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Psychopathy is one of the most studied
personality disorders. It consists of variations of 20 well-documented
characteristics that form a unique human personality syndrome—the
psychopath. Many of these traits are visible to those who interact with
the psychopath who possess some or all of these characteristics. For
some, superficial charm and grandiose sense of self make them likable on
first meeting. Their ability to impress others with entertaining and
captivating stories about their lives and accomplishments can result in
instant rapport. They often make favorable, long-lasting first
impressions. This personality disorder is a continuous variable, not a
classification or distinct category, which means that not all corporate
psychopaths exhibit the same behaviors.
Beneath the cleverly formed façade—typically
created by psychopaths to influence their targets—is a darker side,
which people eventually may suspect. They can be pathological liars who
con, manipulate, and deceive others for selfish means. Some corporate
psychopaths thrive on thrill seeking, bore easily, seek stimulation, and
play mind games with a strong desire to win. Unlike professional
athletes moved by a desire to improve performance and surpass their
personal best, psychopaths are driven by what they perceive as their
victims’ vulnerabilities. Little research exists on their inner
psychological experiences; however, they seem to get perverted pleasure
from hurting and abusing their victims.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI)
research indicates that psychopaths are incapable of experiencing basic
human emotions and feelings of guilt, remorse, or empathy.1
This emotional poverty often is visible in their shallow sentiment. They
display emotions only to manipulate individuals around them. They mimic
other people’s emotional responses. Some lack realistic long-term
goals, although they can describe grandiose plans. The impulsive and
irresponsible psychopath lives a parasitic and predatory lifestyle,
seeking out and using other people, perhaps, for money, food, shelter,
sex, power, and influence.
Psychopathy is a personality disorder traditionally assessed with the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R).2 Often used interchangeably with psychopathy, the term sociopathy
is obsolete and was removed from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual
(DSM) in 1968. Currently, there is no formal diagnosis of psychopathy in
the DSM-Fourth Edition-Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR); however, it is being
considered for the 2013 DSM-V list of personality disorders.
Façade
It is fascinating that
psychopaths can survive and thrive in a corporate environment.
Day-to-day interactions with coworkers, coupled with business policies
and procedures, should make unmasking them easy, but this does not
always hold true. Large companies’ command-and-control functions ought
to make dealing with them simple and direct; however, this may not be
the case.
Psychopathic manipulation usually begins by
creating a mask, known as psychopathic fiction, in the minds of those
targeted. In interpersonal situations, this façade shows the psychopath
as the ideal friend, lover, and partner. These individuals excel at
sizing up their prey. They appear to fulfill their victims’
psychological needs, much like the grooming behavior of molesters.
Although they sometimes appear too good to be true, this persona
typically is too grand to resist. They play into people’s basic desire
to meet the right person—someone who values them for themselves, wants
to have a close relationship, and is different from others who have
disappointed them. Belief in the realism of this personality can lead
the individual to form a psychopathic bond with the perpetrator on
intellectual, emotional, and physical levels. At this point, the target
is hooked and now has become a psychopathic victim.
Corporate psychopaths use the ability to hide
their true selves in plain sight and display desirable personality
traits to the business world. To do this, they maintain multiple masks
at length. The façade they establish with coworkers and management is
that of the ideal employee and future leader. This can prove effective,
particularly in organizations experiencing turmoil and seeking a “knight
in shining armor” to fix the company.
Con
How is it possible for
psychopaths to fool business-savvy executives and employers? They often
use conning skills during interviews to convince their hiring managers
that they have the potential for promotion and the knowledge, skills,
and abilities to do an outstanding job. Using their lying skills, they
may create phony resumes and fictitious work experience to further their
claims. They may manipulate others to act as references. Credentials,
such as diplomas, performance awards, and trophies, often are
fabricated.
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Psychopathic
manipulation usually begins by creating a mask, known as a psychopathic fiction, in the minds of those targeted. |
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Once inside the organization, corporate
psychopaths capitalize on others’ expectations of a commendable
employee. Coworkers and managers may misread superficial charm as
charisma, a desirable leadership trait. A psychopath’s grandiose talk
can resemble self-confidence, while subtle conning and manipulation
often suggest influence and persuasion skills. Sometimes psychopaths’
thrill-seeking behavior and impulsivity are mistaken for high energy and
enthusiasm, action orientation, and the ability to multitask. To the
organization, these individuals’ irresponsibility may give the
appearance of a risk-taking and entrepreneurial spirit—highly prized in
today’s fast-paced business environment. Lack of realistic goal setting
combined with grandiose statements can be misinterpreted as visionary
and strategic thinking ability; both are rare and sought after by senior
management. An inability to feel emotions may be disguised as the
capability to make tough decisions and stay calm in the heat of battle.
Damage
Evidence suggests that when
participating in teams, corporate psychopaths’ behaviors can wreak
havoc. In departments managed by psychopaths, their conduct decreases
productivity and morale. These issues can have a severe impact on a
company’s business performance.
There also is the risk for economic crimes to be
committed. For the corporate executive and the criminal justice
professional, the issue is the possibility of fraud. Today’s corporate
psychopath may be highly educated—several with Ph.D., M.D., and J.D.
degrees have been studied—and capable of circumventing financial
controls and successfully passing corporate audits.
Investigation
Investigators should
familiarize themselves with the typical traits and characteristics of
psychopaths. They must understand the manipulation techniques used to
create and manage the psychopathic bonds established with victim
organizations. Their reputations, as judged by those in power with whom
they have bonded, known as patrons, often provide added protection from
closer investigation. As a result, the investigator may need to build a
case with management for the use and broad application of more
sophisticated techniques.
| Additional Resources |
| P. Babiak, “When Psychopaths Go to Work,” Applied Psychology: An International Review 44, no. 2 (1995): 171-188 |
| P. Babiak, “Psychopathic Manipulation at Work,” in ed., C.B. Gacono,
The Clinical and Forensic Assessment of Psychopathy: A Practitioner’s
Guide (Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 2000): 287–311 |
| P. Babiak and R.D. Hare, Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work (New York, NY: Harper/Collins, 2006) |
P. Babiak, “From Darkness into the Light: Psychopathy in Industrial
and Organization Psychology,” in ed., H. Hervé and J. Yuille, The
Psychopath: Theory, Research, and
Practice (Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum and Associates, 2007) |
| P. Babiak, C.S. Neumann, and R.D. Hare, “Corporate Psychopathy:
Talking the Walk,” Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 28, no. 2 (2010):
174-193 |
| H. Cleckley, The Mask of Sanity (St Louis, MO: Mosby, 1982) |
J. Coid, M. Freestone, S. Ullrich, “Subtypes of Psychopathy in the
British Household Population: Findings from the National Household
Survey of Psychiatric Morbidity,”
Soc Psychiatry Psychiatra Epidemiol 47, no. 6 (2012): 879-891 |
| R.D. Hare, Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us (New York, NY: Guilford Press, 1999) |
R.D. Hare, Hare Psychopathy Checklist Revised, 2nd ed. (Toronto, ON:
Multi-Health Systems, 2003) |
M.E. O’Toole, “Psychopathy as a Behavior Classification System for Violent and
Serial
Crime Scenes,” in ed., H. Hervé and J. Yuille, The Psychopath: Theory,
Research, and Practice (Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum and Associates,
2007): 301-325 |
Psychopaths can be expert liars often immune
to traditional deception-revealing techniques. Some practice avoiding
detection in anticipation of being caught and interrogated. Therefore,
investigators independently should corroborate any information provided
by these individuals.3
Psychopaths often compartmentalize their behavior,
enabling them to present themselves differently to various people. This
can help them hide their manipulation and control over victims.
Coworkers may have knowledge or suspicions about the psychopath’s
actions that can be useful to the investigator. However, they either may
fear repercussions or fall under the influence of the psychopathic
bond. If investigators establish rapport and trust with coworkers,
information that will make their work easier may be forthcoming. The
difficulty comes when these associates are persons of interest.
Fortunately, some companies have hotlines for employees to report
coworker fraud and other complaints. This information provides an
invaluable source of leads.
Corporate psychopaths with exceptional verbal
skills make crafty interviewees. This ability provides an opportunity
embraced by many of them to fool law enforcement officers. In these
cases, investigators should proceed with caution.4 Specific
interview strategies should focus on exposing psychopaths’
vulnerabilities. Possession of a sense of superiority and lack of
empathy can enable them to boast about the brilliance of their latest
fraud scheme. They often believe that only someone equal in intelligence
to them could understand their actions. Strategies specifically
designed to elicit such boasting can result in a wealth of information
for the investigator.
Corporate psychopaths are successful because they
single out and isolate their targets. They sometimes manipulate several
victims at the same time. Investigators never should assume they are
immune to a psychopath’s approach. One conversation may be enough for
the bond to be established. Investigators must know themselves so that
psychopaths’ attempts at bonding fail. It is valuable for investigators
to allow psychopaths to believe they have established rapport with
someone inside law enforcement.
|
Corporate
psychopaths use the ability to hide their
true selves in plain
sight and display
desirable personality
traits to the
business world. |
|
Investigators must work as a team, communicate openly, and take all
observations seriously. This is necessary for personal self-defense,
proficient investigative work, and successful prosecution. Officers must
take heed to avoid being impressed with a suspect’s credentials and
success.
Occasionally, when psychopathic white-collar
offenders are identified, they seek out the media and give interviews.
They may believe their skills of persuasion are effective enough to
convince the public that they have done nothing wrong and are being
targeted unjustly by law enforcement. To prevent serious problems with
the investigation and prosecution, investigators must remain prepared
for all possibilities.
Conclusion
Psychopathy, one of the
most studied personality disorders, can cause numerous problems for
investigators. Therefore, law enforcement officers must become familiar
with psychopaths’ traits and characteristics, prevent psychopathic bonds
from forming, corroborate information, and take all observations
seriously. Investigators must know themselves, work together,
communicate with one another openly, and be prepared to deal with the
corporate psychopath.
Endnotes
1 Functional magnetic resonance imaging (FMRI) registers blood flow to functioning areas of the brain.
2 Hare’s Psychopathy Checklist-Revised
(PCL-R) is an assessment tool. Psychopathy, as determined by the PCL-R,
is indicated by an overall score of 30 or above out of a possible 40.
Many point configurations could result in the overall score, determined
by adding up the total points for each of the 20 individually listed
traits.
3 Research on psychopathy and lie-detection equipment has yielded conflicting results and remains inconclusive.
4 Once established that a perpetrator truly is a
psychopath, reviewing the videotaped interrogation can be a lesson in
their subtle, yet sophisticated manipulation techniques. This is the
same method used by psychopathy researchers.
