1 in 5 CEOs are psychopaths, study finds

[meowington]

I personally suspect it's even higher, but according to this article 1 in 5 CEOs is a psychopath.

Can't believe we're living in 2016 and people still put up with this shit. If only we had a viable psychopathy test, so we could start deporting CEOs to ... Australia

1 in 5 CEOs are psychopaths, study finds

An Australian study has found that about one in five corporate executives are psychopaths – roughly the same rate as among prisoners.

The study of 261 senior professionals in the United States found that 21 per cent had clinically significant levels of psychopathic traits. The rate of psychopathy in the general population is about one in a hundred.
Nathan Brooks, a forensic psychologist who conducted the study, said the findings suggested that businesses should improve their recruitment screening.
He said recruiters tend to focus on skills rather than personality features and this has led to firms hiring “successful psychopaths” who may engage in unethical and illegal practices or have a toxic impact on colleagues.
“Typically psychopaths create a lot of chaos and generally tend to play people off against each other,” he said.
“For psychopaths, it [corporate success] is a game and they don’t mind if they violate morals. It is about getting where they want in the company and having dominance over others.”
The global financial crisis in 2008 has prompted researchers to study workplace traits that may have allowed a corporate culture in which unethical behaviour was able to flourish.
Mr Brooks’s research, conducted with a colleague from Australia’s Bond University and a researcher from the University of San Diego, was based on a study of corporate professionals in the supply chain management industry across the US.
The findings, presented on Tuesday at the Australian Psychological Society Congress in Melbourne, are due to be published in the European Journal of Psychology.
The researchers have been examining ways to help employers screen for potential psychopaths.
“We hope to implement our screening tool in businesses so that there’s an adequate assessment to hopefully identify this problem - to stop people sneaking through into positions in the business that can become very costly,” Mr Brooks said.

 

[baccheion]

What's new. I witnessed many things throughout my high school, college, and early work years (before I could no longer work), and it was the same theme every time: while pretending they don't stand for BS or unethical behaviour, the group would generally do anything in their power to help any shits present get what they want (and rise through the ranks). They'd also constantly bow to them and defend them. The only instances in which they "took a stand" against "people like this" were when they'd falsely accuse someone of being like this as a means to try to control them or screw them over.

In the corporate world, they seemed to generally favor people who were shit. That is, the shittier someone was (the more arrogant, showy, off-putting, insulting, ruthless, sociopathic, etc), the more they'd get off on all they'd do, become infatuated with them, and do everything in their power to help them win. It was the equivalent of, "that's a real man!" and it'd constantly repeat. It was mind boggling and hilarious, especially as they thought everyone still bought into their BS claims (of not standing for people who're like this) after the displays they put on. They were clear cases of rotten, full of it, and stupid. Dumb as shit. They were as dumb as they were full of it, and right inline with that, they'd just constantly fail. It was just one failure after another, with them trying to repeat the same line of BS to excuse themselves of it-- every time.

Not only is this number likely to be very high, the idiots that be are probably about doing nothing other than increasing it even more.

 

[Hiraeth]

Really sad, but I'm not surprised. I do think there are much more of them involved in the government though, and that's really scary. I agree that something needs to be done to prevent people from taking advantage of the system. We definitely need more empaths in this world, especially in this current time.

 

[Mole]

Really sad, but I'm not surprised. I do think there are much more of them involved in the government though, and that's really scary. I agree that something needs to be done to prevent people from taking advantage of the system. We definitely need more empaths in this world, especially in this current time.

Empath is a word taken from the New Age Movement, and it has nothing to do with empathy.

And where sympathy means to feel the same as, empathy means knowing what the other feels, without feeling it oneself, and so empathy is uniquely helpful.

However although almost all of us sympathise naturally, we need to learn how to empathise, like learning to read and write or learning to play the piano. So to learn to empathise requires systematic practice and an experienced and professional teacher.

 

[Beargryllz]

Being identified as a psychopath is not ideal, so why act like it? It's irresponsible, right?

Unfortunately, clinically significant traits don't necessarily provide value for an individual. You can see those behaviors, but not necessarily a long-standing, firm pattern necessary for diagnosis. They are great for population demographics, I think.

The inventory itself is notable because it correlates positively with personality disorders *in general*. So although it can correlate positively with anti-social personalities, it won't necessarily be specific. It probably isn't particularly sensitive either, but I can't make as compelling of a point with that.

The biggest element here is the pattern of behavior, which will often lead to rapid incarceration or early death. I just don't see it.

 

[Hiraeth]

Empath is a word taken from the New Age Movement, and it has nothing to do with empathy.

And where sympathy means to feel the same as, empathy means knowing what the other feels, without feeling it oneself, and so empathy is uniquely helpful.

However although almost all of us sympathise naturally, we need to learn how to empathise, like learning to read and write or learning to play the piano. So to learn to empathise requires systematic practice and an experienced and professional teacher.

Okay, I get what you mean. In theory then, could it be possible for a psychopath to eventually learn to emotionally empathize with people? I'm not familiar with the science behind the brain abnormalities of what makes one a psychopath, but perhaps they can somehow learn to empathize like other people. Or maybe it can only be taught from a young age, when the brain is still developing.

 

[Mole]

Okay, I get what you mean. In theory then, could it be possible for a psychopath to eventually learn to emotionally empathize with people? I'm not familiar with the science behind the brain abnormalities of what makes one a psychopath, but perhaps they can somehow learn to empathize like other people. Or maybe it can only be taught from a young age, when the brain is still developing.

Of course we emotionally sympathise with people but we don't emotionally empathise with people. We empathise when we know how the other is feeling, and usually let the other person know, but without feeling these same feelings ourself.

It is a common mistake to confuse sympathy and empathy, and this wouldn't matter so much except that empathy is uniquely helpful, so it is a shame not to know what empathy is.

The distinction between sympathy and empathy and is very old and was first made by the Ancient Greeks, for whom sympathy meant to feel the same and empathy meant to feel with.

 

[meowington]

Or maybe it can only be taught from a young age, when the brain is still developing.

Ideally our society would monitor deviant psychological behavior at very early age. It's alarming how many 3-4yr olds already show clear sociopathic traits. Genetics and age 0-4 years (parenting and environment) are the determining factors.
But what baffles me even more is that many of these people hold high positions later in life and their pathology is seen as a strength.

 

[Kanra Jest]

They thrive in life when it comes to these cutthroat environments. Politics. Businesses. Competition. Greed. Money. Getting by the dishonest way, playing the game to win the system. Eventually it's like you have to dirty your morals a bit to rise through the ranks or you'll be walked all over.

Such seems usually inevitable.

It stands to reason Psychopaths (many aren't killers at all contrary to the "axe murderer" stereotype here) thriving in said environment have a natural propensity to excel not having our moral limits.

 

[Virtual ghost]

I've seen somewhere a study that says 1 in 3.

 

[ChocolateMoose123]

Correlation to white collar crime?

That would be interesting to see. I do know some psychopathic traits can be positive. I wonder how sensitive these tests are in how they measure levels.

This is on topic. A doctor who discovered he was a psychopath:

History, Travel, Arts, Science, People, Places | Smithsonian

 

[LovecraftianMonstrosity]

 

[Thursday]

As if a psychopath who has no morals vs. A person who's driven by a moral code, inhumane or humane, cannot reach the same results. I think most people dont even qualify as neurologically balanced, let alone healthy.

 

[meowington]

As if a psychopath who has no morals vs. A person who's driven by a moral code, inhumane or humane, cannot reach the same results. I think most people dont even qualify as neurologically balanced, let alone healthy.

Reach the same goals : yeah ok.
But I'd still pick the person driven by a moral code, neurlogically balanced or not, cause that one is more likely to do it without the antisocial behavior that goes with psychopathy.

 

[meowington]

This is on topic. A doctor who discovered he was a psychopath:

History, Travel, Arts, Science, People, Places | Smithsonian

Yeah I saw an interview with him a while back. Interesting. I see he even spoke on TED. Gonna check that.

There are lots of grey zones in the research on psychotpathy.
This was also an interesting TED presentation on this topic :

 

[meowington]

Thank you for your time

Is that from Mr Robot ? that's on my watchlist.

 

[LovecraftianMonstrosity]

Indeed it is.

 

[entropie]

Its amazin how easily you can interchange that words:

1 in 5 sausages contain beer
1 in 5 beer contain sausages (makes no sense)

1 in 5 psychopaths are CEOs
1 in 5 CEOs are psychopaths

no problemo

 

[Stek]

I personally suspect it's even higher, but according to this article 1 in 5 CEOs is a psychopath.

I haven't read the actual scientific study where they presumably discuss their choice of scientific method. But a sample rate of 261 suggests that the respondents were categorized by quantitative methods, such as a simple questionnaire. If this is the case, then this is a weak foundation to evaluate anyone's "psychopathic" traits, let alone labeling anyone as being a "psychopath". Being diagnosed with psychopathy requires 1 on 1 evaluation by a psychologist, which takes a fairly long time.

Additionally, the quote you have included asserts the researcher's findings, and then proclaim the apparent need to reduce the number of "psychopaths" in a given firm, due to their own hypothetical assumptions and speculations about what the "psychopath" may, or may not do. Note that they do not give the impression that they paid any attention to the "psychopath's" actual performance or connection to any work related problems. It's more like "We assume that you are a psychopath. Therefore, you are a burden to the firm, regardless of your actual performance or any specific action taken by you, personally".

Further more, the quote concludes by pointing to the researcher's own agenda: Selling their "screening tools" to the market, after scaring business owners with the psychopath-claim. This is typical consulting bullshit. Eat up.

Nathan Brooks, a forensic psychologist who conducted the study, said the findings suggested that businesses should improve their recruitment screening.

Because of what? The problem that they did not actually uncover, but merely speculated around after categorizing people through a potentially weak research design? Or might it simply be because they want to sell their "solution"?

“We hope to implement our screening tool in businesses so that there’s an adequate assessment to hopefully identify this problem - to stop people sneaking through into positions in the business that can become very costly,” Mr Brooks said.

And there it is. Though, they have shown no link between the alleged "psychopaths" and any noticable problems surrounding them.

Fuck you, Mr. Brooks. We know that you kill people.

 

[Doctor Cringelord]

Like that 80s tech mogul/KGB sleeper who massacred all of his employees?