In a fascinating exploration of the human mind, consultant psychiatrist Professor Steve Peters joined Steven Bartlett on his popular podcast Diary of a CEO. The discussion delved into the mindset of successful individuals and how one can positively shift their own psychology.
However, Dragon’s Den star Bartlett may have got more than he anticipated when the conversation turned to the minds of psychopaths.
Bartlett questioned how Professor Peters could be certain that patients weren’t simply lying or virtue signalling while he was working in psychiatric hospitals especially during a particular exercise designed to establish self-esteem and methods for improvement.
The exercise involves the patient listing their aspirations and desired traits, which the psychiatrist then explains represent their true selves, unimpeded by mental interference.
Professor Peters disclosed a unique characteristic of psychopaths during this exercise: “They don’t write compassion, they don’t write integrity, they don’t care. If I challenge, say; ‘You didn’t put compassion’ they say; ‘uh I’m not bothered by that’.”
The professor emphasised that even if an individual exhibits psychopathic tendencies in their goals during this exercise, it doesn’t necessarily mean they should be dismissed outright.
He reassured listeners: “Most people are not psychopathic, they’ve just gotten lost in the way the neuroscience of our minds has tumbled us.”
Professor Peters offered his own definition of psychopathy, stating: “From a neuroscientific (view), there are certain tracks in the brain that are not really fully developed and don’t really function. This develops into someone without empathy, without remorse, without any conscious. These are classic (symptoms).”
He further explained his Chimp Model, a mind management model that considers three components in a person’s mind; the emotional ‘inner chimp’, the logical ‘human’ and the ‘computer’, which serves as a reference memory bank.
He noted that for most people, “Anything the chimp does is natural,” particularly in the case of psychopaths.
Adding to this, he said: “Even if it murders someone, that’s what chimps do. They’re violent. It’s still illegal and not acceptable but I’m saying everything’s natural. To try and give context to that, natural isn’t always good. Overeating is natural but not good.”
