Are you aware of the office bully? Maybe you should!

William Atkins
Saturday, 03 January 2009 21:12

Science - Biology

Wilson stated, “None of these students qualified as psychopaths, but some did have behaviours associated with psychopaths.” [New Scientist: “Psychopaths steer clear of the rich and successful” (November 29-December 5, 2008, page 11)]

However, these same psychopathic men had much less ability to recall details in characters without these emotional vulnerabilities.

According to the New Scientist article, about “one in 100 people display antisocial behaviours deemed psychopathic.”

Specifically, these psychopaths have a “callous ability to manipulate other people to fulfill their own desires.” Instead of manipulating successful people, they seem to target the least successful people.

The researchers concluded, “The findings suggest that psychopathic personality is associated with ‘predatory memory’ even in the absence of overt criminality.”

Wilson added, “This type of aggression is referred to as predatory… it’s a perceptual system geared to getting the easiest prey.” [Dalhousie University]

Wilson concluded, “Psychopaths seem to be better at picking out the most vulnerable victims.” [New Scientist]