Psychopaths And What We Can Learn From Them

Table of Contents

In the beginning

In conclusion

Sources

An opening

When we think “Psychopaths”, or “Psychopathy”, we immediately think of manipulators and terrorists. Psychotic serial killers are also common. Nightmare creatures like night crawlers or coldblooded murderers are other images that spring to mind. Psychopaths make up approximately 1% of the world’s population. Therefore, it is possible to suggest that we are almost swimming in “Psychopaths”. If that’s the case, how is it possible to live in blissful tranquility and complete peace like we do now? Truth is, our perception of psychopathy is not correct to an extent. Psychopaths can be mindless killers or criminals. Many people lead normal lives and have stable jobs. They are often successful because of their psychopathic nature. Dutton 2012, a minimum of 21 percent of CEOs have psychopaths. Others specialize in legal or medical fields. Their ability to blend into society seamlessly and achieve incredible achievements are due to their superficial charm and callousness. Psychopaths are known for their captivating superficial charm, which can be used to seduce others into trusting them. These creatures are incredibly capable, confident and charismatic, yet they also appear warm, welcoming and compassionate to everyone. It is only skin deep, however, as we have said. Studies have shown that psychopaths cannot process basic emotions. Their testosterone levels are higher than those of normal people. This makes them more aggressive and gives them a sense of self-grandiosity. Psychopaths will spend their time imitating others in order to make up their emotional shortcomings. This in turn sharpens their wit and makes their emotional intelligence skyrocket. These skills are then used to manipulate, persuade and force people to do their bidding. They also behave in a way that is favorable to themselves. They can be extremely destructive if they use these skills to exploit people. However, they can be beneficial when used properly and moderately, particularly in sales or working environments. Psychopaths can be persuasive and are a great salesperson. They can also play a vital role in teamwork because their friendly mask allows them to make others feel comfortable and understand their needs. Psychopaths do not suffer from the emotional turmoil that many people experience. Their way of making decisions is logical, cold and detached. They make great candidates for leadership and business positions. Steve Jobs was an example. Although he wasn’t a psychopath, he displayed this “leadership” trait. He was more concerned about his reputation than anyone, and was eventually fired from his job. This could have led to a lot of heartbreak and the destruction of Apple. However, he was Steve Job and he just returned to work. It is important to remember that we cannot, and should not ever, be free from all emotions. We must learn to be able to discern our inner turmoil and how it affects our decision making. They are a distraction that can hinder us making the right decision.

Psychopaths are known for their extreme stress tolerance, which is the final trait they possess. O’Leary Loney & Eckel (2007) studied the effects of stress hormone cortisol on psychopaths. It was found that psychopathic people are less responsive to this stress hormone. Stress is an emotion that triggers fear, insecurity, and doubt. However, they don’t pay much attention to it. They see the problem, recognize the need to address it, and then deal with it. This is why they are better at their job than people who are always afflicted by mundane emotion like worry, fear, or doubt. This is a good lesson to learn: worry less and fear less. It doesn’t matter what we do, it is necessary to do the right thing. These emotions should be dealt with quickly so that we can act faster and get closer to our goal.

ConclusionPsychopaths are known for their innate abilities to thrive in today’s society. Psychopaths are not people who only want to get ahead, and ignore everyone else. But, these traits can still be taught and could prove useful when used properly.

Citations

Hare, R. D. (1993). Without conscience: The dark world of psychopaths. New York: Pocket Books Press.

Glenn, A. L., Raine, A., Schug, R. A., Gao, Y., & Granger, D. A. (2011). Increased testosterone-to-cortisol ratio in psychopathy. Journal of abnormal Psychology, 120(2), 389-399. doi:10.1037/a0021407

Dutton, K. (2012). The wisdom and deceit of psychopaths: Life lessons from saints, spies or serial killers. London: William Heinemann.

Crawford, A. October 28, 2012 These are the pros of being a psychopath. Smithsonian. Retrieved from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-pros-to-being-a-psychopath-96723962/

Merz, T. (2014, May 07). Why psychopaths have more success. Telegraph. Retrieved from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/10788449/Why-psychopaths-are-more-successful.html

Handel, S. (2015, June 1). What can psychopaths reveal about success? The emotionmachine. Retrieved from https://www.theemotionmachine.com/what-can-psychopaths-teach-us-about-success/

Agerholm, H. (2016, September 13). New research shows that psychopaths make up one fifth of ceos. Independent. Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/australasia/psychopaths-ceos-study-statistics-one-in-five-psychopathic-traits-a7251251.html

McGreal, S. (2016, Dec 11). Are psychopaths smarter than us? Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/unique-everybody-else/201612/are-psychopaths-really-smarter-the-rest-us

Davies, J. January 3rd, 2017 Psychopathy is often associated to charm and intelligence. Gaining knowledge. Retrieved from https://www.learning-mind.com/psychopathy-charm-intelligence/

Ratner, P. (2017 February 02). What intelligence does a psychopath possess? The ‘hannibal-lecter myth’ is the subject of a study. Consider the bigger picture. Retrieved from https://bigthink.com/paul-ratner/how-intelligent-are-psychopaths

Westmaas, R. (2018, June 6). These are the top 10 jobs that psychopaths have. Curiosity. Retrieved from https://curiosity.com/topics/the-top-10-jobs-for-psychopaths-curiosity/

Persaud T. (2018. November 12). Psychopaths can teach us business lessons. Psych central. Retrieved from https://psychcentral.com/lib/the-business-lessons-we-learn-from-psychopaths/

Shaw, J. (February 7, 2019). What psychopaths are doing wrong. Psychology Today. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/making-evil/201902/what-we-get-wrong-about-psychopaths

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    Rowen Vasquez is a 39-year-old educational blogger and school teacher. She has been writing about education for more than 10 years and has developed a following of educators and parents across the globe. Her writing is engaging and informative, and she often uses her blog to share her experiences working in the classroom.