A free public talk on Thursday, Feb. 20 aims to show how people with psychopathic traits choose their targets \u2014 and how others can better avoid becoming victims.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnderstanding Psychopathy: Personality, victim selection and prevention,\u201d a talk from Angela Book, Professor in Brock University’s Department of Psychology, and\u00a0Beth Visser (BA \u201903, MA \u201906, PhD \u201911), Associate Professor at Lakehead University, is hosted by the Centre for Lifespan Development. The event is open to all members of the Brock and wider communities.<\/p>\n
Book and Visser have been collaborating on a SSHRC project on psychopathy and victim selection for the past three years.<\/p>\n
They have studied a range of individuals, from violent inmates at Kingston Penitentiary to student volunteers. The different populations are important to understanding psychopathy because it is a personality trait \u2014 not the \u201cdisorder\u201d that laypeople may believe it is.<\/p>\n
The misconceptions about psychopaths make understanding victim selection crucial because, as Book notes, psychopaths can be charming.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard to spot them because they look like normal, everyday people,\u201d says Book. \u201cThat\u2019s why everybody on the news is always surprised when they catch a serial killer, someone they\u2019d always thought of as nice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whereas we may have a hard time detecting psychopaths, psychopaths are extremely skilled at discerning potential victims.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve looked at whether psychopaths can judge vulnerability in others just from watching them talk to each other, and it does seem that they can do that,\u201d says Book. \u201cWe also looked at whether they could judge vulnerability based on how people walk \u2014 pure body language, no facial expressions, just from behind \u2014 and they were more accurate doing that, as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
She points out that individuals hoping to avoid being targeted can\u2019t consciously change their personality or the way they walk; indeed, experts have tried to train people to change their walk but found that the effects of the training don\u2019t last long.<\/p>\n
However, in a follow-up study to examine whether awareness of being observed had any impact on walking style, researchers found that even being aware of the possibility that someone might be observing you can be enough to change your body language.<\/p>\n
As Book explains, \u201cIf you\u2019re paying attention or you feel like you\u2019re being watched, you actually don\u2019t show that walk anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the research, even that small change can make a big difference.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn open-ended responses, inmates talked about how they weren\u2019t going to go after someone who looked like they were paying too much attention, so attention may be the key,\u201d says Book.<\/p>\n
Asked what she hopes the audience will take away from the presentation, Visser, who spent the entirety of her student post-secondary years at Brock, says she isn\u2019t looking to destroy anyone\u2019s faith in humanity.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m hoping the audience will retain a sense that most people are good and that psychopaths are a very small proportion of the population,\u201d says Visser. \u201cHowever, I’d like them to be very wary of grandiose, charming, deceptive individuals who might be trying to exploit them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Book agrees.<\/p>\n
\u201cI take an evolutionary approach to all of this, where it\u2019s sort of an arms race,” she says. “You\u2019ve got people trying to take advantage of other people, and the average person has to be armed to avoid that. Like having an alarm system in your house, these are just a few extra tools to help you avoid people who are going to take advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are always surprised when I tell them that the vast majority of psychopaths aren’t serial killers,\u201d Visser adds. \u201cPsychopaths generally want your money, not your life.\u201d<\/p>\n
What<\/strong>: Understanding Psychopathy: Personality, victim selection and prevention
\nWhen<\/strong>: Thursday, Feb. 20 from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
\nWhere<\/strong>: Sean O\u2019Sullivan Theatre<\/p>\n