Episode 3: Dr. Schug discusses what is known about the case of Scott Peterson who was convicted of the murder of his wife, Lacey Peterson. He also talks with Dr. Paul Babiak, Industrial and Organizational Psychologist and coauthor of the book, Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work. Dr. Schug and Dr. Babiak discuss some of the manipulation techniques of psychopaths and how they are often able to manipulate their victims successfully. Click here to stream the podcast.
Psychopaths can be thought of as parasitic-predators who employ a three phase predatory process.
Phase 1 is the assessment phase. During this phase, psychopaths assess their victim’s utility (money, sex, power, social status) and inner psychological state (attitudes, values, beliefs, needs, fantasies, hopes, dreams, and ambitions). Understanding your inner life is the key they use to manipulate you. Once a psychopath has identified a suitable target he or she will move into phase two—manipulation.
Phase 2 is the manipulation phase. Here the psychopath will ingratiate themselves to you using a variety of impression management techniques. In this phase, the goal of the psychopath is to create the “mask” or the “psychopathic fiction,” a fictitious person you will trust enough to eventually hand over financial resources. Psychopaths are also master game players. But they don’t like to keep playing the same player forever.
Phase 3 is the abandonment phase. When the psychopath gets bored and moves on the victim is discarded.
Dr. Babiak concludes by discussing six ways to defend against psychopathic manipulation.
If you have had an experience with someone with psychopathic traits, consider visiting the Aftermath Foundation Survivors’ Forum to discuss it with people who may have had similar experiences.