Should I Be Worried About Meeting a Psychopath?
The short answer is no. Less than 2% of the population can be diagnosed as a psychopath (Iken, 2023). Even less than that will do physical harm. Of course, emotional damage is just as significant. If you work in politics or business, you most likely know a psychopath already. Business, along with temp jobs, is where many psychopaths choose to work. For temp jobs, this difference is that they can stay in one place for a short time. It is a short-term job where they are not expected to be the best in their field. So they can cause as much harm as they want and will not have to stay there very long (Raine, 2013).
If you are concerned that you could end up being friends with or dating someone who is a psychopath, you can learn the signs. You can not ideally prevent yourself from avoiding psychopaths because the functioning ones could be working alongside you. An example from 2016 was when within a business group, one member named Bob would always say he could take on new projects. The rest of the group knew they would end up doing all the work because Bob did not do it. It might seem to higher-ups or supervisors that he is getting the job done because he is at all the meetings and might even be running them. However, he will pass on all the work to someone else (Myron Beard, 2022).
As frustrating and stressful as this is, it could happen to you even if there is not a psychopath around. Some people do not want to put the work in. And if you know the signs you are looking for, you can mostly avoid them. The percentage is low, and once you know the signs you are looking for, you should not worry too much about running into a psychopath.
References:
Iken, H. (2023, May 2). 20 ways to spot the psychopath in your life. Ayo and Iken. Retrieved May 5, 2023, from https://www.myfloridalaw.com/twenty-ways-to-spot-the-psychopath-in-your-life/
Myron Beard, P. D. (2022, September 7). High-functioning psychopaths in the workplace. Myron Beard Executive Consulting. Retrieved May 5, 2023, from http://www.beardexecutiveconsulting.com/beware-the-charming-psychopath/
Raine, A. (2013). The Anatomy of Violence: The Biological Roots of Crime. Random House LLC.
Webb, C. H. (2022). The problem of psychopathy. Psychology Today. Retrieved May 5, 2023, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/drawing-the-curtains-back/202203/the-problem-psychopathy