Killer Instinct: Learn to be a psychopath

A new book, The Good Psychopath's Guide to Success, was published earlier this month.

It aims to show how behaving like a psychopath could help you in your career and love life. It is counterintuitive - who, would hire Hannibal Lecter or want to date Norman Bates - but that's the idea behind the text, part popular science book, part self-help guide from Andy McNab and Oxford psychology professor Kevin Dutton.

"I wanted to debunk the myth that all psychopaths are bad," says Dutton, who has explored this subject before. "I'd done research with the special forces, surgeons, top hedge fund managers and barristers. Almost all of them had psychopathic traits, but they'd harnessed them in ways to make them better at what they do."

It was through this research that he met retired Special Air Service sergeant and bestselling author McNab, who in tests exhibited many psychopathic traits, including ruthlessness, fearlessness, impulsivity, reduced empathy, developed self-confidence and lack of remorse.

"There's no one thing that makes a psychopath," Dutton explains. "You want to think of those traits being like the dials on a studio mixing desk, that you can turn up and down in different situations - if they're all turned up to maximum, then you're a dysfunctional psychopath."

How can you act more like a psychopath?

In business

Focus

"If I'm in a hostage situation I'd rather have a psychopath coming through the door than anyone else because I know he's going to be completely focused on the job in hand," says McNab.

The ability psychopaths have to turn down their empathy and block out other concerns make them the best operators in high-pressure environments.

''If I was on trial, I'd want a psychopath [to represent me]. I want someone who'd be able to rip people apart in the witness box, go back to their family and not think more about it because it's just a job for them."

Fearlessness

The lack of fear that characterises psychopaths could help people in the workplace, says Dutton, who asks: ''What would I do in this situation if I wasn't afraid? If it's asking for a raise or picking up the phone to call someone you wouldn't otherwise, functioning psychopaths have a natural advantage."

Lack of empathy

It's important, McNab says, not to completely turn down the "empathy dial" when doing business. "You don't want to be screwing people over all the time. They get hurt once, but you get hurt forever because they'll never trust you again."

In relationships

Ruthlessness

"A lot of the problems in relationships come from the fact that people stick in them when they'd be better off out," says McNab. "You have to know when to cut loose."

Self-confidence

When it comes to self-confidence, as with all the psychopathic traits the pair explore, it is important to strike a balance. To anyone worrying that the book will create a wave of unfeeling monsters, Dutton says: "We are not aiming to turn people into psychopaths. It's for people who have those mixing dials turned down too low and need to get them up."