Evil Genes
Page 46
identity disturbance
delusional and magical thinking, “gaslighting,” 304–305
inflexibility, 204, 204n
many different diagnoses of, 33
mystery of his success, 107
narcissism of, 287
photograph of, with children, 316
was not totally evil, 322
Hoffa, Jimmy, 30
hostility and BDNF alleles, 77
House of Hilton (Jerry Oppenheimer), 273
Hsu Chen, Nationalist captain, warned of dangers of communism, 241–42
HT serotonin receptor alleles. See 5-HT
Hudson, William, a “TSU 3” hero, 279–80
Huettel, Scott, imaging studies of altruism, 100
human nature, Philip Zimbardo's questionable conclusions about, described in The Lucifer Effect, 303n–304n
humiliation
Mao, 239
in relation to antisocial personality disorder, 135
Sabin, Alfred, of Jonas Salk, 291
Huns, 303n
hunter-gatherer versus nomadic societies, trade-offs in, 266
Hussein, Saddam
Bill Clinton's gullibility regarding, 316–17
brief overview compared to other dictators, 28
Dan Rather's gullibility regarding, 317
mystery of his success, 35, 107
hypersensitivity
borderline personality disorder
differences in hippocampi and amygdalae may explain, 194
as trait of, 137, 145
narcissistic personality disorder and, 135
of various individuals
Hitler, 299
Mao, 246
Milosevic, 153–54
Princess Diana, 277
hypertension, primary pulmonary, and serotonin transporters, 75–77
hypocrisy (inconsistency). See identity disturbance, inconsistency
hypomania. See also bipolar personality disorder
examples of good and bad leaders with hypomanic qualities, 313–14
Stalin's apparent (through ability to work prodigiously), 30
hypothalamus and brain stem nuclei
portrayed in flowchart form (as “Hypo/BSN”), 185, 196
role in producing automatic emotional response, 196
Iacoboni, Marco, and research on mirror neurons, 104–105
ice cream, superb Russian, child wrestling, 286n
idealization and devaluation, alternating between. See relationships, unstable personal, “splitting”
identity diffusion. See identity disturbance
identity disturbance
affective instability and relation to, 230
chameleon-like behavior
as aspects of “painful incoherence” and “lack of authenticity,” 156
as characteristic of borderlines, 137, 149, 207
defined, 144–46
in relation to executive control network, 199–202
seen in those attracted to aristocracy and wealth, 277
sometimes impossible to believe someone is as chameleon-like as others say, 337–38
as defining DSM-IV trait for borderline personality disorder, 135, 157, 158
general definition, 155–57
inconsistency (hypocrisy), 156–57, 246–47
inflexibility and rigidity
as feature of identity disturbance along with over-flexibility, 155–56, 207, 232
new data difficult to assimilate due to emotionally based biases, 189–90
obsessive-compulsive personality disorder and, 135
paranoid personality disorder, a trait of, 134
role of orbitofrontal cortex in suppressing emotional memories that affect decision making, 204
Machiavellians and, 156–57, 297–98
overview related to neuroscience results, 206–207, 232
parietal lobe abnormalities may contribute to identity disturbance in borderlines, 198–99
in people
beneficial visionaries, delusions of, 305–307, 307n
Caligula and Nero, 276
Diana, Princess, 277
Duesberg, Peter, denies standard treatment necessary for AIDS, 306n–307n
Fastow, Andrew, Enron CFO (chameleon-like behavior), 295
general discussion of inflexible tyrants, 301–302
Hilton, Kathy (Paris Hilton's mother), “she nailed him with her fake personality,” 273
Hitler. See Hitler, identity disturbance
lack of chameleon-like behavior in people
Ataturk, Mustafa Kemal, 309
Thatcher, Margaret, 309
Maggiore, Christine, denies standard treatment necessary for AIDS even after death of daughter from AIDS, 306n–307n
Mao. See under Mao, Chairman, personality traits and disorders
Milosevic. See under Milosevic, Slobodan, borderline-like and psychopathic traits
Roxalena, wife of Suleyman the Magnificent, 271–72
role absorption, 156
stress and identity diffusion, 202
ideological commitment, lack of
in Machiavellians, 42
Mao's, 231–32, 231n
Milosevic's, 154
a symptom of narcissistic personality disorder, 247–48
imaging. See also functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI); magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); PET
“imaging genetics,” 67–69
strengths and weaknesses of imaging, 367–68n2
immune system and link with personality disorders, 207
impaired perception and reasoning. See cognitive dysfunction
impulsivity. See also affective instability; anger
anterior cingulate cortex and, 193
antisocial personality disorder and, 50, 135
borderline personality disorder
as defining DSM-IV trait, 159
dimensional trait of, 164
executive control of impulses as defining difference for clinical versus subclinical, 199–202
neuroimaging results related to, 195–201, 205–206
as shared feature with bipolar personality disorder, 142n
as symptom of, 137, 140, 232
in children with conduct disorder, 102–104
heritability of, 85
MAO-A and violent, 80–81
orbitofrontal cortex dysfunction releases brakes on, 94, 180, 197–98
in people. See under affective instability; anger
in relation to dimensional trait of psychopathy, 167
serotonin transporters and, 73
Incan aristocracy, extraordinary reproductive opportunities of, 269–70
inconsistency (hypocrisy). See identity disturbance, inconsistency
inferior parietal cortex, difference in Chinese versus English language use of, 175–76
inflexibility. See identity disturbance, inflexibility
Innocence Project, 188
insula, left, and “emote control” in neuroimaging study of political partisanship, 189–90
intelligence. See also common sense
as advantage for Machiavellians, 297, 310–12
Ashkenazi genetic mutations, Tay-Sachs disease, and, 87
association with memory, 312
borderline personality disorder and, 142
“cheaters” may be behind dramatic leap in human, 259
COMT alleles and, 78–80
coupled with subtly impaired reasoning skills (ventromedial dysfunction), 95–96
DARPP-32 and relation to, 82–83
polio leaves intact, 116
of various individuals
Carolyn, 128, 142, 327
Churchill, Winston, 293
Duvalier, “Papa Doc” (Haitian dictator), 311
lack of in Andrew Fastow, Enron's CFO (compensated for with Machiavellian traits), 295
Mao, 250
Shockley, William (also his disparaging comment about his children's), 290–91
Stalin, Jos
eph, 312
Stroessner, Alfredo (Paraguayan dictator), 311
intermediate phenotype. See also subclinical personality disorders
cautions regarding this approach, 363n9
defined, 66–69, 255n
in relation to “Cluster B” disorders and MAO-A gene, 238
International Society for Human Ethology, 253, 283
intimidation, See under manipulation
Inventing the AIDS Virus (Peter Duesberg), 307n
Irfan, adopted son of author and her husband, 151–52, 153, 169–70
iron lung, photo of ward, 125
irrationality. See cognitive dysfunction
irresponsibility
antisocial personality disorder and, 51, 135
as dimensional trait of psychopathy, 167
irritability, 142n. See also affective instability; aggressiveness; anger
antisocial personality disorder and, 50
borderline personality disorder and, 158
Islam, fundamentalist, Machiavellians who have found purchase in, 307
Ismail the Bloodthirsty and his (somewhat exaggerated) prolific nature, 268
isolation, social
borderline personality disorder and, 137, 140
Carolyn's, 124–26, 141, 327
Mao's, 225
Jackson, Andrew, temper of, 300
Jefferson, Thomas (one of most “double-faced” politicans in America), 298, 301
Joan of Arc, 306
Johnson, Lyndon, and “the Johnson treatment,” 258
Jordan, Justin, a “TSU 3” hero, 279–80
journalism. See media, press, and journalists
Justinian, Byzantine emperor who gave “despotism” bad name, 268–70
Kaihui, Mao's second wife: disillusionment, marriage, and undying love, 220–22, 228
Kang Sheng, Mao's torturer extraordinaire, 239
Kernberg, Otto, and malignant narcissism, 33
Kerry, John, in relation to neuroimaging study on partisanship, 189–90
Kershaw, Ian (Hitler biographer), 300
Kiehl, Kent, imaging studies of psychopaths, 90–92
Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il
Jimmy Carter duped by Kim Il Sung, 316
their “Happy Corps” of women, 269n
kindness. See altruism
Kinner, Stuart, psychopaths can't project onto others feelings they themselves don't have, 105
Knudson, Dean, problems with borderlines in the workplace, 149
Kozlowski, Dennis, Tyco CEO, ice statue urinating Stolichnaya vodka, 294
Krauthammer, Charles: “blanket anti-son-of-a-bitch policy is…righteous self-delusion,” 339
Kreger, Randi (Stop Walking on Eggshells), 139–40, 146, 147
Kreisman, Jerold
borderlines and empathy, 142
refers to borderlines by diagnosis, 139n
Sometimes I Act Crazy: “typically, the borderline seeks partners who are in a position of power,” 277
Kretschmer, Ernst, psychiatrist: “In normal times we diagnose them; in disturbed times they govern us,” 332, 334–35
Kroc, Roy, McDonald's founder, “rat eat rat” industry, 292
Kuklinski, Richard (hired killer), perfunctory attitude toward work, 96
labor unions, 310
lack of authenticity. See also under identity disturbance, chameleon-like behavior
defined, 156
lack of object constancy, 221
Langer, Walter (psychoanalyst and Hitler biographer), 299
language: learning and theories related to, 174–77, 261–62
lateral frontal cortex and “emote control” in neuroimaging study of political partisanship, 189–90
Lauren, Ralph, temper of, 300
law and free will, 330, 330n
Lay, Ken, Chairman of Enron, 296–98
learning, new data difficult to assimilate due to political and other emotional biases, 189–90
learning disability, psychopathy as, 103
LeBor, Adam
corruption at the United Nations, as described in “Complicity with Evil, 332
observations in Milosevic: A Biography, 154, 164–65
Leibniz and Newton, feud over invention of calculus, 291
Leichter, Steven, borderline behavior in a hospital setting, 143–44
Lenin, Vladimir, could not resist temptation to stay in power, 298
Lesser, Guy, on Milosevic's war crimes tribunal at The Hague, 156
liars. See lying
Lifton, Robert Jay, Mao's policies as “psychism,” 235
limbic system. See also amygdala; hippocampus; nucleus accumbens; thalamus
in borderline personality disorder
dual pathology in limbic and prefrontal systems, 166, 208
PET scans show lower glucose metabolism, 197
emotional processing of signals in, 182–86, 187
illustration of key components of, 183
MAO-A in relation to smaller organs in, 80
murderers have “turbocharged,” 97
in psychopaths’, 90–91, 209
ventromedial cortex, intimate connection with, 182
Lincoln, Abraham, abuse by father and depression, 219n
Linehan, Marsha
dislike of word “manipulative” when applied to borderline patients, 138
her dialectic-behavioral therapy has been shown effective in helping borderlines, 329
litigation more likely from borderlines, 149
Li Zhisui, Mao's doctor, observations of Chairman Mao. See also Mao, Chairman
addiction to sleeping pills, sex, 233
devoid of human feeling, ignores injured child acrobat, willing to lose half population of China, sad interactions with ex-wife, 225–27
a few of programs probably conceived with vague decency, 249
“greatest manipulator of all,” 237
“I felt no sorrow at his passing,” 248
Mao's reaction to devastating effects of his policies was to pretend weren't happening, 234–35
Mao states “Getting upset is one of my weapons,” 229
methods for gaining loyalty from others, 241
paranoia begins to tighten its grip, 245
“ruthless though he was, I believe Mao launched the Great Leap Forward to bring good to China,” 236
terms Mao's condition “neurasthenia,” 231
Lobel, Jules, “emote control,” 187
Loewenstein, George, “emote control,” 187
Lombroso, Cesar, 50
Long, Huey, Louisiana's political “Kingfish,” 251
“long” in relation to serotonin transporters, 72–75, 78
Lou Gehrig's disease: Mao's fatal illness, 248
love
abstract reasoning, relation to, 100
alternating loving and hateful behavior in borderlines, 149
Carolyn's diaries record her true feelings related to love for father, 341–43
Milosevic's unquestioned love for his wife, 155
vasopressin and oxytocin hormones help produce feelings of, 83
Lowenstein, Roger (biographer of Warren Buffett), 318
Lucifer Effect, The (Philip Zimbardo), questionable nature of its conclusions, 303–304n
lying. See especially manipulation; and also gaslighting; deceitfulness
antisocial personality disorder and, 50, 135
borderline personality disorder and, 140
easy ability to lie serves as advantage for Machiavellians, 297
gaslighting and intentional, 147
narcissism as motivation for, 162
pathological, 106
by people. See manipulation by people
as trait defined by Christie for Machiavellians, 42
Mach (high and low), 46–47, 47n
Mach-IV test for Machiavellianism
development of, 46–47
Mao illustrates why a Machiavellian would not achieve perfect score, 243–44
online test to determine your level of Machiavellianism, 47n
used in conjunction with the PDQ-4+, 133–36
Machiavelli, Niccolo
as early psychological pioneer, 41–42
ideas used to help found discipline, 32, 46
Machiavellianism. See also Machiavellians
Christie and study of, 41–48
evolutionary benefits of Machiavellian behavior, 254–56, 387–88n2
psychopathy and, 42, 131–32
test for. See Mach-IV test for Machiavellianism
Machiavellians. See also Machiavellianism; Mao, Chairman; Milosevic, Slobodan; and also draw your own conclusions related to others mentioned in text
borderlines as, 137, 145
broad societal and historical implications
ability to discern Machiavellians is important defensive tool, 318–22
advantages of having at least a few Machiavellian traits, 336
blanket anti-son-of-a-bitch policy is righteous self-delusion (Charles Krauthammer), 339
does percentage of Machiavellians influence culture, 270–71
Machiavellians more frequently found in positions of power and control, 333, 335
Machiavellians have ability to seduce others into ignoring conscience, 281
Machiavellians take advantage of natural altruism and kindhearted naivete, 255
Machiavellians use our own neural quirks to fool us into working against our dearest ideals, 192
in Ottoman empire, 271–72, 274
preferentially selected for in more densely populated agricultural societies, 264–71
religion and, 35, 250–51, 307, 331. See also Mao, Chairman, religious cult of personality
in Roman empire, 275–76, 276n
ultimate effects on society, 331–39
why people support Machiavellians in politics, 334, 339
Christie's proposed set of traits for, 42–45
definition of a Machiavellian
Christian pacifists and Muslim terrorists act as altruists—so what is a Machiavellian, 285–87
general, 32, 35
precise and detailed, 255n, 280–83
emergenic constellation of borderpathic traits in Machiavellian leaders, 314–15
at Enron, 294–98. See also business
as “gold diggers,” 271–78
identity disturbance and, 156–57
ideological commitment, lack of. See ideological commitment, lack of
inexactitude of term “Machiavellian”—as with term “antisocial personality disorder,” 255n, 281
no single gene causes, 68
problem of detecting, 332–39
Madonna, narcissism as tool to reach superstar status, 292
Maggiore, Christine, denies standard treatment necessary for AIDS, 306n–307n
magical thinking
fusiform gyrus, associated with unusual features in, 235