Are Psychopathic women a dime a dozen?

Monday, April 1, 2024. No, I already did my April Fool’s post… this is quite real…

In a twist that rivals a plot twist in a psychological thriller, it turns out female psychopaths might just be hiding in plain sight, blending seamlessly into society while quietly wreaking havoc.

Dr. Clive Boddy has been researching the effects of having psychopaths in the workplace since 2005.

His groundbreaking work on corporate psychopaths was initially subject to ridicule and rejection, but the idea of the corporate psychopath is now firmly established and accepted…

Clive is currently Deputy Head of the School of Management at Anglia Ruskin University in the UK. He was previously Professor of Management at the University of Tasmania and Professor of Leadership at Middlesex University in London.

He has also held Visiting Professorships at Curtin, Lincoln and Middlesex Universities. Clive’s research interests include toxic leadership and particularly in researching the effects of corporate psychopaths on employees, organisations and society.

Clive’s publications on corporate psychopaths include over forty papers, several chapters, two doctorates and two books; “Corporate Psychopaths: Organisational Destroyers” and most recently: “A Climate of Fear: Stone Cold Psychopaths at Work”. Clive has thus published more on corporate psychopaths than any other academic.

Brace yourselves, because Dr. Clive Boddy, an expert in corporate psychopathy, is here to spill the beans.

Forget what you thought you knew about psychopathy ratios.

According to Dr. Boddy's cunning analysis, female psychopaths might be as common as finding a needle in a haystack — only five times more common than previously believed.

Yup, you read that right. It seems the ladies have been stealthily perfecting their psychopathic game, slipping under the radar of conventional measures.

Now, you might be wondering, what exactly makes these female psychopaths so elusive? Well, it's all about the subtle art of manipulation. While male psychopaths might go for the direct approach, women prefer to wield psychological weaponry, charming their way into your wallet or social circle faster than you can say "red flag."

But don't be fooled by their deceptive charm. These ladies are masters of manipulation, using their feminine wiles to get what they want without breaking a sweat. Dr. Boddy warns us that they're not just after your heart; they're after your money, your status, and anything else they can get their hands on.

So, what sets female psychopaths apart from their male counterparts? It's all in the tactics. While men might resort to brute force, women prefer a more subtle approach, using words as their weapon of choice. Picture a deadly game of verbal chess, where every move is calculated to perfection.

But here's the kicker: society's assumptions about women might be playing right into their hands. By hiding behind stereotypes of femininity, these psychopathic masterminds are able to operate undetected, leaving chaos in their wake. That’s why notions of “believe all women” is so incredibly naive, and dare I say it… STUPID!

Now, before you start questioning every interaction you've ever had with a woman, take a deep breath...

Dr. Boddy reminds us that not every woman is a psychopath in disguise. However, it's essential to recognize that the threat is real, lurking in the shadows of corporate boardrooms and everyday interactions.

So, what's the takeaway from all this? Keep your eyes peeled and your wits about you. Because in a world where female psychopaths roam free, it pays to be skeptical. After all, you never know who might be hiding behind that charming smile.

Male psychopaths have been thought to outnumber women by around 5 to 1, but Dr. Boddy thinks the true figure is much closer to 1.2:1: in other words… almost equal.

What are usually considered male traits are often ignored or intentionally misunderstood when seen in women.

The key difference between male and female psychopaths is that women tend to use more psychological manipulation than men.

Women are more likely than men to employ sexually seductive behavior to gain money or social advantage and to use a wider range of techniques to make a good impression on others.

They can be highly parasitic and jealous, feeling entitled to live off others using threats to get what they want. That was my experience with a female psychopath…

Dr. Boddy said something profound and insightful…

“…female psychopaths tend to use words, rather than violence, to achieve their aims, differing from how male psychopaths tend to operate.

If female psychopathy is expressed differently, then measures designed to capture and identify male criminal psychopaths may be inadequate at identifying female non-criminal psychopaths.”

A lurking, silent cultural threat…

The subtle nature of women’s psychopathy makes them more difficult to spot, said Dr. Boddy:

“Female psychopaths, while not as severely psychopathic or as psychopathic as often as males are, have nevertheless been underestimated in their incidence levels and are therefore more of a potential threat to business and society than anyone previously suspected.”

Female psychopaths likely take advantage of society’s assumptions about women.

In other words, they usually hide behind female stereotypes to achieve their aims…

Dr. Boddy explained:

“This has implications for the criminal justice system because current risk management decisions involving partners and children may be faulty.

It also has implications for organizational leadership selection decisions because female leaders cannot automatically be assumed to be more honest, caring, and concerned with issues such as corporate social responsibility.”

A small but mounting body of evidence describes female psychopaths as prone to expressing violence verbally rather than physically, with the violence being of a relational and emotional nature, more subtle and less obvious than that expressed by male psychopaths.

Boddy said one problem was that part of an assessment used to help identify psychopathic traits – known as the Levenson self-report psychopathy scale (LSRP) – was skewed towards men.

That, he said, was because while the first part of the assessment looked at how emotionally detached, selfish, uncaring, and manipulative a person was, the second part – which covered the psychopathic lifestyle – focused on violence and antisocial behavior, which is decidedly not the style of female psychopaths.

Be Well, Stay Kind, and Godspeed.