Description: Unless you have been asleep for the past 2 to 3 years you could not have missed the serious bump in interest in narcissism and the related dark triad or tetrad of personality. Certainly the implications of narcissism for social functioning and for occupying and acquitting the duties of …. well … senior public… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Personality Disorders
Schadenfreude — a Cool German Word and a Fascinating Psychological Construct
Description: Before setting up the article that is the focus of this post let me start by saying that, if you have not run across this before, you should look for some of the amazingly descriptive words the German language has for aspects of the human condition. Some have been borrowed into English (like Wanderlust… Read more »
Diagnosing ‘Trump-like’ Behavior
Description: These days, and with increasing frequency as the November 6, 2018 American midterm elections approach, when people I meet find out I am a psychologist I am often asked some version of a “… so what is with Trump” question or in other words questions about how for “out there” is Trump or is,… Read more »
Narcissists and Social Chaos
Description: Ok so, I am going to talk about Narcissists but as many of us are not entirely familiar with the myth of Narcissus and, regardless, Narcissus did not live in the modern world, so we need another example to hold in mind as we consider the role that the generation of social chaos plays… Read more »
First Impressions and the Dark Tetrad: The Foundations of “Creepiness”
Description: You may recall, if you are regular reader of this blog, that I have written before about the Dark Triad of personality traits (Psychopathy, Machiavellianism and Narcissism, a lovely combination). Recent research has added Sadism to the list and created the Dark Tetrad (social interaction gets better and better!). Some recent research has done… Read more »
Is There a Useful Psychology of Mass Shooters?
Description: As I contemplated whether to choose to blog on this particular topic I ran across the article linked below and while reading through it, for a number of associative reasons (I suspect), I was reminded of a song by Canadian Blues artist Lest Quitzau called Home on the Range. It contains the line “Welcome… Read more »
Criminal Brains: Opportunties and ethical pitfalls of looking beyond minds
Description: Have you ever watched an episode of the TV show Criminal Minds which fictionally focusses on the activities of an FBI behavioral analysis unit that hunts psychopaths? In the show there are many discussions of the sorts of developmental histories that amplify some psychopathic behavioral tendencies and of the sorts of things that can… Read more »
The Psychologies of Sycophants and Narcissists: Historical Shifts, Developmental Histories and Clear and Present Dangers
Description: What is a sycophant? Well, colloquially we sometimes use the term “suck up” as in “that person is a suck up” or “that person is really sucking up to the boss”. But what is going on in situations like that psychologically? There are a couple of hints for possible hypotheses in the pictures posted… Read more »
Rorschach Redux
Description: A little while back I posted on an article that was looking at new ways to use the Rorschach “Inkblot” Test. In that post and in the accompanying article the discussion was somewhat skeptical about whether or not the Rorschach “Inkblot” Test has any valid place in current clinical, psychiatric or forensic practice. I… Read more »
Toxic Bosses: Find Out About the Dark Side of Personality
Description: Having a boss who is “certifiable” is clearly not going to be good for one’s wellbeing and mental health but what collections of boss personality traits are the most toxic? Well what comes to mind in relation to the term “dark triad of personality traits?” Darth Vader? … not far off the mark actually…. Read more »
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