There is never ending intrigue on the topic of so-called 'successful' psychopaths, adaptively concealing their malevolence from behind the curtain. Perhaps such constant intrigue is due to the human imagination, as well as the difficulty in proving a negative (e.g., one cannot prove ghosts do not exist). If there are always 'successful' psychopaths secretly doing their 'thing' then we can never spot them (like the boogie man in the shadows!), but then, how do we know about them? Using science to establish facts about the world is the only way of avoiding getting lost in our imaginations. If psychopathy was adaptive, there'd be more such types, but there aren't (Coid et al. 2009; Neumann & Hare, 2008). If psychopathic propensities essentially entail personality pathology, then it will not be associated with success in the long term, and it isn't (Neumann et al., 2020; ten Brinke et al., 2018). Indeed, what large general population studies show is, psychopathy = dysfunction. See for example the large British general population study by Coid et al. (2018), a large general community study from the U.S. (Neumann & Hare, 2008) or a new study on light and dark trait subtypes from across the globe (Neumann et al., 2020). Folks with psychopathic propensities are not 'good' at anything oher than hurting others, and as a social species, it is fair to say we do not (and cannot) put up with others who do harm for very long. People with psychopathic propensities have poor attachment to others, poor self image and lower life satisfaction (Neumann et al., 2020), poor emotion regulation (Garafalo et al., 2018, 2019), and higher suicide attempts (Coid et al., 2009). Folks with psychopathic propensities are not happy campers, pulling the strings of society for their own secret pleasure. Take a look at the current U.S. president. Would you judge this conning, calloused, narcissistic, impulsive man successful? Perhaps in the make believe of TV one may be deluded to think there's 'success' but the facts of the matter are that his life has been one failure after another, along with the harm he has caused to those around him (Wilson, 2018).
Coid, J., Yang, M., Ullrich, S., Roberts, A., & Hare, R. D. (2009). Prevalence and correlates of psychopathic traits in the household population of Great Britain. International journal of law and psychiatry, 32(2), 65-73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlp.2009.01.002
Garofalo, C., Neumann, C. S., Kosson, D. S., & Velotti, P. (2020). Psychopathy and emotion dysregulation: More than meets the eye. Psychiatry Research, 113160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113160
Garofalo, C., Neumann, C. S., & Mark, D. (2020). Associations between psychopathy and the trait meta-mood scale in incarcerated males: A combined latent variable-and person-centered approach. Criminal Justice and Behavior, https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854819891460.
Neumann, C. S., & Hare, R. D. (2008). Psychopathic traits in a large community sample: links to violence, alcohol use, and intelligence. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 76(5), 893. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.76.5.893
Neumann, C. S., Kaufman, S. B., ten Brinke, L., Yaden, D. B., Hyde, E., & Tsykayama, E. (2020). Light and dark trait subtypes of human personality–A multi-study person-centered approach. Personality and Individual Differences, 164, 110121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.110121
ten Brinke, L., Kish, A., & Keltner, D. (2018). Hedge fund managers with psychopathic tendencies make for worse investors. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 44(2), 214-223. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167217733080
Wilson, R. (2018). Everything Trump touches dies: A Republican strategist gets real about the worst president ever. Simon and Schuster.
Coid, J., Yang, M., Ullrich, S., Roberts, A., & Hare, R. D. (2009). Prevalence and correlates of psychopathic traits in the household population of Great Britain. International journal of law and psychiatry, 32(2), 65-73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlp.2009.01.002
Garofalo, C., Neumann, C. S., Kosson, D. S., & Velotti, P. (2020). Psychopathy and emotion dysregulation: More than meets the eye. Psychiatry Research, 113160. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113160
Garofalo, C., Neumann, C. S., & Mark, D. (2020). Associations between psychopathy and the trait meta-mood scale in incarcerated males: A combined latent variable-and person-centered approach. Criminal Justice and Behavior, https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854819891460.
Neumann, C. S., & Hare, R. D. (2008). Psychopathic traits in a large community sample: links to violence, alcohol use, and intelligence. Journal of consulting and clinical psychology, 76(5), 893. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.76.5.893
Neumann, C. S., Kaufman, S. B., ten Brinke, L., Yaden, D. B., Hyde, E., & Tsykayama, E. (2020). Light and dark trait subtypes of human personality–A multi-study person-centered approach. Personality and Individual Differences, 164, 110121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.110121
ten Brinke, L., Kish, A., & Keltner, D. (2018). Hedge fund managers with psychopathic tendencies make for worse investors. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 44(2), 214-223. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167217733080
Wilson, R. (2018). Everything Trump touches dies: A Republican strategist gets real about the worst president ever. Simon and Schuster.