Posted by Heyoka_11
(here)
Posted by Carmody
(here)
It always starts at the grass roots level
Having loaned Mad Hatter's contrarian cap, I too would like to offer an alternative point of view.
To suggest that we can weed these individuals out by implementing a "grass roots level" style of campaign aimed at their removal, or that testing for a genetic marker will successfully identity these individuals in the first place, fails somewhat IMO, to fully address the phenomena of psychopathic behaviour.
Whilst the suggestion that psychopathy may be a genetic disorder is new to me (having previously understood it to be a birth defect affecting the orbital frontal cortex), one must also bear in mind that this is a behaviourial tendency that can also be either learned, or in the right environment, adopted, by any one of us, as what we are dealing with here is life at the bottom of Mazlow's Pyramid of Hierarchy. Here, our most basic needs in life are our only priority; air, food, water, shelter, sleep and sex according to the diagram below (not entirely accurate in my opinion, but close enough). This is where we all start in life, in our infancy, and no matter how high we may rise toward the self actualisation at the pyramid's capstone, life can easily send us tumbling back down to the foundation stone. So, I wish to posit that this is not a case of "us and them", where testing for a perticular genetic marker will actually make a skerrick of difference. It is my opinion that the majority of those exhibiting psychopathic tendencies actually fall into the latter category, where it is an adopted modus operandi. Psychopathic tendencies can also be instilled in a child in even an affluent home environment, where although basic physiological needs may be met, a dysfunctional family structure may fail to meet the most basic psychological needs of the child; this in turn can leave the child trapped in a survival mode, where psychopathic tendencies tends to flourish.
Attachment 11643
Mazlow's Pyramid of Hierarchy
Attachment 11644
Mazlow's Hierarchy of Robot (Psychopath) Needs
Further, the notion that these people can be flushed out from the bottom up, I consider fundamentaly flawed; akin to ill-informed reference to "the powers that were". It must be remembered that this sub (less than fully actualised) human behaviour extends to the highest levels within the powers that rule this planet. It is no different to the ruthless corporate executive that rises to a position of power within any organisation.
For example, consider a successful business, embracing sound moral principle as a key component of it's functioning; enter the workplace psychopath, at any level. This person will often "kiss up, and kick down" until they are elevated to a position where they are able to influence decisions in regards to staff placement. They will then be hell bent on ensuring that only those that are willing to submit to and support them will occupy positions which are subordinate to their own; this in effect creates the support structure on which they stand. They will continue to impress their superiors, rising through the ranks, often at a rapid rate, until they are finally able to oust the CEO. By this time, the board of management will likely be comprised of like minded individuals, some of whom no doubt would have adopted this behaviour in an effort to sustain their employment. Meanwhile, the board will always be able to justify their behavior, as they were only "acting in the best interest of shareholders". Once you have a sufficient number of psychopathics within an organisation, a grass roots campaign will likely fail, as any attempt to flush out a dysfunctional individual from amongst the lower ranks, will likely be met by resistance from management, as they may well think highly of this person; remember they do "kiss up". Consider too, that even if a grass roots campaign were to kick off as a result of growing public recognition of the problem, and even if that campaign were to eventually reach those that actually hold positions within "the powers that be", You will not topple them, as they are at the top. Any attempt to do so would likely elecit a response akin to that of a cornered animal, and we would all likely end up paying the ultimate price for that. This would be no different to a "sore loser", who, realising that the game is almost up, and they just lost their blue chip real estate, slams the Monopoly board shut and storms off. If they're not going to win, then nobody gets to play.
In my experience, many common or garden psychopaths are simply cowards, who once the support structure (supportive peers and subordinates) is removed, will oftentimes quickly vanish from sight. One method I have used in removing this supportive structure is public humiliation. I recently toppled a member of lower management in a Fortune 500 company using the "CC" function when emailing; gather enough evidence to convict the individual, distribute it to enough people of influence, and he was back in his box in a flash, where he has stayed for three months now. The most efficient method I know of is to bring a weight crashing down on their heads from their superiors. To a psychopath, this is a akin to hell itself, but requires that a move is made against them prior to their having been elevated too high up the ladder.
I would also like to bring your attention the notion that whether we are talking about some remorseless drunk driver (chemically induced psychopathy) who just killed someone in a traffic accident, or a ruthless corpless executive, who just managed to strip a number of pensioners of their life savings, we are dealing with a similar pattern of behaviour;that being an inability to empathise with one's victims. Same or similar behaviour on a different scale. In the case of the drunk, would we not make an attempt to rehabilitate them? This can be achieved by meeting with the family of the deceased; I have seen this work. If I am correct, then instead of adopting a punitive, or worse, approach to the rehabilitation of grand scale psychopaths, perhaps we should consider a similar approach to that used for the drunk driver. If that sounds too hard, then I say too bad. What are supposed to do? Chemical alteration of brain function, incarceration? It does not matter whether they are victims of a genetic abnormality, a birth defect affecting the frontal cortex or dysfunction encountered with the family home or workplace; in all cases, they are victims; probably some of the saddest victims on the face of the planet, as along with their inablilty to empathise, comes an inability to experience joy.
Whilst I have a hatred for the outcome of psychopathic behaviour, and attempt to educate those in the workplace as to the phenomenas existence, I feel no hated toward the initial victims themselves, the psychopaths. For them, I have only an overwhelming sense of sorrow.
Here is the abstact of an interview with Adrian Raine from the Department of Criminology at the University of Pennsylvania, originally broadcast on the ABC Radio's "The Science Show", on the 15th of October, 2011.
A region of the brain known as the orbital frontal cortex regulates emotion. But there's a gender difference with men having a smaller volume. This helps explain why men commit more crime than women. The volume of the amygdala is important for the generation of emotions. White collar criminals have an advantage due to their brain volumes and wiring. Psychopaths show a reduction in the functioning of the amygdala. They have reduced emotional reaction. So why do we punish psychopaths harshly? They didn't ask to have smaller amygdalas and reduced emotional response to their actions. Adrian Raine asks if psychopaths lack fear, how useful is punishment?
It has traditionally been thought that psychopaths are all bad. Kevin Dutton says psychopaths can be fearless, ruthless, amoral and devious while still being charming, charismatic and persuasive. He says psychopaths are very good at persuasion due to a trait known as cold empathy. Our personalities are a mixture of elements with some turned up, and others turned down. There are jobs where high scores on the psychopathic spectrum can be advantageous, such as some areas of intricate, high risk surgery.
If you would like to read the entire transcript, here is the address:
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/scienceshow/the-psychopath-in-us-all/3591116
Cheers,
Tony.
Re: Snakes in Suits: Weeding out corporate Psychopaths
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