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I’m Not a Psychopath, I Just Talk and Act Like One
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Conscience or in newspapers and business magazines. Some of the
personal stories we hear most likely are descriptions of true psychopaths,
but, of course, many are not. What is clear is that a large
number of people believe that they do work for a boss, or with a
coworker, from hell.
We estimate that about 1 percent of the population has a dose
of psychopathic features heavy enough to warrant a designation of
psychopathy. Perhaps another 10 percent or so fall into the gray
zone, with sufficient psychopathic features to be of concern to others
(see page 27). Most people have very few or no psychopathic
characteristics. But what about the business world? There can be no
simple answer to this question, for the philosophy and practices of
organizations range from ethical and altruistic to callous and grasping,
perhaps even “psychopathic.” Presumably, the former would
have fewer resident psychopaths than would the latter, although no
doubt there are exceptions. For example, a religious or charitable
organization—by its nature trusting and lacking in street smarts—
might provide a comfortable niche for a smooth-talking, charismatic
psychopath.
Unfortunately, there is no scientific evidence concerning the
number of psychopaths in business, for several reasons. First, few organizations
will provide the sort of access to their staff and files required
to do proper assessments with a standardized instrument, such
as the PCL: SV. Second, psychopaths have a talent for hiding their
true selves, so one could expect many to go unnoticed and uncounted,
leading to an underreporting of psychopathy in business. In the case
of particularly successful psychopaths, it may be only the patsies (former
pawns) who see behind the masks. Third, psychopathic-like traits
and behaviors are also exhibited by some individuals who are not truly
psychopathic, which could lead to overreporting, that is, viewing
someone as a psychopath when he or she is not. Nonetheless, based on
many anecdotal reports and on our own observations, it is likely that
psychopathic individuals make up much more than 1 percent of business
managers and executives.