The study
A more recent study, published in 2014 in the Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology, shed new light on the behavior of psychopaths, which could explain this phenomenon.
During an experiment, a group of people were given a standard test of psychopathy. At the same time, the participants were shown a series of picture aimed to test their levels of empathy. For this purpose, the researchers measured their galvanic skin response to examine their emotional reaction to the shown pictures.
The research showed that psychopaths with average or high levels of intelligence were able to control their galvanic skin response. As a result of this, their responses appeared normal. At the same time, psychopaths with low IQ exhibited abnormal test results, which are typical for individuals with psychopathic tendencies.
What the results mean
Psychopaths are great manipulators, and this research provides new evidence for that. The results of the study suggest that psychopaths with high IQs are able to hide their true identity, faking their emotional responses and probably personality traits as well. As a result, they often show a different picture of themselves and trick others into believing this is their real self.
Carolyn Bate, the first author of the study, said:
"The ones who are at the top of businesses are often charming and intelligent, but with emotional deficits, as opposed to psychopaths who are quite erratic and tend to commit gruesome crimes and are often caught and imprisoned."She also thinks that psychopaths in positions of power could be far more than 3%, "because if people are aware they are psychopathic they can also lie - they are quite manipulative and lack empathy."
These findings are quite interesting to consider and could apply to other spheres in addition to the business world. I'm sure that if psychologists had the opportunity to study those in positions of political power, the figure would go beyond 3%. Being manipulative and able to fake one's emotions is a quality that certainly helps one become a successful politician. Not even to mention that in order to reach the highest levels of political power, some lack of empathy and conscience is a must.
Comment: While it is likely that a significant number of politicians across the globe do lack conscience, it is fairly black and white thinking to assume that "lack of empathy and conscience is a must" to achieve any political power. A pertinent modern-day example of a leader who displays a strong sense of conscience, empathy and compassion, is that of the Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Dr. Paul Babiak writes in his book, Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work:
"They are masters of impression management; their insight into the psyche of others combined with a superficial - but convincing - verbal fluency allows them to change their situation skillfully as it suits the situation and their game plan."
Doesn't this sound like most of our politicians? They are just playing their game, tricking people into believing that their concerns about the world and society are sincere. They pretend to care while in reality, they only want more power and money. And we don't even need a study to know this for sure.
It is difficult to recognise the psychopaths in the world. Are people born psychopaths? It is interesting to read other people's definitions of the term. It would be more useful to create a thorough and comprehensive list of basic, easily recognisable characteristics common to all psychopaths. Regularly on SOTT and other websites people label others as psychopaths purely as a generic derogatory term but without much substantiation, as though it should be obvious to all - when it isn't.
Perhaps many people in the public eye are psychopaths and they are in the public eye because they have a need to bask in public adulation. This would mean that celebrities and politicians in pursuit of fame and prestige are predisposed to bearing psychopathic traits. Politicians, for example, seem to possess massive egos, a need to control others and to be constantly surrounded by hoards of sycophantic lesser mortals willing to respond to orders and carry their baggage - does that automatically make them obvious psychopaths?