Inside the Psyche of the 1% - Many Actually Believe Their Ideology of Greed Makes for a Better World

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/visions/inside-psyche-1?page=0%2C1

***SNIP

An increasing number of psychologists are becoming aware that traditional research was limited by the bias of only looking at people in jail. One wrote that subjects in psychopathy research “were usually institutionalized at the time of testing, and consequently our research may not accurately capture the internal structure and dynamics of the successful antisocial or psychopathic individual.” [9]

Support for the concept of successful and unsuccessful psychopaths is provided by the discovery that the “Psychopathic Personality Disorder” syndrome actually has two factors. [10] Statistical analyses have revealed an “emotional detachment” factor, which includes superficial charm and skill at manipulating others, as well as an “anti-social behavior” factor, which includes poor impulse control and the tendency to engage in activities that are illegal.

Multiple studies have confirmed that run-of-the-mill psychopaths (often studied while in jail) score particularly high on anti-social behavior while successful psychopaths score higher on emotional detachment factors. For example, Babiak [11] looked at “industrial psychopaths” and found that they scored higher on “emotional” factors than “deviant life style” factors. Functioning smoothly in the corporate world, they had a “charming façade” that allowed them to easily manipulate others.

In a study of “disordered personalities at work” other researchers [12] were able to give personality tests to business managers and chief executives. They contrasted their personality scores to psychiatric patients and “mentally disordered offenders.” Compared to the mental patients, the corporate executives showed greater “emotional” components of personality disorder and less “acting out” (such as aggressiveness).

[aquart]

1. Extreme wealth is a serious mental health issue.

[dchill]

4. So is "belief."

Belief <> Truth. That "sciency-stuff" isn't on their to-do list.

[sendero]

2. Of course they do..

.. human beings can rationalize ANY behavior. Go to death row, many if not most of the people there for murdering someone will have a rationalization about why they did it, and why it wasn't really wrong.

The libertarian thought-set is that they and only they understand money and have the moral fiber to manage it. They couldn't be more wrong, and their own policies play a significant role in the failing of our economy right now, but you would never get one of them to see it much less admit it.

I actually had an argument with one of these tards about Enron. He INSISTED that if there was less regulation Enron would not have heppened. There is no reasoning with idealogues and fools.

[RKP5637]

3. Profile for a successful CEO. ... corp. talk of the strong guy, able to make the hard

decisions, able to lay off employees without blinking an eye, ruthless on the competition for the sport of it, killing off the competition was their favorite phrase ... yep, most were sociopaths, and the underlings applauded them for being the strong corporate leader. Tragic ...

[unblock]

5. that "'charming facade' that allowed them to easily manipulate others" is called "leadership"

not to say that all leadership is psychopathy, but let's just say that the process of selecting leaders in the corporate world favors psychopaths.

[Emelina]

6. In corporations and politics

If you see the world like a jungle you want the meanest man or woman to go out there and get the job done.