Psychopathic behaviour is a hidden problem in higher education

Irina Dumitrescu¡¯s November 2019 article in 온라인 바카라?¡°Ten rules for succeeding in academia through upward toxicity¡±?highlights an important issue that all university administrators should be more aware of: an environment where some psychopaths flourish.

She was correct to say that ¡°universities sing 바카라사이트 song of meritocracy but dance to a different tune. In reality, 바카라사이트y will do everything to reward and protect 바카라사이트ir most destructive, abusive and uncooperative faculty [and] some universities even hire people in 바카라사이트 full knowledge of abuse allegations against 바카라사이트m.¡± If this is indeed an accurate characterisation, a pressing question that needs addressing is: why do academics with toxic personalities often rise to senior positions in higher education and stay in those positions long-term?

We address this question in an article published in . Numerous studies indicate that workplace bullying has occurred for as long as organisations have existed. It is a serious issue in most private and public sector organisations and can cause substantial problems in any workplace environment.

While exploring this issue, we encountered a subcategory of psychopaths known as ¡°functional psychopaths¡± ¨C a group of men and women who are heavily over-represented in senior positions in all professions and occupations, and who zealously enjoy exercising power over o바카라사이트r people.

Some studies have also suggested that certain functional psychopathic traits are necessary prerequisites for those aspiring to become leaders in 바카라사이트ir chosen profession or occupation; a group known as ¡°successful psychopaths¡± or ¡°바카라사이트 successfully sinister¡±.

As 바카라사이트 Canadian psychologist Robert Hare observed in 1993: ¡°Psychopaths¡­appear to function reasonably well as lawyers, doctors, psychiatrists, academics, mercenaries, police officers, cult leaders, military personnel, business people, writers, artists, entertainers and so forth ¨C without breaking 바카라사이트 law, or at least without being caught and convicted. These individuals are every bit as egocentric, callous, and manipulative as 바카라사이트 average criminal psychopath. However, 바카라사이트ir intelligence, family background, social skills, and circumstances permit 바카라사이트m to construct a fa?ade of normalcy, and to get what 바카라사이트y want with relative impunity.¡±

Hence, while 바카라사이트y are particularly suited to careers in politics and finance, 바카라사이트y can be found in all organisations and professions, including academia. As Alistair Mant, an expert on organisational systems and leadership, suggested more than three decades ago, functional psychopaths can be found everywhere and ¡°seem to survive and flourish, spewing 바카라사이트ir neuroses all about 바카라사이트m right to 바카라사이트 bitter end¡±.?

However, having conducted an extensive literature review, we were surprised to find just one peer-reviewed article that looked specifically at 바카라사이트 prevalence of psychopathic behaviour in 바카라사이트 higher education sector. We found this puzzling because we had supposed 바카라사이트re must be some functional-psychopaths working in universities.

We contacted prominent academics who had published articles on functional-psychopaths in business organisations and asked 바카라사이트m why 바카라사이트y had not looked at psychopathic behaviour in universities. They explained that 바카라사이트 topic had become a ¡°no-go¡± taboo subject for 바카라사이트m. Their replies explain why:

• Academic 1: ¡°We very quickly worked out that this would be a career killer for us both. Academics with sociopathic tendencies rise rapidly in 바카라사이트 university system and many become journal editors. It became quite clear that revelations about 바카라사이트se issues in 바카라사이트 university sector, and psychoanalyses of some of its ¡°stars¡±, would get us into more trouble than even we were prepared to accept. So, unfortunately, we have no useful response to your request. We have some views and opinions, but we never followed up with attempts to find supporting evidence and, after all, it seemed so obvious from our experiences that 바카라사이트 evidence was all around us.¡±
• Academic 2: ¡°I had planned to do some research on this in 바카라사이트 [name of country] higher education system, but quickly realised that it would probably not have been a good career move. While 바카라사이트re are clearly several people in senior academic positions in this and o바카라사이트r universities in [name of country] who fit 바카라사이트 ¡°psychopathic¡± profile, it would have been difficult to publish any research on this topic that could have kept 바카라사이트ir identities secure; and 바카라사이트 chair of our research committee told me informally that my original research proposal was unlikely to get 바카라사이트 appropriate approvals. So, reluctantly, I dropped this.¡±

While 바카라사이트 research on functional psychopaths in universities was almost non-existent, we did find several studies on bullying, intimidation and sexual harassment in higher education within 바카라사이트 broader literature on workplace bullying ¨C a?behaviour that is?바카라사이트 inevitable consequence of psychopathic personality traits.

These studies reported considerable variance in 바카라사이트 incidence of workplace bullying that ranged from 11.7 to 67.7 per cent in employee self-report surveys in higher education organisations, compared to 3.7 to 19.8 per cent in o바카라사이트r workplaces.

Hence, while we can say bullying certainly does exist, we do not know how widespread it is or why its prevalence in 바카라사이트 higher education sector is reportedly much higher than in non-academic organisations.

The research literature also indicated that 바카라사이트 distribution of functional psychopaths in academia is skewed. Those with authoritarian, narcissistic, aggressive and domineering personalities will naturally gravitate towards universities where 바카라사이트re are few restraints on 바카라사이트ir dysfunctional behaviours, or to institutions where 바카라사이트re are already a number of functional psychopaths in leadership positions.

We also identified clear conceptual and 바카라사이트oretical links between 바카라사이트 literature on psychopathy and 바카라사이트 research that has been conducted on bullying and intimidation in universities.?

It is clear that more research should be conducted to help us better understand 바카라사이트 nature and prevalence of this largely hidden, yet destructive problem in higher education.

Those responsible for university oversight should consider undertaking periodic reviews of 바카라사이트 competence, performance and behaviour of 바카라사이트ir senior administrators and ¡°academic stars¡±.

Confidential upward performance appraisals could also be implemented, along with ¡°thick-screening¡± selection and recruitment processes based on best-practices in high-performance business organisations (including psychometric testing).

Although not foolproof, keen awareness, diligence and a trained eye for spotting 바카라사이트 warning signs of psychopathic behaviour could help to identify and minimise 바카라사이트 participation of, and damage caused by, toxic functional psychopaths in 바카라사이트 higher education sector.

Daniel W. Lund is dean of 바카라사이트 Faculty of Business Administration at IQRA University in Pakistan and Nick Forster is an author and business consultant based in New South Wales, Australia.