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Originally posted by Caroline Johnson
Have any of you read Anne-Marie Svendsen Aylott’s article titled “The charismatic psychopath” (March edition of Veterinary Management for Today)? If not, I suggest you take a look; fascinating reading!
I have to confess that the label “psychopath” conjures up the image of a cold-blooded killer in my head, but like most disorders, psychopathy is a spectrum- a cluster of behaviours which may manifest to a greater or lesser level in any given individual. According to Anne-Marie, the prevalence of true psychopaths is 1% of the population, so they are all around us.
Anne-Marie goes on to describe the charismatic psychopath as someone who is well-presented and charming - so it's easy to be taken in by them - though over time other less desirable traits emerge. These include having an inflated opinion of themselves, of being egocentric, parasitic and manipulative. They can justify their behaviour in any situation, often blaming others and lying – changing their stories to fit their version of events without batting an eyelid.
The reason I was so fascinated by this article is that I’ve recently distanced myself from a friend who fits Anne-Marie’s description exactly– interestingly, A-M's advice is to cut your losses with people of this type as they will not change nor will you alter how they see themselves or others. Well, I worked that bit out for myself!
So, bearing in mind the prevalence of charismatic psychopaths, I was wondering if any of you can identify with the description outlined above (the original article goes into greater depth but I’ve listed some more of the traits below) and whether you’ve had experience of working alongside these people? I can only imagine that they’d be a complete nightmare to manage!
Psychopathic traits:
· Superficial charm
· Grandiose sense of self-worth and egocentric
· Pathological lying
· Deceitful and manipulative
· Parasitic lifestyle
· Impulsiveness
· Need for excitement
· Lack of empathy
I have to confess that the label “psychopath” conjures up the image of a cold-blooded killer in my head, but like most disorders, psychopathy is a spectrum- a cluster of behaviours which may manifest to a greater or lesser level in any given individual. According to Anne-Marie, the prevalence of true psychopaths is 1% of the population, so they are all around us.
Anne-Marie goes on to describe the charismatic psychopath as someone who is well-presented and charming - so it's easy to be taken in by them - though over time other less desirable traits emerge. These include having an inflated opinion of themselves, of being egocentric, parasitic and manipulative. They can justify their behaviour in any situation, often blaming others and lying – changing their stories to fit their version of events without batting an eyelid.
The reason I was so fascinated by this article is that I’ve recently distanced myself from a friend who fits Anne-Marie’s description exactly– interestingly, A-M's advice is to cut your losses with people of this type as they will not change nor will you alter how they see themselves or others. Well, I worked that bit out for myself!
So, bearing in mind the prevalence of charismatic psychopaths, I was wondering if any of you can identify with the description outlined above (the original article goes into greater depth but I’ve listed some more of the traits below) and whether you’ve had experience of working alongside these people? I can only imagine that they’d be a complete nightmare to manage!
Psychopathic traits:
· Superficial charm
· Grandiose sense of self-worth and egocentric
· Pathological lying
· Deceitful and manipulative
· Parasitic lifestyle
· Impulsiveness
· Need for excitement
· Lack of empathy
CEO
Lawyer
Media (TV/Radio)
Salesperson
Surgeon
Journalist
Police Officer
Cleric
Chef
Civil Servant
Professions with least psychopathic traits were care workers, nurses, therapists, craftsperson [sic], beautician/stylist, charity worker, teacher, creative artist, doctor, accountant.
So if you want to reduce your chances of engaging with a psychopath you need to talk to your doctor rather than your surgeon...
Of course that piece of research came from America. There isn't any real difference between the Americans and us except that they have ready access to assault rifles...