And that's the problem Too much of the world is run by psychopaths and sociopaths, making net very negative contributions.
Research has thrown up a few surprising facts.
One of them is that amongst primates like ourselves the relative brain size is a very accurate predictor of the size of the social group the owner of that brain lives in. Seems a lot of primates brain capacity is taken up with keeping a social score card ie how likely individuals are to share, how quickly they return favours etc.
For humans brain size predicts a social group of up to 150 members. If it gets bigger we can't know every individual well enough to judge for ourselves so we rely on hearsay. Also the larger the group above 150 the easier it is for psychopaths to remain largely undetected.
One of them is that amongst primates like ourselves the relative brain size is a very accurate predictor of the size of the social group the owner of that brain lives in. Seems a lot of primates brain capacity is taken up with keeping a social score card ie how likely individuals are to share, how quickly they return favours etc.
For humans brain size predicts a social group of up to 150 members. If it gets bigger we can't know every individual well enough to judge for ourselves so we rely on hearsay. Also the larger the group above 150 the easier it is for psychopaths to remain largely undetected.
What makes you conclude they are of "service"? Lots of ways to define "leadership'. It's all they are capable of, a disaster waiting to happen. The reason they are not "bred" out of the population as you put it is because they are typically of higher intelligence able to fool the general population. I assume this is your allusion. However rest assured leadership is not exclusive to the kooks.
Well they run our governments and corporations. Often they're the only ones willing and able. Often they're the only ones that can attract support. Look at the way people rally around their favorite political leaders and pundits, no matter how repulsive they may be. We're a bunch of feckin morons, and that affects the structure of society and always has and probably always will.
Seriously? And how might this research have been conducted? So environmental factors now have secondary influence in how a person will inevitably live out his/her life? Or is it the environmental factors influencing brain size?
let me just mention here I just watched a man playing ping pong with a chimp on youtube.
Fast Eddie D,
My point is the kind of society we live in atm are the one who favor psychopath.
Thanks to other organisation mode ( limiting group size as pointed by Charles Darwin) they kept this behaviors away from leading duty.
That said we have example in 'recent' history of the inverse: India and Gandhi comes to mind but there have been other non psycho willing to take leading duty in charge.
My point is the kind of society we live in atm are the one who favor psychopath.
Thanks to other organisation mode ( limiting group size as pointed by Charles Darwin) they kept this behaviors away from leading duty.
That said we have example in 'recent' history of the inverse: India and Gandhi comes to mind but there have been other non psycho willing to take leading duty in charge.
I don't know* how they have conducted but in Anthropology, those are first/second year case of study ( they were 25 y ago at least).
Of course environemental influence is at play. How big the influence is depend a lot. This is the 'core' of Sociology.
* i can't remember but any student in Anthropology could point you to this study.
Not me. I read about the nature of narcs/psychos when researching schizophrenia. Apparently the incidence of these personality disorders is fairly high, maybe over 5% of the population depending on the source cited. And yes, they usually rise to the top of political and corporate structures. Where have you been? Read the news.
They're not all Ted Bundy or John Wayne Gacy types. Many of them are just everyday people for the most part. Many of them are very good at what they do and also very charismatic. Have you ever known a person that seemed to lack empathy? That is the common trait of narc/psych/sociopath type.
I knew one person that was an extreme example of zero empathy: my brother. He really was pretty close to the Ted Bundy type, but he lacked the brains and charisma to pull off any grand schemes. Nevertheless, if you saw him you sure would cross the street. He was a really sick and sad individual, and his lack of empathy was truly shocking.
You're very unclear.
'What' exactly is "first/second year case of study"? Brain size as it relates to sociology?
That is my point too. But conversly the mix of narcs and sheeple lends itself to this kind of societal structure.
That is what I mean when I say they're useful. You can argue cart vs horse but here we are. And to come full circle in this discussion: As distressing as this may be, this societal structure facilitates the survival of our species. Without cognitive diversity, we could vanish as a species as our environment continues to change.
Perhaps you could go over your recent posts, say #1726? Can you please quantify your statements?
You are right i'm unclear: during my own studies i've been introduced to the research linking size of group/ability to control deviant behavior as well as size of brain related to social activity during my first or second year within my study cycle.
I can't point to them exactly as i don't remember the name of researchers who published them but they were 'classic' research for the teachers i had at that time. Anthropology wasn't my main axe of study ( i was into Art Sociology) and i had less interest in secondary modules like this one so forgoten a lot about it.
But it shouldn't be difficult to find those research if you can connect to someone into this.
I would suggest it's statements like yours enabling the direction society takes. I will admit you do have history on your side, however feeding prisoners to lions to an audience or impaling your adversaries in public view or sacrificing babies or slave trade is at least now done in secret.
It's a very fine line between clinical insanity and human nature. Given enough time and circumstance, we are all capable of the worst behaviour. It doesn't take a psycho to take advantage.
Very interesting point. I remember reading about how we can only really know about 250 people in our life, which you mentioned earlier. Beyond this we have to depend on other ways to make sense of society, like tribalism and relying on leaders. So these ugly traits are necessary for us to survive as a species, and this societal structure supports tribalism and narcissistic traits in our population.
This might be why schizophrenia is far more prevalent in urban populations than rural ones. That's something I've contemplated a lot before when trying to figure out just how my brother ended up the way he did. We grew up in a dense, working class neighborhood in Chicago; a place where violence and strife was commonplace.
Why are you pointing the finger at me? I'm observing nature. She's your demon. I don't like it any more than you. I'm just trying to understand it.