Traits of a psychopath — shallow emotions, stress tolerance, lacking empathy, coldheartedness, lacking guilt, egocentricity, superficial character, manipulativeness, irresponsibility, impulsivity, and antisocial behaviors such as parasitic lifestyle and criminality.
I just read an article entitled These Are the 10 Most Psychopathic Jobs in America. The list was
- CEO
- Lawyer
- Media (TV/Radio)
- Salesperson
- Surgeon
- Journalist
- Police Officer
- Clergyperson
- Chef
- Civil Servant
Do you agree with that list? If so, where would politician go? I would have included them in fourth place, Salesperson, but now I think Peggy Noonan is probably correct. She recently wrote,
…they’re in politics, a branch of showbiz.
That would put them in third place. What do you think?
I would like a clear definition of the phrase ‘psychopathic job’ before I can offer a response. I was a Salesperson all my life.
It simply means that more people with those tendencies are in that job. Presumably the job tends to attract that kind of person. According to the theory, 1% of the general population have psychopathic tendencies, but about 25% of people in prison do. I tend to avoid labels, but I thought the list was funny.
WOW!
peggy noonan spot on. i’ve always felt like it was a branch of show biz. LOL.
interesting list. i can see how the first two might apply particularly.
judging from your traits list above . . . i realize that i did indeed know one once after my bob died. as a matter of fact ~ he’s the one who was abusive. not much physically. but emotionally and mentally. he was always remorseful later but in a way that made him the ‘victim.’ too weird really. thank god i had sense enough to get away from him. much anger there. and all pent up in a strange way. and yet . . . TOTALLY charming. that’s the danger of them.
you have the most interesting thought provoking posts monk! xo
😀 & well said.
Yes, I’ve known charming people who are completely self-centered too. It’s easy to be taken in, and it takes a while to figure out they don’t have other people’s interests at heart.
PS Good for you for getting out of there! That must have been hard — you’ve been through a lot.
Do I agree with this list? I guess I would have to say I’m skeptical about labeling professions with psychological diagnoses.
Apparently, the source of this list is a book by psychologist Kevin Dutton, The Wisdom of Psychopaths: What Saints, Spies, and Serial Killers Can Teach Us About Success.
According to “the most helpful critical review” of the book on Amazon, Dutton is “superficially persuasive.”
http://www.amazon.com/review/R3SJ2B3VAXB28H/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt#R3SJ2B3VAXB28H
🙂 & well said.
Definitely superficial, but it’s persuasive enough to be food for thought.
Crazy idea but SOME truth in it. Like Mike says Dutton is “superficially persuasive.”
Can you think of any examples from your life?
It depends on the individual in the job rather than the job itself I think.
By job definitions the only ones that are psychopathic are lawyers, CEO’s, police and bureaucrats (civil servants – generally uncivil and not inclined to serving either). These have some kind of injunction against personal involvement and valuing people.
As to ranking these by definition: lawyer, CEO, bureaucrat, police – scale of personal adjustment to individual circumstance permitted in doing the job.
“These have some kind of injunction against personal involvement and valuing people.” Yes, that’s the idea. To be successful in some jobs it helps to lack compassion and to be ruthless.
I’m always struck by how many people in senior and highly responsible positions have such a lack of normal human empathy and compassion, and how they can be utterly ruthless without a qualm. You only have to look at the current Tory government in Britain, punishing the poor every which way and apparently quite unconcerned about how they’re ruining people’s lives.
It’s part of human nature, I’m afraid. It happens almost everywhere.
Yes, but in some places more than others. And it is possible to figure out what encourages or discourages this type of behaviour.
Evan,
I’m sorry about your father.
“…it is possible to figure out what encourages or discourages this type of behaviour.” That’s why I think the subject is so fascinating.
Thanks Jean. He was 89 so in general it wasn’t unexpected – he’d been increasingly frail over the last few weeks. However it was very sudden at the end. And due to the hospital not telling my sister in time none of us kids managed to get there before he died. However his sister was with him and says he died quite peacefully.
The interaction of people and their situation is fascinating to me.