How Punishment Response Can Be A Little Yellow Flag

$8 for strawberries!? What if I just accidentally didn't scan it ...

In the self-checkout line, we've all considered not scanning an item or two and just walking out with it. When considering an antisocial action like stealing, we weigh the benefits against the risks and consequences. It would be nice to save a few bucks. But, we glance up at the cameras and think, is it worth it? We imagine a disapproving manager confronting us. We imagine the embarrassment of getting called out in front of other shoppers. We imagine our face on a "Watch These People, They Steal!" poster in the break room. We shudder, and we diligently scan all our items.

A person with psychopathic traits will move through the same logical process with the same facts, but run the decision through a completely different formula. Their formula is able to predict negative consequences, but weighs them much less. The benefits, to them, outweigh the risks.

This means psychopaths are not only more likely to choose antisocial behavior, they're likely to do it over and over again, even when caught.

How could they do that?

Amanda Riley, the subject of the podcast "Scamanda," faked cancer for the monetary donations and attention. While the morality of this is already very difficult to understand, the intentionality of it was even more offensive: whenever she would get called out, or caught, she'd simply move and start the scam over again. The shame of being caught did not deter her behavior.

Zach Avery pitched close friends and family on business opportunities that turned out to be scams and Ponzi schemes to enrich himself. His final scheme was to the tune of $650 million dollars, and landed him a 20 year prison sentence. When asked by a confounded victim what his end game was, Zach said he never had one. He understood his scheme would inevitably implode, he just wasn't very worried about it.

Fraudsters like Amanda and Zach leave people stunned and confused. How could you steal from your friends? How could you fake cancer? How could you do these things, knowing the horrible consequences?

Psychopathy and Punishment

When I educate people on psychopathy, the example I often use is a cat. The metaphor holds up in terms of consequences or punishment: cats see punishment as a discrete action, unconnected to any proceeding behavior. Punishment will not stop undesired behaviors.

Research shows that people with psychopathic traits lack behavioral responses to punishment, similar to a cat. In a study, men with psychopathic tendencies were presented with two emotionally neutral images (furniture and animals) and asked to pick one. Their selection was either rewarded with gaining points, or punished by losing points. People with psychopathic traits showed less response to losing points than people who did not have psychopathic traits.

To bring it back to the self-checkout situation: A person with psychopathic tendencies will understand that stealing might bring an angry manager, it just doesn't affect whether or not they choose to steal.

This can be hard for us non-psychopaths to imagine. To try to do so, place yourself in the self-checkout line. But this time, it's a character in a video game, and you're actually on the couch holding the remote. If the consequences of stealing an item is just an angry manager character, who isn't real, most of us would give it a go. The social costs of the action feel muted when it's just a video game character.

This is how someone with psychopathic traits might feel when they're weighing the decision in real life.

The Yellow Flags

Once the fraud implodes, it's easy to look back and see the signs. But when you first meet someone, and you have no context, what are the yellow flags that could hint at psychopathic fraud traits?

One common trait that is visible early, or at a distance, is a lack of humility when an opportunity arises to either take the spotlight of attention, or learn from a mistake.

The Yellow Flag:

Zach defrauded a friend by telling him a beverage investment was much safer than it actually was, and his friend lost that money. Zach then circled back to that friend and asked for more money for another fraud.

How to Spot It:

Someone without psychopathic traits would have the humility to think, "I lost my friend's money, I'm not deserving of another investment from him." A friend or acquaintance who fails in a way that negatively affects you, and then tries to loop you into another venture, might be showing you a yellow flag.

The Yellow Flag:

Zach threw an extravagant birthday party for his wife, and stood up in front of friends and family to make an over-effusive speech about his love for her.

How to Spot It:

Someone without psychopathic traits would be aware of wanting to appear genuine, and not be "too much." Also, if a party was organized truly as an act of service, it would be more likely that he'd let his wife take the spotlight and make a speech. Someone who orchestrates a spotlight and then readily steps into it might be showing you a yellow flag.

The Yellow Flag:

Amanda accepted a lot of support. She tapped into a large network of people who were willing to give her food, babysit her kids, donations, airline miles, and emotional support. She had people participating in social media trend called "Fight Song" where people shared her story. She had events at church where the whole congregation would be praying and leaving donations at her feet.

How to Spot It:

Someone without psychopathic traits will be very conscious of "taking too much," and will often refuse favors or help, even when they do need it. It's normal to see someone resist help, or try to "balance" what they take with things like thank you cards or cash. It's also normal to feel a bit of embarrassment at large shows or support like a social media trend, or an extravagant church event where people lay money at their feet. Someone without psychopathic traits would be searching for ways to say thank you, and would be slow to ask for more help after something like that. Someone who always easily accepts gifts, favors, services, and money might be showing you a yellow flag.