Summary Of Dissertation Presentation
- 1. EXPLORING THE CONCEPT OF SYSTEMATIC DIFFERENTIATION BETWEEN DARK AND LIGHT LEADERS: IS A CORPORATE CRIMINAL PROFILE POSSIBLE? by Christie L Husted
- 2. Is There A Criminal Personality? Criminologist and criminal profilers believe the answer is Y es Canter attempted to understand the psychology behind criminal behavior Badcock suggested psychoses and sociopathic personality disorder are the most likely mental states leading to criminal activity From a psychiatric perspective it is believed inferences about an offender can be made based on the offender’s mental processes Dr. James A. Brussel compared the behavior of unknown offenders with the behaviors of his patients exhibiting similar behavior and diagnosed the unknown offenders as having the same mental disorder diagnosed in his patients
- 3. Fusing Psychiatry and Profiling According to Turvey (2002), “most inductive profiles are equated with psychological syndromes” (p. 26). The diagnosis of a syndrome along with inductive criminal profiling involves comparing individual behavior and symptoms with the behaviors and symptoms of others in similar circumstances.
- 4. What Syndrome(s) are Associated With the Criminal Personality? Psychopathic behavior is a syndrome characterized by affective and interpersonal functioning deficits (Pythress, Lilienfeld, and Skeem, 2006; p. 288). A psychological syndrome is a cluster of related symptoms. They describe a group of signs and symptoms that collectively suggest or characterize a grouping of individuals (Turvey, 2002; p. 26). Badcock suggested impulsivity, disassociation, over-dependency, under-and over-controlled hostility, paranoid projection and displacement as examples of how a disordered personality might be associated with crime. According to Stout (2005), sociopathic traits include egocentricity; callousness; impulsivity; conscious defect; exaggerated sexuality; excessive boasting; risk taking; inability to resist temptation; antagonism; depreciating attitude toward opposite sex; lack of interest in bonding with mate.
- 5. How Are These Syndromes Identified? Hare (2003) developed a Psychopathy Checklist, that according to Newman, MacCoon, Vaughn and Sadeh (2005), has proven its ability and validity in classifying individuals scoring higher than 30 on Hare’s (2003) twenty item questionnaire as psychopaths and those scoring lower than 30 as not being psychopathic in nature. The DSM IV clinical features of Antisocial Personality Disorder require the presence of at least three of the following characteristics: failure to conform to social norms; deceitfulness and manipulativeness; impulsivity and failure to plan ahead; irritability and/or aggressiveness; reckless disregard for safety for self and others; consistent irresponsibility; lack of remorse after having hurt, mistreated or stolen from another person.
- 6. Are Individuals Born With Criminal Personalities? An ongoing debate exists known as “Nature vs Nuture” The nature perspective is based on the philosophy that individuals are born possessing specific traits that dictate their behavior The nurture perspective is based on the notion that individuals are socialized into certain roles and behaviors Alison, Bennell, Mokros, and Omerod (2002), believed both perspectives must be taken into account. They emphasized the importance in analyzing Person x Situation interactions in generating behavior” (p. 116).
- 7. What Situational Factors Lead to Criminal Behavior? McKendall, DeMarr and Jones-Rikkers (2002), maintained there are three factors that must be present for crime to occur: 1) the presence of motivating tension to break the law in order to achieve goals and success 2) an opportunity must exist to engage in illegal behavior 3) there is an absence of effective controls to prevent and discourage illegal behavior.
- 8. What is the Importance in Understanding Criminal Personality and Situational Influence? Understanding the motivation behind criminal behavior allows for assessment of risk prevention and intervention of criminal behavior enacting laws and regulations governing criminal behavior treatment of offenders.
- 9. How Does Criminal Personality and Situational Influence Relate to Leadership and Business? The ENRON, World Com and IM Clone Industries scandals demonstrate how dark leadership is part of a larger crisis in effective leadership and corporate governance (Johnson, 2002). Englebrecht, Van Aswegen and Theren (2004), found moral leadership contributed to the leader’s and organization’s effectiveness (p. 19). Sutherland (1949) saw a connection between unethical acts committed in corporate America and common crime Sutherland (1949) coined the term “white-collar crime”, defining it as a criminal act of respectable individuals in the course of their occupation (Schlegel & Weisburd, 1992; p .3). Bass (1999) described the corporate criminal (herein referred to as the dark leader) as the pseudo-transformational leader; an individual who has contempt for self and others Bass’ (1999), pseudo-transformational leader is consistent with Pythress, Lilienfeld and Skeem’s (2006) definition of the psychopath
- 10. What are the Implications of Applying Theory and Methodology Used in Studying Common Crime to the Study of Corporate Crime? Hare came out with a startling proposal. He said the recent corporate scandals could have been prevented if CEO’s were screened for psychopathic behavior. (Deutschman, 2005)
- 11. Where Do We Start?
- 12. What is the Significance of This Framework? It illustrates the interconnectedness of white-collar and common crime. It demonstrates the need and benefit of using theoretical and methodological application of principles and processes generally associated with common crime and their incorporation into the study of white-collar crime. It assimilates theories that scientists already find credible It explains patterns and facts that can not easily be explained. It emphasizes the importance of Person x Situation interactions in generating behavior It provides an illustration of distinguishing characteristics which can be used to systematically identify dark leaders and generate a basic profile
- 13. How Is the Validity of the Framework Tested? The Framework is based on the Person X Situation equation, rooted in the Nature vs Nurture debate. Since Corporate Criminology is a relatively new and unexplored field of study, it is necessary to isolate the two variables to determine which, if any, has a greater impact on the likelihood of an individual engaging in dark leadership. Being the first variable in the equation, the current research focuses its attention on attempting to isolate the “Person” variable.
- 14. How Is the “Person” Variable Analyzed? Identify a total of ten dark and ten light leaders for potential inclusion in sample Compile data on each of the twenty leaders and store in individual leader folders Determine if there is sufficient archival data to construct a case study Eliminate the leaders for which there is not sufficient data to construct a case study Select equal number of dark and light leaders to include in the sample (minimum of five dark and five light leaders) Construct a case study of each leader using Richmond’s Storymap Schematic Complete the assessments on each leader using the story map and gathered data Quote the material used to form the conclusions for each question on the assessments for each leader and provide brief rationale Place the numerical values for the assessment questions for each of the leaders into an excel spreadsheet Determine if there are patterns in the numerical values found in dark and light leaders If there are patterns, determine if these patterns suggest systematic differences between dark and light leaders using Fisher’s Exact Test Determine from the leader’s case studies if each leader follows the Dark Leader Framework If there are patterns suggesting systematic differences between dark and light leaders found in completing the assessments, determine if the Dark Leader Framework incorporates these patterns
- 15. What are the Assessment Tools Being Used? An adapted version of Hare’s (2003) Psychopathy Checklist The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV) diagnostic criteria for Antisocial Personality Disorder (formerly known as psychopathic personality disorder in the DSM III) Weisinger’s (1998) Emotional Intelligence Scale These assessments will be used to rate the leaders, to determine the presence or absence of psychopathy and Emotional Intelligence.
- 16. Questions