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Psychopaths dominate extreme sports at amateur level, not at pro-level
I was reading a book discussing the overlap between dark triads and thrill-seeking.
The author says that of course not all sensation-seekers are psychopaths, but that because many psychopaths are sensation and thrill-seekers, they are over-represented in risky sports.
The book had an interesting example of a racetrack driver and how he attracted a woman with the thrill of fast-driving sensation-seeking (including after having had a few drinks).
The author noticed that he was "good and skilled" at that job.
But I couldn't help but notice that he wasn't really THAT good -or he'd be competing at pro level, instead of teaching clueless folks and taking on joyrides on souped-up Corvettes-.
The truly good ones ride F1 cars.
And to reach that level you need very, very high levels of self-discipline and long-term orientation (as opposed to psychopaths' short-term bent).
I also see similar examples in motorbikes.
The sport is much riskier than cars, so in theory it should attract even more psychopaths.
But the majority of the best ones aren't.
Says Mick Doohan, a legend of the sport:
Doohan: some people often say "you gotta be fearless", but you need fear (...) and where that grey area is (...) or you push too much into that grey area and thing turn brown real quick
(...) but you neeed that healthy dose of fear or otherwise you're gonna hurt yourself and hurt others around you
The only "fearless" rider I see on the current MotoGP grid is indeed almost literally destroying his body by over-crashing.
And that despite being one of the most talented riders ever.
I also know of former riders that were famous for partying and getting drunk/high.
And that was in the old days when the sport was less professional. They were only mid-pack and probably wouldn't even make it into today's top-class.
If you add over-aggression to the mix, the handicap for psychopaths grows bigger.
Romano Fenati was widely considered a great but "too crazy" rider.
See here him pulling the lever break of an opponent while on open throttle :S. In another instance, he literally kicked another rider from the bike (so crazy it's almost a joke).
He was dropped out of his team and quickly lost Valentino Rossi's support, the biggest name in the sport that could have supported his career (and instead provided the last nail in the coffin).
In brief, the author of that book is right:
- Psychopaths are over-represented in high-risk and "manly" sports at amateur levels
BUT, I think (no data that I'm aware of):
- Psychopaths are probably under-represented at pro-level that requires more dedication, level-headed thinking, and more conscientiousness to keep repeating the boring part of work
Really interesting, and in line with other ideas we discussed. I suppose it may not be limited to sports but be a general phenomenon.
This might also tie into their favorite tactics of social climbing on people and trying to keep all competitors down as soon as they sense even the "possibility" of "future competition".
Because: a psychopath usually knows his weaknesses. He cannot effectively address them, but he is self-aware that he is unable to think long-term, bound to instant gratification and low-level, enemy making manipulation, etc.
So, if a psychopath is dominating the field at an amateur level, and he sees a young promising competitor starting to raise to the top, from his devious perspective it makes sense to try to "chop down" the other guy as much as possible immediately. Because, he knows he will not be able to compete at the top level if the young competitor becomes a high-power conscientious and technically-competent competitor.
To keep with the sports thread: if a psychopath is dealing with a similar-level sports adversary who is starting to grow in skill, from his (skewed) perspective it makes sense to "block" the competitor from raising. Even if this entails the possibility of a big injury. He simply knows he'll not be able to compete at a higher level.
This "framework" even explains the injuries that are inflicted on low-power-aware students of martial arts from some other guys. From these people's perspective, it makes sense that the injury is inflicted on low-level potential future competitors comparatively more than on higher, or even similar-level more expert competitors (who may retaliate).
In other words, the period where one is starting to raise is the riskiest period in one's life, as concerns the possibility of underhanded attacks from these guys.
Totally agree. The level of rationality (which leads to self-control and self-care needed for the long run) that is needed at the highest level is missing in those individuals. Like Scarface or Trump they rise high fast but fall down fast.
Agree with you Bel: self-aware enough to know their weaknesses but not enough to address them. I know a narcissist in a previous job at a regional hospital. He's well known in the whole paediatrics community in French speaking Switzerland (1.5 million people: quite a reputation) for being a narcissist. It's a little bit off-topic but still. He changed with time (no more demeaning in public) but still keeps an atmosphere of fear and unnecessary conflict, still looks for a target to bully. So self-aware enough to know he's going to be kicked out of his job (he's the top dog there) but not enough to really change. He adapted his behaviours to survive but not enough to change his character at the deepest level.
I watched the videos: imagine if that would not have been caught on camera. He would have not apologised and would have said the other guy is a liar. He apologised only to avoid punishment, not because he felt sorry. It's the same you can see at trials of psychopaths/narcissists/sociopaths when they start to cry at the verdict or before. They cry over themselves of course. Not because they think about the harm they've done. They regret their gesture because it brings them to jail not because of the harm done. It's key for a functioning society to identify these individuals and band around to ostracise them as soon as possible. As there is no real change to be expected from them.
