srubio9270
Nov 11, 2015
Research Papers / What Can Psychopaths Teach us about Success? [3]
This essay is for my Eng 102 course. It is supposed to be a research essay that is organized around a central thesis. It needs in text citations and well quotes. My idea needs to be clear and it needs to professional. I need to have a good conclusion and a good overview of the situation.
Adolf Hitler was responsible for the systematic extermination of tens of millions of people between the years of 1941 and 1945. It was not until his suicide that the deaths even stopped. The Zodiac Killer, who has never been found, was known as the terrorizing serial killer in the 1960's and 1970's within California who had brutally murdered thirty-five people. The infamous Jack the Ripper fancied prostitutes. He was the man who brutally killed and sodomized woman in England and possibly in the United States. Jack the Ripper was another man who was never caught for his crimes. Even King Henry VIII, king of England from 1509 to his death in 1547. He killed his wives for numerous reasons, but basically because he needed an offspring, an heir to his thrown, and he wasn't given one. They are individuals all responsible for very disturbing, heartless, and cruel actions against human. From a man with genocide on his mind to the death of a few working women, what these gentlemen had in common is that they were all psychopaths.
Psychopathy is a personality disorder whose underlying cause lies within the brain. The disorder causes the individual to act in such a way that the rest of society has deemed abnormal. They suffer from a spectrum disorder. This means that people who have psychopathy do not just fall into any either-or categories. To diagnose a psychopath, the 20-item Hare Psychopathy checklist has to be administered. For a person to fall under the full blown psychopathy type, or clinical psychopath, a score of thirty points or more must be present. Psychopaths have a range of personality traits. They possess a considerable amount of superficial charm that people buy right into. They also have a lack of empathy; psychopaths can be cold and tactless. Individuals who are psychopaths are also said to lack realistic goals while also being impulsive, manipulative, and fearless. It may seem that all psychopaths are psychotic serial killers, but this is not the case. Psychopaths are actually capable of achieving great success. Even success greater than the rest of the population.
What is the secret to success? It's an age old question that many seem to have the answer to. We have all heard that hard work will get us what we want; that the effort we put in, we will be compensated in return. While if you ask any of these successful people about this, they might say that yes, hard work does pay off. Although, sometimes just working hard will not get a person what they want. It seems that the answer does lie within the minds of the successful people, but not necessarily the types of people one's mind may initially jump to. To get to where the one percent are, even the top twenty five percent, they didn't just go to their 9 to 5 job for twenty years to make it to the top. It takes a certain type of person. Not just anyone has the capability to do what it takes to make it up where we all strive to go. The real question is: Who are psychopaths and what can they teach us about playing 'the game'?
In our primal state, fear was a developed survival mechanism. Its purpose was to keep us safe from any danger. This could have been predators or even any uninhabitable environments. Today, due to advancements in our society, we no longer have to worry about being eaten by a mastodon or giant sloth like humans did circa 13,000 years ago. (University of Florida 2012) Fear is still an aid for safety reasons, but it is now apparent in social situations. When uncomfortable or awkward circumstances arise, fear is triggered. Fear itself is a 'chain reaction in the brain that starts with a stressful stimulus and ends with the release of chemicals'. (Layton 2015) These chemicals cause the body to response with physical symptoms such as rapid heart rate, fast breathing, and the initial fight or flight response. The fight or flight response stems from our body and mind reacting to a compromising situation that requires humans to either resolve the problem or get to a safer environment if necessary. Our fear is controlled by the autonomic system. In other words, it is all automatic and out of our control. The fear response was a behavioral and biological trait that was not passed on to psychopaths.
Fear is really a lack of anxiety in a situation. This ability, or lack of ability, enables psychopaths to handle situations with a calm and collected mindset. Which allows them to handle stressful situations with more ease. This may be why when looking at career fields, there are ones that hold more psychopaths or individuals with psychopathic tendencies. Studies have shown that psychopaths favor or are gravitated towards certain career fields. TIME magazine lists CEO's, Lawyers, people in the Media (TV/RADIO), salespeople, and surgeons as five careers that have the most psychopaths. Working hard and receiving promotions may lead a person to one day own a huge corporation, but is there something else there, too? David Daneshgar, cofounder of BloomNation and previous World Series of Poker Champion says, "...an entrepreneur knows that anything that is comfortable is not in their ecosystem." He was in need of more financial assistance to help his aunt out with her online floral company. He decided to just go play poker. He let go of his fear, the fear of losing, the fear of failure, to make a huge bet; a bet that clearly paid off. Although David Daneshager is not a psychopath, psychopathic tendencies were present with his life changing decision. Fear dissipated which contributed to the success his eventually had.
Psychopaths, and those alike, manipulate their environments, including other people, to get what they want. It is a trait that society deems as a negative. One is supposed to treat others how they want to be treated. Which includes not using persuasive techniques to gain the upper hand or to change the outcome of a situation. Does this mean it cannot be beneficial though? Manipulation itself is the act of turning any situation into a malleable one. The psychopath turns into a craftsman; he makes the situation into something he can make use out of. Psychopaths seek to benefit from situations by first figuring out what the weaknesses in the situations, then using that information to their advantage. It involves being deceitful to attain goals using certain skills and knowledge. In an article in Psychology Today written by Preston Ni, who holds not only a bachelor's in arts degree but a masters in science, he states that, "Psychological manipulation can be defined as the exercise of undue influence through mental distortion and emotional exploitation with the intention to seize power, control, benefits, and privileges ..."
Leon F. Selter Ph.D posed the questions, "Can you manipulate someone for their own good?" Anytime a person finds themselves in a situation where they are indirectly trying to convince another individual of something, they are altering the end result of what is going on by using specific tactics to achieve their goal. This is called manipulation. Even though it may not seem as though the situation at hand is being manipulated, it is still happening. Regardless, manipulation is manipulation. The reasons could well be to help the person out because it is in their 'best interest'. It kind of just depends on the justification people give themselves. Manipulation is the use of certain tactics to change the outcome of a situation. It is a skill people have all mastered. It is a skill that we can apply to life situations that benefit us, too. Psychopaths are cunning and master manipulators. This quality helps them accomplish goals that otherwise might have been unattainable.
Being impetuous in life can actually help a person out. We are taught that we need to think through our decisions before we make a final judgement call - "Think First, Act Later". People are known to make pro and con lists. They weigh their options first. A decision can be thought about until every minute detail has been thoroughly discussed and assessed. It can be a tedious process that, depending on the person, can take days, weeks, or even months. Our system does not seem faulty, entirely anyways, to use because it is what we know. It is how we are taught decisions are supposed to be made; decision making is a process. With psychopaths, impulsivity is a given. They want to make a quick decision to get things done. They fall under the category for functional impulsive individuals. Functional impulsivity s when thoughts can be quickly put into words, thoughts can be transformed into actions almost simultaneously, and it's done with ease as well as intelligently. They can 'quickly take advantage of unexpected opportunities' (Furnham 2015).
Opportunities come and go. Psychopaths know when and how to snatch them up. "Research has found that psychopathy in the right doses can actually good for society because it allows people to make difficult decisions quickly without the encumbrance of emotions..." To hold certain positions in careers, to lead specifically, impulsiveness can yield great results. When deadlines are vital in all walks of life, they are held to a very strict standard when it comes to work. When an answer on a business deal needs to be made at that moment, psychopaths take the reign. They have the ability to use their functional impulsivity skills to make it happen. It could possibly be a deal that made or broke the deal, or worse off, their job. It is said that the 'bright functional impulsive is an asset'. Time is never wasted and it typically comes with deep, intellectual thoughts.
There is a theory among evolutionary psychologist that psychopaths are not abnormal humans, but are humans in an advanced form. Some are theorizing that the mind of a psychopath is just the next step in human evolution. When Darwin spoke of evolution, did he foresee us evolving into an almost unstoppable species? Could he fathom the idea of a human having the ability to control their emotions and the emotions of others? Psychopaths may not have it down to a T entirely, but they are living life the way all humans want to live. They take risks which yield great rewards, they look out for themselves in order to achieve any goals they have in mind, and not to mention make intelligent decisions at the drop of a hat. It also probably help that they can spot out the weak; perhaps this is an adaptation? Either way, they know what it takes to become a successful human being. Maybe it is time the rest of society starts following in their footsteps.
This essay is for my Eng 102 course. It is supposed to be a research essay that is organized around a central thesis. It needs in text citations and well quotes. My idea needs to be clear and it needs to professional. I need to have a good conclusion and a good overview of the situation.
Adolf Hitler was responsible for the systematic extermination of tens of millions of people between the years of 1941 and 1945. It was not until his suicide that the deaths even stopped. The Zodiac Killer, who has never been found, was known as the terrorizing serial killer in the 1960's and 1970's within California who had brutally murdered thirty-five people. The infamous Jack the Ripper fancied prostitutes. He was the man who brutally killed and sodomized woman in England and possibly in the United States. Jack the Ripper was another man who was never caught for his crimes. Even King Henry VIII, king of England from 1509 to his death in 1547. He killed his wives for numerous reasons, but basically because he needed an offspring, an heir to his thrown, and he wasn't given one. They are individuals all responsible for very disturbing, heartless, and cruel actions against human. From a man with genocide on his mind to the death of a few working women, what these gentlemen had in common is that they were all psychopaths.
Psychopathy is a personality disorder whose underlying cause lies within the brain. The disorder causes the individual to act in such a way that the rest of society has deemed abnormal. They suffer from a spectrum disorder. This means that people who have psychopathy do not just fall into any either-or categories. To diagnose a psychopath, the 20-item Hare Psychopathy checklist has to be administered. For a person to fall under the full blown psychopathy type, or clinical psychopath, a score of thirty points or more must be present. Psychopaths have a range of personality traits. They possess a considerable amount of superficial charm that people buy right into. They also have a lack of empathy; psychopaths can be cold and tactless. Individuals who are psychopaths are also said to lack realistic goals while also being impulsive, manipulative, and fearless. It may seem that all psychopaths are psychotic serial killers, but this is not the case. Psychopaths are actually capable of achieving great success. Even success greater than the rest of the population.
What is the secret to success? It's an age old question that many seem to have the answer to. We have all heard that hard work will get us what we want; that the effort we put in, we will be compensated in return. While if you ask any of these successful people about this, they might say that yes, hard work does pay off. Although, sometimes just working hard will not get a person what they want. It seems that the answer does lie within the minds of the successful people, but not necessarily the types of people one's mind may initially jump to. To get to where the one percent are, even the top twenty five percent, they didn't just go to their 9 to 5 job for twenty years to make it to the top. It takes a certain type of person. Not just anyone has the capability to do what it takes to make it up where we all strive to go. The real question is: Who are psychopaths and what can they teach us about playing 'the game'?
In our primal state, fear was a developed survival mechanism. Its purpose was to keep us safe from any danger. This could have been predators or even any uninhabitable environments. Today, due to advancements in our society, we no longer have to worry about being eaten by a mastodon or giant sloth like humans did circa 13,000 years ago. (University of Florida 2012) Fear is still an aid for safety reasons, but it is now apparent in social situations. When uncomfortable or awkward circumstances arise, fear is triggered. Fear itself is a 'chain reaction in the brain that starts with a stressful stimulus and ends with the release of chemicals'. (Layton 2015) These chemicals cause the body to response with physical symptoms such as rapid heart rate, fast breathing, and the initial fight or flight response. The fight or flight response stems from our body and mind reacting to a compromising situation that requires humans to either resolve the problem or get to a safer environment if necessary. Our fear is controlled by the autonomic system. In other words, it is all automatic and out of our control. The fear response was a behavioral and biological trait that was not passed on to psychopaths.
Fear is really a lack of anxiety in a situation. This ability, or lack of ability, enables psychopaths to handle situations with a calm and collected mindset. Which allows them to handle stressful situations with more ease. This may be why when looking at career fields, there are ones that hold more psychopaths or individuals with psychopathic tendencies. Studies have shown that psychopaths favor or are gravitated towards certain career fields. TIME magazine lists CEO's, Lawyers, people in the Media (TV/RADIO), salespeople, and surgeons as five careers that have the most psychopaths. Working hard and receiving promotions may lead a person to one day own a huge corporation, but is there something else there, too? David Daneshgar, cofounder of BloomNation and previous World Series of Poker Champion says, "...an entrepreneur knows that anything that is comfortable is not in their ecosystem." He was in need of more financial assistance to help his aunt out with her online floral company. He decided to just go play poker. He let go of his fear, the fear of losing, the fear of failure, to make a huge bet; a bet that clearly paid off. Although David Daneshager is not a psychopath, psychopathic tendencies were present with his life changing decision. Fear dissipated which contributed to the success his eventually had.
Psychopaths, and those alike, manipulate their environments, including other people, to get what they want. It is a trait that society deems as a negative. One is supposed to treat others how they want to be treated. Which includes not using persuasive techniques to gain the upper hand or to change the outcome of a situation. Does this mean it cannot be beneficial though? Manipulation itself is the act of turning any situation into a malleable one. The psychopath turns into a craftsman; he makes the situation into something he can make use out of. Psychopaths seek to benefit from situations by first figuring out what the weaknesses in the situations, then using that information to their advantage. It involves being deceitful to attain goals using certain skills and knowledge. In an article in Psychology Today written by Preston Ni, who holds not only a bachelor's in arts degree but a masters in science, he states that, "Psychological manipulation can be defined as the exercise of undue influence through mental distortion and emotional exploitation with the intention to seize power, control, benefits, and privileges ..."
Leon F. Selter Ph.D posed the questions, "Can you manipulate someone for their own good?" Anytime a person finds themselves in a situation where they are indirectly trying to convince another individual of something, they are altering the end result of what is going on by using specific tactics to achieve their goal. This is called manipulation. Even though it may not seem as though the situation at hand is being manipulated, it is still happening. Regardless, manipulation is manipulation. The reasons could well be to help the person out because it is in their 'best interest'. It kind of just depends on the justification people give themselves. Manipulation is the use of certain tactics to change the outcome of a situation. It is a skill people have all mastered. It is a skill that we can apply to life situations that benefit us, too. Psychopaths are cunning and master manipulators. This quality helps them accomplish goals that otherwise might have been unattainable.
Being impetuous in life can actually help a person out. We are taught that we need to think through our decisions before we make a final judgement call - "Think First, Act Later". People are known to make pro and con lists. They weigh their options first. A decision can be thought about until every minute detail has been thoroughly discussed and assessed. It can be a tedious process that, depending on the person, can take days, weeks, or even months. Our system does not seem faulty, entirely anyways, to use because it is what we know. It is how we are taught decisions are supposed to be made; decision making is a process. With psychopaths, impulsivity is a given. They want to make a quick decision to get things done. They fall under the category for functional impulsive individuals. Functional impulsivity s when thoughts can be quickly put into words, thoughts can be transformed into actions almost simultaneously, and it's done with ease as well as intelligently. They can 'quickly take advantage of unexpected opportunities' (Furnham 2015).
Opportunities come and go. Psychopaths know when and how to snatch them up. "Research has found that psychopathy in the right doses can actually good for society because it allows people to make difficult decisions quickly without the encumbrance of emotions..." To hold certain positions in careers, to lead specifically, impulsiveness can yield great results. When deadlines are vital in all walks of life, they are held to a very strict standard when it comes to work. When an answer on a business deal needs to be made at that moment, psychopaths take the reign. They have the ability to use their functional impulsivity skills to make it happen. It could possibly be a deal that made or broke the deal, or worse off, their job. It is said that the 'bright functional impulsive is an asset'. Time is never wasted and it typically comes with deep, intellectual thoughts.
There is a theory among evolutionary psychologist that psychopaths are not abnormal humans, but are humans in an advanced form. Some are theorizing that the mind of a psychopath is just the next step in human evolution. When Darwin spoke of evolution, did he foresee us evolving into an almost unstoppable species? Could he fathom the idea of a human having the ability to control their emotions and the emotions of others? Psychopaths may not have it down to a T entirely, but they are living life the way all humans want to live. They take risks which yield great rewards, they look out for themselves in order to achieve any goals they have in mind, and not to mention make intelligent decisions at the drop of a hat. It also probably help that they can spot out the weak; perhaps this is an adaptation? Either way, they know what it takes to become a successful human being. Maybe it is time the rest of society starts following in their footsteps.