scholarly journals Successful Psychopaths: A Contemporary Phenomenon

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Floriana Irtelli ◽  
Enrico Vincenti
Keyword(s):  
Successful Psychopaths

Successful Psychopaths: Are They Unethical Decision-Makers and Why?

2011 ◽  
Vol 105 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-149 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory W. Stevens ◽  
Jacqueline K. Deuling ◽  
Achilles A. Armenakis
Keyword(s):  
Decision Makers ◽  
Successful Psychopaths

Identifications, Volitions and the Case of Successful Psychopaths

dialectica ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Somogy Varga
Keyword(s):  
Successful Psychopaths

Successful Psychopaths: Are They Unethical Decision Makers and Why?

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory W. Stevens ◽  
Jacqueline K. Deuling (Mitchelson) ◽  
Achilles Armenakis
Keyword(s):  
Decision Makers ◽  
Successful Psychopaths

The Identification of Negative Emotions Through a Go/No-Go Task

2012 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 291-299 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catarina Iria ◽  
Fernando Barbosa ◽  
Rui Paixão
Keyword(s):  
Facial Expressions ◽  
Criminal Behavior ◽  
Emotional Processing ◽  
Response Pattern ◽  
Negative Emotions ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Male Offenders ◽  
Successful Psychopaths ◽  
Criminal Groups ◽  
High Level

This study compares the performance, when identifying negative emotions on facial expression, of male offenders (n = 62) with a high level of psychopathy (n = 25) with other criminals with a low level of psychopathy (n = 37), as well as other “successful psychopaths” (n = 12) and non-criminals with a low level of psychopathy (n = 39) in order to clarify the negative emotional processing of offenders and non-offenders that are either high or low in psychopathy. The participants were assessed on a Go/No-Go paradigm in which subjects had to respond to the facial expressions of fear, sadness, and anger. The psychopathy level was obtained by Factor 1 of Hare’s PCL:SV. Both psychopathic groups, criminal and non-criminal, showed worse performance than their non-psychopathic counterparts on the identification of fear and sadness. An overresponsivity to both anger and fear was common to criminals, psychopaths, and non-psychopaths. These results reinforce the idea that psychopathy is related to a poor ability to identify fear and sadness in facial expressions independently of its manifestation in criminal behavior. In turn, a misidentified response pattern, characterized by an overresponsiveness for fear and anger, is common to both psychopaths and the criminal groups, and it appears to be the characteristic that distinguishes the three groups under study from non-criminal non-psychopath controls.

scholarly journals Hervey Cleckley: A Man ahead of Time

2019 ◽  
pp. 19-27
Author(s):  
Andrey Viktorovich Antsyborov ◽  
Irina Vladimirovna Dubatova
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Professional Community ◽  
Scientific World ◽  
Successful Psychopaths ◽  
Scientific Achievements

Hervey Cleckley is one of the most influential psychiatrists of the 20th century. Part of his scientific research still causes debates in the scientific world, especially his works about «successful psychopaths» and the curability of psychopathy. Most of Cleckley’s scientific works in the field of the study of psychopathy are well known to most modern scholars, and some of his articles have become textbooks. At the same time, his works on dissociative personality are less known in the professional community. Through the time, his scientific achievements have not lost their relevance and scientific novelty.

Finding psychopaths in white-collar jobs: a review of the evidence and why it matters

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Clive Roland Boddy ◽  
Ross Taplin ◽  
Benedict Sheehy ◽  
Brendon Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Gender Discrimination ◽  
White Collar ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Original Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
White Collar Workers ◽  
Successful Psychopaths ◽  
Corporate Psychopaths ◽  
Corporate Social

Purpose Influential research has posited that empirical investigation provides no evidence for the existence of white-collar/successful psychopaths. The purpose of this current paper is to review evidence for their existence and report on new, primary research that examines ethical outcomes associated with their presence. Design/methodology/approach Leading psychopathy researchers called for research using samples of white-collar workers to explore workplace psychopathy. Therefore, the authors undertook a two-stage research process to examine this. Firstly, a structured literature review sought evidence for “corporate psychopaths”, “white-collar psychopaths” and “successful psychopaths” in existing literature. Secondly, original research was undertaken among 261 Australian workers to examine this further. Findings Findings indicate that white-collar psychopaths exist. Where they have been found not to exist, investigation reveals that the samples used were inadequate for the purpose of attempting to find them. Practical implications Although there is an inconsistent nomenclature, white-collar, industrial, successful, organisational, workplace or corporate psychopaths do exist and are found in white-collar workplaces. Social implications Their existence is important because findings indicate that they have a significant, ethically malign and long-lasting impact on employee well-being and organisational ethical outcomes. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is perhaps the first paper to specifically examine the literature for evidence of whether white-collar psychopaths exist. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is also the first paper to determine that corporate psychopaths are linked with aggressive humour, gender discrimination, fake corporate social responsibility and reduced communications integration.

Successful Psychopaths

Psychopathy ◽  
2014 ◽  
pp. 148-159
Author(s):  
Andrea L. Glenn ◽  
Adrian Raine
Keyword(s):  
Successful Psychopaths

Climbing the corporate ladder: desired leadership skills and successful psychopaths

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 881-896
Author(s):  
Dallas Hill ◽  
Hannah Scott
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
White Collar Crime ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
White Collar ◽  
Psychopathic Personality ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Hiring Process ◽  
Successful Psychopaths

Purpose Many of the characteristics embodied by successful psychopaths, such as superficial charm, cool decisiveness and a grandiose self-worth, are often treated synonymously with corporate leadership qualities. Consequently, it is possible that successful psychopaths are actively being selected for corporate positions as they exemplify the perfect candidate. The purpose of the current study was to determine whether or not the recruitment for positions of higher social status are inadvertently seeking out individuals with psychopathic tendencies to run their companies using similar characteristics in their job advertisements. Design/methodology/approach The current study will provide a deeper understanding of successful psychopaths whilst exploring the role of the “Westernized” corporation in recruiting successful psychopaths into their businesses through character descriptions in 25 executive career advertisements using Wexler’s (2008) psychopathic Personality Dimensions And Positively Reinforced Corporate Labels. Findings The results demonstrated that corporations are seeking out characteristics that are synonymous to Factor 1 psychopathic personality traits, which could increase the propensity of successful psychopaths in the workplace. Research limitations/implications Although the sample was representative for the current study, the sample size is minimal. Further, most companies in the sample were taken from the public sector. Given the implicit sample bias, the results and conclusions must be interpreted with caution. Future research should expand the relationship between psychopathic personality traits and corporate labels in a broader context. Practical implications The results also allude to potential protective factors that could be put in place by corporations during their hiring process. These factors include measures for empathy and emotional IQ. Beyond the hiring process, it is suggested that incentive-based promotions should be lessened and replaced with incentives that promote care and respect for one another. Social implications Whilst the inability for the public to conceptualize white-collar crime as a true form of crime conducted by powerful individuals is apparent, it is suggested that change should begin with public awareness and academia. With additional research on psychopathy in the field of criminology and organizational psychology, public awareness can be amplified. Originality/value The current study allows for an interdisciplinary perspective towards the concept of successful psychopathy by highlighting the increased potential for corporate scams and white-collar criminality. Specifically, the current study introduces a psycho-social criminological perspective.

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