psychopaths rise to power so i wouldn't be surprised if there is some truth to that. someone once said 'a dumb psychopath is the serial killer, who kills a few people, and is imprisoned. a smart one drops bombs on thousands of people at once and gets paid for it.' something like that anyway.
The serial killers are the lower classes of psychopaths, usually with other mental issues.
They don't all become CEOs but they generally rise to the highest level permissible by their intelligence. An 80-IQ psychopath isn't going to rise to the top of a bank, but he will end up in a position of power over other people.
Of course, they blow themselves up every few years or so, but they usually move away unharmed.
This whole line of reasoning that Psychopath = Super Intelligence Serial Killer is misguided.
All of the studies to date have used the criminal population as the sole source of research for psychopathy - as your reference does.
The point I was making with my lengthy post is that, in fact, genius level psychopaths don't become murderers; they become Presidents, Dictators and Hedge Fund managers.
It's true that smart psychopaths can do way outsized damage in today's world. The flip side is also true though, the genuinely good and competent can also have an outsized positive impact.
I think this speaks more to the scale people can access through modern society (technology, capital, large orgs, and so on).
I come from a rather unstable and violent corner of the world, and I've met plenty of psychopaths growing up. I have a hypothesis that early childhood traumas and violent environment can trigger the development of psychopathic tendencies, but I'm not entirely sure how much role does genetics play in this process.
Some of the commenters on this topic seem to ascribe superhuman rationality and brainpower to psychopaths. I don't think that's a correct way to look at it. They can be very smart, but they suffer from the same set of biases and blind spots and Dunning-Kruger type of phenomena as other people. I think the defining characteristic is the complete lack of empathy and the willingness and ability to manipulate people (practicing the skill from early childhood, hence very good at it).
I was just looking up one of the smartest and most pronounced psychopaths I've met in recent years. Apparently he got his MBA and started an offshore private equity fund, seems to be doing well for himself. The guy had monumental talent for manipulating people. I wonder how far will he go before people catch on to his true nature...
Psychopathy is not limited to serial killers. Psychopathy is prevalent in about 1 in 100. If 1/100 people were serial killers, we'd have a big problem on our hands.
In reality, psychopaths blend into society very well. You likely know a few and wouldn't even suspect them unless you know what to look for. They find their way into positions that are highly competitive, where their lack of empathy serves them well. Psychopaths are overrepresented as surgeons, lawyers, bankers, law enforcement (you'll find a lot of psychopaths behind bars, but you'll also find a lot keeping them there), politicians, and yes CEOs.
I mean, the top careers for psychopaths are: CEO, Politician, and Journalist. Remember the last time someone of them said "I'm not in this position because I want to have power, it's my duty to X that drives me"?
Psychopaths have a wide range of traits, but I believe those who would consider doing something like this, also tend to have poor impulse control that may interfere with their plans ahead. What makes it a terrifying possibility is that terrorists, who I don't think are all psychopathic, may have a better chance of pulling it off.
I remember reading that a lot of CEOs and generally people in leadership positions have psychopathic traits. This probably is an asset if it's balanced by other traits.
Effective psychopaths never end up behind bars. They climb the corporate ladder. I've seen them in action and, as bad as they are for the companies they work in, you can't come away from seeing one in action without thinking, "Damn, he's good".
The violent ones are the lower class of psychopaths, and most prisoners aren't psychopaths. The smarter, high-class psychopaths are the corporate back-stabbers. They learn how to "manage up" because the ROI is so high.
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