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Spotting Psychopathy in the People Among US

Monday, June 15th, 2020

Dr. Robert D. Hare is Emeritus Professor of Psychology at the University of British Columbia, Canada, and a world-renowned expert in psychopathy. He studied psychopathy in the prison system and authored several books and more than one hundred scientific articles on the subject. https://psych.ubc.ca/profile/robert-hare/ In the 1970s, he developed the Hare Psychopathy Checklist to assess the presence of psychopathy in individuals.

Elements of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist

The updated Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) is a diagnostic tool used to rate a person’s psychopathic or antisocial tendencies. It is made up of a list of 20 elements. A prototypical psychopath would receive a maximum score of 40, while someone with absolutely no psychopathic traits or tendencies would receive a score of zero. A score of 30 or above suggests psychopathy.

https://www.cbc.ca/doczone/m_features/the-hare-psychotherapy-checklist

Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R)

Glib and Superficial Charm
Grandiose (Exaggeratedly High) Estimation of Self
Need for Stimulation or Proneness to Boredom
Pathological Lying
Conning and Manipulativeness
Lack of Remorse or Guilt
Shallow Affect (Superficial Emotional Responsiveness)
Callousness and Lack of Empathy
Parasitic Lifestyle
Poor Behavioral Controls
Sexual Promiscuity
Early Behavior Problems
Lack of Realistic, Long-Term Goals
Impulsivity
Irresponsibility
Failure to Accept Responsibility for Own Actions
Many Short-Term Marital Relationships
Juvenile
Revocation of Condition Release (pertains to Criminal Justice System)
Criminal Versatility (pertains to Criminal Justice System)

Does this carrot look like a veggie psychopath who struts his ego big time? Photo © MT, 2020, www.walled-in-berlin.com

Rather than pointing to a human example, let me anthropomorphize with this carrot. Does it look like a veggie psychopath who struts his ego big time? Can you think of human examples? Dr. Hare’s provides some suggestions as to where you might begin. https://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/psychopaths-are-social-predators/

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic and current events, people, places and food.

Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.

Tags: antisocial tendencies, Dr. Robert D. Hare, Hare Psychopathy Checklist, psychopathy
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Psychopaths are Social Predators

Monday, June 1st, 2020

Psychopaths are social predators, and like all predators, they are looking for feeding grounds. Wherever you get power, prestige and money, you will find them.

— Robert D. Hare

Is this carrot strutting his ego? Psychopaths are social predators. Wherever you get power, prestige and money, you will find them. Photo © MT, 2020, www.walled-in-berlin.com

Tags: ego, money, power, prestige, psychopath
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Is the Milgram Experiment still Relevant Today?

Monday, May 18th, 2020

The Milgram experiment was designed to examine conditions under which ordinary citizens willingly submit to authority. The research was part of a series of experiments on obedience conducted by social psychologist Stanley Milgram at Yale University. Specifically, Milgram wanted to find out how much pain people would inflict on others, simply because a person of authority ordered them to do so. In the experiment, an experimental scientist served as the authority figure. Forty men of various backgrounds and ages agreed to participate based on a newspaper ad that advertised a learning study. Respondents were offered a token cash award for their participation.

Structure of the Experiment

Each experiment involved three people and a mock electric shock generator. The three people were:

A bogus Experimenter (an actor in a gray lab coat posing as an experimental scientist to convey authority),
A Teacher (The process was rigged so that all 40 respondents ended up being teachers) and
A Learner (An associate of Dr. Milgram who pretended to be a second participant in the learning study).

The stated object of the Milgram experiment was to examine the relationship between learning and memory. Teachers and bogus Learners participated in pairs of two and drew straws to determine who would be the Teacher and who would be the Learner. Unknown to participants, however, the person responding to the newspaper ad was always made the Teacher.

Procedure of the Milgram Experiment

In the Teacher’s presence, the Experimenter strapped the Learner into a chair and attached electrodes to his arms. Teacher and Experimenter then went into an adjacent room where a mock electric shock generator was located. The device displayed a row of 30 switches, indicating that shocks ranged from 15 volts (slight shock) to 450 volts (danger – severe shock). The Experimenter instructed the Teacher to administer an electric shock every time the Learner made a mistake. With each mistake, the Teacher was to increase the intensity of the shock.

Then the experiment began. The Teacher read the Learner a list of word pairs and asked him to correctly identify the word pair from a list of four choices. On purpose, the bogus Learner gave mainly wrong answers so that the Teacher had to deliver increasingly severe shocks. If the Teacher refused to administer additional shocks because the Learner appeared to be in pain, the Experimenter pressured him to continue because the experiment supposedly required him to do so.

Results of the Milgram Experiment

The studies took place only 16 years following World War II, and Milgram wondered if there might be a link between the cruel actions of ordinary German citizens during the Holocaust and their willingness to submit to authority. Results of Milgrim’s experiment showed that 65% of Teachers continued to give shocks all the way up to the highest voltage. He found that as long as the Teacher believed that the person giving the orders was qualified to do so and would accept full responsibility for the outcome, most Teachers would continue to increase shock levels even when the Learners begged them not to.

The Milgram experiment was designed to examine conditions under which ordinary citizens willingly submit to authority. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Milgram carried out 18 variations of this study by slightly altering the framework and found that obedience levels dropped slightly when Teachers observed others to disobey the orders. However, obedience levels increased when participants felt buffered from the consequences of their actions.

Implications of the Experiments

Are the Milgram experiments still relevant in today’s America? Are Americans as fiercely independent and autonomous as they think they are? Or do they submit to authority more often than they realize? These days, America is deeply divided politically. Do members of each camp decide using their own moral standard? Or do they feel pressured into supporting their party’s agenda and assume that their party leaders will take full responsibility?

Tags: Holocaust, independent thinkers, Milgram Experiment, Nazi Germany, obedience, responsibility, Stanley Milgram, submitting to authority
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Schadenfreude – Source of Quiet Glee

Monday, April 20th, 2020

Schadenfreude is a peculiar emotion. It is the distinctly pleasurable sensation we feel when we first learn of some misfortune that befell successful friends or relatives. This burst of glee occurs involuntarily and is often mixed with shame because we don’t want to appear to lack compassion. Practically all adults feel Schadenfreude at some point. Even children, as young as one year of age, can experience the emotion.

The word is German in origin and consists of the nouns “Schaden” and “Freude.” The first means “harm,” the second means “glee”. Schadenfreude was first used in German writings in the 1740s and in English literature in 1852. There is no English substitute.

Example of Schadenfreude

The company I worked for announced the creation of a new position, a potential promotion for some of us. But management made it clear that we need not apply. They had in mind a candidate with more skills than we could bring to the table. The position was advertised and by the time the application period closed, no candidate with the desired skill set had applied. Eventually, management hired an applicant with fewer skills than any of us had to offer. Within a year, the new-hire was terminated because he had not worked out. I still remember the Schadenfreude I felt. My glee was not directed toward the ill-fated employee but toward management. By acting so smug, the powers to be had gotten what they deserved: A totally unqualified employee.

Schadenfreude is the glee we feel when someone we envy gets knocked down a peg. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Connection between Schadenfreude and Self-esteem

We don’t all feel Schadenfreude at the same events or to the same degree. While some bask in their glee openly, others quickly feel ashamed and turn off their Schadenfreude valves. Research shows that people with low self-esteem are more susceptible to the emotion than individuals with a high self-regard. The former group clutches to the disappointments of others to make themselves feel better.

Two Types of Schadenfreude

Human beings evaluate themselves not so much by objective standards as by comparison to the people around them. We like to take pleasure in our moral superiority and stifle our feelings of envy and inadequacy. Psychologists associate two types of pleasures we derive from another person’s misfortune.

There is Rivalry-based or Envy-based Schadenfreude, which is driven by social comparison. When the objects of our envy have been been knocked down a peg, they return to our own level of social standing. This is often seen during sport competitions or political rivalry.

Then there is Merit-based Schadenfreude, which focuses on social justice. It is the feeling that one experiences when somebody finally gets what’s coming to them (see example above).

Tags: envy-based Schadenfreude, merit-based Schadenfreude, rivalry-based Schadenfreude, self-esteem, social comparison
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Incompetence, Arrogance and Power – Dangerous Mix

Monday, April 6th, 2020

There are few things more dangerous than a mixture of incompetence, arrogance and power.

— Bob Herbert

There are few things more dangerous than a mixture of incompetence, arrogance and power. www.walled-in.berlin.com

Tags: arrogance, incompetence, power
Posted in J. Elke Ertle, Thought of the Day, Walled In Berlin | No Comments »

Classical Architecture – Embraced by Trump and Hitler

Monday, March 16th, 2020

In 1937, Adolf Hitler announced that henceforth all new government buildings were to be constructed in the style of traditional classical architecture. The mandate was part of Hitler’s grandiose plan of transforming Berlin into “the capital of the world.” Hitler named his utopian city Germania. In this new metropolis, German government buildings were to rival the edifices of ancient Egypt, Babylon, Rome and Athens.

In early February 2020, word got out that the Trump administration was working on an Executive Order to impose classical architecture on all new U.S. Federal buildings. According to Trump, these traditional style buildings will “once again inspire respect instead of bewilderment or repugnance.” https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/11/opinion/letters/federal-architecture.html

Is this Trump’s first step toward Trumponia?

Hitler’s model of Germania, a metropolis full of classical architecture (the concept never materialized). Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2017. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Tags: Adolf Hitler, Berlin, classical style architecture, Donald Trump, Germania, Trumponia
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Politicians should wear sponsor jackets

Monday, March 2nd, 2020

Politicians should wear sponsor jackets like Nascar drivers, then we know who owns them.

— Robin Williams

Politicians should wear sponsor jackets like Nascar drivers, then we know who owns them. www.walled-in-berlin.com, photo courtesy of Lorenzo Jorge, Pixabay

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Five Tricks a Demagogue Employs to Incite the Public

Thursday, February 6th, 2020

What is a demagogue? According to Merriam-Webster “a demagogue is a leader who makes use of popular prejudices and false claims and promises to gain power.” The art of inflaming peoples’ passions has been practiced since democracy was invented. One of the first known demagogues was the Athenian Kleon in ancient Greece. Modern-time practitioners include Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Joseph McCarthy and Donald Trump.

Adolf Hitler was a demagogue who incited the public by employing a number of tricks that are still used today. www.walled-in-berlin.com

An orator puts to use a number of tricks to incite his/her audience. Adolf Hitler was a master in this art. By the time he came to power in 1933 he knew how to rouse the public’s emotions, prejudices and ignorances. Below are five of the many methods Hitler employed to achieve his goal. Many of the same tactics are still used by current politicians. Next time you catch some demagoguery, pay close attention to see if you recognize the ploys.

Rule 1 – A Demagogue Tells People What They Want to Hear

Following World War I, Germany was a defeated nation. Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles the victors had deeply humiliated the country. The Weimar Republic and ist political system were broken. The economy lay in shambles. The chances for recovery in the foreseeable future were zero. Along came Adolf Hitler. He promised to “Make Germany Great Again.” That’s what people wanted to hear and believe. He played to their desires and fears.

Rule 2 – A Manipulator Communicates Directly With his Audience

In 1933, the Volksempfaenger (People’s Receiver) was invented. At the time, it was a brand-new way of communicating. The Nazis immediately recognized the radio’s propaganda potential and held the purchase price down to the equivalent of two weeks average salary. Everyone could afford one. Of course, the Nazis did not mention that the set’s sensitivity was so limited that it could receive only the Nazi propaganda channel. Hitler then used the new media platform to establish and maintain a direct and unfiltered line of communication with the public. Back then, the newly invented radio was the equivalent of today’s social media, such as Twitter and Facebook. The one-channel radio allowed Adolf Hitler to bypass the standard news media and disseminate half-truths, outright lies, innuendos and racist and religious bigotry.

Rule 3 – A Demagogue Delegitimizes the Mainstream Press

Simultaneously, Hitler began to delegitimize the mainstream press. He regularly accused his opponents of spreading false information. It was Adolf Hitler who coined the word Luegenpresse (press of lies) to vilify the mainstream press. Today we call it “fake news.”

Rule 4 – An Agitator Tries to Demonize his Opponents

Hitler demonized his political opponents by calling them vicious names, such as parasites, criminals, cockroaches and scum. He blamed Jews and other racial and religious scapegoats for all of Germany’s ills, banned non-Aryan migration into Germany and embraced mass detention and deportations.

Rule 5 – A Demagogue Uses Coercion Rather than Cooperation

Adolf Hitler rejected international cooperation in favor of military and economic coercion and did not pay any attention to expert advice. Instead, he kept his own counsel. At the end of the war, when his plans for Germania fell apart, he ordered Germany’s destruction. Then he took the cowardly way out by committing suicide while the German people paid the price for Hitler’s ill-conceived ideas for the next 45 years.

These are just five of the many tricks a demagogue employs to mislead the public to gain power. He feeds the populace a steady diet of what it wants to hear and the people fail to demand the evidence behind the allegations and promises. British politician, Geoffrey Van Orden recently called this type of behavior on the part of the public “falling into the trap of an echo chamber of self-delusion.”

Tags: Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Donald Trump, echo chamber of self-delusion, fake news, Geoffrey Van Orden, Joseph Mc Carthy, Kleon, Luegenpress, Treaty of Versailles, Volksempfaenger, Weimar Republic
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What is the difference between politicians and leaders?

Monday, February 3rd, 2020

There’s a difference between politicians and leaders. Politicians read poll numbers and compromise. Leaders do what’s morally right.

— Josh Fox

There’s a difference between politicians and leaders. Politicians read poll numbers and compromise. Leaders do what’s morally right. www.walled-in-berlin.com

Tags: Leaders, politicians, polls, right versus wrong
Posted in J. Elke Ertle, Thought of the Day, Walled In Berlin | No Comments »

Garden dwarfs in a world of hurt

Monday, January 13th, 2020

Garden dwarfs (Gartenzwerge in German) are popular lawn ornaments in the western world. The figurines are almost always male wearing red, pointy caps and long, bushy white beards. Traditionally made from terracotta, they are now often manufactured from wood, porcelain, ceramics, resins or similar materials. Garden dwarfswere once believed to protect their owners from evil and to secretly help around house and garden.

Garden dwarfs (Gartenzwerge) have been popular in the western world since 1860. This little guy lives in Englewood, Florida. Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2019.

History of Garden Dwarfs

The origin of these small creatures is somewhat contested. Small stone statues existed already in the gardens of ancient Rome. But the birthplace of garden dwarfs was most likely the small German town of Graefenroda. By 1841, the Dresden company Baehr and Maresch already sold ceramic dwarfs. Within the next ten years, the popularity of these little guys spread from the German provinces of Saxony and Thuringia all across Germany and into France. In 1847, Sir Charles Isham bought 21 terracotta garden dwarfs from Philip Griebel in Graefenroda and brought them back to Britain, where they became known as “garden gnomes.” Since 1860, the town is known for its production of Gartenzwerge.

After World War I, the popularity of gnomes declined, but when Walt Disney produced the animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in the 1930s, all social classes began to purchase them. Prior to that, only the wealthy bought Gartenzwerge. In 2008, they were so popular that an estimated 25 million garden dwarfs decorated lawns in Germany. Since then, these “little people” have popped up in films, television shows, commercials, books and advertising. They even have their own holiday. Since 2002, over a dozen countries celebrate International Gnome Dayon the 21st of June 21st every year.

The Fate of the Garden Gnomes

Lately, Graefenroda’s garden dwarfs are in a world of hurt, however. Not that they have gone out of fashion. The problem is that there are not enough workers in the town anymore to produce them. The 160-year-old Philip Griebel company still exists. It is one of Germany’s last-surviving gnome makers and is currently headed by Reinhard Griebel, one of Philip Griebel’s descendants. Now Reinhard wants to retire and is looking for a successor. The problem is that Graefenroda, a town located in former East Germany, has seen an exodus of workers since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and German reunification in 1990. Before the fall of the Wall, the firm employed a work force of 60. That number has dwindled to a whopping three. Without a successor, the company, which has produced over 500 gnome characters over the years, will have to shut its doors soon.

Tags: Baehr and Maresch, garden dwarfs, garden gnomes, Gartenzwerge, Graefenroda, Philip Griebel, Reinhard Griebel, Sir Charles Isham, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Walt Disney
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