The Worst Thing You Can Do to a Psychopath | Jordan Peterson

Summary

Jordan Peterson explains how putting antisocial individuals, especially psychopaths, together can exacerbate their negative traits and make them more effective in their manipulative behaviors, highlighting a flaw in current rehabilitation systems.

Highlights

Psychopathy as 'Contagious'00:00:03

Peterson explains that psychopathy can be considered 'contagious' in a social sense, as grouping individuals with antisocial proclivities together, like in the prison system, makes them worse.

The Failure of Grouping Antisocial Individuals00:00:10

A significant failure of the prison system is putting antisocial people with other antisocial people, turning them into 'antisocial experts' who compete and reinforce negative behaviors.

Group Therapy Worsens Psychopaths00:00:21

Putting psychopaths in group therapy makes them worse because they become more effective at manipulation and getting what they want from others, treating people as mere 'landscapes of opportunity'.

Difficulty in Changing Psychopathy00:00:47

Peterson notes that psychopathy is very difficult to change from around age four onward. Society can inadvertently teach people to be more criminal and psychopathic through its handling of them.