DO PSYCHOPATHS MAKE BETTER LEADERS?

“Psychopathic personality traits are often seen as desirable in the corporate environment, but research suggests they can do more harm than good”

By: Jessica Brown

Published: BBC, 2 November 2017, http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20171102-do-psychopaths-really-make-better-leaders

Level of Difficulty: ** This is an easy task. The difficulty is in the number of links provided and the writing task and this is why it is in this category.

TAKE THE TEST AND DISCOVER WHERE YOU STAND

·         The Hare psychopathy checklist http://uk.businessinsider.com/hare-psychopath-checklist-test-sociopath-2016-11/#1-do-you-have-excess-glibness-or-superficial-charm-1

BEFORE YOU READ

·         Apparently psychopaths make good CEO’s https://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/21/apparently-psychopaths-make-good-ceos.html

·         How to know if you are a psychopath http://www.businessinsider.com/psychopath-jon-ronson-ceo-traits-2015-5

QUESTIONS

1.       Read down to the first subtitle. What surprising revelation is made in this section of the text?

2.       Look back at the same section. What qualities of successful businessmen are in fact psychopathic tendencies?

3.       Read the example of the hedge fund managers. Why did those with psychopathic tendencies produce lower results?

4.       Businessmen with psychopathic tendencies differ from regular businessmen in that they are unable to gain…………………………and this is because…………………

5.       Read the example of the CEO of a charity. What was the reason for the increased staff turnover and lower employee well-being?

6.       For which of the professional(s) below would psychopathy be an advantage:

Surgeons / teachers / commanders in the army / researchers / public speakers   Now check your answers: https://listverse.com/2016/04/22/10-unexpected-benefits-to-being-a-psychopath/

7.       Read the section titled “Superficial Charm”. What makes chief executives with high psychopathy scores good conversationalists?

8.       Read the section titled “Impulsivity” and then go to the following link and read the article: https://www.livescience.com/37483-heroism-psychopaths.html . What conclusion can be drawn from the study of undergraduate students?

9.       Read the section titled “Lack of remorse or guilt” and then go to the following link and read the article: https://news.yale.edu/2016/11/28/psychopaths-can-regret-bad-decisions-don-t-learn-them .

·         Why do psychopaths feel regret and not remorse?

·         There is a major distinction between psychopaths and regular people in their reaction to errors or misjudgments in addition to the point made in the previous question. It is…

·         Now go to the following link and read the text https://www.livescience.com/13083-criminals-brain-neuroscience-ethics.html . Your original text states at the end of the section that “Psychopaths know intellectually what’s right and wrong but they don’t feel it”. Why is this so and can it be cured?

10.   Read the section titled “Parasitic Lifestyle”. It is stated in the text that psychopaths “are not necessarily good in management” Why is this so?

11.   Which sentence in the last section is the concluding statement?

WRITING TASK

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of psychopathic personality traits. Use all the material you have studied.

DO PSYCHOPATHS MAKE BETTER LEADERS? KEY AND TEACHERS’ NOTES

This text has a definite wow factor as it focuses on a popular topic. It also seeks to destroy certain myths and present a balanced argument. The text is full of links to other articles some of which have been drawn into the task so as to provide a basis for the writing task and hopefully encourage students to check links when they come across them.

1.       Psychopaths are surprisingly common in the business environment

2.       Ruthless ambition, using people for their own advantage

3.       Because individuals with psychopathic traits seem to be able to talk the talk but not walk the walk.

4.       Respect / they gain power through dominance, bullying and intimidation

5.       Personality / the personality of the CEO

6.       All except the teacher

7.       Lack of self consciousness

8.       There is a link between psychopathic personality traits and heroism

9.       * Because regret is self focused and remorse involves another (answer in the link)

·         The fact that they are unable to learn from their mistakes (Answer in the link)

·         In psychopaths there are deformations in the part of the brain called the amygdale and the amygdale is the seat of emotion.

10.   Because self interest needs to be balanced with altruism

11.   Whether psychopathic traits are useful depends on context