Sociopaths in In Nomine

SamAnderson · 08-18-2009, 01:08 PM

That's the weird thing, actually. Based on interviews and psychological tests with a number of identified sociopaths, generally speaking, they don't have a lot of drive or ambition, in particular. A high functioning sociopath will often tend to be smart, glib, and charming, and they become very good at reading the emotions of others. But it's not in the normal way. Rather, they've learned that they can blend in better if they understand the appropriate verbal and facial response when someone says X to them, or does Y.

And when you combine smarts, persuasiveness, and an utter lack of hesitation to screw over anyone to achieve whatever your whim of the moment is, you get a personality type that tends to excel in business and politics. It's not that they're particularly driven; it just comes naturally.

Thus the 'reflex machine' description -- they're not doing the things they're doing out of some grand design. They've just gotten very good at mimicking normal human interaction... so well, in many cases, that they become better at it than people who aren't just going through the motions.

This actually became a known problem for a number of companies who learned that the personality profiles they were looking for in a high-level executive corresponded almost exactly with the diagnostic criteria for a psychopath. Following various corruption scandals (and in one notable case, murder) involving CEOs, a lot of places have decided to move away from this practice...

Getting back to the In Nomine topic, the more I think about it the more I like this idea. I just like the idea of seeing the look on a player's face when they try to resonate the nice, quiet guy who keeps to himself and lives down the block, and get back... nothing.

08-18-2009, 01:08 PM	#10
SamAnderson Join Date: Sep 2006	Re: Sociopaths in In Nomine That's the weird thing, actually. Based on interviews and psychological tests with a number of identified sociopaths, generally speaking, they don't have a lot of drive or ambition, in particular. A high functioning sociopath will often tend to be smart, glib, and charming, and they become very good at reading the emotions of others. But it's not in the normal way. Rather, they've learned that they can blend in better if they understand the appropriate verbal and facial response when someone says X to them, or does Y. And when you combine smarts, persuasiveness, and an utter lack of hesitation to screw over anyone to achieve whatever your whim of the moment is, you get a personality type that tends to excel in business and politics. It's not that they're particularly driven; it just comes naturally. Thus the 'reflex machine' description -- they're not doing the things they're doing out of some grand design. They've just gotten very good at mimicking normal human interaction... so well, in many cases, that they become better at it than people who aren't just going through the motions. This actually became a known problem for a number of companies who learned that the personality profiles they were looking for in a high-level executive corresponded almost exactly with the diagnostic criteria for a psychopath. Following various corruption scandals (and in one notable case, murder) involving CEOs, a lot of places have decided to move away from this practice... Getting back to the In Nomine topic, the more I think about it the more I like this idea. I just like the idea of seeing the look on a player's face when they try to resonate the nice, quiet guy who keeps to himself and lives down the block, and get back... nothing.