Spotting a Psychopath in Your Network of Business Contacts - Part 2

Last week I wrote about a topic that is typically outside the range of our more applicable subjects: How to recognize a psychopath when you encounter one in business...and knowing what to do about it.

As you may recall, my advice around this topic is to not lose sleep over it, and certainly to not start any rumors around who you suspect may be one.  The point of this discussion is to help you gain an awareness of how to recognize these people so that you can keep your distance from them.  You can’t be harmed if you don’t take their bait. 

I promised to share the characteristics of psychopaths so you can recognize them in action.  Remember, very few are serial killers, like Hannibal.  On the contrary, most high-functioning psychopaths are smart enough to stay out of jail, are often successful in business, and appear to fit in.  To help you identify red flags, know that psychopaths typically:

• are prone to boredom and require more constant stimulation
• lead a parasitic lifestyle
• practice sexual promiscuity
• lack realistic long-term goals
• display extreme impulsivity
• are glib
• possess a grandiose sense of self-worth
• are pathological liars
• con and manipulate
• lack remorse
• have shallow emotions
• lack empathy
• fail to accept responsibility
• And finally, and unfortunately, they carry the appearance of normalcy despite being guilty of the most destructive behavior. 

What makes dealing with psychopaths frustrating is that they lack a conscience when it comes to inflicting harm on others.  Research has found that they also have no fear of pain or of the consequences of their behavior.  Please beware that these people are incredibly capable of assessing your needs and exploiting them for their own purposes.

For the two people who asked me about this subject matter recently....I hope this answers your questions.  For the rest of you, I hope you’ll never need to refer back to this information. ...

---

Editor's Note:  This article was written by Dr. David Mashburn.  Dave is a Clinical and Consulting Psychologist, Partner at Tidemark, Inc. and a regular contributor to WorkPuzzle.  Comments or questions are welcome.  If you're an email subscriber, reply to this WorkPuzzle email.  If you read the blog directly from the web, you can click the "comments" link below.  

Comments

[Dr. Mashburn]

Technically, the terms Psychopath and Sociopath are not even included in the DSM-IV (The Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental disorders). So I have never written either as a diagnosis. The DSM uses the term Antisocial personality disorder as the only disorder that comes close to the psychopath. . However the DSM is purely a behavioral criteria based description of a disorder. It is not meant to be a description of what goes on "intrapsychically"(inside the mind). There are antisocials who would not be pschopaths and psychopaths who would not fit the criteria of Antisocial.

Most experts on the type of person who I have described in these articles use both terms Psychopath and Sociopath interchangeably depending on their orientation to understanding psychopathology (Mental Illness).

That probably confused you more. But the bottom line is they are both the same thing.

[Jeff Hefel]

So what is the difference between a psychopath and a sociopath? I thought what you described was a sociopath.