Do Psychopaths Perform Better in High Stress Work Environments? The Moderating Effect of Work Stress on Individuals With ASPD

Teh Hong-Leong (), Ng Shwu-Shing, Lai Ka-Fei, Norhayati Md Isa, Farhana Hanim, Shanthi Nadarajah and Hatijah Md Salleh
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Teh Hong-Leong: Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Universiti, Teh Hong Piow Faculty of Business and Finance
Ng Shwu-Shing: Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Universiti, Teh Hong Piow Faculty of Business and Finance
Lai Ka-Fei: Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Universiti, Teh Hong Piow Faculty of Business and Finance
Norhayati Md Isa: Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Universiti, Teh Hong Piow Faculty of Business and Finance
Farhana Hanim: Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Universiti, Teh Hong Piow Faculty of Business and Finance
Shanthi Nadarajah: Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Universiti, Teh Hong Piow Faculty of Business and Finance
Hatijah Md Salleh: Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Jalan Universiti, Teh Hong Piow Faculty of Business and Finance

A chapter in Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Business, Accounting, Finance and Economics (BAFE 2025), 2025, pp 129-134 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract Individuals with antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) or by its layman term ‘psychopaths’ are often perceived in a negative light. However certain studies reveal that psychopaths perform better under an abusive boss. Surprisingly, psychopaths reported improved well-being, more positive emotions, and lower levels of anger under the constant torment of an abusive supervisor, in contrast to non-psychopathic employees. The rationale for this phenomenon stems from the fact that psychopaths lack both empathy and fear, and therefore are insensitive to emotionally aversive stimuli. Non-psychopaths who could not endure the strain of the hostile work environment would resign and only the psychopaths were left behind to survive and flourish over the long-term. Despite previous literature shedding light on the possibility of psychopaths thriving in an aversive work environment or under an abusive leader, as at the time of writing there are a sparsity of studies that observe the moderating effect of work stress on a psychopath’s job performance. The current paper therefore proposes a conceptual framework whereby psychopaths are said to perform better in a high stress high-pressure work environment, and in contrast perform worse in low stress low-pressure work environments. The possible implications being that psychopaths are more resilient to aversive stimuli and can still stay focused and undistracted in a hostile work environment.

Keywords: Job Performance; Psychopaths; Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD); Psychopathy Checklist–Revised (PCL-R); Occupational Stress; Work Stress Questionnaire (WSQ) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.2991/978-94-6463-968-1_11

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