Corporate psychopathy: Talking the walk

Abstract

There is a very large literature on the important role of psychopathy in the criminal justice system. We know much less about corporate psychopathy and its implications, in large part because of the difficulty in obtaining the active cooperation of business organizations. This has left us with only a few small-sample studies, anecdotes, and speculation. In this study, we had a unique opportunity to examine psychopathy and its correlates in a sample of 203 corporate professionals selected by their companies to participate in management development programs. The correlates included demographic and status variables, as well as in-house 360 degrees assessments and performance ratings. The prevalence of psychopathic traits-as measured by the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) and a Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL: SV) "equivalent"-was higher than that found in community samples. The results of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) indicated that the underlying latent structure of psychopathy in our corporate sample was consistent with that model found in community and offender studies. Psychopathy was positively associated with in-house ratings of charisma/presentation style (creativity, good strategic thinking and communication skills) but negatively associated with ratings of responsibility/performance (being a team player, management skills, and overall accomplishments).

When the dark ones gain power: Perceived position power strengthens the effect of supervisor Machiavellianism on abusive supervision in work teams

“…They are haughty, vane, and see themselves as superior to others (Raskin and Terry, 1988). Leaders who possess at least one of these traits (and particularly those that score high on either Machiavellianism or psychopathy) have been shown to be ineffective in some way or another (e.g., Babiak et al, 2010;Krasikova et al, 2013;O'Boyle et al, 2012).…”

“…In contrast, some have argued that these traits may help people build successful careers and secure promotions to leadership positions (Babiak et al, 2010). However, in a supervisory role, people scoring high on Dark Triad traits are in the position to potentially wreak considerable havoc.…”

“…Indeed, Dark Triad traits have been associated with embezzlement, white-collar crimes, unethical and risky decision-making, and lower engagement in corporate social responsibility (Jones, 2014;O'Boyle et al, 2012;Spain et al, 2014). Moreover, leader Dark Triad traits have been found to predict subordinate mistreatment (Babiak et al, 2010;Laurijssen et al, 2016). This study focuses on the latter maladaptive effect of leader Dark Triad traits by investigating the relationship between supervisors' Dark Triad traits and their engagement in abusive behaviors towards their team.…”

The dark personality and psychopathology: Toward a brighter future.

“…ingly, dark personality features appear to be overrepresented among those in top management and political positions, although systematic research examining this issue is relatively scant (Babiak, Neumann, & Hare, 2010;Watts et al, 2013). One exciting challenge that faces dark personality research is that it needs to clarify how dark traits contribute to maladjustment in some individuals and some contexts, while they may benefit other individuals in other contexts.…”

Trustworthiness and Motivations

“…It is an open question whether there are more psychopaths in finance than in other sectors. Psychopathy is more prevalent amongst business leaders than in the population as a whole, with the proportion of psychopaths rising to four percent (Babiak & Hare, 2006;Babiak, Neumann, & Hare, 2010;Board & Fritzon, 2005). However, to my knowledge there is no study comparing business leaders to leaders in other fields and it seems likely that psychopaths, being ruthless and manipulative, will be over--represented in leadership positions in any field.…”