Psychology For Students

Psychology for Students
Celeste Fabrie
Psychology for Students: An introduction to the world of psychology

Copyright 2015 by Celeste Fabrie
Psychologist and Business Coach for the German business world.
Acknowledgment
Cover design by Author
Editing by Author
Materials (photograph, graphics, passage, sources, references)The Science of Modern Propaganda.
http://www.propaganda101.com. 2001 Lee, Alfred McLung; Lee, Elizabeth Bryan. Propaganda
Analysis. http://carmen.artsci.washington.edu/ (subdirectory, 2001. Dorje, Carl. Propaganda Techniques.
http://serendipity.magnet.ch/more/propagan.html. 2001. Trishna Sharmaer Consulting for Rookies
America http://www.wkrg.com/story/22567646/research-report-on-chinas-antidepressantmarket-2013-2017 Durrheim, K. (2002). Research in Practice. In M.T.Blanche (Ed), Quantitative
Measurement (pp. 72-95). Cape Town: UCT Press. Gregory, R.J. (2000). Psychological Testing. 3rd
Edition.
Illinois: Allyn and Bacon, Inc. Neumann, W.L. (1997). Social Research Methods. 3rd edition. Needham
Heights: Allyn & Bacon. Ghetty Images: Licence Free
Rosnow, R.L. & Rosenthal, R. (1999). Beginning Behavioral Research. 3rd. Edition. New Jersey:
Prentice Hall Tutorial Letter 102 for PSY498-8. (2003). Psychological Assessment. Pretoria: Unisa
Press. (sections from pp. 3-24).
UNISA - study guide KRM309-M 1998, Doerner & Lab, 1995.(p. 149/ Blackburn (1994 p. 231), van
der Hoven, 2001. (p. 16-21). Vesterdal (1985, p. 53) Doerner et al, 1995.( p. 148) Bergh, 1997. (p. 23/
Sue et al, 1997.(pp. 46-47) Moore, 1997, (p. 561) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Histrionic_personality_disorder/http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/histrionic-personality-disorder
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or
mechanical means including storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from Celeste
Fabrie
Although the author and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the information in this book
was correct at press time, the author and publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to
any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or
omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause. (advice, how-to)
Powered By Bookemon. www.bookemon.com
Dedicated to all those future

psychologists entering
a very challenging career
CONTENTS
1. Preface .....................................................................................................................4
2. The Female Narcissist .............................................................................................5
3. Histrionic Personality Disorder ............................................................................ 11
4. Child Abuse .......................................................................................................... 14
5. Tricks Human Resources Play .............................................................................. 23
6. Who am I? ............................................................................................................ 27
7. The Insanity Defense ............................................................................................ 32
8. The Psychopathic Personality .............................................................................. 35
9. Mobbing A Psychological Stress Factor ............................................................ 63
10. Psychometric Properties of Psychological Assessment Measures ....................... 72
11. Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 89
12. Appendix: Supplementary Material ...................................................................... 90

Sample of an Intercultural Employee Questionnaire and its sub-categories
PREFACE
I have been asked so often by my students what actually represents normal or abnormal
behaviour and can we measure it? In fact, if we take all world populations and analyse what
they consider as abnormal behaviour then we get a totally different statistic. No. We cannot
measure on a scale from 1-10 what is out of the norm when we come from the Far East,
Russia or any other exotic country of the globe.
However, we need to know when behaviour starts to disturb not only our average well-being
but that of others in our environment. The moment we become a danger to ourselves and
others this is when we need to take urgent action.
Another aspect which has fascinated my students is the dark side of psychology and crime.
Audiences are drawn to psychopaths, serial killers, cannibals, mass murderers etc. The media
industry cannot get enough material to satisfy the hungry populace. My work in prisons and
psychiatric institutes provided me with a rich amount of materials on this subject. Every case
was unique and yet totally fascinating to the point of no return as they say in our profession.
Why are we curious about these crimes? The answer perhaps lies in our longing for justice,
moral and ethical standards or just a confirmation about our own deepest desires. Crime
stories are the best-established forms of entertainment worldwide.
This is why I have included in this book a section dedicated to Psychopaths as this is a
highly dangerous disorder that can get out of control if left to its own devices. In my last
book; Aiming High I wrote about bosses and political leaders who have these
characteristics and the outcomes of their behaviour on their innocent victims.
I have included at the end of the book a helpful document for students of psychology titled;
Psychometric Properties of Psychological Assessment Measures which I wrote when I was at
University. This document has been downloaded by over 3,129 online viewers. So I assume it
really must be significant. The contents page numbers have been left in their original. You
may download this document for free from my Blog Site: http://de.scribd.com/doc/51639891/PsychometricProperties-of-Psychological-Assessment-Measures-by-Dr-Celeste-Fabrie
Just remember, this little book is a mixture of articles from the world of psychology and used
by my students for light understanding about this complex subject. As we all know, the
digital world has given us the marvellous opportunity to cross every known country border
and absorb the enormous flow of information available at our finger tips. But because of this
great freedom of movement in a virtual world, we are also facing new challenges and
disorders facing the world of future psychologists. It is up to you as a future psychologist to
broaden your horizons and be prepared for a challenging career.
Female Narcissist
The Female Narcissist
Are you a victim?

Definition of a female narcissist:
The female narcissist is attractive, intelligent, very charming and highly confident that
she can take everything you own. These women lack what healthy women possess
naturally; a conscience, character, empathy for others, etc.
When the female narcissist targets you, she moves with great speed. The first time
you meet her she seems to appear out of nowhere. But in fact, she has been
watching you for a minute and sizing you up for the kill.
She has figured out your vulnerabilities and she will use them to get what she wants:
fame (if youre a celebrity), power, or wealth.
The female narcissist makes up for what she lacks by constructing a false sense of
self. Then she projects that false self to others. In her rigid world, she is queen and
the world revolves around her. Hell hath no fury like the rage you will encounter if you
dont completely ignore your needs for hers.
Female Narcissist
What are the signs and symptoms of narcissistic

personality disorder?
A symptom is something that the patient feels and describes, such as anger, pain, or
dizziness, while a sign is something everybody, including the nurse or doctor, can
see, such as a rash or swelling.
A person with narcissistic personality disorder will typically have some of the signs
and symptoms below:
Responds to criticism with anger

Responds to criticism with humiliation
Responds to criticism with shame
Their own talents, achievements and importance are frequently overstated
They have exaggerated fantasies regarding their own good looks, power,
intelligence and success
They may believe their skills in romance are superior to anybody else's
They are generally jealous people and may be suddenly affected with intense
jealousy
They seek out and demand positive reinforcement from other people
They have an insatiable appetite for attention from others
They lack empathy and disregard other people's feelings
They are obsessed with themselves
Female Narcissist
Most of their goals are considered by others as selfish

They have problems maintaining healthy relationships
They are very sensitive and easily hurt
They may easily feel rejected
Whatever they have or yearn for, it must be "the best"
They come over as unemotional or tough-minded
They may seem arrogant
They act as if they have a right for special treatment
If others have to be taken advantage of in order to achieve goals, they will do
so
They may believe that only other "special" people really understand their
uniqueness
They often expect others to go along with what they desire or ask for, blindly
You cannot reverse this disorder.

You might think youre in love with her, but her ultimate goal is to destroy you
(emotionally) and leave your life in ruins. The only thing that will save you is if you
recognize the early warning signs and get out in time.
The narcissistic female craves attention. Most celebrities are narcissists, as are most
reality TV stars. The female narcissist usually takes a job that guarantees her a high
level of attention such as broadcast journalism, sports announcing, blogging, strip
clubs, publicists, prostitution, pr0n films, etc.
What are the causes of narcissistic personality

disorder?
Nobody is sure why some people develop narcissistic personality disorder while
others don't. Some suggest it may be associated with certain circumstances during
childhood, such as very high expectations, over-pampering, neglect, and even
abuse. Perhaps the individual learnt manipulative behaviors from their parents or
household members during childhood.
There are many warning signs and red flags that you are dealing with a female
narcissist. Here are some that you have probably already experienced:
Female Narcissist
Narcissistic rage: an intense, furious anger that seems to come out of nowhere. It is
intended to startle and shock you into complying to what she wants. She can be
furious one minute and smiling the next, as if nothing happened.
Gaslighting: Considered psychological warfare. It is the narcissists way of convincing
you that youre the crazy one, not her.
Narcissistic stare: An intense stare with no feeling behind it. Youve seen how cats
stare at prey before they pounce? In the narcissists world you are her prey.
http://sandrarose.com/medical-minute-narcissistic-stare
Silent treatment: The narcissists way of punishing you by ignoring you (or cutting you
out of her life) for a period of time or forever. Then she will let you off the hook by
demanding an apology even though you arent to blame. She does this to modify
your behavior. Its her way or the highway.
Other symptoms include: a grandiose sense of self; living in a fantasy world of perfect
beauty, love, power, genius, etc.; thinks of herself as special and only able to be
understood by special people; demands excessive amounts of praise or admiration
from others; feels entitled to automatic defense, compliance or favorable treatment
from others; is exploitative towards others; lacks empathy with others; is envious of
others, or feels they are envious of him; has an attitude of haughtiness or arrogance.
You probably have a female narcissist in your life and not even know it because you
dont have anything she wants.
You probably think shes an attractive, successful woman who has her life together
except that she doesnt have a man or she seems to have problems keeping men.
Other than that, she seems perfect to you.
The female narcissist seeks female friends to subjugate them or to steal elements of
their personalities, since she doesnt have a personality of her own. You might think
that her imitating your personality or style is a form of flattery, but it is not. Have you
seen the movie Single White Female?
The narcissists closest female friends are almost always lessors; not as attractive as
she is or not as successful or as materialistic. Her female friends serve only to boost
her ego and to make her feel superior.
If you are friends with a narcissist, you are an object to her a mirror that she holds
up to see a reflection of herself in. Youre flattered that she loves your company,
when in fact she cant bear to be alone with her empty mirrors.
Female Narcissist
If you force her to see you as an individual, rather than as a mirror of herself, she will
dump you and find another best friend to mirror herself in. This is because the
female narcissist has a very distorted image of self (like a vampire who cant see her
reflection). Your face is a mirror of the image the narcissist projects.
Since the female narcissist has no sense of self, she cant pass by a mirror without
checking her reflection. The female narcissists house features an abundance of
mirrors and photos of herself.
Some narcissistic females can be heterosexual one minute or lesbian the next. She
flip flops with ease. Whatever role she has to play to snag her target, she will play it
to perfection.
Female Narcissist
The female narcissist usually has no interest in sex. She uses sex the way a hunter
uses bait; to trap a man. The female narcissist sees a mans need for sex as a
weakness and she despises him for his weakness. Once she subjugates a man
(gets him under her complete control), their sex life decreases or ceases entirely, if
they have a sex life at all.
A narcissistic female has been a narcissist all her life. Narcissists are not born that
way, they are created. By the time you meet her in adulthood, she has sharpened all
the tools in her arsenal. Her ultimate goal is to woo you, then leave your life in ruins
before she moves on to her next victim.
The female narcissist is an empty vessel inside. She needs her victims to fill that
empty void. But because she has the mind of a child, she attacks you relentlessly
like a child abuses her toys whenever you step out of line.
She doesnt have the moral compass to understand that shes hurting you
emotionally or mentally; your pain gives her life.
She is not going to change for you, so dont kid yourself.
There is only one way to deal with a narcissist: LEAVE. RUN as fast as you can and
dont look back.
Men (and women), educate yourselves so you dont fall victim to a narcissist.
10
Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD)

Femme Fatale
HPD is more often diagnosed in women than men; men with some similar symptoms
are often diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder.
Definition
According to the American Psychiatric Association this personality disorder is
characterized by a pattern of excessive emotionality and attention-seeking, including
inappropriately seductive behaviour and an excessive need for approval, usually
beginning in early adulthood. People affected by HPD are lively, dramatic, vivacious,
enthusiastic, and flirtatious. HPD affects four times as many women as men. It has a
prevalence of 23% in the general population, and 1015% in inpatient and
outpatient mental health institutions. People with HPD have a high need for attention,
make loud and inappropriate appearances, exaggerate their behaviors and emotions,
and crave stimulation. They may exhibit sexually provocative behavior, express
strong emotions with an impressionistic style, and can be easily influenced by others.
Associated features include egocentrism, self-indulgence, continuous longing for
appreciation, and persistent manipulative behavior to achieve their own needs.
11
Characteristics
People with HPD are usually high-functioning, both socially and professionally. They
usually have good social skills, despite tending to use them to manipulate others into
making them the center of attention. HPD may also affect a person's social and/or
romantic relationships, as well as their ability to cope with losses or failures. They
may seek treatment for clinical depression when romantic (or other close personal)
relationships end.
Individuals with HPD often fail to see their own personal situation realistically, instead
dramatizing and exaggerating their difficulties. They may go through frequent job
changes, as they become easily bored and may prefer withdrawing from frustration
(instead of facing it). Because they tend to crave novelty and excitement, they may
place themselves in risky situations. All of these factors may lead to greater risk of
developing clinical depression. Additional characteristics may include:
Exhibitionist behaviour
Constant seeking of reassurance or approval
Excessive sensitivity to criticism or disapproval
Pride of own personality and unwillingness to change, viewing any change as
a threat
Inappropriately seductive appearance or behavior of a sexual nature
Using somatic symptoms (of physical illness) to garner attention
A need to be the center of attention
Low tolerance for frustration or delayed gratification
Rapidly shifting emotional states that may appear superficial or exaggerated to
others
Tendency to believe that relationships are more intimate than they actually are
Making rash decisions
Blaming personal failures or disappointments on others
Being easily influenced by others, especially those who treat them approvingly
Being overly dramatic and emotional.
Some histrionics change their seduction technique into a more
maternal/paternal style as they age
The World Health Organization's ICD-10 lists histrionic personality disorder as:
12
Shallow and labile affectivity

Self-dramatization
Theatricality
Exaggerated expression of emotions
Suggestibility, gullible and easily influenced by others
Egocentricity
Self-indulgence, self-centered and rarely show concern for others
Lack of consideration for others
Easily hurt feelings, and excessively sensitive to criticism or disapproval
Continuous seeking for appreciation, excitement and attention
Make rash decisions
Have a low tolerance for frustration and be easily bored by routine,

often
beginning projects without finishing them or skipping from one
event to another
Threaten or attempt suicide to get attention
What Causes Histrionic Personality Disorder?

The exact cause of histrionic personality disorder is not known, but many mental
health professionals believe that both learned and inherited factors play a role in its
development. For example, the tendency for histrionic personality disorder to run in
families suggests that a genetic susceptibility for the disorder might be inherited.
However, the child of a parent with this disorder might simply be repeating learned
behavior. Other environmental factors that might be involved include a lack of
criticism or punishment as a child, positive reinforcement that is given only when a
child completes certain approved behaviors, and unpredictable attention given to a
child by his or her parent(s), all leading to confusion about what types of behavior
earn parental approval. Personality disorders also usually develop in relation to
individual temperament and psychological styles and ways people learn to cope with
stress while growing up.
How Is Histrionic Personality Disorder Diagnosed?

If signs of this personality disorder are present, the doctor will begin an evaluation by
performing a complete medical and psychiatric history. If physical symptoms are
present, a physical exam and laboratory tests (such as neuroimaging studies or
blood tests) may also be recommended to assure that a physical illness is not
causing any symptoms that may be present.
If the doctor finds no physical reason for the symptoms, he or she might refer the
person to a psychiatrist or psychologist, health care professionals who are specially
trained to diagnose and treat mental illnesses. Psychiatrists and psychologists use
specially designed interview and assessment tools to evaluate a person for a
personality disorder.
Note:
The problem here is that both Narcissistic and Histrionic Personality Disorders can
overlap at the same time.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Histrionic_personality_disorder
http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/histrionic-personality-disorder
13
Child Abuse
Child Abuse
An outline of the possible individual predisposing

factors relevant to child abuse, and an explanation
of these factors according to different theoretical perspectives
14
Child Abuse
1.
Introduction
The aim of this essay is to outline specific individual predisposing

factors which contribute to child abuse. These components will be
described under the following perspectives; sociocultural perspective
the psychodynamic view, social learning, cognitive, humanistic and
the systemic approach. Social support systems will also be discussed.
2.
A definition of family violence and child abuse

Family or domestic violence does not exist in a vacuum. It all begins
with specific stressors in a family environment, which if unattended will
in most cases develop into a cycle of violence. Family violence covers a broad
spectrum of categories, mainly wife battering, incest, murder,
emotional and physical torture, and child abuse. These hidden crimes often
occur in the privacy of the home, and can go on for many years without even
the neighbours suspecting anything out of the ordinary (Brown et al, 1998).
Child abuse does not necessarily have to occur in the family surroundings.
Often child abuse occurs outside the home by complete strangers or
under institutional circumstances. In other words, child abuse has many
faces and can fall under the following areas (study guide KRM309-M):
emotional and physical neglect (e.g. starvation of the child)
sexual abuse (incest or sex trafficking)
drug trafficking
illegal employment
street children / runaways (homelessness)
denial of education
unnecessary punishments (harsh beatings)
15
Child Abuse
3.
Risk factors of abuse

A child is at risk when parents or caretakers do not fulfil their duties
towards the upbringing of children, such as adequate care, love and
guidance. Risk factors of abuse are:
serious personality problems
patriarchal family systems
gender indoctrination (stereotypes)
economic dependency of the wife
political climate (child soldiers)
parent-child interactions
childs characteristics (physical handicaps)
low parental intelligence
predisposition to child abuse (diathesis stress model)
uncontrolled aggressive impulses
lack of knowledge about childrens natural development processes
inadequate child-training techniques
abusive parents who were also abused as children
social incompetence
passivity of the wife
no social support systems (social isolation)
dysfunctional family network communication patterns.
criminal parents
drug and alcohol influences
media influences
unemployment
single mothers
step parents
Often violence is a replacement for a failing social and economic situation.

We will now explain most of the above characteristics under the different
theoretical perspectives.
16
Child Abuse
4.
Sociocultural perspective
This approach looks beyond the individual, focusing mainly on the
following stress factors from a social/cultural point of departure:
unemployment
family size/crowding/lack of private space
unwanted pregnancies
child-spacing
social isolation
lower social strata status (Doerner & Lab, 1995. p. 149)
Cultural factors contribute to the norms and values of society.

Subcultures on the other hand are ruled by certain attitudes towards
child upbringing and antisocial behaviour. Social and physical features
of settings can affect social relationships. Disadvantaged groups carry
their own norms and values which highlight or encourage certain behaviour
characteristics. Blackburn (1994 p. 231), states that high temperatures,
pollution, noise levels, overcrowding, territorial invasion, personal space
violation, high population densities can all act as stressors or predispose
an individual towards child abuse. Impaired information processing or
perceived loss of control usually precedes acts of violence. Even distorted
patterns of child rearing from one generation to the next can contribute
to child abuse.
South Africa for example is a land with a multi-racial tradition. Unfortunately,

In many black communities the men are indoctrinated to treat women and
children as subordinates. Abuse, rape and violence is not considered a crime.
For instance, the lobola (dowry) marriage system gives the man the right to
own both woman/en and children. Only men are the ones to mete out discipline
on his family. The tribe actually condone violence (van der Hoven, 2001. pp. 16-21).
17
Child Abuse
5.
Psychodynamic view
This approach views child abuse as some internal psychopathy within
the individual that possibly goes back to unresolved childhood conflicts.
For example, role reversal can take place when the adult tries to switch
roles with the child hoping to receive love and care in return. When the child
does not illicit the expected responses, the parent feels frustrated, rejected
and not loved by the child. These negative emotions then trigger an aggressive
cue on part of the parent towards the child (Doerner et al, 1995. p. 148)
In fact, intrapsychic conflicts normally arise due to certain maladaptive
traits, such as (Bergh, 1997. p. 23):
6.
low self-esteem and poor self-image
strong feelings of inadequacy and helplessness
depression
displacement of aggression on child/wife (defense mechanism)
denial of any feelings of aggression
distortion of reality (misinterpretation of the facts)
the need for control and power over weaker persons
tension and anxiety in female company
superficial and impersonal family relationships.
Social learning perspective

This theory focuses on experiences and reinforcements such as rewarding
a child for good behaviour or in some case praising the child when he or she
does something malicious against another human being. A child can also grow
up with a distorted social pattern if the parent is too lenient about disciplining
the child about acceptable and unacceptable social behaviour.
Children who observe violence in the family will think that such behaviour is
a norm and will in turn behave in a similar fashion. This repeated cycle of
violence will follow the child into adulthood with negative consequences.
Exposure to brutalisation can actually harm the social, physical, spiritual
and mental development of many children for the rest of their lives.
Vesterdal (1985, p. 53) mentions that courts who place children under
18
Child Abuse
the care of grandparents might be making a fatal mistake, as these same

grandparents could be the sole perpetrators of the original violence and
abuse with the parents of the child/ren.
Learned helplessness is the habitualised acceptance of abuse over

several years. Children who grow up to accept their fates, knowing no
other way out, learn to cope with their trauma by responding passively
to each abusive situation. This acquiescent behaviour can result in eventual
suicide of the child or murder (van der Hoven,1992. p.248).
Bandura (Sue et al, 1997) stressed that maladaptive social learning

patterns are formed by the reinforcement of certain negative behaviours
such as repetition of behaviours, followed by a conditioned response
to a stimulus (such as the child not performing as told).
Classical conditioning also involves a type of social learning whereby,

the child acts as a catalyst or stimulus which is the conditioned response
for the parental abuse. In other words, the parent learns through association
with the stimulus when to strike out at the child.
7.
Cognitive aspect
Another way to view abuse is through the cognitive perspective. In many
instances, the offending parent interprets events through distorted thought
processes. Child abuse, often takes place under irrational thinking and false
belief systems. The parent may wrongly assume that the child deserves a
hard beating for breaking a glass but does not realise that toddler of 15
months is still too young to hold a glass steady in the hand. Maladaptive
thoughts are normally about the event and not from the actual event itself.
The abused child in turn will develop a negative self-image about itself, thinking
that he or she is worthless, clumsy and a failure. This cognitive cycle is
reinforced by the parents abusive actions each time the child supposedly does
something wrong.
19
Child Abuse
8.
Humanistic perspective
This theory focuses on interpersonal relationships, namely on positive
human qualities, potential and abilities. Abnormal behaviour is described
as the result of blockages in these potentials. Carl Rogers (Sue et al, 1997.
pp. 46-47) refers to humanity as normally good. However, abnormal
behaviour can result from societies conditions of worth on its members.
A distorted self-concept or incongruent personality can be attributed by
the child abuser. The childs true potential is often never reached due to
the distorted self-concept which is influenced by significant others. Rogers
furthermore, believed that unconditional positive regard is essential for
a childs positive development. This means, supplying the child with love,
acceptance and an open family system for positive growth.
9.
Systems perspective
The systemic view or family perspective concentrates on the relationships and
interactions between different family members. In other words, the cause of
child abuse in the family is attributed to faulty, maladaptive communication
and behaviour patterns which are reciprocal in nature (Moore, 1997, p. 561).
Any major changes in one part of the system will also lead to change in other
parts of the family network. In other words, an abusive family environment
is supported by a homeostatic cycle, which means than the abuser will only
shift the abuse around, perhaps from child to child, or from child to mother.
On the other hand, the ecosystemic view will go beyond the individuals
Immediate family surroundings, focusing instead on the ecological causes
of abuse, such as the family and socio-cultural factors. This model focuses
on the meanings a person attaches to an experience, which is determined by
the person and not by the experience (Dell, 1985). In other words, a persons
potential can only be realized through the interaction of these systems, such as
family, communities and society.
20
Child Abuse
Child abuse is often seen as a breakdown in relationships within the family

system, or the persons surroundings such as the school, community
or cycle of friends. In fact, the main emphasis is on the co-creation of meanings
and the systems autonomy to regulate itself. This view tries to conceptualise how
the abuse is affecting the lives of family members by looking beyond the individual
to the broader context.
10.
Social support systems

Social support systems are a natural way of live. They form a strong bonding
Between families and communities. Without a social network, the family becomes
isolated from the rest of the world. Children from closed-family systems do not
know how to socialise with their peers, or develop healthy relationships with
people outside their four walls. An abused child grows up with fear and lack of
confidence, or may develop a violent and aggressive character towards all people.
Child abuse can be prevented at its roots if the following support systems are
encouraged and followed through by government and communities
(study guide KRM309-M):
11.
Public education (portraying women in a positive way)
Educational programmes attitude change in the schools/higher education
Training of personnel: health and counselling services, communities, schools
Toll-free lines for crises calls
Free medical and legal services (for abused persons without financial support)
Accommodation shelters
Summary
This essay has discussed child abuse from different perspectives, namely;
the socio-cultural, psychodynamic, social learning, cognitive, humanistic and
systems view. A brief outline of a social support systems programme was also
mentioned as a possible means of prevention against child abuse and family violence.
21
Child Abuse
12.
Conclusion
This essay has outlined the many precipitating factors and stressors which
predispose an adult to abuse a child or other family member. Unfortunately,
child abuse, whether physical or emotional often leaves the victim with
psychological scarring for the rest of his or her life. This exposure to chronic,
repeated trauma in the home or institution can be prevented through a strong
social support system. As with most social programmes, the available funds
are never enough to cover the long-term benefits of reaching out to an abused
child and its abuser. Often it is too late for the victim.
22
Tricks Human Resources Play!
Photograph: Images.com/Corbis
HR employees are an interesting type. They are supposed to be your advocate, but do not be
fooled. In reality they are anything but your advocate. If you are ever caught in a situation
between yourself and someone higher on the totem pole, no matter how much evidence
you have and how obvious it is that you are right, HR will find a way to make you the culprit
and the other individual the angel. HR has many techniques up their sleeves to provoke you,
make you gain their trust, and confuse and intimidate you.
If you are on the verge of losing your job because your manager is trying to fire you, lay you
off or force you to quit and you are to the point where HR needs to be involved, you may not
be able to salvage your job. But if you follow along, chances are you will be able to leave
with something in your hand. HR will be shocked that you know their dirty tricks and they
will be even more shocked that you can turn their tricks around on them while still playing
nice. This will make them want to do anything to make you go away, namely by giving you
some money.
23
Tricks HR Plays
Distract
When you meet with your HR representative you need to be careful about talking too much.
Not because you have anything to hide, but because HR will do anything to lead you down a
rabbit hole before you even realize you are being lead down that rabbit hole. As they start to
ask you questions, they will slowly get more and more off topic. They will justify this by
saying that they need to get the big picture. In reality, they are trying to do two things:
1) Get more and more information out of you until they find something that they can
turn into a big issue. They will nitpick on something that is completely irrelevant to the
discussion and turn it into a big issue so that they can turn you in to the troublemaker
2) Avoid dealing with the issue at hand so that they can confuse you and even make you
feel like you have no support so you lose hope (Im not kidding! This actually happens!)
Unless you know this trick in advance, you will not even know what is going on. They will ask
you questions, trying to make you comfortable so you continue to spill irrelevant
information until they find something and then they pounce. Be careful about what you say
in your meetings and stick to the topic only.
***
In your meeting, HR should be the one who is doing most of the talking. You may introduce
the topic at first to give them some background but after an initial quick introduction, they
should be the ones with their lips flapping. Remember, the HR rep already knows everything
there is to know about your situation before they meet with you. You should have emailed HR
with the details of your situation prior to meeting with them. Also, note that they will have
already met with your managers before meeting with you even if they do not admit it or tell
you about it.
Often what HR will do, and this is something other cultures will do when they meet with
western businesspersons, is be very quiet during the meeting. Because we are a culture that
is uncomfortable with silences, HR knows that out of awkwardness you will start to talk to fill
the gaps without even knowing it. You will start to give away information and stray off topic.
Do not fall for this trap! Know that they will use this so be aware.
24
Provoke
Another very common trick HR plays, and you may even notice some of your more
politically-charged managers play, is where they tell you that you feel a certain way in order
to get you to act that way. For example, if you are calmly meeting with the HR rep a very
common play they have is to ask you why you are being so defensive or to tell you that you
are being defensive and that you are always defensive. The moment they say this to you, you
automatically feel like you now have to defend yourself and in defending yourself, you
become defensive. HR is trying to provoke you so they can make you out to be the bad guy
who is not in control, who is not professional. Using defensive is the most common trick,
but they may say that you are acting upset or other similar type words.
Intimidation
Another trick HR uses is intimidation. Especially if you are younger or look younger, HR will
try to talk about how many years of experience they have and how they know so much more
about HR and business than you do. They will do anything to try to convince you that they
know how business works and how such situations should be handled. They will do anything
to convince you that you are wrong or that you should be grateful for what is happening to
you because most people do not get such special treatment. If you are not being treated
fairly, do NOT fall for this. They may say it with a sweet voice and encouraging head nods,
but pay attention to the words and remember that at the end of the day, they are no
smarter or better than you are. Just because they have more experience or are older than
you are does not in any way support their subtle claims that they know right from wrong
better than you do.
Gain Trust
To get you to spill more information and to confuse you into agreeing with them even
though you are being treated unfairly, HR will often times throw other people under the bus.
If your manager is causing you this unnecessary trouble the HR rep may tell you that they
agree with you, that your manager did not handle the situation well. Or the HR rep may
throw one of her teammates under the bus. Say you talked to an HR rep previously (lets say
HR rep A) and now you are talking to her boss (HR rep B). B may throw A under the bus and
say that she knows A has not been handling this well, A will be talked to, etc. B is doing this
to gain your trust and make you feel like she is on your side. Do NOT fall for this. If you do,
you will find yourself spilling irrelevant information or being convinced that you are being
treated fairly even though you are not.
Lose Hope
Your HR rep will tell you that they have been made aware of your issues previously and that
they are sorry that you feel like this is coming to you as a surprise. HR is doing this to make
you believe that you have no support so that you will back off and submit. This may seem
like you have hit a dead end but there is a way to counter this claim because really it makes
no sense!
***
25
If HR is scared of something you are doing, like documenting all of your meetings with them,
they will convince you that what you are doing is useless and even wrong so that you lose
hope and stop doing what it is they fear. Do not listen to what they are saying. In the case of
documenting, HR reps are the very people who, when you first get on-boarded into the
company, tell you that documentation is everything! When you go to court, documentation
is EVERYTHING. HR knows this, but they say this because they want you to stop so that
everything becomes he-said-she-said.
Always remember that when you are talking to an HR rep, you are just playing their game.
They will try to nitpick on words that you say to take the focus away from the main issue,
distract you, provoke you, fluster you and turn you into the bad guy in the situation. And yes,
they will even lie if they have to. Just stay calm, remember that you are right, and be strong.
by Trishna Sharmaer Consulting for Rookies America
edited by Celeste Fabrie W.I.S.E. Business Coaching & Consulting Germany
26
Who am I?
Who am I?
Women suffer up to 40 per cent more

mental health problems than men due
to stress of juggling roles, study claims
27
Who am I?
Introduction:
Causes of female and male mental health problems might be quite different from
each other. It is not known for sure if stress affects men and women differently.
Generally, as the two genders often operate in different social contexts, both tend
to develop different emotional dispositions and personality traits. Accordingly,
their responses and coping mechanisms to stress situations vary.
Women, these days, have a lot of balancing to do between home and workplace,
including balancing between social and personal requirements. The issues of
maternity, menopause, parenthood, gender roles, conditions at home and
workplace, familial and social support et al, often blight women`s lives in the long
run.
The fact is:
28
Psychological disorders are 20% to 40% more common in women than

men
Investigation found women are increasingly expected to function as
career, homemaker, breadwinner, super mother, excellent lover, advisor,
best friend et al.
Men have higher rates of alcohol, drug and anger problems, according to
University of Oxford's Professor Freeman
Who am I?
Professor Daniel Freeman, of the University of Oxford, said the first systematic
investigation of national mental health surveys showed psychological disorders are
20 to 40 per cent more common in women than men in any given year.
Stress related to pressure on women to fill many different roles is likely to be a major
factor for higher rates of everything from depression to phobias, according to
Professor Freeman, a clinical psychologist.
'The biggest discrepancies occur in conditions for which we know the environment,
rather than genes, makes the greatest causal contribution,' he said.
'It's certainly plausible that women experience higher levels of stress because of the
demands of their social role.
'Increasingly, women are expected to function as career, homemaker, and
breadwinner - all while being perfectly shaped and impeccably dressed.
'Given that domestic work is undervalued, and considering that women tend to be
paid less, find it harder to advance in a career, have to juggle multiple roles, and are
bombarded with images of apparent female 'perfection', it would be surprising if there
weren't some emotional and psychological cost.
'These are the kind of pressures that can leave women feeling as if they've somehow
failed; as if they don't have what it takes to be successful; as if they've been left
behind. And those kinds of feelings can lead to psychological problems like anxiety
and depression.'
Modern Man
29
Who am I?
Men
Much of the causes of male depression and stress arise from their self-nurtured
identities, especially related to their professional status. "If you ask a man who he is,
the first thing he says is his workI`m an executive, I`m a doctor, I`m a house
builder," says Glenn E. Good, an associate professor of educational and counseling
psychology at the University of Missouri, Columbia. "Suppressing feelings and
internalizing stress are acquired male traits", says Good, "On some inner level, it
comes down to: If I cant
tough it out, then I`m not much of man."
Work Stress
For men workplace stress can have extreme consequences. In Japan, work stress
related suicide rate among men has risen over the last 15 years. According to the
Government`s Statistics Bureau, the highest suicide rate occurs in men from 35 to 44
years old, making it the 13th most common cause of death for men. Newspapers
carried the triple suicide story in March 1998, when three Japanese men,all heads of
car part companies took their lives on the same night. The reason they gave is:
Poor Company Finances!
Uncertainty in workplace can cause high levels of stress. Lack of information or the
actions of other people can negatively affect your ability to perform. Causes of
uncertainty can be:
Not having a clear idea of what the future holds
Not knowing where your organization will be going
Not having any career development plans
Not knowing what will be wanted from you in the future
Not knowing what your boss or colleagues think of your abilities
Receiving vague or inconsistent instructions
Men have higher rates of alcohol, drug and anger problems, according to Professor
Freeman
'The Stressed Sex: Uncovering the Truth about Men, Women, and Mental Health',
published today discloses that women have higher rates of depression, panic
disorder, phobias, insomnia, border-line syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder
and eating disorders.
Men have higher rates of alcohol, drug and anger problems, according to Professor
Freeman and co-author Jason Freeman, a writer and editor.
Professor Freeman is a professor of clinical psychology, a Medical Research Council
(MRC) Senior Clinical Fellow, in the University of Oxford's Department of Psychiatry
and an honorary consultant clinical psychologist at Oxford Health NHS Foundation
Trust.
30
Who am I?
He said traditionally it has been said that overall rates of mental health problems in
men and women are the same 'but the evidence shows that this is simply not the
case'.
'Overall, in the current environment women are bearing the brunt of mental health
problems,' he said.
'But let's be clear, even for problems that are more common in women - such as
anxiety and depression - they also afflict very significant numbers of men.
'So it would be wrong to categorize mental health troubles as essentially a female
problem. Rates of mental health problems are too high in both genders.'
According to Mind, the mental health charity, around 300 people out of 1,000 will
experience a mental health problem in Britain every year.
Around 230 of these will visit a GP, 102 will be diagnosed with a mental health
problem, 24 will be referred to a specialist psychiatric service and six will become
inpatients in psychiatric hospitals.
While women are more likely to report psychological problems than men, Professor
Freeman said this does not explain the overall gender differences.
He acknowledged that the findings are bound to be controversial but said the issue
cannot be ignored because psychological disorders account for almost half of all illhealth in under 65s and affect up to nine million adults in the UK.
In fact, Professor Freeman argues that the taboo around gender differences in
mental health must be broken in order to tackle disorders more successfully in future.
'Given the extent of the burden on society and individuals alike, understanding what
causes mental health problems, and thus being better placed to prevent and treat it,
is vitally important,' he added.
'But our ability to do that is going to be hampered if we assume that gender isn't
significant. In fact, it may often be a crucial contributory factor.
'Men and women are very much from the same planet but they may be breathing air
of different qualities. If we ignore the potentially higher rates of psychological
problems in women, we deprive ourselves of the opportunity to change the situation
for the better.'
Worth reading:
http://www.wkrg.com/story/22567646/research-report-on-chinas-antidepressantmarket-2013-2017
In developed countries, the sales volume of medicines for depression and anxiety disorder amounts to
45% of market share of nervous centralis medicines. Depressant medicines and schizophrenia drugs
totally account for 80% of world's mental disorder medicines. There are totally 50 to 60 varieties of
antidepressants on the market or in development, which is more than therapeutic agents of
schizophrenia. According to reports, the current eight best-selling antidepressants globally are
Fluoxetine, Paroxetine, Sertraline, Fluvoxamine, Venlafaxine, Mirtazapine, Duloxetine and
Amitriptyline, and the total sales amount exceeds 80% of global antidepressant market.
31
The Insanity Defense
An important distinction:
"Not guilty by reason of insanity"
and "diminished capacity"
Although a defense known as "diminished capacity" bears some resemblance to the
"reason of insanity" defense (in that both examine the mental competence of the
defendant), there are important differences. The most fundamental of these is that,
while "reason of insanity" is a full defense to a crime -- that is, pleading "reason of
insanity" is the equivalent of pleading "not guilty" -- "diminished capacity" is merely
pleading to a lesser crime.
One of the most famous recent uses of the insanity defense came in United States v.
Hinckley, concerning the assassination attempt against then-President Ronald
Reagan.
32
The history of "not guilty by reason of insanity"

The insanity defense reflects a compromise on the part of society and the law. On the
one hand, society believes that criminals should be punished for their crimes; on the
other hand, society believes that people who are ill should receive treatment for their
illness. The insanity defense is the compromise: basically, it reflects society's belief
that the law should not punish defendants who are mentally incapable of controlling
their conduct.
In the 18th century, the legal standards for the insanity defense were varied. Some
courts looked to whether the defendant could distinguish between good and evil,
while others asked whether the defendant "did not know what he did." By the 19th
century, it was generally accepted that insanity was a question of fact, which was left
to the jury to decide.
The McNaughton rule -- not knowing right from wrong
The first famous legal test for insanity came in 1843, in the McNaughton case.
Englishman Daniel McNaughton shot and killed the secretary of the British Prime
Minister, believing that the Prime Minister was conspiring against him. The court
acquitted McNaughton "by reason of insanity," and he was placed in a mental
institution for the rest of his life. However, the case caused a public uproar, and
Queen Victoria ordered the court to develop a stricter test for insanity.
The "McNaughton rule" was a standard to be applied by the jury, after hearing
medical testimony from prosecution and defense experts. The rule created a
presumption of sanity, unless the defense proved "at the time of committing the act,
the accused was laboring under such a defect of reason, from disease of the mind,
as not to know the nature and
33
quality of the act he was doing or, if he did know it, that he did not know what he was
doing was wrong."
The McNaughton rule became the standard for insanity in the United States and the
United Kingdom, and is still the standard for insanity in almost half of the states.
The Durham rule -- "irresistible impulse"
Monte Durham was a 23-year-old who had been in and out of prison and mental
institutions since he was 17. He was convicted for housebreaking in 1953, and his
attorney appealed. Although the district court judge had ruled that Durham's
attorneys had failed to prove he didn't know the difference between right and wrong,
the federal appellate judge chose to use the case to reform the McNaughton rule.
Citing leading psychiatrists and jurists of the day, the appellate judge stated that the
McNaughton rule was based on "an entirely obsolete and misleading conception of
the nature of insanity." He overturned Durham's conviction and established a new
rule. The Durham rule states "that an accused is not criminally responsible if his
unlawful act was the product of mental disease or mental defect."
The Durham rule was eventually rejected by the federal courts, because it cast too
broad a net. Alcoholics, compulsive gamblers, and drug addicts had successfully
used the defense to defeat a wide variety of crimes.
The Model Penal Code: turning responsibility to the jury
In 1972, the American Law Institute, a panel of legal experts, developed a new rule
for insanity as part of the Model Penal Code. This rule says that a defendant is not
responsible for criminal conduct where (she) he, as a result of mental disease or
defect, did not possess "substantial capacity either to appreciate the criminality of his
conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law." This new rule was
based on the District of Columbia Circuit's decision in the federal appellate case,
United States v. Brawner, 471 F.2d 969 (1972).
Obviously, this standard is very vague. It leaves a number of factors up to the jury to
determine, given the facts of a case and the testimony of experts. About half the
states have adopted the Model Penal Code rule for insanity.
The Federal rule: Reagan gets into the act
In 1984, Congress passed, and President Ronald Reagan signed, the
Comprehensive Crime Control Act. The federal insanity defense now requires the
defendant to prove, by "clear and convincing evidence," that "at the time of the
commission of the acts constituting the offense, the defendant, as a result of a severe
mental disease or defect, was unable to appreciate the nature and quality or the
wrongfulness of his acts" (18 U.S.C. 17). This is generally viewed as a return to the
"knowing right from wrong" standard. The Act also contained the Insanity Defense
Reform Act of 1984, 18 U.S.C. 4241, which sets out sentencing and other
provisions for dealing with offenders who are or have been suffering from a mental
disease or defect.
34
The Psychopathic Personality
The psychopath is one of the most fascinating and distressing problems of human
experience. For the most part, a psychopath never remains attached to anyone or
anything. They live a "predatory" lifestyle. They feel little or no regret, and little or no
remorse - except when they are caught. They need relationships, but see people as
obstacles to overcome and be eliminated. If not, they see people in terms of how
they can be used. They use people for stimulation, to build their self-esteem and
they invariably value people in terms of their material value (money, property, etc..).
A psychopath can have high verbal intelligence, but they typically lack "emotional
intelligence". They can be expert in manipulating others by playing to their emotions.
There is a shallow quality to the emotional aspect of their stories (i.e., how they felt,
why they felt that way, or how others may have felt and why). The lack of emotional
intelligence is the first good sign you may be dealing with a psychopath. A history of
criminal behavior in which they do not seem to learn from their experience, but
merely think about ways to not get caught is the second best sign.
The following is a list of items based on the research of Robert Hare, Ph.D. which is
derived from the "The Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised, .1991, Toronto: MultiHealth Systems." These are the most highly researched and recognized
characteristics of psychopathic personality and behavior.
glibness/superficial charm
grandiose sense of self worth
35
need for stimulation/prone to

boredom
pathological lying
conning/manipulative
lack of remorse or guilt
shallow emotional response
callous/lack of empathy
parasitic lifestyle
poor behavioral controls
promiscuous sexual behavior
early behavioral problems
lack of realistic long term goals
impulsivity
irresponsibility
failure to accept responsibility for

their own actions
many short term relationships
juvenile delinquency
revocation of conditional release
criminal versatility
There is no actual diagnosis of Psychopathy in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual

of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), but it is a highly studied area. A psychopath is not the
same as an antisocial personality. Antisocial personalities may or may not be
psychopathic. The antisocial personality is primarily a problem involving a failure to
respect the right of individuals, the law and rules of society. Psychopathy involves
poor emotional intelligence, the lack of conscience, and an inability to feel attached
to people except in terms of their value as a source of stimulation or new
possessions. There are many expressions and forms of psychopathy.
For
instance, a sexual psychopath is one form of a psychopath.
There is a significant amount of evidence to suggest that:
36
there may be a genetic influence that creates a psychopathic personality
adult psychopaths do not benefit from traditional counseling therapy and may
in fact offend again and sooner because of it
the brain of a psychopath may function and process information differently

from those of non-psychopaths
less intelligent psychopaths end up in prisons (highly intelligent psychopaths

can run companies)
psychopathic behavior may have once had a strong genetic "survival of the
species" value
psychopathic personalities are much more common than most of us realize
THE PSYCHOPATH - The Mask of Sanity

Special Research Project of the Quantum Future School
Imagine - if you can - not having a conscience, none at all, no feelings of guilt or
remorse no matter what you do, no limiting sense of concern for the well-being of
strangers, friends, or even family members. Imagine no struggles with shame, not a
single one in your whole life, no matter what kind of selfish, lazy, harmful, or immoral
action you had taken.
And pretend that the concept of responsibility is unknown to you, except as a burden
others seem to accept without question, like gullible fools.
Now add to this strange fantasy the ability to conceal from other people that your
psychological makeup is radically different from theirs. Since everyone simply
assumes that conscience is universal among human beings, hiding the fact that you
are conscience-free is nearly effortless.
You are not held back from any of your desires by guilt or shame, and you are never
confronted by others for your cold-bloodedness. The ice water in your veins is so
bizarre, so completely outside of their personal experience, that they seldom even
guess at your condition.
In other words, you are completely free of internal restraints, and your unhampered
liberty to do just as you please, with no pangs of conscience, is conveniently invisible
to the world.
You can do anything at all, and still your strange advantage over the majority of
people, who are kept in line by their consciences will most likely remain
undiscovered.
How will you live your life?
What will you do with your huge and secret advantage, and with the corresponding
handicap of other people (conscience)?
The answer will depend largely on just what your desires happen to be, because
people are not all the same. Even the profoundly unscrupulous are not all the same.
Some people - whether they have a conscience or not - favor the ease of inertia,
while others are filled with dreams and wild ambitions. Some human beings are
brilliant and talented, some are dull-witted, and most, conscience or not, are
somewhere in between. There are violent people and nonviolent ones, individuals
who are motivated by blood lust and those who have no such appetites.
Provided you are not forcibly stopped, you can do anything at all.
If you are born at the right time, with some access to family fortune, and you have a
special talent for whipping up other people's hatred and sense of deprivation, you
37
can arrange to kill large numbers of unsuspecting people. With enough money, you
can accomplish this from far away, and you can sit back safely and watch in
satisfaction.
Crazy and frightening - and real, in about 4 percent of the population....
The prevalence rate for anorexic eating disorders is estimated a 3.43 percent,
deemed to be nearly epidemic, and yet this figure is a fraction lower than the rate for
antisocial personality. The high-profile disorders classed as schizophrenia occur in
only about 1 percent of [the population] - a mere quarter of the rate of antisocial
personality - and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that the rate of
colon cancer in the United States, considered "alarmingly high," is about 40 per
100,000 - one hundred times lower than the rate of antisocial personality.
The high incidence of sociopathy in human society has a profound effect on the rest
of us who must live on this planet, too, even those of us who have not been clinically
traumatized. The individuals who constitute this 4 percent drain our relationships, our
bank accounts, our accomplishments, our self-esteem, our very peace on earth.
Yet surprisingly, many people know nothing about this disorder, or if they do, they
think only in terms of violent psychopathy - murderers, serial killers, mass murderers
- people who have conspicuously broken the law many times over, and who, if
caught, will be imprisoned, maybe even put to death by our legal system.
We are not commonly aware of, nor do we usually identify, the larger number of
nonviolent sociopaths among us, people who often are not blatant lawbreakers, and
against whom our formal legal system provides little defense.
Most of us would not imagine any correspondence between conceiving an ethnic
genocide and, say, guiltlessly lying to one's boss about a coworker. But the
psychological correspondence is not only there; it is chilling. Simple and profound,
the link is the absence of the inner mechanism that beats up on us, emotionally
speaking, when we make a choice we view as immoral, unethical, neglectful, or
selfish.
Most of us feel mildly guilty if we eat the last piece of cake in the kitchen, let alone
what we would feel if we intentionally and methodically set about to hurt another
person.
Those who have no conscience at all are a group unto themselves, whether they be
homicidal tyrants or merely ruthless social snipers.
The presence or absence of conscience is a deep human division, arguably more
significant than intelligence, race, or even gender.
What differentiates a sociopath who lives off the labors of others from one who
occasionally robs convenience stores, or from one who is a contemporary robber
baron - or what makes the difference betwen an ordinary bully and a sociopathic
murderer - is nothing more than social status, drive, intellect, blood lust, or simple
opportunity.
38
What distinguishes all of these people from the rest of us is an utterly empty hole in
the psyche, where there should be the most evolved of all humanizing functions.
[Martha Stout, Ph.D., The Sociopath Next Door] (highly recommended)
For those of you who are seeking understanding of psychopathy, Hervey Cleckley's
book The Mask of Sanity, the absolutely essential study of the psychopath who is
not necessarily of the criminal type. This book is no longer available. We have it
scanned and our team of researchers spent two weeks going over the text carefully
to eliminate text conversion errors. You may download the entire book FREE as a
PDF from the link at left, top. (Read A Sample Chapter of The Mask of Sanity)
"Likeable," "Charming," "Intelligent," "Alert," "Impressive," "Confidence-inspiring,"
and "A great success with the ladies": These are the sorts of descriptions repeatedly
used by Cleckley in his famous case-studies of psychopaths. They are also, of
course, "irresponsible," "self-destructive," and the like. These descriptions highlight
the great frustrations and puzzles that surround the study of psychopathy.
Psychopaths seem to have in abundance the very traits most desired by normal
persons. The untroubled self-confidence of the psychopath seems almost like an
impossible dream and is generally what "normal" people seek to acquire when they
attend assertiveness training classes. In many instances, the magnetic attraction of
the psychopath for members of the opposite sex seems almost supernatural.
Cleckley's seminal hypothesis concerning the psychopath is that he suffers from a
very real mental illness indeed: a profound and incurable affective deficit. If he really
feels anything at all, they are emotions of only the shallowest kind. He does bizarre
and self-destructive things because consequences that would fill the ordinary man
with shame, self-loathing, and embarrassment simply do not affect the psychopath at
all. What to others would be a disaster is to him merely a fleeting inconvenience.
Cleckley also gives grounds for the view that psychopathy is quite common in the
community at large. He has collected some cases of psychopaths who generally
function normally in the community as businessmen, doctors, and even psychiatrists.
Some researchers see criminal psychopathy - often referred to as anti-social
personality disorder - as an extreme of a "normal" personality dimension (or
dimensions).
We would characterize criminal psychopaths as "unsuccessful psychopaths." The
implication, of course, is that many psychopaths may exist in society who cope better
than do those who come to the attention of the judicial and welfare systems.
Harrington goes so far as to say that the psychopath is the new man being produced
by the evolutionary pressures of modern life. Other researchers criticize this view,
pointing out the real disabilities that the clinical psychopath also suffers.
The study of "ambulatory" psychopaths - what we call "The Garden Variety
Psychopath" - has, however, hardly begun. Very little is known about subcriminal
psychopathy. However, some researchers have begun to seriously consider the idea
that it is important to study psychopathy not as an artificial clinical category but as a
general personality trait in the community at large. In other words, psychopathy is
being recognized as a more or less a different type of human.
39
One very interesting aspect of the psychopath is his "hidden life" that is sometimes
not too well hidden. It seems that the psychopath has a regular need to take a
"vacation into filth and degradation" the same way normal people may take a
vacation to a resort where they enjoy beautiful surroundings and culture. To get a full
feeling for this strange "need" of the psychopath - a need that seems to be evidence
that "acting human" is very stressful to the psychopath - read more of The Mask of
Sanity, chapters 25 and 26.
Also, read Cleckley's speculations on what was "really wrong" with these people.
He comes very close to suggesting that they are human in every respect - but that
they lack a soul. This lack of "soul quality" makes them very efficient "machines."
They can be brilliant, write scholarly works, imitate the words of emotion, but over
time, it becomes clear that their words do not match their actions. They are the type
of person who can claim that they are devastated by grief who then attend a party "to
forget." The problem is: they really DO forget.
Being very efficient machines, like a computer, they are able to execute very
complex routines designed to elicit from others support for what they want. In this
way, many psychopaths are able to reach very high positions in life. It is only over
time that their associates become aware of the fact that their climb up the ladder of
success is predicated on violating the rights of others."Even when they are indifferent
to the rights of their associates, they are often able to inspire feelings of trust and
confidence."
The psychopath recognizes no flaw in his psyche, no need for change.
Psychopaths In the New Age

At the present time, there is a veritable explosion of reports from our readers about
their experiences with individuals they have encountered in the "alternative research"
fields, as well as in general interactions of their lives. What is so shocking is the
number of such individuals that must exist, based on these reports. This is not just
an occasional event, it seems to be almost a pandemic!
Our research team and egroup have been engaged for some time in researching
and analyzing these interactions and the characteristics and the dynamics and the
personalities. Our research has led us to identify them with "Psychopaths." They can
also be Narcissists since Narcissism seems to be merely a "facet" of the psychopath
or a "milder" manifestation. You could say that the Narcissist is a "garden variety
psychopath" who, because of his or her "social programming," has less likelihood of
running afoul of the law. In this way, they are very efficient "survival machines," living
out their lives doing untold damage to their families, friends and business associates.
It is only when a person takes a long and careful look at the full-blown psychopath a sort of exaggerated Narcissist - that they are able to see the caricature of the traits
that then make it easier for them to identify the "garden variety" psychopath - and/or
the Narcissist.
Our world seems to have been invaded by individuals whose approach to life and
love is so drastically different from what has been the established norm for a very
long time that we are ill- prepared to deal with their tactics of what Robert Canup
40
calls "plausible lie." As he demonstrates, this philosophy of the "plausible lie" has
overtaken the legal and administrative domains of our world, turning them into
machines in which human beings with real emotions are destroyed.
The recent movie, "The Matrix," touched a deep chord in society because it
exemplified this mechanistic trap in which so many people find their lives enmeshed,
and from which they are unable to extricate themselves because they believe that
everyone around them who "looks human" is, in fact, just like them - emotionally,
spiritually, and otherwise.
Take, for example, the "legal argument" as explicated by Robert Canup in his work
on the "Socially Adept Psychopath." The legal argument seems to be at the
foundation of our society. This amounts to little more than con-artistry: the one who
is the slickest at using the structure for convincing a group of people of something, is
the one who is believed. Because this "legal argument" system has been slowly
installed as part of our culture, when it invades our personal lives, we normally do
not recognize it immediately.
Human beings have been accustomed to assume that other human beings are - at
the very least - trying to "do right" and "be good" and fair and honest. And so, very
often, we do not take the time to use due diligence in order to determine if a person
who has entered our life is, in fact, a "good person." And when a conflict ensues, we
automatically fall into the cultural assumption that in any conflict, one side is partly
right one way, and the other is partly right the other, and that we can form opinions
about which side is mostly right or wrong. Because of our exposure to the "legal
argument" norms, when any dispute arises, we automatically think that the truth will
lie somewhere between two extremes. In this case, application of a little
mathematical logic to the problem of the legal argument might be helpful.
Let us assume that in a dispute, one side is innocent, honest, and tells the truth. It is
obvious that lying does an innocent person no good; what lie can he tell? If he is
innocent, the only lie he can tell is to falsely confess "I did it." But lying is nothing but
good for the liar. He can declare that "I didn't do it," and accuse another of doing it,
all the while the innocent person he has accused is saying "I didn't do it," and is
actually telling the truth.
The truth - when twisted by good liars, can always make an innocent person look
bad - especially if the innocent person is honest and admits his mistakes.
The basic assumption that the truth lies between the testimony of the two sides
always shifts the advantage to the lying side and away from the side telling the truth.
Under most circumstances, this shift put together with the fact that the truth is going
to also be twisted in such a way as to bring detriment to the innocent person, results
in the advantage always resting in the hands of liars - psychopaths. Even the simple
act of giving testimony under oath is useless. If a person is a liar, swearing an oath
means nothing to that person. However, swearing an oath acts strongly on a serious,
truthful witness. Again, the advantage is placed on the side of the liar. [Robert
Canup]
This highlights one of the unique things about the psychopath: their seeming inability
to conceive of the abstract idea of "the future."
41
It has often been noted that psychopaths have a distinct advantage over human
beings with conscience and feelings because the psychopath does not have
conscience and feelings. What seems to be so is that conscience and feelings are
related to the abstract concepts of "future" and "others." It is "spatio-temporal." We
can feel fear, sympathy, empathy, sadness, and so on because we can IMAGINE in
an abstract way, the future based on our own experiences in the past, or even just
"concepts of experiences" in myriad variations. We can "predict" how others will
react because we are able to "see ourselves" in them even though they are "out
there" and the situation is somewhat different externally, though similar in dynamic.
In other words, we can not only identify with others spatially - so to say - but also
temporally - in time.
The psychopath does not seem to have this capacity.
They are unable to "imagine" in the sense of being able to really connect to images
in a direct "self connecting to another self" sort of way.
Oh, indeed, they can imitate feelings, but the only real feelings they seem to have the thing that drives them and causes them to act out different dramas for effect - is
a sort of "predatorial hunger" for what they want. That is to say, they "feel" need/want
as love, and not having their needs/wants met is described as "not being loved" by
them. What is more, this "need/want" perspective posits that only the "hunger" of the
psychopath is valid, and anything and everything "out there," outside of the
psychopath, is not real except insofar as it has the capability of being assimilated to
the psychopath as a sort of "food." "Can it be used or can it provide something?" is
the only issue about which the psychopath seems to be concerned. All else - all
activity - is subsumed to this drive.
In short, the psychopath - and the narcissist to a lesser extent - is a predator. If we
think about the interactions of predators with their prey in the animal kingdom, we
can come to some idea of what is behind the "mask of sanity" of the psychopath.
Just as an animal predator will adopt all kinds of stealthy functions in order to stalk
their prey, cut them out of the herd, get close to them and reduce their resistance, so
does the psychopath construct all kinds of elaborate camoflage composed of words
and appearances - lies and manipulations - in order to "assimilate" their prey.
This leads us to an important quesion: what does the psychopath REALLY get from
their victims? It's easy to see what they are after when they lie and manipulate for
money or material goods or power. But in many instances, such as love relationships
or faked friendships, it is not so easy to see what the psychopath is after. Without
wandering too far afield into spiritual speculations - a problem Cleckley also faced we can only say that it seems to be that the psychopath ENJOYS making others
suffer. Just as normal humans enjoy seeing other people happy, or doing things that
make other people smile, the psychopath enjoys the exact opposite.
Anyone who has ever observed a cat playing with a mouse before killing and eating
it has probably explained to themselves that the cat is just "entertained" by the antics
of the mouse and is unable to conceive of the terror and pain being experienced by
the mouse, and the cat, therefore, is innocent of any evil intent. The mouse dies, the
cat is fed, and that is nature. Psychopaths don't generally eat their victims.
Yes, in extreme cases the entire cat and mouse dynamic is carried out and
cannibalism has a long history wherein it was assumed that certain powers of the
42
victim could be assimilated by eating some particular part of them. But in ordinary
life, psychopaths and narcissists don't go all the way, so to say. This causes us to
look at the cat and mouse scenarios again with different eyes. Now we ask: is it too
simplistic to think that the innocent cat is merely entertained by the mouse running
about and frantically trying to escape? Is there something more to this dynamic than
meets the eye? Is there something more than being "entertained" by the antics of the
mouse trying to flee? After all, in terms of evolution, why would such behavior be
hard-wired into the cat? Is the mouse tastier because of the chemicals of fear that
flood his little body? Is a mouse frozen with terror more of a "gourmet" meal?
This suggests that we ought to revisit our ideas about psychopaths with a slightly
different perspective. One thing we do know is this: many people who experience
interactions with psychopaths and narcissists report feeling "drained" and confused
and often subsequently experience deteriorating health. Does this mean that part of
the dynamic, part of the explanation for why psychopaths will pursue "love
relationships" and "friendships" that ostensibly can result in no observable material
gain, is because there is an actual energy consumption?
We do not know the answer to this question. We observe, we theorize, we speculate
and hypothesize. But in the end, only the individual victim can determine what they
have lost in the dynamic - and it is often far more than material goods. In a certain
sense, it seems that psychopaths are soul eaters or "Psychophagic."
Conscience seems to depend on the ability to imagine consequences. But most
"consequences" relate to pain in some way, and psychopaths really don't understand
pain in the emotional sense. They understand frustration of not getting what they
want, and to them, that is pain. But the fact seems to be that they act based solely
on a sort of Game Theory evaluation of a situation: what will they get out of it, and
what will it cost? And these "costs" have nothing to do with being humiliated, causing
pain, sabotaging the future, or any of the other possibilities that normal people
consider when making a choice. In short, it is almost impossible for normal people to
even imagine the inner life of the psychopath.
This leads us to what psychopaths DO have that is truly outstanding: an ability to
give their undivided attention to something that interests them intensely. Some
clinicians have compared this to the concentration with which a predator stalks his
prey. This is useful if one is in an environment with few variables, but most real life
situations require us to pay attention to a number of things at once. Psychopaths
often pay so much attention to getting what they want that they fail to notice danger
signals.
For example, some psychopaths earned reputations for being fearless fighter pilots
during World War II, staying on their targets like terriers on an ankle. Yet, these pilots
often failed to keep track of such unexciting details as fuel supply, altitude, location,
and the position of other planes. Sometimes they became heroes, but more often,
they were killed or became known as opportunists, loners, or hotshots who couldn't
be relied on - except to take care of themselves. [Hare]
It should be emphasized that psychopaths are interesting as all get out - even
exciting! They exude a captivating energy that keeps their listeners on the edge of
their seats. Even if some part of the normal person is shocked or repelled by what
the psychopath says, they are like the mouse hypnotized by the torturing cat. Even if
they have the chance to run away, they don't. Many Psychopaths "make their living"
43
by using charm, deceit, and manipulation to gain the confidence of their victims.
Many of them can be found in white collar professions where they are aided in their
evil by the fact that most people expect certain classes of people to be trustworthy
because of their social or professional credentials. Lawyers, doctors, teachers,
politicians, psychiatrists and psychologists, generally do not have to earn our trust
because they have it by virtue of their positions. But the fact is: psychopaths are
found in such lofty spheres also!
At the same time, psychopaths are good imposters. They have absolutely no
hesitation about forging and brazenly using impressive credentials to adopt
professional roles that bring prestige and power. They pick professions in which the
requisite skills are easy to fake, the jargon is easy to learn, and the credentials are
unlikely to be thoroughly checked. Psychopaths find it extremely easy to pose as
financial consultants, ministers, psychological counselors and psychologists. And
that's a scary thought.
Psychopaths make their way by conning people into doing things for them; obtaining
money for them, prestige, power, or even standing up for them when others try to
expose them. But that is their claim to fame. That's what they do. And they do it very
well. What's more, the job is very easy because most people are gullible with an
unshakable belief in the inherent goodness of man.
Manipulation is the key to the psychopath's conquests. Initially, the psychopath will
feign false emotions to create empathy, and many of them study the tricks that can
be employed by the empathy technique. Psychopaths are often able to incite pity
from people because they seem like "lost souls" as Guggenbuhl-Craig writes. So the
pity factor is one reason why victims often fall for these "poor" people.
Psychologist Robert Hare cites a famous case where a psychopath was "Man of the
Year" and president of the Chamber of Commerce in his small town. (Remember
that John Wayne Gacy was running for Jaycee President at the very time of his first
murder conviction!) The man in question had claimed to have a Ph.D. from Berkeley.
He ran for a position on the school board which he then planned to parlay into a
position on the county commission which paid more.
At some point, a local reporter suddenly had the idea to check up on the guy - to see
if his credentials were real. What the reporter found out was that the only thing that
was true about this up and coming politician's "faked bio" was the place and date of
birth. Everything else was fictitious. Not only was the man a complete impostor, he
had a long history of antisocial behavior, fraud, impersonation, and imprisonment.
His only contact with a university was a series of extension courses by mail that he
took while in Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary. What is even more amazing is the
fact that before he was a con-man, he was a "con-boy." For two decades he had
dodged his way across America one step ahead of those he had hoodwinked. Along
the way he had married three women and had four children, and he didn't even know
what had happened to them. And now, he was on a roll! But darn that pesky
reporter!
When he was exposed, he was completely unconcerned. "These trusting people will
stand behind me. A good liar is a good judge of people," he said. Amazingly, he was
right. Far from being outraged at the fact that they had all been completely deceived
and lied to from top to bottom, the local community he had conned so completely to
accrue benefits and honors to himself that he had not earned, rushed to his support!
44
I kid you not! And it wasn't just "token support." The local Republican party chairman
wrote about him: "I assess his genuineness, integrity, and devotion to duty to rank
right alongside of President Abraham Lincoln." As Hare dryly notes, this dimwit was
easily swayed by words, and was blind to deeds.
What kind of psychological weaknesses drive people to prefer lies over truth?
This may have something to do with what is called Cognitive Dissonance. Leon
Festinger developed the theory of Cognitive Dissonance in the 50's when he
apparently stumbled onto a UFO cult in the Midwest. They were prophesying a
coming world cataclysm and "alien rapture." When no one was raptured and no
cataclysm he studied the believers response, and detailed it in his book "When
Prophecy Fails." Festinger observed:
A man with a conviction is a hard man to change. Tell him you disagree and he turns
away. Show him facts or figures and he questions your sources. Appeal to logic and
he fails to see your point.
We have all experienced the futility of trying to change a strong conviction, especially
if the convinced person has some investment in his belief. We are familiar with the
variety of ingenious defenses with which people protect their convictions, managing
to keep them unscathed through the most devastating attacks.
But man's resourcefulness goes beyond simply protecting a belief. Suppose an
individual believes something with his whole heart; suppose further that he has a
commitment to this belief, that he has taken irrevocable actions because of it; finally,
suppose that he is presented with evidence, unequivocal and undeniable evidence,
that his belief is wrong: what will happen? The individual will frequently emerge, not
only unshaken, but even more convinced of the truth of his beliefs than ever before.
Indeed, he may even show a new fervor about convincing and converting other
people to his view.
It seems that part of the problem has to do with ego and the need to be "right."
People with a high "need to be right" or "perfect" seem to be unable to acknowledge
that they have been conned. "There is no crime in the cynical American calendar
more humiliating than to be a sucker." People will go along with and support a
psychopath, in the face of evidence that they have and ARE being conned, because
their own ego structure depends on being right, and to admit an error of judgment
would destroy their carefully constructed image of themselves.
Even more amazing is the fact that when psychopaths do get exposed by someone
who is not afraid to admit that they have been conned, the psychopath is a master at
painting their victims as the "real culprits." Hare cites a case of the third wife of a
forty year old high school teacher:
For five years he cheated on me, kept me living in fear, and forged checks on my
personal bank account. But everyone, including my doctor and lawyer and my
friends, blamed me for the problem. He had them so convinced that he was a great
guy and that I was going mad, I began to believe it myself. Even when he cleaned
out my bank account and ran off with a seventeen-year-old student, a lot of people
couldn't believe it, and some wanted to know what I had done to make him act so
strangely!
45
Psychopaths just have what it takes to defraud and bilk others: they can be fast
talkers, they can be charming, they can be self-assured and at ease in social
situations; they are cool under pressure, unfazed by the possibility of being found
out, and totally ruthless. And even when they are exposed, they can carry on as if
nothing has happened, often making their accusers the targets of accusations of
being victimized by THEM.
I was once dumbfounded by the logic of an inmate who described his murder victim
as having benefited from the crime by learning "a hard lesson about life." [Hare]
The victims keep asking: "How could I have been so stupid? How could I have fallen
for that incredible line of baloney?" And, of course, if they don't ask it of themselves,
you can be sure that their friends and associates will ask "How on earth could you
have been taken in to that extent?"
The usual answer: "You had to be there" simply does not convey the whole thing.
Hare writes:
What makes psychopaths different from all others is the remarkable ease with which
they lie, the pervasiveness of their deception, and the callousness with which they
carry it out.
But there is something else about the speech of psychopaths that is equally
puzzling: their frequent use of contradictory and logically inconsistent statements that
usually escape detection. Recent research on the language of psychopaths provides
us with some important clues to this puzzle, as well as to the uncanny ability
psychopaths have to move words - and people- around so easily. []
Here are some examples:
When asked if he had ever committed a violent offense, a man serving time for theft
answered, "No, but I once had to kill someone."
A woman with a staggering record of fraud, deceit, lies, and broken promises
concluded a letter to the parole board with, "I've let a lot of people down One is
only as good as her reputation and name. My word is as good as gold."
A man serving a term for armed robbery replied to the testimony of an eyewitness,
"He's lying. I wasn't there. I should have blown his fucking head off."
From an interview with serial killer Elmer Wayne Henley:
Interviewer: "You make it out that you're the victim of a serial killer, but if you look at
the record you're a serial killer."
Henley: "I'm not."
I: "You're not a serial killer?"
H: "I'm not a serial killer."
I: You're saying you're not a serial killer now, but you've serially killed."
H: "Well, yeah, that's semantics."
And so on. The point that the researchers noted was that psychopaths seem to have
trouble monitoring their own speech. What is more, they often put things together in
strange ways, such as this series of remarks from serial killer Clifford Olson: "And
46
then I had annual sex with her." "Once a year?" "No. Annual. From behind." "Oh. But
she was dead!" "No, no. She was just unconscientious." About his many
experiences, Olson said, "I've got enough antidotes to fill five or six books - enough
for a trilogy." He was determined not to be an "escape goat" no matter what the
"migrating facts." [Hare, Without Conscience]
Those of us who have had experiences with psychopaths know that the language of
the psychopath is two-dimensional. They are, as someone once said, as "deep as a
thimble." An analogy is given of the psychopath as a color blind person who has
learned how to function in the world of color by special strategies. They may tell you
that they "stopped at a red light," but what it really means to them is that they knew
that the light at the top means "stop," and they stopped. They call it the "red" light
like everyone else, but they have no experience of what "red" really is.
A person who is color blind who has developed such coping mechanisms, is virtually
undetectable from people who see colors.
Psychopaths use words about emotions the same way people who are color blind
use words about colors they cannot perceive. Psychopaths not only learn to use the
words more or less appropriately, they learn to pantomime the feeling. But they
never HAVE the feeling.
This quality of the mind of the psychopath has been extensively tested with word
association tests while the subjects are hooked up to an EEG. Words that have
emotional content evoke larger brain responses than do neutral words which is
apparently a reflection of the large amount of information that can be packed into a
word. For most of us, the word cancer can instantly bring to mind not only the
description of the disease, but also fear, pain, concern, or whatever, depending upon
our experiences with cancer - whether we or someone we love has had it, or if it had
some impact on our lives, and so on. The same is true with many words in our
collective and individual vocabularies. And, unless we had a traumatic experience
with it, a word such as box or paper will be neutral.
Psychopaths respond to all emotional words as if they were neutral. It is as if they
are permanently condemned to operate with a Juvenile Dictionary. Hare writes:
Earlier I discussed the role of "inner speech" in the development and operation of
conscience. It is the emotionally charged thoughts, images, and internal dialogue
that give the "bite" to conscience, account for its powerful control over behavior, and
generate guilt and remorse for transgressions. This is something that psychopaths
cannot understand. For them, conscience is little more than an intellectual
awareness of rules others make up - empty words. The feelings needed to give clout
to these rules are missing.
What is more, just as the color blind individual may never know he is color blind
unless he is given a test to determine it, the psychopath is unable to even be aware
of his own emotional poverty. They assume that their own perceptions are the same
as everyone else's. They assume that their own lack of feeling is the same for
everyone else. And make no mistake about it: you can NOT hurt their feelings
because they don't have any! They will pretend to have feelings if it suits their
purposes or gets them what they want. They will verbalize remorse, but their actions
will contradict their words. They know that "remorse" is important, and "apologies"
47
are useful, and they will give them freely, though generally in words that amount to
blaming the victim for needing to be apologized to.
And this is why they are so good at using Game Theory. And unless we learn the
rules of how they think, they will continue to use it on us with devastating results.
Normal people HURT when treated cruelly and insensitively. Psychopaths only feign
being hurt because they perceive hurt as not getting what they wanted, and tried to
get by manipulation!
In the book Violent Attachments, women and men have noted the particular stare of
the psychopath - it is an intense, relentless gaze that seems to preclude his
destruction of his victim or target. Women, in particular, have reported this stare,
which is related to the "predatorial" (reptilian) gaze; it is as if the psychopath is
directing all of his intensity toward you through his eyes, a sensation that one woman
reported as a feeling of "being eaten." They tend to invade peoples' space either by
their sudden intrusions or intimidating look-overs (which some women confuse for
sexuality.)
Another extremely interesting study had to do with the way psychopaths move their
hands when they speak. Hand movement can tell researchers a lot about what are
called "thought units." The studies indicate that psychopaths' thoughts and ideas are
organized into small mental packages. This is handy for lying, but makes dealing
with an overall, coherent, integrated complex of deep thoughts virtually impossible.
Most people are able to combine ideas that have consistent thought themes, but
psychopaths have great difficulty doing this. Again, this suggests a genetic restriction
to what we have called the Juvenile Dictionary. Not only are they using extremely
restricted definitions, they cannot, by virtue of the way their brains work, do
otherwise. Virtually all of the research on psychopaths reveals an inner world that is
banal, sophomoric, and devoid of the color and detail that generally exists in the
inner world of normal people. This goes a long way to explain the inconsistencies
and contradictions in their speech.
The situation is analogous to a movie in which one scene is shot under cloudy
conditions and the next scene - which supposedly takes place a few minutes later is shot in brilliant sunshine. [] Some moviegoers - the victims of psychopaths might not notice the discrepancy, particularly if they are engrossed in the action.
Psychopaths are notorious for not answering the questions asked them. They will
answer something else, or in such a way that the direct question is never addressed.
They also phrase things so that some parts of their narratives are difficult to
understand. This is not careless speech, of which everyone is guilty at times, but an
ongoing indication of the underlying condition in which the organization of mental
activity suggests something is wrong. It's not what they say, but how they say it that
gives insight into their true nature.
But this raises, again, the question: if their speech is so odd, how come smart people
get taken in by them? Why do we fail to pick up the inconsistencies?
Part of the answer is that the oddities are subtle so that our general listening mode
will not normally pick them up. But my own experience is that some of the "skipped"
or oddly arranged words, or misused words are automatically reinterpreted by OUR
brains in the same way we automatically "fill in the blank" space on a neon sign
48
when one of the letters has gone out. We can be driving down the road at night, and
ahead we see M_tel, and we mentally put the "o" in place and read "Motel."
Something like this happens between the psychopath and the victim. We fill in the
"missing humanness" by filling in the blanks with our own assumptions, based on
what WE think and feel and mean. And, in this way, because there are these "blank"
spots, we fill them in with what is inside us, and thus we are easily convinced that the
psychopath is a great guy - because he is just like us! We have been conditioned to
operate on trust, and we always try to give the "benefit of the doubt." So, there are
blanks, we "give the benefit of the doubt," and we are thereby hoisted on our own
petard.
Psychopaths view any social exchange as a "feeding opportunity," a contest or a test
of wills in which there can be only one winner. Their motives are to manipulate and
take, ruthlessly and without remorse. [Hare]
One psychopath interviewed by Hare's team said quite frankly: "The first thing I do is
I size you up. I look for an angle, an edge, figure out what you need and give it to
you. Then it's pay-back time, with interest. I tighten the screws." Another psychopath
admitted that he never targeted attractive women - he was only interested in those
who were insecure and lonely. He claimed he could smell a needy person "the way a
pig smells truffles."
The callous use of the old, the lonely, the vulnerable, the disenfranchised, the
marginalized, is a trademark of the psychopath. And when any of them wake up to
what is happening, they are generally too embarrassed to complain.
One of the chief ways psychopaths prey on others is to make use of the normal
person's need to find meaning or purpose in life. They will pose as grief counselors,
or "experts" of various sorts that attract followings of people who are looking for
answers. They are masters of recognizing "hang-ups" and self-doubts that most
people have, and they will brazenly pander to them to gain a follower to use later.
Hare tells of a staff psychologist in a mental hospital whose life was destroyed by a
psychopathic patient. He cleaned out her bank account, maxed out her credit cards,
and then disappeared. How did he get to her? She said that her life had been
"empty" and she had just simply succumbed to his sweet words and verbal caresses.
As we already know, such words are cheap legal tender to the psychopath. They can
say "I'll pray for you," or "I love you" just to create an impression. It really, really
doesn't mean a thing. But some people are so lonely and so desperate that even
imitations are better than nothing.
Then, of course, there are people who are just simply so psychologically damaged
themselves that the psychopath is the obvious choice for a partner. They may have a
need to be treated badly, or a need to be excited by danger, or a need to "rescue" or
"fix" somebody whose soul is in obvious peril.
In a book about Richard Ramirez, the Satan-worshipping "night Stalker," the author
described a young coed who sat through the pretrial hearings and sent love letters
and photographs of herself to Ramirez. "I feel such compassion for him. When I look
at him, I see a real handsome guy who just messed up his life because he never had
anyone to guide him," she is reported to have said. [Hare]
Sadly, as we see, psychopaths have no lack of victims because so many people are
ready and willing to play the role. And in many, many cases, the victim simply
49
refuses to believe the evidence that they are being victimized. Psychological denial
screens out knowledge that is painful, and persons with large investments in their
fantasies are often unable to acknowledge that they are being deceived because it it
too painful. Most often, these are women who rigidly adhere to the traditional role of
the female with a strong sense of duty to be a "good wife." She will believe that if she
tries harder or simply waits it out, her husband will reform. When he ignores her,
abuses her, cheats on her, or uses her, she can simply just decide to "try harder, put
more energy into the relationship, and take better care of him." She believes that if
she does this, eventually he will notice and will see how valuable she is, and then he
will fall on his knees in gratitude and treat her like a queen. Dream on.
The fact is, such a woman, with her fierce commitment to such a man, her dedication
to being a proper wife, has allowed such fairy tales to distort her sense of reality. The
reality is that she is doomed to a lifetime of abuse and disappointment until "death do
us part."
One of the basic assumptions of psychotherapy is that the patient needs and wants
help for distressing or painful psychological and emotional problems. The
psychopath does not think that they have any psychological or emotional problems,
and they see no reason to change their behavior to conform to standards with which
they do not agree. They are well-satisfied with themselves and their inner landscape.
They see nothing wrong with they way they think or act, and they never look back
with regret or forward with concern. They perceive themselves as superior beings in
a hostile world in which others are competitors for power and resources. They feel it
is the optimum thing to do to manipulate and deceive others in order to obtain what
they want.
Most therapy programs only provide them with new excuses for their behavior as
well as new insights into the vulnerabilities of others. Through psychotherapy, they
learn new and better ways of manipulating. What they do NOT do is make any effort
to change their own views and attitudes.
One particular psychopath studied by Hare and his team of researchers was in a
group therapy program in a prison. The prison psychiatrist had written in his record:
"He has made good progress He appears more concerned about others and to
have lost much of his criminal thinking."
Two years later, Hare's staff member interviewed the man. At this point, it ought to
be made clear that, in order to make the research more accurate, the terms were
that nothing said by the subjects to Hare or his staff could or would be repeated to
the prison authorities, and they kept to their agreement in order to insure that the
subjects felt free to talk to them. Psychopaths, if they know that they won't be
penalized for what they express, are very happy to boast about their prowess in
deceiving others. The man, assessed above by his prison psychiatrist as having
made such remarkable improvement, was described by Hare's staffer as "the most
terrifying offender she had ever met and that he openly boasted about how he had
conned the prison staff into thinking that he was well on the road to rehabilitation. "I
can't believe those guys," he said. "Who gave them a license to practice? I wouldn't
let them psychoanalyze my dog! He'd shit all over them just like I did."
Psychopaths are not "fragile" individuals, as Robert Hare says after years of
research. What they think and do is produced from a "rock solid personality structure
that is extremely resistant to outside influences." Many of them are protected for
50
years from the consequences of their behavior by well-meaning family and friends.
As long as their behavior remains unchecked or unpunished, they continue to go
through life without too much inconvenience.
Some researchers think that psychopathy is the result of some attachment or
bonding difficulty as an infant. Dr. Hare has turned the idea around, after all his years
digging into the background of psychopaths. He says:
In some children the very failure to bond is a symptom of psychopathy. It is likely that
these children lack the capacity to bond readily, and that their lack of attachment is
largely the result, not the cause, of psychopathy. [Hare]
In other words: they are born that way and you can't fix them.
To many people, the idea of a child psychopath is almost unthinkable. But the fact is,
true psychopaths are born, not made. Oh, indeed, there is the psychopath that is
"made," but they are generally different from the born psychopath in a number of
ways.
The fact is, clinical research clearly demonstrates that psychopathy does not spring
unannounced into existence in adulthood. The symptoms reveal themselves in early
life. It seems to be true that parents of psychopaths KNOW something is dreadfully
wrong even before the child starts school. Such children are stubbornly immune to
socializing pressures. They are "different" from other children in inexplicable ways.
They are more "difficult," or "willful," or aggressive, or hard to "relate to." They are
difficult to get close to, cold and distant and self-sufficient.
One mother said: "We were never able to get close to her even as an infant. She
was always trying to have her own way, whether by being sweet, or by having a
tantrum. She can put on a sweet and contrite act"
The fact is: childhood psychopathy is a stark reality, and failing to recognize it can
lead to years of vain attempts to discover what is wrong with a child, and the parent
blaming themselves. Hare writes:
As the signs of social breakdown grow more insistent, we no longer have the luxury
of ignoring the presence of psychopathy in certain children. Half a century ago
Hervey Cleckley and Robert Lindner warned us that our failure to acknowledge the
psychopaths among us had already triggered a social crisis. Today our social
institutions - our schools, courts, mental health clinics - confront the crisis every day
in a thousand ways, and the blindfold against the reality of psychopathy is still in
place.[]
The last decade has seen the emergence of an inescapable and terrifying reality: a
dramatic surge of juvenile crime that threatens to overwhelm our social institutions.
[] Children under the age of ten who are capable of the sort of mindless violence
that once was reserved for hardened adult criminals. [] At this writing, a small town
in a western state is frantically searching for ways to deal with a nine-year-old who
allegedly rapes and molests other children at knife point. He is too young to be
charged and cannot be taken into care because "such action may only be taken
when the child is in danger, not his victims," according to a child protection official.
[Hare]
51
Why does it seem that we have a veritable epidemic of psychopaths? Sociobiologists

are suggesting that increasing psychopathy is an expression of a particular
genetically based reproductive strategy. Simply put, most people have a couple of
children and devote a lot of time and effort to their care. Psychopaths systematically
mate with and abandon large numbers of women. They waste little of their energy
raising children, and in this way, psychopathic genes are being propagated like
wildfire. The sociobiologists aren't saying that the sexual behavior of people is
consciously directed, only that "nature" has made them a certain way so that it will
happen effectively.
The behavior of female psychopaths reflects the same strategy. "I can always have
another," one female psychopath coldly replied when questioned about an incident in
which her two-year-old daughter was beaten to death by one of her many lovers.
When asked why she would want to have another child, (two had been taken into
protective custody), she said "I love children." Again we see that the expressed
emotion is in contradiction to the behavior.
Cheating skills seem to have an adaptive value in our society. The fact is:
psychopaths often end up on the top of the heap, John Forbes Nash, for example.
At the present time, there is something very scary going on in the metaphysical
community: talk about the so-called "Indigo Children." One of the chief promoters of
this idea, Wendy Chapman, writes:
Indigo Children are the current generation being born today and most of those who
are 8 years old or younger. They are different. They have very unique characteristics
that set them apart from previous generations of children. [...]
These are the children who are often rebellious to authority, nonconformist,
extremely emotionally and sometimes physically sensitive or fragile, highly talented
or academically gifted and often metaphysically gifted as well, usually intuitive, very
often labeled ADD, either very empathic and compassionate OR very cold and
callous, and are wise beyond their years. Does this sound like yourself or your child?
Indigos have come into this world with difficult challenges to overcome. Their
extreme levels of sensitivity are hard to understand and appreciate by parents who
don't share this trait. Their giftedness is unusual in such high numbers. Their
nonconformity to systems and to discipline will make it difficult to get through their
childhood years and perhaps even their adult years. It is also what will help them
accomplish big goals such as changing the educational system, for instance. Being
an Indigo won't be easy for any of them, but it foretells a mission. The Indigo
Children are the ones who have come to raise the vibration of our planet! These are
the primary ones who will bring us the enlightenment to ascend.
Sounds like a severe case of denial and wishful thinking, in my opinion. But, as we
already understand the psychological reality is merely a tool for the Theological
Reality, I suspect that the reader already has jumped ahead of me here and realizes
what a big snow-job this "indigo children" deal is. Ms. Chapman has kindly provided
a check-list to determine an "indigo child." After learning what we have about
psychopaths, let's have a look at her list:
-
52
Have strong self esteem, connection to source

Know they belong here until they are told otherwise
Have an obvious sense of self

Have difficulty with discipline and authority
Refuse to follow orders or directions
Find it torture to waiting in lines, lack patience
Get frustrated by ritual-oriented systems that require little creativity
Often see better ways of doing thing at home and at school
Are mostly nonconformists
Do not respond to guilt trips, want good reasons
Get bored rather easily with assigned tasks
Are rather creative
Are easily distractible, can do many things at once
Display strong intuition
Have strong empathy for others or NO empathy
Develop abstract thinking very young
Are gifted and/or talented, highly intelligent
Are often identified or suspected of having ADD or ADHD, but can focus
when they want to
Are talented daydreamers and visionaries
Have very old, deep, wise looking eyes
Have spiritual intelligence and/or psychic skills
Often express anger outwardly rather than inwardly and may have trouble
with rage
Need our support to discover themselves
Are here to change the world - to help us live in greater harmony and peace
with one another and to raise the vibration of the planet
What we see above is a list that includes certain definitely psychopathic behaviors
along with behaviors of gifted children. We have to wonder at the attempt to weave
the two together.
Where did this idea of "Indigo Children" come from? The phrase, "Indigo child" was
coined by Nancy Ann Tappe in her book Understanding Your Life Through Color
(1982) and refers to the color in these children's aura. Ms. Tappe was interviewed by
Jan Tober for her book The Indigo Children (1999) and said: "These young children every one of them I've seen thus far who kill their schoolmates or parents - have
been Indigos."
That didn't stop Tober from writing her book and declaring that these children are
"Spiritual Masters, beings full of wisdom, here to teach us a new way of being." The
way the followers of the idea justify the fact that "not all Indigo children are filled with
unconditional love, tolerance and non-judgment," is by declaring that they require
"special" treatment and handling with kid gloves because they are so special and
delicate and sensitive.
In a pig's eye. They are psychopaths and they have an altogether different agenda.
And somehow, they are aware and seek to ensure that their offspring are well cared
for, and that a lot of psychopaths grow up without being identified as what they are.
Nevertheless, there is no explaining the extremes that "true believers" will go to in
order to find excuses for inexcusable things. Elizabeth Kirby, a businesswoman in
southern California, who has "studied and practiced metaphysics for the last 21
years," writes:
53
In hearing about the school shootings, I knew Indigo children were pulling the
triggers. The Columbine High School shooting was so horrific it caught everyone's
attention. At the time my eldest daughter said to me, "Because they (Eric Harris and
Dylan Klebold) were Indigos they wanted to do it, so they just did it. No remorse, no
guilt, they just went ahead and shot all those people because they wanted to and felt
they needed to." Indigo children don't have guilt to keep them in check and because
they balk at authority they don't believe they have to follow the rules.
Writers in mainstream America like Jonathan Kellerman are lumping the Indigo
school shooters with the psychopaths; the dark entities who are bullies, con-men,
stalkers, victimizers, serial killers and those who kill for thrills. I don't believe these
Indigo children who have taken weapons to school to harm other children are
psychopaths. They have been bullied and teased and have an avenger attitude
seeking justice for injuries inflicted on them. They aren't killing just for the thrill of
killing. These kids know changes have to be made within the school system and they
chose violence to make their statement, to give us a wake up call. Some of these
metaphysical Indigo children are not hesitant about using violence to bring about
change, and to bring us to enlightenment.
Indigo violence is here and it will continue, at least with this present generation of
Indigo children. We are seeing with the current Indigo violence how the school
system needs to be changed and how imperative it is to address the issues of
bullying and intimidation in school. As the Indigo children grow to adulthood, their
agendas will move out of the school system into our other systems, our social,
political and judicial systems for example. Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City
bomber, is an Indigo.
Amazing, huh? Did you catch the remark: "Some of these metaphysical Indigo
children are not hesitant about using violence to bring about change, and to bring us
to enlightenment."
Don't we find that just a tiny bit contradictory? Aren't we stretching a bit? How about
diving straight into denial?
At the present moment in history, the appeal of the psychopath has never been
greater. Movies about psychopaths are all the rage. Hare asks "Why? What
accounts for the terrific power that the personality without conscience has over our
collective imagination? One theorist proposes that people who admire, believe, or
identify with psychopaths, are partly psychopathic themselves. By interacting with a
psychopath, even peripherally, they are able to voyeuristically enjoy an inner state
not dominated by the constraints of morality. Such people are enabled to enjoy
aggressive and sexual pleasures at no cost.
For normal people, such movies may serve to remind them of the danger and
destructiveness of the psychopath. They will shiver with the sense of something cold
and dark having breathed on their neck. For others, people with poorly developed
inner selves, such movies and glorification of psychopathic behavior only serves as a
role model for serious acts of violence and predation against others.
Some psychologists propose rationalizations for psychopathic behavior, suggesting
trauma, abuse, etc. The problem is, that argument does not hold up in case after
case after case.
54
It seems that t he only difference that family background seems to make is how the
psychopath expresses himself. A psychopath who grows up in a stable family and
has access to positive social and educational resources might become a white-collar
criminal, or perhaps a somewhat shady entrepreneur, politician, lawyer, judge, or
other professional. Another individual with the same traits, and a deprived
background might become a common con-artist, a drifter, mercenary, or violent
criminal.
The point is, social factors and parenting practices only shape the expression of the
disorder, but have no effect on the individual's inability to feel empathy or to develop
a conscience.
Robert Hare once submitted a paper to a scientific journal. The paper included EEGs
of several groups of adult men performing a language task. The editor of the journal
returned the paper saying "Those EEG's couldn't have come from real people."
But they did. They were the EEG's of psychopaths.
Some people have compared psychopathy to schizophrenia. However, there is a
crucial distinction as we will see:
Schizophrenia and psychopathy are both characterized by impulsive, poorly planned
behavior. This behavior may originate from a weak or poorly coordinated response
inhibition system. We tested the hypothesis that schizophrenia and psychopathy are
associated with abnormal neural processing during the suppression of inappropriate
responses.
The participants were schizophrenic patients, nonpsychotic psychopaths, and
nonpsychotic, nonpsychopathic control subjects (defined by the Hare Psychopathy
Checklist-Revised), all incarcerated in a maximum security psychiatric facility. We
recorded behavioral responses and event-related potentials (ERPs) during a Go/No
Go task.
Results: Schizophrenic patients made more errors of commission than did the
nonpsychopathic offenders. As expected, the nonpsychopathic nonpsychotic
participants showed greater frontal ERP negativity (N275) to the No Go stimuli than
to the Go stimuli. This effect was small in the schizophrenic patients and absent in
the psychopaths. For the nonpsychopaths, the P375 ERP component was larger on
Go than on No Go trials, a difference that was absent in schizophrenic patients and
in the opposite direction in psychopaths.
Conclusions: These findings support the hypothesis that the neural processes
involved in response inhibition are abnormal in both schizophrenia and psychopathy;
however, the nature of these processes appears to be different in the two disorders.
"More and more data are leading to the conclusion that psychopathy has a biological
basis, and has many features of a disease," says Sabine Herpertz, a psychiatrist at
the RWTH-Aachen University in Germany.
The brain imaging techniques of positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI) provide the opportunity to investigate psychopathy further.
They might allow researchers to discover whether psychopaths' physiological and
55
emotional deficits can be pinned down to specific differences in the anatomy or

activation of the brain.
Among researchers who are starting to explore this area, there are two main theories
of psychopathy. One, championed by Adrian Raine of the University of Southern
California in Los Angeles and supported by the work of Antonio Damasio of the
University of Iowa, gives a starring role to a brain region called the orbitofrontal
cortex (see diagram, below). This is part of an area of the brain, known as the
prefrontal cortex, involved in conscious decision-making.
The other theory, promoted by James Blair of University College London, holds that
the fundamental dysfunction lies within the amygdala, a small almond-shaped
structure that plays a critical role in processing emotion and mediating fear.
Recently, using PET scanning, Blair has shown that activation of the amygdala in
normal volunteers is involved in responding to the sadness and anger of others, and
he hypothesizes that amygdala dysfunction could explain the lack of fear and
empathy in psychopaths.
The two theories may not be mutually exclusive, Blair points out, as the orbitofrontal
cortex, which does the 'thinking', and the amygdala, which does the 'feeling', are
highly interconnected.
Following widespread concern that the criminal justice and mental health systems
are failing to deal effectively with dangerous psychopaths, there is a movement in
several countries to instigate fundamental legal reform. The most controversial
suggestion is to make it possible for individual who have severe personality
disorders to be detained in secure mental institutions even if they have been
accused of no crime. Although these particular provisions have alarmed civil liberties
campaigners, the raft of measures also includes a major initiative within the prison
service to improve the handling of those with APD--including psychopaths.
According to one individual who suffered at the hands of a psychopath:
"The World has only one problem, Psychopaths. There are two basic types of
Psychopaths, Social and Anti-Social. The essential feature of Psychopaths is a
Pervasive, Obssesive- Compulsive desire to force their delusions on others.
Psychopaths completely disregard and violate the Rights of others, particularly the
Freedom of Association which includes the right not to associate and the Right to
Love."
Over and over again we come up against that little problem: religion and belief
systems that have to be defended against objective evidence or the beliefs of others.
We have to ask ourselves "where did these belief systems come from that so
evidentially are catastrophic?" And then, we have to think about the fact that now, in
the present day, when many of these systems are breaking down and being
replaced by others that similarly divert our attention away from what IS, it becomes
necessary to "enforce" a certain mode of thinking. And that is what Psychopaths do
best.
Psychopaths dominate and set the standard for behavior in our society. We live in a
world based on a psychopathic, energy stealing food chain, because that's just the
way things are. Most people are so damaged they no longer have the capacity to
even imagine a different system based on a symbiotic network.
56
They are not only damaged by others, but also by the thousand little evils they have
done to others to survive. For them to see the system for what it is, would require
them to see the part they have played in perpetuating it. That is a lot to ask of a
fragile ego. Also, those who are not psychopaths, still want to make human
connections but are afraid to, for fear of being taken advantage of and stolen from
energeticaly speaking.
With the brief historical review we have examined, we are acutely aware that this is
NOT a phenomenon confined to our present "time." It is a trans-millennial
evolutionary strategy that, step by step, has brought us to our present position. What
emerges in the present day is just Machiavellian diversion that focuses the attention
of those who are easily deceived. This is reinforced by the "clappers" in the
audience, and there seems to be an entire army of psychopaths among us whose
job it is act as vectors of attention and direction. We hope that the readers of these
pages will give themselves permission to imagine, research and implement a
different way of being. And to stand up for themselves while doing it. As Wilhelm
Reich wrote:
Why did man, through thousands of years, wherever he built scientific, philosophic,
or religious systems, go astray with such persistence and with such catastrophic
consequences?" []
The answer lies somewhere in that area of our existence which has been so heavily
obscured by organized religion and put out of our reach. Hence, it probably lies in
the relation of the human being to the cosmic energy that governs him.
The same question is posed by Castaneda's Don Juan:
I want to appeal to your analytical mind, ' don Juan said. 'Think for a moment, and
tell me how you would explain the contradiction between the intelligence of man the
engineer and the stupidity of his systems of beliefs, or the stupidity of his
contradictory behavior. Sorcerers believe that the predators have given us our
systems of beliefs, our ideas of good and evil, our social mores. They are the ones
who set up our hopes and expectations and dreams of success or failure. They have
given us covetousness, greed and cowardice. It is the predators who make us
complacent, routinary, and egomaniacal.
In order to keep us obedient and meek and weak, the predators engaged
themselves in a stupendous maneuver - stupendous, of course, from the point of
view of a fighting strategist. A horrendous maneuver from the point of view of those
who suffer it. They gave us their mind! Do you hear me? The predators give us their
mind, which becomes our mind. [] Through the mind, which, after all, is their mind,
the predators inject into the lives of human beings whatever is convenient for
them.[Castaneda, The Active Side of Infinity]
The problem is also delineated by Georges Gurdjieff:
"So that in the actual situation of humanity there is nothing that points to evolution
proceeding. On the contrary when we compare humanity with a man, we quite
clearly see a growth of personality at the cost of essence, that is, a growth of the
artificial, the unreal, and what is foreign, at the cost of the natural, the real, and what
is one's own.
57
"Together with this, we see a growth of automatism.

"Contemporary cultures requires automatons. [] One thing alone is certain, that
man's slavery grows and increases. Man is becoming a willing slave. He no longer
needs chains. He begins to grow fond of his slavery, to be proud of it. And this is the
most terrible thing that can happen to a man. [Gurdjieff, op. cit]
Intolerance and cruelty are NEEDED to guarantee the "cover-up." A certain kind of
"human being" acts on behalf of this cover-up. And in this sense, psychopaths, as
Alien Reaction Machines are the playing pieces in the Secret Games of the Gods.
What Is A Psychopath?
The QFG is committed to bringing to your attention any and all information that will
help you to live a life free of the soul-killling manipulations of others.
Our Sincere Thanks to the Owner of the website on Psychopathic Personality
Disorder for kind permission to quote her research in assembling this report. Until
we began to investigate, we had NO idea how widespread the problem was, and
how many victims there are. Visit her site, check her links to support groups. For a
more comprehensive look at the problem, based on our OWN research, please read
our new article:
"Official Culture" in America:
A Natural State of Psychopathy?
The owners and publishers of these pages wish to state that the material presented
here is the product of our research and experimentation in Superluminal
Communication. We invite the reader to share in our seeking of Truth by reading with
an Open, but skeptical mind. We do not encourage "devotee-ism" nor "True Belief."
We DO encourage the seeking of Knowledge and Awareness in all fields of
endeavor as the best way to be able to discern lies from truth. The one thing we can
tell the reader is this: we work very hard, many hours a day, and have done so for
many years, to discover the "bottom line" of our existence on Earth. It is our
vocation, our quest, our job. We constantly seek to validate and/or refine what we
understand to be either possible or probable or both. We do this in the sincere hope
that all of mankind will benefit, if not now, then at some point in one of our probable
futures.
Serial Killers
David Russell Williams
Pride of the Canadian Forces Williams became the Kinky Killer Colonel when his
fetish escalated from panty raids to sexual assault and murder. Through it all he kept
meticulous written and photographic records.
More from Sexual Predators
Robert Pickton:
58
The Vancouver-area pig farmer was found guilty of second-degree murder in an

estimated, highly controversial, $100 million investigation and longest trial in
Canadian history. Pickton preyed upon sex trade workers and is believed to have
been responsible for the deaths of some 60 women.
Charles Manson:
Investigators follow new leads in the Manson case. Read the whole story of the
charismatic cult leader who was willing to resort to murder to see his prophecy of
doom fulfilled.
Anthony Sowell: Cleveland's Alleged Serial Killer:
At least 11 bodies have been removed from accused serial killer Sowell's house, but
questions still remain: Are there more victims, and how could police have waited so
long to act?
MOST NOTORIOUS
Ted Bundy:
The most frightening of serial killers: a handsome, educated psychopathic law
student who stalked and murdered dozens of young college women who looked very
much like a young woman who broke off her relationship with him.
Bundy was a very adept and glib con artist who faked a broken arm in a sling to
convince young women to help him carry his textbooks to his car. Once there, he
battered them with a baseball bat and carried them off for ghoulish rituals.
The Zodiac Killer:
The notorious and very bizarre serial killer who called himself The Zodiac remains
one of the world's great unsolved cases. In Oct., 1966, a girl was viciously murdered
in Riverside, California when she permitted a man to help start the car that he had
intentionally disabled when she was in her school library.
This homicide began a ghoulish series of murders that panicked the people of the
San Francisco area. For years the Zodiac taunted the police with weird ciphers,
phone calls, insulting and cryptic messages.
Even though police investigated over 2,500 potential suspects, the case was never
solved. There were a few suspects that stood out, but the forensic technology of the
times was not advanced enough to nail any one of them conclusively.
More from Most Notorious
Green River Murders:

Scores of women murdered in the Seattle area results in the longest running
homicide investigation in U.S. history. Finally DNA evidence points the finger at Gary
59
Leon Ridgway as the killer. His unsuspecting wife tells of their remarkable
relationship.
John Wayne Gacy:
One of the most notorious serial killers, "respectable" Chicago-area businessman
hires young men to work in his contracting company, then rapes and murders scores
of them, burying their bodies on his properties. In prison, he became the focus of
researching the psychopathic mind.
More from Sexual Predators
TRULY WIERD & SHOCKING
The Rostov Ripper:
After they linked three murders, Major Fetisov organized a task force of 10 men to
start an aggressive full-time investigation. He intended to get to the heart of this and
stop this maniac from preying on any more female citizens. Among those he
recruited was Viktor Burakov, 37. He was the best man they had for the analysis of
physical evidence like fingerprints, footprints, and other manifestations at a crime
scene, and he was an expert in both police science and the martial arts. Known for
his diligence, he was invited aboard the Division of Especially Serious crimes in
January 1983. Little did anyone realize then just how diligent he would prove to be
and
would
have
to
be.
Burakov then embarked on a cat-and-mouse game with Russia's worst serial killer.
Once he suspected Andrei Chikatilo, a former teacher, he placed him in a cell with a
gifted informant, hoping that Chikatilo would slip up. By law, he could only hold him
for 10 days. On the 9th day, he tried something daring: he brought in a brilliant
psychiatrist.
Eddie Gein:
Considered to be a mild-mannered bachelor whose emotional development had
been stunted by his domineering mother, he shocked the world when police found
his vest of human skin and a cache of body parts. Gein is the model for The Silence
of the Lambs' Buffalo Bill and Psycho's Norman Bates.
More from Truly Weird & Shocking
The 'Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run':

Kingsbury Run cuts across the east side of Cleveland like a jagged wound, ripped
into the rugged terrain as if God himself had tried to disembowel the city. At some
points it is nearly sixty feet deep, a barren wasteland covered with patches of wild
grass, yellowed newspapers, weeds, empty tin cans and the occasional battered hull
of an old car left to rust beneath the sun. Perched upon the brink of the ravine,
narrow frame houses huddle close together and keep a silent watch on the area.
Into this bleak industrial graveyard, walked the well-dressed, handsome and highly
60
educated Eliot Ness, fresh from victories over Al Capone, playing a cat-and-mouse
game with a most brilliant and diabolical serial killer.
The Frankford Slasher:
The Frankford area of Philadelphia was once a town older than the City of Brotherly
Love itself. At one time, it was a prosperous area, but by 1980 it had become a
crime-ridden slum populated by prostitutes, junkies, and small businesses struggling
to survive. This was the area that Sylvester Stallone selected as the setting for his
film
Rocky.
It was here in 1985 where the first victim was found in a railroad yard.
Helen Patent was nude from the waist down and she had been posed in a sexually
provocative position, with her legs open and her blouse pulled up to expose her
breasts. She was 52 when she died, and while it was clear to the police that she had
been stabbed many times, it took an autopsy to determine the official cause and
manner of death. She had been sexually assaulted and had died from 47 stab
wounds to her head and chest. She had also been stabbed in the right arm, and one
vicious and deep slash across her abdomen had exposed the internal organs.
Between seven and eight women from 28-68 became the victims of this violent rapist
and serial killer in an old section of Philadelphia. Leonard Christopher, a quiet black
man who worked in the area, was arrested and convicted for the murder of one
victim in the series. But the quality of the evidence used to convict Christopher is
controversial, especially since another likely killing in the series occurred while he
was in jail.
The Birnies:
David's insatiable sexual appetite caused him to enlist wife Catherine into abducting,
raping, and eventually, brutally murdering four women in the their Perth, Australia,
love nest and torture chamber at 3 Moorhouse Street. David's cruelty finally got to
Catherine who couldn't stand to participate in another murder. The victim escaped
and resulted in the capture of the two serial killers.
Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka:
It was a daring thing to do, but writer and director Joel Bender made a true-crime
drama based on the infamous story of Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka. Karla was
quite controversial when released in Canada in 2006, and some groups even tried
to block it. They were unsuccessful. Now it's available on DVD.
The film adopts Karla's point of view throughout, and if you believe the performance
you'll regard Karla as the prototypical battered wife and compliant accomplice. This
can get annoying for anyone familiar with the facts, but in the end it's made clear that
her story is pretty much a self-serving "reorganization" of what happened: she never
apologized to victims' families, never expressed public remorse, and seemed as
narcissistic upon her release as she'd ever been.
More from Partners in Crime
61
Albert Fish:
This gentle-looking, benevolent grandfather cleverly lured children to their death,
then devised recipes to eat them. This cannibal model for Hannibal Lecter is a study
in criminal psychology and a true enigma. His wife thought him to be a wonderful
husband and his children believed him to be a model father. What inner torments
caused him to drive many spikes into his pelvis and tell people that he looked
forward to his execution?
John Borowski's film about the demented child killer is an engaging piece of visual
art that has raised the bar on this type of subject.
Jack the Ripper:
Jack the Ripper was the most famous serial killer of all time. Brutally murdering
prostitutes in London's notorious Whitechapel district, he caused a panic in 1888.
Why does this long-ago killer who murdered a few prostitutes merit the attention he
gets? Because Jack the Ripper represents the classic whodunit. Not only is the case
an enduring unsolved mystery that professional and amateur sleuths have tried to
solve for over a hundred years, but the story has a terrifying, almost supernatural
quality to it. He comes from out of the fog, kills violently and quickly and disappears
without a trace. Then for no apparent reason, he satisfies his blood lust with everincreasing ferocity, culminating in the near destruction of his final victim, and then
vanishes from the scene forever. The perfect ingredients for the perennial thriller.
A criminal profile by former FBI profiler Gregg McCrary and a penetrating analysis of
the many suspects shed light on this legendary killer.
Recommended Film
Dexter a highly popular American Television drama series
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dexter_TV_series%29
62
MOBBING
MOBBING
A Psychological Stress Factor
(Research Article)
AND ITS THREE PHASES
I LIKE YOU!
(stage 1)
I HATE YOU!
(stage 2)
SUICIDE
(stage 3)
Mobbing it appears is as old as man himself. More and more studies have revealed that this
phenomenon is not just a western characteristic but could in fact originate from Asia. Recent
research for example has come up with some startling facts about the Japanese business
culture. They are well-known to be a society of collective thinkers and usually frown upon
anything smelling of individualism! The Japanese are not too sympathetic towards women
with children, or how their co-workers feel about their work, the heavy overtime hours
without extra pay and the long nights away from family and friends.
Of course, many of us are aware about the Kamikaze pilots of the past, where young boys
(not even men) were sent to their early deaths in order to die as heroes of the nation. Do we
have to reach stage 3 to die as heroes, all because mobbing is a noble thing in todays
business world?
The answer is a strict no! We are not fighting a military campaign against an enemy, instead
we fighting a worse kind of war a war of survival with our own kind. The enemy is our
boss, our colleagues, our friends, in fact the very people we spend most of our waking hours
with, the very people who share our thoughts, our moods, our desk and at the most, our life.
We have all been a victim of discrimination some time in our lives, either at school, amongst
our peers, family and so forth. We know the pain of being rejected, bullied, being an outsider
and not being part of the group. Nobody likes to be unloved or not accepted as a member of a
social group. It hurts. It makes us bitter. It makes us ill. There is not one culture in this world
who has not felt the act of mobbing. But why does it occur we ask ourselves?
People are social creatures who love to join groups, whether it is a sports club, a gang, a social
clique, business group and so forth. People need people in order to survive. However, there
is a twist to this group membership ideology. We normally have to pay a price at the end of
the day. Nothing comes for nothing. If you join a group you must also follow the norms of
the group whether you like it or not, otherwise you will not be accepted and will have to join
another group that suits your personality. People are forever searching for a comfortable
solution by joining the right social group or the right deviant group!
63
MOBBING
Society makes no compromises when it comes to group ideals. There are many examples
from history such as dictator regimes where political force was used to ensure the masses
followed the orders of the day. Then there were the revolutionary groups who broke away
from communism to form their own liberal democratic laws. We only have to dig deeper
into our roots and discover numerous examples of conflicts between the different groups,
namely the gap between the working proletariat and the upper bourgeoisie class structure.
Pause for a moment. Do you see a common thread in the order of the day? Do you recognise
something from the past repeating itself in your own working life, but on a more intense
scale? Perhaps you are somewhere between the 3 phases, or are at the end phase right now.
But whatever phase you happen to be in will depend on many factors, such as how strong
your own resources are, and how you experience the mobbing ordeal. Just remember you are
not alone, there are countless others going through these phases, large corporation presidents,
politicians, lawyers, nurses, teachers, school kids, in fact many persons from all areas of life
and professions are going through similar experiences at different levels.
Let us get back to the example of the Japanese working method. We know that the Japanese
value work above family and sex. We know too, that the group thinker is unable to perform
on his own or take personal credit for his or her achievements. Instead, the collective thinker
is taught from early on to share with others, and to comply with others even if it involves
great sacrifices, such as sacrificing family or personal satisfaction. To step out of line brings
shame upon your team or company. There is no room for creative thinkers or realising your
potential. Your contribution, no matter how big or small is for the group, and not for yourself.
What counts is integrity, dedication to your job, as well as our trust and loyalty to the
company. This marriage is necessary for harmony and taking responsibility for your actions
in group text. In contrast to western working methods, we tend to think of our own selfworth, and achievements as honourable achievements. Its great to impress others about our
fantastic feats, creative styles, and just about anything that can boost our egos to the limit.
We are not ashamed to view our opinions openly or crudely push weaker one aside in order to
achieve our aims. In fact, westerners are openly callous towards one another while the
Japanese are more subtle, and if not more experience in psychological manipulation before
suicide sets in.
Westerners have a tendency to be show artists, proving continuously their
strength and power to the rest of the world, as if to say Ill knock you down if you get too
close. Japanese on the other hand are more discreet and would answer : Come closer so
that I can see your fear. Do you see the two opposites operating in your office? If you are a
westerner working in a Japanese company, you must learn the tactics from both sides from
day one if you want to remain with
your job.
THE MOTIVES BEHIND MOBBING
There are many reasons behind mobbing, but the main ones are: jealousy, non-recognition of
ones qualifications and potential, being ignored by colleagues and management, others being
more successful or even more attractive, and younger. The fact is that when mobbers selfesteem is threatened, they have a tendency to discriminate or down rate others, even those of
another racial group in order to bolster their own self-image and to affirm their self-worth.
They need to restore the imbalance in their lives by antagonising the rest in order to feel more
64
MOBBING
superior. It plays an important role for many mobbers in protecting or uplifting their own selfconcept. People make comparisons with one another all the time. For instance, if you live in a
shack, have saved all your working life for a decent house, and because of certain drawbacks,
these goals have become unobtainable. One day, a new, smart, younger colleague joins your
team with a higher salary, better chances with management, she even drives a shining new
sports car, whilst you come to work with the train. How do you feel? Obviously rotten. Later
you discover that this same person gets a top promotion after several weeks in the job, and
you, with your top qualification, experience and 10 years with the company, have never
received one promotion, or even a salary rise in the last 5 years. Your reaction is to mob this
person until she drops dead! Others, in your team share your same views, making it easier to
put pressure on this enemy. Now, let us continue the story further and find out why the new
member has become a victim of mobbing, or social discrimination.
Because she is younger, more attractive, has a good relationship with the boss, and her
potential is recognised by top management, the rest of her team come together to plot against
her. They want her out. She is a threat to their lives. Furthermore, they see the newcomer as
a hated object, and plot amongst themselves to destroy her. Unfortunately, such scenarios
are played out on a daily basis worldwide. Fact files reveal a great many such stories coming
from all ranks and cultures, whether from women or men. The mobbers are usually persons
who are unhappy with their own situation, feel pressurised from upper management to get
someone out of the company on their own, or they are persons who enjoy playing the dictator
role. There is always a form of manipulation involved where the strong prey on the weak.
Take for example, a director or manager who has character weaknesses. In order to save
his/her honour or position they will instigate mobbing among the workers in order to divert
attention away from his/her own management incapabilitys. There are many weak managers
at the top pretending their way along by indirectly creating disharmony under them. They
take advantage of their power position to achieve their aims even if it means lying, cheating or
using distasteful means to harm the health of the workers. In this way he/she not only
strengthens his/her position, but encourages innocent people to engage in mobbing even
against their conscious will and integrity.
Stage 1 is normally the trial period or initiation time for a newcomer. The first few days or
weeks appear relatively normal and happy. Both parties have the opportunity to get to know
each others strengths and weaknesses. Compliments are exchanged and the general curiosity
amongst all is strong. This is also a time for the rest of the group to categorise the new
worker as a member or non-member depending on the motives of the others of course. Many
will ask the question: will she/he fit into our working ethic or not? Or how far can we use
that person for our own cause? Does she/he earn more money than me?
Whatever weaknesses crop up in stage 1 will be used against the new member in stage 2 (the
in between phase). Your colleagues will find out very shortly about your skills, background
knowledge, and work performance.
If they find a gap between what you say you know and how you put that knowledge into
practice, your days are numbered in many cases. It would be the same if you would advertise
yourself to a hospital employer that you are a surgeon and have never ever performed one
single operation. Colleagues are highly critical of such discrepancies and will normally not
give you a second chance to put things right!
Most of us do try to make good impressions on our employer and the rest of the staff by
giving off our best in the first few weeks. We also make many mistakes at the same time be
being too pleasing, promising projects in unrealistic time records, trying to work against the
65
MOBBING
clock, saying yes to everything and everybody, acting against our own behaviour and
attitudes in order to fit into the company profile. The end result: nervousness, insecurity,
little mistakes which grow into big ones, projects not done in the unrealistic time frame,
cynical remarks from your colleagues and a deflated ego. Instead of accepting your own
weaknesses and making them work for you and not against you, you have managed to ruin
your strengths in the process. It really is not shameful to be human, with faults and all. Only
dont try to fool the others by pretending you are better than them. It would be more
advantageous to act neutral from day one, watching, observing and learning how the others
do the job and how they socially interact with one another instead of trying to be a cut above
the rest. Nobody ever won a medal for being that brave!
If, on the other hand you are guilty of bullying and discrimination yourself without being
conscious about it, do not be surprised if others use your own medicine against you! It is an
uncomfortable feeling when you receive your own demoralising treatment back.
Unfortunately, many perpetrators of mobbing do not view it that way. They are often blind to
their own faults. They will interpret such reverse tactics as a means of strengthening, as
well as reinforcing their own behaviour against the others.
10 MAJOR MISTAKES:
Never invite your new colleagues to your home in the beginning. It could be your
home is bigger, more luxurious than theirs.
Do not be overly familiar with your boss or superior even if he/she showers you with
compliments. The others will interpret it as traitor ship.
Do not always go out of your way to please in order to win friends. In the majority of
cases this often backfires. There is no such thing as a close friend in the company. If
you think you have a close confident dont be mistaken it could be a front to use you
for some ulterior motive or remove you from your post at the earliest opportunity.
Age: 35 is the cut-off age with many jobs today. If you have just left University,
after qualifying at 30 and want to enter the computer market, or the sciences, or even
banking you might have a shock. Many employers are seeking younger, cheaper
singles to employ.
If you are between 35-40 and female, married with kids and want to get into the
skilled market, your chances are also limited. As from 40 your chances to hit the big
pay packet are more difficult. The competition is fierce amongst the younger
generation who will cut your throat to have your job! Anything from 45 and onwards
is considered archaic, too expensive and really not worth it. The market is full of
wonderful tales of over 40s success, and aiming for the stars at 50. But lets be
honest with ourselves, do you know of many companies advertising for top jobs for
over the 40/50 range for both men and women? If you 50 and reading this article and
want to change your job to another company, think twice about it. Unless you have
the right connections, are super brilliant in your field of work and are in demand, your
chances might otherwise be tough if your kind of work is done by several thousand
others who are younger, cheaper and easier to manipulate.
The younger generation can be said to be impatient, live for today and take what ever
opportunities that come their way. If you appear to be 40, well settled and happy with
your family and working life, many will try to destroy that rosy picture. They do not
want you to be a picture of contentment. They appear to want everything that you
have, forgetting that it took you a lifetime to get educated, to gain experience, to find a
good partner, in other words to build up your future. How can a 25 year old even
66
MOBBING
expect to achieve in a few years what normally takes a lifetime to achieve. But many
want it and many do envy the older generation for having what they dont have.
Unfortunately, many are also very lonely, bitter and impatient with their own progress.
But dont you suffer for their blunders or jealousy.
Some of you might already be having trouble at this moment with your younger
colleagues. They attack your weakest point, your age. In turn, you act defensive,
become angry or even resentful. The more you react, the worse the situation becomes.
Mobbers feed on this kind of behaviour as an excuse to continue their psycho attacks.
If possible turn the other cheek and get on with your life even if sometimes there are
days in which you cant bear their provocation. Perhaps after a while they will give up
if they know they dont have an audience to perform to. The Japanese on the one hand
will continue their nonverbal attacks to test how far they can bring you to breaking
point. It becomes a challenge for them, a kind of psychological game of who wins in
the end. It would appear to the outsider that they thrive on such injustices.
Another point to be aware of about working for Asian companies. They enjoy longdrawn out meetings, decisions often take up to days or even weeks before anything
noteworthy happens, personal matters are often discussed behind closed doors without
anybody been informed of the results which might concern them.
It is a normal
way of life for the Chinese or Japanese to take time for decisions. They do not like to
be rushed in making up their minds. For them it is a rational or logical process when
business matters need to be discussed over a long period while enjoying the hosts
hospitality and getting to know the other side as well. What ever you do as an
employee, make sure you do not behave as a westerner in a Japanese work
environment . Do not expect recognition or credit for a job well done, or even a salary
rise. They will decide when you deserve something. If you rock the boat too much,
you might find yourself looking for another job, or even being demoted to another
lower or menial position for bad social manners. A Japanese boss communicates
through the hierarchy and those who do not follow the laws of the company will be
punished accordingly.
Many Japanese workers have complained about their
treatment but experience tells them that their grumbling will cost them their respect as
well as future job prospects in the company. The motto silence is golden is often
the best weapon.
Mobbing tactics are in most cases cruel and well-planned. It actually starts off with a
ringleader who controls a small group of weaker individuals. If possible invite the
leader of the group to lunch or tea and get to know him/her on your terms. Act the
dummy to get as much information as possible about general affairs. Try tricking
the guilty party with their own tactics. After all a good defence can help you later to
save your skin. Dont forget there is always a teachers pet even in the business
world. The mobber reports every personal detail about you (even making up things to
make you look bad) to the boss and other supporters. One way of finding the culprit
is to look for the most friendliest, the most helpful person in the group. She/he gets as
close as possible to you in order to destroy your character behind your back. This
same person is also the spy in the company and will do everything possible to secure
that position. Beware, never allow this type of person into your personal world or
access to your working files or computer software.
Try and act neutral and
professional at all times. The moment you drop your defences you give the others a
chance to attack.
They want me out! The second stage has crept in. The company wants you out. The
boss has a pile of complaints against you sitting on his desk. He gets constant
reminders of how incompetent you are in your job, and towards your office
colleagues. All this might not be true but only a frame-up to get you out. Of course,
you never get to see
67
MOBBING
all these accusations because none of them would stand up in a court of law if it ever
got to that stage. This information serves the interests of management and not yours,
although indirectly, it would be nice to take a peep into your own personnel file and
read what the world is writing about you. But alas, even in the spy-world, we never
get to know the truth do we? And even then the spy has been bumped off, or the
information discreetly destroyed.
What do you do when you find yourself battling to hold on to your job? It is a sad
situation for many survivors of mobbing when their position is weakened from weeks
and even months of fighting to stay alive. You might start blaming yourself unfairly
for having messed things up, your self-esteem plumages, your enthusiasm for the
job has waned, there are no more straws to cling to. You realise that you overlook the
first and second stages of mobbing in order to survive. Now you have reached the last
and critical stage of mobbing, the kamikaze or suicide end phase.
You feel desperately lonely, afraid, confused, hurt and probably also suffering from
psychosomatic problems.
The rest have managed to destroy the last ounce of
humanity in you. You cannot understand the world any longer. What do you tell
your children, your husband, your wife or your close friends that you have lost your
job or on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Perhaps, the company has managed to
destroy you completely in the end, both mentally, physically and financially. The
truth of the matter is, you had to bear this torture out for numerous reasons, such
as your family commitments, debt payments and so forth. Believe it or not, but
mobbing does not just occur over a short period of a few days, it runs its course over
an average period of 6 weeks to several months or even years. It reaches its climax
once the person has given up fighting, has left the company voluntarily or has landed
up in the cemetery.
Never ignore stages 1 and 2 as something that will just disappear on its own. Thats
only a myth. However, you can do something in the early stages to prevent problems
from developing:
68
Do not allow the others access into your computer.

Be friendly, but not on first-name basis.
Keep a closeful watch on who the gossipmongers are.
Never participate in the act of mobbing yourself.
Do not allow management to manipulate you for their own purposes of getting
rid of innocent persons. You could be the next in line.
Use all forms of feedback to your advantage.
Never be caught off guard doing something illegal or suspicious. Stay clean!
Do not lie about your credentials at an interview. You might get the job based
on lies but will regret it later when you become a victim of mobbing.
Whatever you do, remain faithful to yourself and believe in your own
limitations.
Do not give others the chance to find fault in your character. If possible show
them your strengths, and be firm about your principles. Do not go against your
own morals for the sake of the group.
Remember, never to ignore the warning signals. Follow your instincts to the
best of your ability. Do not allow yourself to suffer the sins of the others. You
are not Jesus or some kind of martyr. Often our own gut feelings can tell us
more than we think. What for do we have these traits.
MOBBING
If nothing works out in the end after all your endeavours, then at least you know
that you tried and that the job was not meant for you in the long run. It is not a
shame to admit defeat, but at least you have not lost your dignity or sanity in the
process. Always see it from another point of view. Perhaps, the company does
not match your profile, or that the people who work there are caught up in their
own misery with no means of escape. At least you had the courage and strength
to get out in time.
Also, never discuss your private affairs or anything of a confidential nature.
This can be used against you at a later stage.
How are more pointers to help you recognise that you are being mobbed:
YOU KNOW WHEN YOU ARE MOBBED WHEN:
- the boss stops talking to you.
- invitations to participate in group gatherings stop abruptly.
- your efforts are no longer appreciated.
- nobody pays attention to you.
- your colleagues do not greet you in the mornings.
- your workload increases.
- you have to work overtime.
- your application for a salary increase is denied.
- your work is manipulated.
- your computer stops functioning.
- data you have worked on for weeks suddenly disappears.
- someone else gets the credit for the work you have done.
- your car park is suddenly occupied by the managers secretary.
- you start getting anxiety attacks in the mornings before going to work.
- you experience sleep problems at night.
- you feel desperately lonely.
- your plea to change from a full days work to a half-day morning job because you
need to be with your children in the afternoons, turns out to be an afternoon
half-day job offer instead.
- you are continuously being intimidated.
- you havent received a salary increase in 3 years.
- colleagues start changing sides.
- you lose your self confidence.
- your self-worth suffers a blow.
- you are given extra responsibilities that dont match your job experience.
- when colleagues start inventing lies about you.
- when you cannot get through the day without popping pills.
- the company has robbed you of all your humanity!
Never forget one major point in life. Nobody does anything without some kind of reason
behind that action or thought. For example, if companies have to rationalise on staff, they
would rather terrorise the inflicted persons that they leave on their own accord or give them
an alternative offer in the company which could be a demotion or even lesser pay. Employees
are not all protected by social laws. There are countries like Germany who try to protect
employees from being unfairly retrenched, and there are countries like America who have
limited laws protecting the rights of the employee.
69
MOBBING
However, even sophisticated labour laws have their dark side. They can be bent to suit the
employers interest in the long run. It is nothing more than the Illuminati controlling the laws
to protect the elite. The laws are made by the elite and enforced by the elite against the
people. Perhaps Karl Marx was not too wrong with his theory about the labour classes and
the factory owners. Mobbing a staff member might be the best tactic in the long run, not only
to rationalise on staff, but also to boost ones profits!
How can we protect ourselves in the end? Unfortunately, there are no magic solutions to this
problem. There are plenty victims at the end of the day. The mental scars are long-lasting,
especially when a man or woman has worked all his/her life for the same firm only to be told
one day that he/she is too old for the job at 60. Nobody wants you anymore. You
feeldepressed and of no use to anybody. Where can you find another occupation at 60? Why
mob a worker because he/she is no longer needed. There is the story of a woman who
sacrificed her private life for her career only to be told past her child-bearing years at 49 that
she was no longer needed. Then there is the young father who missed his childrens birth,
their developmental years for his job, only to find at the age of 50 that there was no wife and
children waiting for him at home to ease his sorrow and pain after his bosses had retrenched
him. There are many more such stories, but not enough paper to cover them all.
To conclude. Before you become another mobbing statistic prepare yourself from day one in
your new job. Try and equip yourself with every possible attack that could come your way.
Chose a company that is open to communication and own initiative. View the offices
beforehand. Are they cramped, gloomy, have small windows, too noisy, uncomfortable and
so forth. Could you imagine yourself working in a stressful, competitive environment full of
ambitious young people, or would you prefer a smaller company with a good age and gender
mix. Make mental notes of what you want from your job and company before you make any
major decisions. We can save a lot of heartache and tears if we would plan our lives more
logically from the first day. Instead, we as human beings blindly go about the course of our
business with little thought about how we are going to survive an 8 10 hour job a day with a
group of people working in closed quarters, with many internal and external stresses. If you
are an outdoor type, this can be a deadly match. Choose your career with care. For instance,
does it match your family situation? Will you be able to work long hours as well as take
care of your childrens needs at the same time. Life is making sacrifices but not the ones that
are going to cost us our health, and the well-being of the people most dear to us. Let us face
it, to be mobbed is to rob us of our opportunity to enjoy life, to be creative, to be free and to
lead productive lives.
The world we live in is a materialistic one. It is a world dominated by powerful nations,
infected by criminality, by poverty, illness, drought, hunger and tragedy. Our own lives are
affected by this very world that we live in. Mobbing is an illness, an obsession created by
greed, jealousy, power relations, hate, unhappiness, bitterness and simply wanting control.
Those who mob, are people who are sick in need of desperate help. They should be removed
from the work place. No instead, they continue to exist as they have continued to exist for
centuries. Mobbers are a part of life and societies norms. They are often supported from the
very top to keep directors and managers informed about the others. They are the watchdogs
waiting to pounce on every mistake you make. They thrive on degrading you, your work and
any other aspect of your life. Why, because it makes them feel more superior, powerful and
in control. Wisdom does not grow from nothing. Learn from your ordeal and make a life
choice that will not cost you your time and nerves in the end.
70
MOBBING
There is a possible solution!
There are numerous cases of clients visiting their house doctor, neurologists, psychiatrists,
psychologists, therapists, scrupulous lawyers or quacks just to find the right answer to their
problems. Success rates have not been too fruitful in many cases. Either the patient is
referred to therapy because he/she has developed some psychosomatic or other biological
disorder from waiting too long, or he/she is travelling between every available help on the
market. Before you arrive at this stage, before you become so confused that you cant think
logically anymore and all your financial resources have dried up, take heed:
When you find out that all your efforts have been boycotted to prevent you from learning and
doing your job (in stage 2 of the game), then thats the time to take out legal insurance. Find
yourself a good lawyer with a success rate. Ask around, phone up legal organisations, speak
to your insurance company and dont give up until you find the right lawyer. What ever you
do, do not take sick leave to avoid the problem (that will be a good excuse for your boss to
throw you out!). Get as many faithful supporters to help you fight back. These people could
be friends, family, advisors, people you can trust. Once you have your fact file together, then
sue the person responsible for your misery. Normally, the legal act itself, and having to face a
labour court of justice can frighten the offender. Nobody, including managers, directors, or
companies like the open publicity. It can harm peoples reputations, as well as bring certain
and perhaps new facts to the surface which the company does not wish to reveal. Many
employee cases work well under this principle, and usually offer an out-of-court settlement.
Try it! For those of you with limited resources, and no close social network, try and e-mail my
address, perhaps we can come to a solution. Good luck!
71
Psychometric Properties
Title
Psychometric Properties of Psychological

Assessment Measures
72
Contents
1
Introduction
Definition of key concepts
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
3
Different types of norms

Criterion referenced tests
Psychological measures
Reliability and validity of psychological measures
Various types of norms
5
5
5
5
6
3.1
3.2
3.3
3.4
Mental age scales and grade equivalents

Percentiles
Stanines and Sten scales
Deviation IQ
6
7
7
7
4.1
Expectancy tables
Constructing a psychological measure
5.1
5.2
5.3
The planning phase

Format of the items
Item analysis phase:
Item difficulty value
Item discrimination value
Item-total correlation
8
8
9
9
9
9
Reliability of a psychological measure
10
6.1
6.2
6.3
6.4
6.5
6.6
Correlation coefficient
Statistical significance
Reliability coefficient
Observed score
True and error scores
True variance and error variance in a test score
10
10
11
11
11
12
contents continued
73
Contents (continued)
74
7.
Stability of a test the advantages and limitations
12
7.1
7.2
Test-retest reliability
Alternate-form reliability
12
12
Internal consistency of a test

advantages and limitations
13
8.1
8.2
Split-half reliability
Kuder-Richardson 20 and Cronbachs Alpha
13
13
Validity of a psychological measure
14
9.1
9.2
9.3
9.4
Content validity
Criterion-related validity
Predictive validity
Concurrent validity
14
15
15
15
10
Major methods of establishing construct validity
15
10.1
10.2
10.3
10.4
10.5
10.6
Developmental changes
Correlations with other tests
Factor analysis
Internal consistency
Convergent and discriminant validation
Experimental interventions
16
16
16
17
17
18
11
Summary
18
12
Conclusion
19
References
20
Introduction
To understand what is meant by psychometric properties of psychological assessment

measures, it is necessary to separate the two descriptive classes on their own. In other words,
what do we mean when we speak about psychometric properties, and what is implied by the
concept psychological measures?
Psychometrics is basically the study of different mental traits and behavioural characteristics
in amounts or scores. For example, these tests can take the form of intelligence scales, or a
rating of different attitudes against a specific population standard or norm. The fact is,
psychometrics involves the assessment of human data according to known, specific
standards implied by the experienced researcher or scientist.
Without psychometric theory, there would be problems to develop a reliable and valid
psychological measure. It would be impossible to study human intelligence without
comparing a person, or group to a normative sample. Psychological assessment measures on
the other hand, involve five different processes; diagnosis, classification, planning of
treatment, self-knowledge, research and program evaluation (Gregory, 2000, p.41)
The aim of this essay is to demonstrate the principles of psychometric theory, and how these
principles are integrated to explain how a psychological measure is developed. The
following major concepts, including their related values and tests will be discussed, namely,
the different types of norms, criterion referenced tests, psychological measures and the
reliability and validity of these measures, as well as the advantages and limitations of each
test.
Definition of key concepts

Our discussion begins with an overview of the following concepts:
2.1
Different types of norms

Norms can be defined as a raw score or table of values of an individual measurement
against the performance of others in a particular group. Furthermore, norms help us to make
75
important standard comparisons, whereby we can judge how much a persons score deviates
from the average population or representative group in a sample (Rosnow & Rosenthal,
1999. p. 222).
2.2

These tests are basically the opposite to norm-referenced tests. Criterion-referenced tests are
mainly concerned with the personal achievements of the tested person, than on making
comparisons with the performance or abilities of external groups. For example, these tests
are ideal for the testing of individual educational needs.
2.3
Psychological measures
To recapture: psychological measures or assessment measures involve quantification
techniques. In other words, psychological measures is a dynamic process, forever changing,
but retaining its original structure.
That is, a psychological measurement can be a sophisticated process with the following
characteristics, as mentioned by Gregory (2000, p.30):
2.4
scores or categories
behaviour samples
norms or standards
standardized procedures
prediction of nontest behaviour
Reliability and validity of psychological measures

Test reliability can be defined according to how it consistently measures what it is supposed
to measure. Unfortunately, such problems as random error can greatly influence the
reliability of an instrument (but more about that later in our discussion under point 6).
Validity, for example often pertains to the contents of a test or measuring instrument. For
instance, if a particular personality trait is been measured by a certain test, then it is expected
that this test actually measures what it is supposed to measure, otherwise it is invalid.
Various types of norms

The word normed score on its own means very little to test takers if they do not know what
kind of norms they are been tested against. It is up to the tester to explain a test or
individuals raw score against a background of a representative population group. The
76
following norms will be discussed briefly to demonstrate the importance of understanding a
persons test score on a norm referenced test.
3.1
Mental age scales and Grade Equivalents

These two types of norms actually are referred to as developmental norms but with a slight
difference. Mental age scales encourage similar-age test comparisons. In other words, the
performance level of a child who is 10 years of age will be compared to the performance
level of other children of the same age group. These age norms are a convenient way of
testing childrens developmental characteristics that are dynamically changing in comparison
to the more stable traits of adults.
Grade equivalents are quite similar to age grades. However, instead of just checking the
aptitude or ability of a similar age group, grade norms measure the standard of test
performance for every individual grade depicted in the normative sample. This means that
school performance is measured against a normative sample from the same class or grade in
the school.
This is a more convenient method to test a child or scholars academic
performance against a similar grade equivalent (Gregory, 2000, p.71).
3.2
Percentiles
Percentiles is a relative measure which can fluctuate between 0 and 100.
A percentile describes the distribution of scores either falling below or above a particular
percentage of sampling scores. For example, we talk about a 50th percentile (which is also
referred to as the median) when a typical score falls below the 50% level and above the
50% level (Rosnow & Rosenthal, 1999, p. 233)
3.3
Stanines and Sten Scales (standard scores)

Stanines transform test takers raw scores on a 1 - 9 point scale and the 10 unit sten scale
which Canfield (1951) recommended is basically a slight variation on the stanine scale. Both
measures were useful devices before the pre-computer age to test norms. In fact, stanines
always have a mean of 5 and an exact standard deviation of 2. This means that scores are
ranked from the lowest to the highest, with the bottom 4% of scores having a stanine of 1
and so forth (Gregory, 2000, p.68).
3.4
Deviation IQ
This norm is often used to measure the scores depicted on intelligence tests.
However, this kind of scale is often misinterpreted by inexperienced persons wanting to find
77
an easy labelling system to describe a persons intelligence above or below a particular
marker of 100. It would be foolish to use one single IQ test as a final result of ones
intelligence or character. For example, using obsolete tests can either inflate or deflate a
participants IQ scores.
A criterion referenced test is the opposite to a norm-referenced test. Where the latter
measures an individuals performance against a representative group, the former will
measure persons mastery or nonmastery skills on a particular content domain, such as a task
on dexterity or memory performance (Gregory, 2000, p.74). An expectance table is a good
example of such tests.
4.1
Expectancy tables
This kind of table normally reflects a practical eye-view of candidates predictor results and a
specific criterion. For example, expectancy tables test the relationships between an
individuals test scores and what he or she is able to accomplish later on in life, whether it be
a certain career path or achieving good grades in an upcoming college entrance exam.
However, such tables also have limitations, mainly because they reflect the results of large
representative group scores, which reflect their present social or school standards of the time.
In fact, such tests, which also include most other norm tests require constant updates or
checks in order to accomplish what it is supposed to; which is reliability and validity of
results (Gregory, 2000, p. 72).
Constructing a psychological measure
5.1
The planning phase

This is probably one of the most important steps before beginning a psychological measure.
The planning phase involves very careful decision making. For example, an engineer will
plan every move and step along the way before he delivers his proposal for a new effective
railway bridge. Therefore, when planning a psychological measure, the tester will have to
consider for instance; choice, format, length of items he or she will include in a test measure.
78
5.2
Format of the items

Test construction is not just a simple matter of throwing any kind of item into a main batch.
It is crucial to decide what type of item format is required.
It is of no value to try and test a questionnaire on a personality trait against items that test for
physical speed, such as running 500 metres in a certain time. For example, it would also
make no sense to test a preschoolers performance on an arithmetic test meant for an 8 year
old school child. The length of the measure should be suitable for that particular group. It
would be a waste of time to test someone with a major depressive disorder (and on strong
medication) on a test which requires 3 hours of heavy concentration.
In other words, test items can come in different formats and styles such as multiple-choice
questionnaires, true-false items, forced-choice, closed/open-response and so forth.
It must be remembered however, that item selection is never a perfect system. It always
involves an item measurement error in assessment tests.
That is why careful consideration is applied to the planning and implementation of item
selection from the beginning to the end stages to avoid as little as possible too much
measurement error.
5.3
Item analysis phase

The item analysis phase involves 3 different types of item statistics:
item difficulty value
discrimination value
item-total correlation
These above item statistics help the researcher to choose the most suitable items for the end
measure. It is always wise to try and adapt tests on a homogeneous basis, which means
taking into account many different demographic features of the test person, such as age, sex,
social/economic background, educational status, and most important cultural differences.
The item difficulty value tests a large amount of students correct answers against a single test
question. If a minimum percentage get it wrong, then it is obvious that the test item is too
easy and should be adjusted. The reverse is also true.
79
The discrimination value shows how well an item discriminates between those who get high
and low ratings on the complete test.
The item-total correlation is a point-biserial correlation (also similar to The Pearson r), which
stresses the relationship between 2 variables. The higher the relationship between a single
item and the total score, then the item is considered good with regards to internal consistency.
In other words, a good measurement should have items that are homogeneous with a high
level of internal consistency.
Reliability of a psychological measure

Reliability according to Gregory (2000) expresses the relative influence of true and error
scores on obtained test scores. To understand what reliability Means, is to try and imagine a
scale weighing a kilo of grapes. The greengrocer, weighs the grapes twice in a row and each
time he gets a slightly different reading, but never the same as the first weighing. In other
words, reliability is not always an absolute measure. There will always be a slight
inconsistency between the first test and the second test. But again, slight fluctuations
between tests is a matter of degrees. Repeating results helps the tester to confirm some form
of accuracy in scores, but this again will not mean much without validity which will be
discussed later on in this essay.
6.1
Correlation coefficient
A correlation coefficient r possesses values ranging from 1.00 to +1.00.
A +1.00 is a perfect linear relationship between 2 test results. A zero correlation occurs when
2 variables, such as height and reaction time have no relationship to one another.
To test reliability of psychological test scores, the same test should be taken twice, namely
with a test-retest method. We can then test the degree of variance in the obtained scores with
the variance in true scores.
6.2
Statistical significance
This type of method goes beyond that of just testing a correlation coefficient between 2
variables. The psychometrician, for example is not just interested in a small sample of testpersons, but would like to compare/generalize the results to a larger population. The fact is
the larger the sample size, the better
80
the statistical significance. For instance, it is better to try for less errors by increasing the size
and homogeneity of our sample. If a correlation is significant at a .01 level, we know then
that the probability of error will be 1 out of a 100 which is a rather good estimate.
6.3
Reliability coefficient
The reliability coefficient is the proportion of true score variance (factors which are
consistent) to the complete total variance of test results. In plain terms, we add the true score
variance (the stable attribute which we are testing) with the error score variance or errors of
measurement.
6.4
Observed score
The observed score or obtained score can be drastically altered by random events or
measurement errors. To avoid this problem, it is up to the researcher to reduce as many of
the nuisances as possible in order to have a reliable measure. In fact Classical Theory
(Gregory, 2000. pp77-79) stipulates that a negative measurement error can contribute to an
obtained score been much lower than the true score. A positive measurement error on the
other hand, could contribute to a higher obtained score than the actual true score. Either way,
one of the students doing a specific knowledge test will come out better due to some
unbalanced item selection or other measurement error.
6.5
True and error scores

True and error scores are uncorrelated according to the classical measurement theory. True
scores are hypothetical. They are never really known. However, it is error scores which give
test developers headaches. For example, the researcher decides to test a trait for nervousness
and keeps on getting a measurement for confidence. It is obvious that there is something
inconsistent with this test measure. It could be that the researcher has chosen incorrect test
items based on obsolete tests, or that the person/s being tested are not suitable test
candidates. The fact is, that errors of measurement will give false observed scores. If the
same test would be repeated again, the end results will be inconsistent.
Therefore test
construction should be carefully planned in the beginning in order to avoid such

measurement errors creeping into the results.
6.6
True variance and error variance in a test score

Briefly, the true variance shows a more homogeneous, internal item consistency than the
error variance. Error variance results from bad content sampling, such as in alternate-
81
form and split-half reliability, as well as heterogeneity of the traits under observation. On the
other hand, a high interitem consistency shows a more homogeneous variance with little
inconsistency. For example, if 2 half-tests show 2 different results we speak about an error
variance. This means that both half-tests are inconsistent with one another.
Stability of a test the advantages and limitations
7.1
Test-retest reliability
In this kind of measurement, the same test is repeated twice to the same test group. This
sample group is of a heterogeneous nature which is representative of the general population.
The idea behind this kind of test is to compare or correlate the two scores for a reliable
measure. The advantage of such a test is to predict the second score from the results of the
first test, hoping that there will be a correlation between both scores.
There are limitations however to such tests.
Error variances, such as experience,
maturations, lengthy time spans between tests, illness and so forth could affect retest
reliability. (PSY498-8 p. 6).
7.2
Alternate-form reliability
Alternate forms of the same test are issued to test persons. This test measures the correlation
between both scores (which is quite similar to the test-retest reliability). However, there is a
difference between the two. The alternate-form reliability method inserts item-sampling
differences (error variance) which can limit the scope of reliability. For example, some
students may cope very well with the items on test 1 but do quite badly on the second test
due to the unidentical items with the first test. Another limitation is the high cost of
producing alternate features of a test, and the difficulties involved trying to reproduce
parallel forms (Gregory, 2000 p. 83).
Internal consistency of a test advantages and limitations
Apart from alternate forms reliability and test-retest reliability, there are other methods to
test items for consistency. For example, the split-half reliability, the Kuder-Richardson 20
and Cronbachs Alpha.
8.1
Split-half reliability
As the name implies, this kind of test correlates the 2 scores from a single test. This is
achieved by splitting the test into identical halves. Sounds complicated, although it is
82
actually quite an effective measure. For example,
if the test scores on both halves indicate a strong correlation, then the scores on two
complete tests from 2 different measures should in principle also show the same correlations
(Gregory, 2000. p. 84) Internal consistency is therefore achieved through only a single
administration.
Of course there are advantages to this method such as lengthening the test to produce more
reliability or studying a large behaviour domain. But, there are also limitations as to how one
can split items on a single test. One can try dividing even and odd numbers or separating
easy and difficult items. However, this becomes a problem when the test developer has to
split drawings or comprehension texts.
8.2
Kuder-Richardson 20
We use the Kuder-Richardson or KR20 (1937) formula if one wants to find internal
consistency of a single administration of one test, such as discussed in the split-half
procedure. What this formula actually does is to test individual test items as a 0 for wrong
and a 1 for right. However, when tests go beyond the KR20 formula, such as in the testing of
heterogeneous items, we then use the Coefficient Alpha (Cronbach (1951). This formula is
suitable for example, in attitude scales where test persons must rate their answers as;
strongly agree, disagree, and so forth (Gregory, 2000, p.86).
Validity of a psychological measure

Validity can be described as the degree to which a measure does what it is supposed to do. In
other words, the psychological measure should give a
good indication of well-grounded truth/fact between both the trait been tested, and the
operational definition of the construct. Furthermore, this measuring instrument must test, and
only test what it was designed to do.
For example, it is no use designing an instrument for intelligence scales and then using the
same measure to test for running speed ((Blanche & Durrheim, 2002, p. 83). The
following validity procedures will be discussed:
content validity
criterion-related validity
predictive validity
concurrent validity
83
9.1
Content validity
Content validity is a suitable measure when testing for traits such as knowledge, as in an
examination paper (Blanche et al, 2002, p85).
In other words, this type of measure is actually the testing of item samples on a test which
are taken from a greater sample or population, which could be several text books covering
one field or domain topic. It would be impossible to test an examinee on the entire contents
of a particular subject such as engineering! (Time is normally limited with such tests).
Content validation sometimes runs into difficulties when abstract traits, such as personality
and aptitudes have to be tested.
It is difficult to give an accurate test description of
something like racism or morals, as these traits do not fit smugly between the pages of a
subject book (Blanche et al, 2002, p85).
Face validity is another matter to consider. For instance, how does the test appear to others?
Does it look too complicated, or does it have an unprofessional appearance? Face validity
needs to be taken serious if the measure is going to be accepted by other persons in authority,
namely from a legal and educational point of view (PSY498-/8102).
9.2
Criterion-related validity
Criterion-related validity normally correlates with other similar tests or research. In other
words, a researcher who discovers a new form of job mobbing in corporate and industry
will compare previous studies in this field with his/her new findings. There are 2 types of
validity measures to test for criterion validity, namely, predictive validity and concurrent
validity.
9.3
Predictive validity
As the name implies, predictive validity helps predict future events from existing scores,
budgets, educational performance and so forth. For example, future inflation rates can be
predicted from present statistics on the countries economic performance in relation to the
rest of the world. Concurrent validation, on the other hand replaces predictive validity
measures when it comes to making a present diagnosis on a pupils immediate performance,
and not on future events (PSY498-8/102).
84
9.4
Concurrent validity
This type of method would be more suitable when testing abstract traits, such as someone
suffering from an immediate problem of depression. The clinician can judge the patients
observable behaviour and cognitive performance, and make a suitable diagnosis. It would be
difficult however to use a method of predictive validity in such a case. One cannot predict
if someone who is suffering from a dark mood one day is going to suffer from depression in
the future. A positive feature of concurrent validity is that costs are kept at a minimum and
results are normally immediate, compared to predictive validity.
10.
Major methods of establishing construct validity

Example construct or traits are; technical and mechanical knowledge, running speed,
frustration, reading and spelling abilities and so forth.
How do we measure such constructs? Firstly, the researcher for instance gathers as much
data as possible on a particular trait, through observations, interrelationships with other
behaviour or cognitive measures and so forth.
We are looking at both a theoretical and empirical method of establishing construct validity.
Several methods will be discussed under the following.
10.1
Developmental changes
It is common knowledge that developmental changes take place between childhood and
adulthood, which also means that both behaviour and cognitive abilities also change perhaps
more rapidly in childhood than in later years where they tend to stabilize.
Age-differentiation is also dictated by a specific culture. Different cultures have different

child-rearing patterns or beliefs. The Piagetian ordinal scales, for example, the sequential
patterning of development or schemas indicate the gradual process of conceptual skills of
early childhood to early adulthood. This is an example of construct validation of ordinal
scales over several developmental levels (PSY498-8/102).
10.2
Correlations with other tests

It is a necessary condition that when making a correlation between a new test with other tests
that the former does not correlate too high to make it invalid. A good mix would be between
low and a moderate high, but no more. In other words, it would be ridiculous to compare a
new test on a factor of intelligence with a similar test, and then find out later that the new test
is actually measuring a personality disorder!
85
10.3
Factor analysis
This is a particular family of statistics which many researchers adopt to explain certain
relationships between variables or constructs that correlate highly with one another. This
method is used to obtain a strict frugal set of data. In other words, factor analysis allows for
the testing of a multitude of major mental abilities such as, comprehension, memory,
number recognition and so forth compared to more conservative tests, such as the StanfordBinet tests (Gregory, 2000, p 23). Factor analysis has one primary goal, and that is to make a
neat, comprehensible set of statistics by cutting back too many untidy test variables to a
more efficient economical set of common traits.
10.4
Internal consistency
Briefly, internal consistency aims for significant item-test correlations with the test pointing
in a key direction. Another way of testing for internal consistency is to correlate subtest
scores with the total score. Take for instance certain intelligence test factors, reading ability,
arithmetic, spelling and so forth. All the sub scores are added together to give a total test
score. Of course, it is necessary that items are homogeneous in order to achieve a good
internal test consistency.
10.5
Convergent and Discriminant validation

Convergent validation of a test means that a test correlates highly with other tests, or traits
that share a common factor. In other words, such tests are normally done on a heterogeneous
sample to test for convergence. This also means that such a test should also not correlate
with opposite variables. For example, a test for vocabulary ability should not correlate with a
test for arithmetic reasoning.
Discriminant validation is important to personality tests. In fact discriminant validation

occurs when there is a clash, or non-correlation with two opposite variables such as
popularity and intelligence. This would obviously be a negative correlation, if any
correlation at all.
The multitrait-multimethod matrix (Campbell and Fiske (1959) combines the assessment of
two or more variables with two or more methods (Gregory, 2000, p. 110-111). This matrix
demonstrates a good source of data on discriminant and convergent validity, as well as
reliability.
86
10.6
Experimental interventions
Any form of experimental intervention a researcher does will involve control of the test
situation. This is done in order to isolate common treatment factors, and remove any
unwanted interferences that could invalidate results. There are numerous research designs to
choose from, such as a standard one-group pretest-posttest design for testing construct
validation in a scholastic test.
Then there are other tests such as the Equivalent Time Series that spread out over lengthy
time periods (Neumann,1997, pp 183-197). What ever test is chosen, there will always be a
certain amount of experimental interference. The researcher seeks solutions to problems, or
tries to find a better experimental method to test different hypothesis for present and future
generations.
11 Summary
The goal of this essay was to explain what was meant by psychometric properties of
psychological assessment measures. The principles necessary to psychometric theory were
discussed, namely, the different types of norms, criterion referenced tests, psychological
measures and the reliability and validity of these measures, as well as the advantages and
limitations of each test.
12 Conclusion
Psychometric testing of psychological measurements is an extensive procedure. There are a

number of processes involved in assessing human data which cannot be done in a vacuum.
People are human constructs which do not remain stable over time, that is why researchers
are always testing and retesting their products against the dynamics of man. It is therefore
safe to conclude that no test is a complete test. As this essay has demonstrated, there are
always advantages and limitations to assessment measures. What works for one test, may not
necessarily work for another. Sometimes it is not a matter of degrees whether a test is
supposed to measure what it is supposed to measure, but how the test sample relates to the
real world of people.
87
References
Durrheim, K. (2002). Research in Practice. In M.T.Blanche (Ed), Quantitative
Measurement (pp. 72-95). Cape Town: UCT Press.
Gregory, R.J. (2000). Psychological Testing. 3rd Edition.
Illinois: Allyn and Bacon, Inc.
Neumann, W.L. (1997). Social Research Methods. 3rd edition. Needham Heights:
Allyn & Bacon.
Rosnow, R.L. & Rosenthal, R. (1999). Beginning Behavioral Research.
3rd. Edition. New Jersey: Prentice Hall
Tutorial Letter 102 for PSY498-8. (2003). Psychological Assessment.
Pretoria: Unisa Press. (sections from pp. 3-24).
88
Conclusion
CONCLUSION
The world is changing rapidly and it is up to us to embrace these changes with an objectivity
and acceptance of all races, religions and creeds. As psychologists, our duty is to offer our
understanding of the cultures we are dealing with; namely with empathy, sensitivity and an
open mind that we are only a part of the big picture that constantly challenges our integrity
and our urge to help an ailing person. The psychologist can only survive in an interdisciplinary profession where other experts work together in a harmonious way and not
protecting their own territories. Only then are we able to offer the patient the best care that
he/she deserves.
89
Appendix - Intercultural Work Categories
Personnel Evaluation
( Categories )
90
Communication
a Language
b Culture
c Interpersonal
Team-Competence
a Solidarity
b Individualism
c Product knowledge
Stress
a Work environment
b Private
c Social
Discrimination
Motivation
a Ambition
b Challenge
c Reward
Soft skills
a Talent
b Creativity
c Leadership Potential
a Sex
b Age
c Status
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
no / never
sometimes
Page 1
often
No.: ________ / _______
yes / always
QUESTIONNAIRE
( numerical )
not applicable
Appendix - Intercultural Work Questionnaire
Are there cultural tensions in your company ?

Is your performance inspired by the opposite gender ?
Would you consider yourself as an achiever ?
Can you express yourself clearly in English ?
Are any of your colleagues plotting against you ?
Do you find your job challenging ?
Do you use English on a daily basis ?
Does your language restrict your full potential ?
Is Management supportive to any staff problems ?
Do you experience aggression amongst your colleagues?
Do you set yourself realistic goals ?
Do you find it difficult to reach a decision ?
Are you tolerant of other cultural traditions ?
Are there any other staff members critical of your performance ?
Are you self-focused on your own culture and nationality ?
Do you enjoy recreation activities after hours ?
Do you use your own initiative ?
Do you regard group solidarity as a positive aspect ?
Are you allowed to show individuality in your job ?
Do you suffer from work stress ?
Are you able to separate private stress from work stress ?
Are you confronted with family problems ?
Does your firm utilise your experience and talents ?
Do you think women should play a more active role in management?
Does your company provide incentive programmes?
Does your behaviour upset your colleagues?
Is your work performance acknowledged by management ?
Do you enjoy an important status in your company ?
Do you have the appropriate skills for the job ?
Do your colleagues have a good product knowledge ?
Does your age restrict you from promotion ?
Are your abilities encouraged by management ?
91
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
Do you believe that all staff members are treated equally ?

Do you accept performance standards in your company ?
Do you think that creativity plays a major role in interpersonal skills?
Do you feel sexually discriminated against ?
Are you able to take orders from a much younger manager ?
Do you interpret a high status as power over others ?
Do you feel the group concept is necessary for office survival?
Do you force your own ideas onto others ?
Do you have difficulties accepting individual thinkers?
Do you accept different viewpoints ?
Does the "team idea" fit into your own personality?
Do you think the group can learn to accommodate uniqueness?
Is there conflict between male and female roles in the company?
Do you regard younger employees more flexible than older peers ?
Do you consider yourself an ambitious career climber?
Are you able to motivate yourself without the inspiration from others ?
Are your achievements rewarded financially ?
Does your type of work require certain soft skills (personal talents)?
Do you plan your whole life creatively ?
Are you able to develop your own originality ?
Would you be prepared to exercise authority ?
Do you submit suggestions for improvements ?
Are you good at judging social feedback ?
Do you ever misinterpret friendly gestures from the opposite sex ?
Do you have all the necessary office equipment ?
Do you have a positive attitude towards other Nationalities ?
Do you fear early retirement ?
Do you rank yourself above average ?
Do you suffer from anxiety ?
Do you prefer to accomplish everything yourself ?
Are you able to interpret non-verbal communication ?
Are you influenced by social norms ?
92
Questions (numerical) coded and valued
no / never
sometimes
Page 2
often
No.: ________ / _______
yes / always
QUESTIONNAIRE
( numerical )
not applicable
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
no / never
sometimes
Page 3
often
No.: ________ / _______
yes / always
QUESTIONNAIRE
( numerical )
not applicable
Does the company provide adequate training facilities ?

Are you a " social chameleon " ?
Do you enjoy gender privileges at work ?
Do you require external motivation ?
Do you invent new technological projects ?
Does solidarity influence your achievements ?
Are you satisfied with your physical working conditions ?
Do you have a multicultural perspective ?
Do you speak any other languages besides your own and English ?
Would you like to improve your product knowledge ?
Do you feel pressurised by group norms ?
Are you a stereotype thinker ?
Are you member of a sports club ?
Are you prepared to accept different responsibilities ?
Do you appreciate the arts ?
Do you enjoy meeting people ?
Have you ever studied other cultures ?
Are you bothered by age differences ?
Does your firm offer you scope for promotion ?
Do you design your own concepts ?
Does the final product interest you more than the work itself ?
Have you ever been in conflict with the authorities ?
Are rewards distributed fairly ?
Do your talents match your job ?
Do you boost your image through your outward appearance ?
Do you have a flexible attitude ?
93
Psychology is not an easy

thing to understand
for most students at the
beginning of their studies.
Yet, they are always
fascinated by the
behaviour of humans and
what makes normal
looking people turn into
monsters. Or they ask
themselves why a sister
or husband is acting so
strangely? The fact is we
have been fascinated for
centuries about the rich
complexities of behaviour
than we can truly imagine.
There are no right or
wrong answers dear
students. But, we can
try to understand
some of these behaviours
through self reflection
namely through the many
cultural and religious
differences around us,
as well as the
environmental and
heriditory factors that
make our world function
as it is.

Psychology For Students

Transféré par

Informations du document

Titre original

Copyright

Formats disponibles

Partager ce document

Partager ou intégrer le document

Options de partage

Avez-vous trouvé ce document utile ?

Ce contenu est-il inapproprié ?

Droits d'auteur :

Formats disponibles

Psychology For Students

Transféré par

Droits d'auteur :

Formats disponibles

Psychology for Students

Psychology for Students: An introduction to the world of psychology

Powered By Bookemon. www.bookemon.com

Dedicated to all those future

2. The Female Narcissist .............................................................................................5

3. Histrionic Personality Disorder ............................................................................ 11

4. Child Abuse .......................................................................................................... 14

5. Tricks Human Resources Play .............................................................................. 23

7. The Insanity Defense ............................................................................................ 32

8. The Psychopathic Personality .............................................................................. 35

9. Mobbing A Psychological Stress Factor ............................................................ 63

10. Psychometric Properties of Psychological Assessment Measures ....................... 72

11. Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 89

12. Appendix: Supplementary Material ...................................................................... 90

The Female Narcissist

Are you a victim?

What are the signs and symptoms of narcissistic

Responds to criticism with anger

Most of their goals are considered by others as selfish

You cannot reverse this disorder.

What are the causes of narcissistic personality

Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD)

Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD)

Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD)

Shallow and labile affectivity

Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD)

Have a low tolerance for frustration and be easily bored by routine,

What Causes Histrionic Personality Disorder?

How Is Histrionic Personality Disorder Diagnosed?

An outline of the possible individual predisposing

The aim of this essay is to outline specific individual predisposing

A definition of family violence and child abuse

emotional and physical neglect (e.g. starvation of the child)

sexual abuse (incest or sex trafficking)

street children / runaways (homelessness)

unnecessary punishments (harsh beatings)

Risk factors of abuse

serious personality problems

patriarchal family systems

gender indoctrination (stereotypes)

economic dependency of the wife

political climate (child soldiers)

childs characteristics (physical handicaps)

low parental intelligence

predisposition to child abuse (diathesis stress model)

uncontrolled aggressive impulses

lack of knowledge about childrens natural development processes

inadequate child-training techniques

abusive parents who were also abused as children

passivity of the wife

no social support systems (social isolation)

dysfunctional family network communication patterns.

drug and alcohol influences

Often violence is a replacement for a failing social and economic situation.

family size/crowding/lack of private space

lower social strata status (Doerner & Lab, 1995. p. 149)

Cultural factors contribute to the norms and values of society.

South Africa for example is a land with a multi-racial tradition. Unfortunately,

low self-esteem and poor self-image

strong feelings of inadequacy and helplessness

displacement of aggression on child/wife (defense mechanism)

denial of any feelings of aggression

distortion of reality (misinterpretation of the facts)