The wanted psychopathic personality

[Skybird]

I saw a short documentary today on the issue of psychopathic traits being rewarded and even wanted in modern society, from ruthless and manipulative business leaders over cold-blooded bomb disposal experts to astronaut Armstrong whose pulse was recorded in even the most critical phases of the mission and during his first step on the moon to not have differed from his normal pulse, with his colleagues having racing pulses and also showing signs of fear. Armstrong physiologically remained totally unimpressed when he left the landing module. A psychologist contributing to that short docu was a man named Kevin Dutten.

I wanted to summarize the film, but instead I found this Guardian's review of Dutten's book from some while ago, that gives a good overview of what it all is about.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2012/oct/07/wisdom-of-psychopaths-kevin-dutton-review

[Catfish]

Interesting, but then it is nothing new that certain people with certain mindsets, enter certain professions .. :)

[WernherVonTrapp]

It's been over 25 years since I studied Psychology, but when I did, even back then, I was instructed that many politicians and cops (not all, mind you) tend to fall under the "Borderline Psychopathic Personality" umbrella. It wasn't necessarily spoken of as a "disorder", but rather of a personality type. Back then, they didn't understand what made some psychopathic personalities cross the line into "criminal behavior" while others remained "functional" in society. (Corrected)