One in 25 bosses 'is a psychopath' but hides it with charm and business-speak

I'm sure most people think the statistics are closer to 1 in 1, but 1 in 25 is still pretty staggering. We're talking about a 'real' psychopath. Basically someone who fits the following description:

Psychopathy (/saɪˈkɒpəθi/[1][2]) is a mental disorder characterized primarily by a lack of empathy and remorse, shallow emotions, egocentricity, and deceptiveness. Psychopaths are highly prone to antisocial behavior and abusive treatment of others, and are very disproportionately responsible for violent crime. Though lacking empathy and emotional depth, they often manage to pass themselves off as normal people by feigning emotions and lying about their pasts.

en.wikipedia.org...


Apparently these people are TALENTED at being promoted or placed in these high profile positions. I'm guessing because it takes a cut throat mentality to get ahead in the business world...

Business leaders are four times more likely to be psychopaths than the general population, a study has found.
One out of every 25 company high-flyers is believed to have the mental disorder but disguises it through their high status, charm and manipulation in the workplace.
And only favourable environmental factors - such as having had a happy childhood - prevent their psychopathic tendencies turning them into serial killers.

Revealing the results in Are You Good Or Evil?, a Horizon documentary to be screened on BBC2 next Wednesday, Dr Babiak said: 'Psychopaths really aren't the kind of person you think they are.
'In fact, you could be living with or married to one for 20 years or more and not know that person is a psychopath.
'We have identified individuals that might be labelled "the successful psychopath".
'Part of the problem is that the very things we're looking for in our leaders, the psychopath can easily mimic.
'Their natural tendency is to be charming. Take that charm and couch it in the right business language and it sounds like charismatic leadership.'
Dr Babiak designed a 111-point questionnaire with the University of British Columbia's Prof Bob Hare - the world's pre-eminent expert in psychopathy and a regular adviser to the FBI - to determine how many industry bosses were psychopaths.
They found that nearly four per cent of bosses fitted the profile, compared with one per cent among the general population.

www.dailymail.co.uk...

interesting article..

they should do a study like this amongst politicians, i´m betting the ratio is 1 : 1.3424252

reading the description of a psychopath, my former boss could very well be one

Conan had a man who wrote a book on this subject on his show in July.

www.youtube.com...

reply to post by v1rtu0s0


Thanks for the post and information contained. I think the one in tewnty five is really about one in fifteen.
Certain narcicisstic and pathological charateristics fit well within the modern corporate structure.

CJ

Actually about 1 in 25 males are psychopaths, and about 1 in 100 females are as well.

Since they rise to positions of power, it would be quite a bit higher for bosses.

I'm guessing 1 in 5 sounds closer to the truth.

reply to post by v1rtu0s0


As I was reading the title to your thread...I thought (one in 25 people are secretly nuts!)

Anyway.....in the past I have had a psycho boss.....have you ever heard of the old saying (kill them with kindness).....that is what I did with him. He would come into the office and yell and scream at me for no reason at all...(.I did my job well)...when he would scream and yell at me...I would smile and agree with him....when I was ready to move on from that job....he gave me an excellent letter of recommendation.

Often times when I go out for a walk and/or coffee etc ...I people watch...their body language....and I wonder... how psycho are they?

S+F

My former boss is definitley a psychopath. Cold and deceptive.
He used his position to make people miserable.

I should e-mail him a link to this thread

Sweetheart, a lot of people are bat-# crazy.
I smile when i'm in public too, It hides the fact that I want to kill all of the happy people there. I talk with a sweet charm and nobody ever knows what I'm thinking,
I've got this weird Midwestern-transatlantic accent thing going on here like John Barrowman; it hides the feelings of hatred.
Keep a happy face but sharpen your knifes, that's what I was told you can have impulses but never do it. And that is how and why I'm not in jail yet and why mostly, I've sat in the house for the past three months.

reply to post by v1rtu0s0

And only favourable environmental factors - such as having had a happy childhood - prevent their psychopathic tendencies turning them into serial killers.

This statement sounds like BS to me. But otherwise this is a pretty decent article.

Here is a Blog I came across a while ago that you may find interesting if you are intrigued by the OP.
Psychopathic Writings

Cool Thread.

reply to post by watchitburn


It IS bs.

Only a small percentage of psychopaths end up being serial killers.

There's simply not too many in this world.

Even if they have the will, they will comprehend that the punishment is too unfavorable for them to commit the act.

No inhibition based on feelings, but pure, self-interest calculations.

i'd like to know how many people are actually diagnosed with anti-social personality disorder formerly known as psychopathy in the us and uk

its probably very few as i imagine they know full well how to slip the net. they'd need to as well as they could be viewed permanently as a danger to themselves or others

reply to post by v1rtu0s0


I would say the ratio varies depending on industry, and goes up higher in politics. Considering that 1 of the 25 would be the most ambitious to ascend to the next position they likely accumulate at the top. Know what I'm sayin'?

reply to post by unityemissions


Yeah.. most will act out violently, but don't end up charged for it.
I just read a book a few weeks ago called the psychopath. I sincerely recommend it to everyone here.

Now it all makes sense to me. They put you into 6-7 hours worth of training and still expect you to do 8-9 hours worth of work that day and ream you out when you didn't have time to do it.

Guess it's time to move on. I'm one of the lucky ones to get a psychopath I guess

1 in 25... 1 in 15... My odds are good at this point

Originally posted by GogoVicMorrow
reply to post by v1rtu0s0

 

I would say the ratio varies depending on industry, and goes up higher in politics. Considering that 1 of the 25 would be the most ambitious to ascend to the next position they likely accumulate at the top. Know what I'm sayin'?

Exactly... they rise to the top because of their ability not to care when they destroy peoples lives. Profit over people.

Politicians may be 1 in 1.




Actually I think it's all coming together. When you tie this to the recent article about rich people lacking empathy... I think we are starting to understand that the wealthy/politicians/CEO's (at a much higher percentage) could care less about you... So basically the people ruling the world fit this profile.

Exactly... they rise to the top because of their ability not to care when they destroy peoples lives. Profit over people.

reply to post by v1rtu0s0


I didn't want to S&F you until I read that comment.

You're not telling me anything I didn't know. This is the main reason why I have always avoided conventional employment.

reply to post by v1rtu0s0


I think its the main reason the world is so messed up. Becuase most of the people in power fall into this category. Read Snakes in suits By Paul Babiak PHD. It goes into great detail regarding this phenomena.

Originally posted by unityemissions
reply to post by watchitburn

 

It IS bs.

Only a small percentage of psychopaths end up being serial killers.

There's simply not too many in this world.

Even if they have the will, they will comprehend that the punishment is too unfavorable for them to commit the act.

No inhibition based on feelings, but pure, self-interest calculations.

The trouble is mixing sociopaths with psychopaths. One of the key differences is self-awareness. Think of it this way: Both Sociopaths and Psychopath lack an internal hard wired conscience. But Sociopaths are capable of receiving a purely nurture(culture) based conscience and often take a zeal to it. While with psychopaths they think their current state of being is natural and thus feel no shame over it.

I doubt that all the psychopathic bosses were born natrually that way. Power corrupts. When you don't have anyone to answer to for your day to day actions, you can easily get to the point where you believe you can do no wrong.