

“(Psychopaths are) people who I think, at the core, lack a real concern and emotional connection with people. They don't seem to understand that other people have rights. I think this is partly because of a stunning incapacity - a lack of capacity - for empathy. I think if you wanted a shorthand term, it would be people who lack a conscience.”
Robert Hare [6]

Psychopathic personality (psychopathy) is a condition marked by a constellation of traits, including callousness, guiltlessness, dishonesty, superficial charm, egocentricity and poor impulse control. [7]

A key element is predatory aggression (as opposed to reactive aggression) - psychopaths are intra-species predators [8] . Predatory or instrumental aggression is cold and goal oriented with little or no empathy involved. Research originated from cats and how cats feel and react when they prey. Psychopaths view other humans much like a cat views a mouse - prey to be eaten and this mode of relating can be incredibly intense (i.e. psychopathic stare).

Prevalence

Psychopaths are thought to make up as much as roughly 1 percent of the general populace and up to 25 percent of the prison population. [9] This is pretty easily tested, but the entire phenomenon is not given much attention and brought into the public consciousness much. This number is almost certainly underestimated, as the PCL-R test matches males and the prison population by definition.

"Natural born leaders"

Full article: Psychopathy/Psychopathy and heredity

There is considerable evidence that psychopaths are over represented in management positions, that is to say that modern hierarchies are disproportionately headed up by psychopaths. [1] [2] [3]

Kernberg, in a lecture about malignant narcissism notes, that:

“... on the surface they don't show to be that ill. Except that they are individuals with unusual needs of extreme grandiosity , extreme aggression, extreme antisocial features and extreme paranoid orientation.

We find such persons very often in leadership positions of organizations or political systems, particularly at times when there are natural sharp divisions in the social body between social in-group and out-group and political ideologies or parties... that reflect that in their ideological formation... and they - under such turbulence, situations - they become the leader of an extreme group that exerts its superiority, the need to fight its enemies - they lead the group taking on a function... a direction... of the group towards triumph and exploiting the paranoid nature of the ideology showing an extremely aggressive behavior and total absence of any guilt feelings regarding the attack of the enemy [sic].

So, the search for the security of triumph, the security of the attack on the enemy, the suspicion of the danger of the enemy and the ruthlessness and total abandonment of moral constraints makes them ideal leader [sic] for such a regressed social situation.

So they become very dangerous leaders of institutions... school systems... hospital systems... political parties... or nations.

So... they don't become ordinary dictators - but they tend to establish totalitarian systems. They have to be loved... and feared at the same time, not just loved! They are not just narcissists who have to be admired and they are happy. They have to be loved because they are superior and the followers have to be afraid of them.

We have evidence that the personality of Stalin and of Hitler [...] presented these four features. [...] And, of course to these days [sic] we have such leaders all over the world... Idi Amin - nice illustration in Africa... and so on... and... ehm... we don't have to look very far... to find they today... eh... examples of that. [laughter].”
Otto Kernberg (2017)  [10]

Importance

Psychopathy is of great importance to the deep state. People who are totally selfish are also totally controllable by a suitable combination of threats and rewards. Psychopaths foster these motivations, as it fits their own view of how people (and the world at large) function (machine-like). By contrast, people with a conscience are less likely to be so manipulated and are more emotionally robust.

Party politicians and CEOs

Examples abound.

In the case of Tony Blair for example - lying to start a war in which over 1,000,000 people were killed could reasonably be expected to create psychological problems (i.e. at least sleepless nights or remorse). This does not seem to be an issue for Mr. Blair, whose only semblances of remorse are perfunctory in the extreme.

Sociopathy

Full article: Stub class article Sociopathy
Full article: Psychopathy/Forensic and clinical aspects of Psychopathy

On WS the term sociopath is used for sucessful psychopaths, people who end up as leaders (see Kernberg quote) rather than in prison; who are successful in hiding and deceiving the public about their underlying psychopathic traits.

Psychopathy is a spectrum ranging from normal to severely disturbed. Learning and genetic predispositions are intertwined. Intelligent psychopaths may channel their aggression in socially acceptable ways and may cause even more havoc when their crimes are non-arrestable or they can avoid being caught.

Another way of learning from a psychopath is by identification. These (often covertly) aggressive personalities [11] become mercenary, sometimes forming teams and close relationships with them. They imitate psychopathic behavior to gain psychopath's recognition and other advantages for opportunistic reasons (typical party politician).

However, the psychological makeup of those - so called sociopaths - is in every aspect as disturbed, perverse and harmful as their counterparts in prison. [12] They may be even more dangerous in exploiting others, who are merely seen as pawns (see i.e. Brzezinski "The Grand Chessboard" for the chessboard metaphor).

Devaluation and Deception

Full article: Psychopathy/Forensic and clinical aspects of Psychopathy

Psychopaths devalue other people to bolster their pathological grandiose self. They feel even more contemptuous delight if this devaluation is covert, manipulating the mark into harming them self. They may disguise them selves as "protectors" or "solicitous helpers", first creating the "need" for "help" or "protection" by phobia induction. (see strategy of tension, [13]) This manipulation tactic is called negative reinforcement in classical conditioning which might seem to be a legitimate technique for social control to psychopaths.

Psychopaths may offer "gifts" which turn out to be rather annoying, rubbish or damaging (in the long run) - devaluing the mark - while playing the servant all along and expecting a great deal of gratitude in return. (Face masks and vaccines come to mind).

Projection

Full article: Psychopathy/Psychopathy and staged events

Psychopaths engage in a special type of projection, a malignant type of dramatization. It has more in common with brainwashing or mind control techniques, which seems to come quite natural to them: it follows from deception (a core trait) and their wish for omnipotent control of their victims - they want others to accept their will as their own (which is a core definition of mind control).

They also project their inadequacy onto others (they know they are different in core traits), often with devaluing attributes like "insane", "psychopathic" (aka "conspiracy theorist"), rendering people helpless or putting them in a powerless position, muzzling them socially or physically (critics defined as ill and confined).

Not satisfied with fantasy the Psychopath engages in repeated rehearsal of perverse scenarios and staged events, not merely playing a role but living the part - for the moment, and then switching to another role if needed. He also expects that others - seen as possessed parts of his grandiose universe - play their role in his dramatization as perfectly as he does. He engages in a livelong quest for manipulating and coercing vulnerable marks to comply to the (covertly) devalued position, using deception or threatening violence if instrumental.

Lying

Full article: Stub class article Psychopathy/Munchausen syndrome by proxy

“Even in the face of contrary evidence, the psychopath can lie so well that listeners doubt themselves first, rather than question the psychopath.”
Robert Hare,  Paul Babiak [14]

Some even come to believe their own lies. [15] [16] This has merely practical reasons, because when they live the part of benevolent dictator, "helper" or even victim (if their grandiose aspirations are thwarted), they are more convincing by believing their own fabrications (i.e excuses) and lies. The sadistic teacher or torturer may really "believes" that he is helping others becoming a better person (and that he knows better, of course) or protecting his family or country.

"Philanthropes" may believe in the "goodness" (i.e. The Good Club reflects this) of i.e their foundations or genetic research projects. A critical point is often reached when the unrequested offering of "help" or "benevolence" is rejected. Open hostility or rage may be instrumentally displayed to knuckle the "ungrateful" under to succumb to the devalued, (in his mind: slave-like) position.

External links


 

Examples

Page nameDescription
Tony BlairRemarkably popular at the time, Tony Blair was a UK prime minister, now infamous for lying the UK into invading Iraq, notwithstanding massive opposition. He is currently sought for War crimes by many people.
Document:Maintaining a Kakistocracy
Allen DullesDulles served the longest ever term as Director of Central Intelligence and dominated American intelligence for a generation. He personified a cadre of Ivy League pragmatic elitists in high echelons of the government who greatly admired Germany’s scientific achievements.<a href="#cite_note-1">[1]</a> Dulles was fired by JFK after the Bay of Pigs and bore a grudge against him thereafter.
Lyndon JohnsonGenerally agreed to have been heavily involved in the plot to assassinate his predecessor, JFK.

 

Related Quotations

PageQuoteAuthorDate
Human sacrifice“While documentation of the widespread existence of Satanic human sacrifice cults is lacking, evidence of other forms of systematic human sacrifice is available. Two examples in modern history are the Catholic Inquisition, a human sacrifice cult of a religious-theological nature, and the Third Reich, a human sacrifice cult of a military-political nature. (In calling the Inquisition and the Third Reich cults, I am using the word in a broad, informal, and unscholarly sense, to mean an organized group driven by a well-elaborated theological doctrine, which for the Nazis was Aryan racial mysticism.) The fact that the Catholic Inquisition and the Third Reich were both run by middle-class, Caucasian, educated individuals from Judaeo-Christian cultures suggests that it is psychologically possible for ordinary middle-class citizens to be perpetrating such crimes in North America today, especially given the high level of violence in contemporary Western societies.”Colin Ross1995
Psychopathy/Psychopathy and gender“For mothers, presenting the facade of ordinary, devoted maternal care provides an invaluable subterfuge for abuse.”Anna Motz2016
Psychopathy/Psychopathy and staged events“It is only beneath the surface, well hidden from view, that darker tendencies lie.”Robert Hare
Paul Babiak
Many thanks to our Patrons who cover ~2/3 of our hosting bill. Please join them if you can.



References

  1. ↑ a b Hare, R. D.,Babiak, P. (2006). Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work. New York: Regan Books. https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/127744-snakes-in-suits-when-psychopaths-go-to-work
  2. ↑ a b Babiak, P., Neumann, C. S., & Hare, R. D. (2010). Corporate psychopathy: Talking the walk. Behavioral sciences & the law, 28(2), 174-193.
  3. ↑ a b Mathieu, C., Neumann, C. S., Hare, R. D., & Babiak, P. (2014). A dark side of leadership: Corporate psychopathy and its influence on employee well-being and job satisfaction. Personality and Individual Differences, 59, 83-88.
  4. ↑ For the nature vs. nurture debate, see also: Cleckley, Hervey Milton (1955) The mask of sanity: An attempt to clarify some issues about the so-called psychopathic personality. Ravenio Books. Full text (5th edition, 1988): https://www.gwern.net/docs/psychology/1941-cleckley-maskofsanity.pdf
  5. ↑ They may, however, simulate attachment needs, stimulate and identify (pseudo-identification) with these needs in others mainly in four areas: sadistic, masochistic, hysteric and psychopathic. - J. Reid Meloy, Ph.D., Violent Attachments, Jason Aronson 2002
  6. ↑ (emphasis added)
  7. ↑ Joanna M Berg, Sarah F Smith, Ashley L Watts, Rachel Ammirati, Sophia E Green, and Scott O Lilienfeld. Misconceptions regarding psychopathic personality: implications for clinical practice and research. Neuropsychiatry, 3(1):63, 2013.
  8. ↑ Meloy, J. Reid, Ph.D., The psychopathic mind: origins, dynamics, and treatment, Jason Aronson 2002. available online.
  9. ↑ https://www.livescience.com/7859-psychopath-answers-remain-elusive.html
  10. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOqlLy3kwXA Kernberg, O., lecture on narcissistic personality disorder, Bergen, Norway, 31.10.2017. 00:57:57
  11. ↑ Simon, G. K. (2011), Character disturbance: The phenomenon of our age, Parkhurst Brothers.
  12. ↑ Samenow, S. E. (2014), Inside the criminal mind, Broadway Books. avail. online as audiobook.
  13. ↑ Hassan, Steven. Combating cult mind control. Vol. 90. Rochester, VT: Park Street Press, 1990. http://pncds72.free.fr/120_manipulation_mentale/120_21_emprise_sectes.pdf (slides in french)
  14. ↑ Snakes in Suits (emphasis added)
  15. ↑ They may cite the number of people they ave duped to "prove" that their lies are "correct", as in peudologia phantastica (Fenichel)
  16. ↑ Simon, G. K. (2011), Character disturbance: The phenomenon of our age, Parkhurst Brothers.
Retrieved from "https://wikispooks.com/w/index.php?title=Psychopathy&oldid=233646"