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74 SNAKES IN SUITS
and can usually see a bit more of the underlying personality dynamics.
So do poker players looking for “tells” leaked by other players.
But to their credit, psychopaths have the deserved reputation of being
good judges of the personalities of others—perhaps because they
work hard at it—and have the uncanny ability to project the most effective
persona, depending on the situation, to get what they want.
How do they do it? To psychopaths, your face, words, and body language
are your autobiography, printed in large type.
Let the Games Begin:
Forging the Psychopathic Bond
Foremost on the psychopath’s agenda during the assessment phase is
deciding your utility or value, followed by figuring out the inner
workings of your personality. While this assessment progresses, the
psychopath begins to focus efforts on building a close, personal relationship
on which later manipulations will rest. As noted above, one
need not be rich and powerful to attract the attention of a psychopath
on the make; almost everyone has some sort of utility for an
enterprising psychopath.
As interaction with you proceeds, the psychopath carefully assesses
your persona. Your persona gives the psychopath a picture of
the traits and characteristics you value in yourself. Your persona may
also reveal, to an astute observer, insecurities or weaknesses you wish
to minimize or hide from view. As an ardent student of human behavior,
the psychopath will then gently test the inner strengths and
needs that are part of your private self and eventually build a personal
relationship with you by communicating (through words and
deeds) four important messages.
The first message is that the psychopath likes and values the
strengths and talents presented by your persona. In other words, the
psychopath positively reinforces your self-presentation, saying, in effect,
I like who you are. Reinforcing someone’s persona is a simple, yet
powerful, influence technique, especially if communicated in a