I truly don't understand why some people can't grasp that can simply be fun to play the bad guy. No -pathy required, I just find it challenging and entertaining to play the part of the villain.

It's much more challenging to try and be a nice guy in this game.

It's much more challenging to try and be a nice guy in this game.

In my case at least, i learned so much about these people because someone i thought was a friend in real life, completely blind sided me. I always knew there was something about him that was a little off, but i never really thought about it until it was too late. And i don't mean he did anything minor. This guy stalked me and vandalized my property for 10 years during the night, and during the day was out there convincing people i was a child molester. The reason i'm so outspoken on the issue is because unless you're one of these people yourself, you just don't think anyone is capable of doing that, and even if you do, the last person you expect is the guy pretending to be your friend. I hope to stop someone else from learning about them the hard way.

But on the bright side of things i'm now a psychopaths worst nightmare.

I know them better than they know themselves.

Most people can figure out if someone is a psychopath without been told.

Telling everyone that someone else is a crazy bastard isn't going to help at all.

This is what i used to think, too, from watching movies.



I never really did that. Just cut my ties with everyone who believed any of his bullshit, instead of arguing with them. I consider him still being in their lives suitable punishment for their ignorance, and anyone who would believe that crap about me wasn't my friend in the first place, anyway.

Peer pressure only works on those that are not of a strong enough character to think for themselves and stand up for themselves.

I'm personally ok with thieving and scamming in EVE, even though i don't partake in those activities myself. And i don't even consider those psychopathic traits on their own

However, the people who do set off my psychopath alarms online, are those who not only seek to cause emotional harm to others, but get a rush out of doing it. That is textbook psychopathy. And not just an act they're putting on. Doing certain things can be an act, but how they react to the things they do gives them away. They are incapable of emotions which are considered higher thought processes like empathy, yet have all the basic 'proto-emotions' like rage or envy. They see people who are capable of emotions they aren't as weaker, and believe they are superior because they they aren't held back in life by things like compassion or remorse

But that's not to say they're out there in real life doing those things to others if they do it in a game. There's a good book called "The Mask of Sanity" which explains what that's all about. Basically, psychopaths know they aren't like other people, and become very adept at appearing to be like everyone else to blend in. They can't actually have a lot of emotions those around them do, but learn to mimic them. They know they're supposed to feel guilty about certain things, for example, so they act guilty, and may even make the most convincing apology you've ever heard, but it's all just an empty machine response. For these reasons it's extremely hard for a psychologist to diagnose someone as a psychopath, without them getting caught doing something extreme which they can't talk themselves out of. They could be anyone you know, and contrary to what Hollywood shows, they're superb impression managers, and usually don't creep people out or anything. In fact quite the opposite, they're more likely to act in a way which makes you give them your complete trust

What the internet and games like EVE offer them, is an escape from all that, where they don't have to pretend anymore, and can just revel in their true nature. I think some people out there are just pathetically trying to act like the bad guy in a movie they saw, because they think he's cool or something, but like i said earlier, it's how they react to the things they do which gives them away. Still not enough evidence to be sure, but it's a damned good indication.

No, sociopaths don't feel any emotion. Eve players obviously get a lot of enjoyment out of whatever they do



Awesome

1. Sociopaths are usually defined as people displaying anti social behavior which is mainly characterized by lack of empathy towards others that is coupled with display of abnormal moral conduct and inability to conform with the norms of the society. People suffering from antisocial personality disorder are often referred to as sociopaths. Some of the other characteristics that sociopaths may display are stealing, lying, lack of remorse for others and towards living beings, irresponsible behavior, impulsive behavior, drug or alcohol abuse, problems with the law, violating rights of others, aggressive behavior and much more.

Sociopaths are often unable to control their behavior and their expressions of annoyance, irritability and threats when faced with situations not appealing to them and they often tend to resort to threats, aggression and verbal abuse. Though no person is born with this disorder, the sociopathic personality disorder does involve a history of persistent anti social behavior during childhood before the age of 15 and if left untreated, this disorder continues into adulthood too. Sociopaths could also have been influenced by various environmental factors around the age of 15 that is also one of the main reasons for this disorder in individuals. Some of the environmental factors can include deprivation, sexual abuse, abandonment, emotional abuse, association with people who are antisocial, physical abuse and others. Though there are no distinct biological causes that have been identified as the main cause for this disorder, research suggest that for people suffering from sociopathic personality disorder, the part of the brain that is mainly responsible for an individualGÇÖs learning from his or her own mistakes and responding to fearful and sad facial expressions tends to be smaller than in a normal individual. Researchers believe that this may be the reason for lack of empathy towards others. There are theories that also indicate that hormonal fluctuations also have a role to play in this disorder, however the links have not been directly established.

People suffering from Sociopathic disorders tend to be superficially charming. They also tend to display behavior which include manipulation of people around them, desire to be in control of everything and everyone around them that usually leads to grave consequences and shallow emotions.

Displays heightened levels of deceitfulness in dealings with others, which involves lying, conning others without remorse, or even using aliases
Inability to abide by the social norms and thus violating law
Displays aggressiveness and often tends to get into assaults and physical fights
Displays complete lack of empathy for others and their situation for which they are responsible
Displays no feelings or shallow feelings
Displays impulsive behavior which is indicated by the inability to plan for the future
Displays no concern for safety of others around them or self
Inability to sustain a consistent behavior that stems mainly from irresponsibility especially at work place or in other dealings
Displays promiscuous behavior

Tricking someone into thinking you have an ace-high straight and taking a large amount of real life money from them as a result?

Well played sir, oh good game!

Tricking someone into thinking you have a Titan for sales and taking a large amount of imaginary pixel-money from them as a result?

U R MENTALLY SICK SOCIOPATH!!!!11


Obviously it's the lack of real life consequences that make the difference.

I truly don't understand why some people can't grasp that can simply be fun to play the bad guy. No -pathy required, I just find it challenging and entertaining to play the part of the villain.

And some just don't understand that lack of empathy is what defines a psychopath.

I'm a sociopath in real life but when I play eve I like to mine and build stuff.

What you've said about psychopathy makes sense.

HOWEVER.

You say that "they won't be a bad person in the real world". This is wrong. The mask of social inhibitions and moral graces that we all wear prevents us from acting like this, as well as the fear of repercussions if we did. The state keeps control of us not through drugs or respect or the fact that they could wipe us out in one blow but because, simply put, they can't keep control of us in any manner but fear.

Take the pet dog. He has been taught, all his life, to have a massive, twitching inferiority complex. He believes that his master could do anything to him. That dog does not know that he could leap up and tear his master's throat out with relative ease. A nation's armed forces are a minute fraction of the size of the total population - even if equipped with the simplest of weaponry, the high-tech that the armed forces hold could not hold back the crudely armed citizenry when they outnumber each man at least 100,000 to 1. The ability that the police and army hold to keep control of a population is purely "Or else". Nobody asks "or else what?", for the fear that these forces will bring something down on them. With the size of a population on your side, the response would probably be "Or else... or else... well, you'd just better not, okay?".

It is the fear the individual has that he will get caught and punished which restricts us from acting. Take any gang, mob or group of general malcontents. In a big group, they iz badmans, ready to take on anything 'cause they're well 'ard. Take each individual member and he'll urinate inside his underwear when faced with the same possibility.

Now, I've heard the expression that "all internet arguments lead back to the *****", but for once I need to make a relevant point using them. Take the concentration camps, the brutal murders, the smashing of Jewish shops on Kristalnacht. All of these occurred because there would be no repercussions for doing it. The ***** encouraged people to put their animal side to use. People will go along with anything in a group or when there is no possibility of them being punished. The only exception to this, of course, is the hardcore group with a moral compass etched into the very fabric of their existence - great men such as Gandhi, who never believed in any kind of harm to their fellow men.

All in all, I believe that, given the chance, people would act like they do in EVE in reality if they had the same kind of anonymity or freedom to commit the acts without repercussion. I thankyou for reading my mini-essay.

That is reprehensible behaviour. It is psychopathic behaviour. Nothing virtual about it.

Well, this has never happened before... armchair psychologists looking to analyze and categorize behaviors in a game.

Only problem with that is, some of this input isn't armchair psychology. I'm surprised you didn't add "and generalizations to gloss over the uncomfortable truths involved." Oh. You weren't being intellectually honest, just showing some jaded 'tude. I get it.

Tricking someone into thinking you have an ace-high straight and taking a large amount of real life money from them as a result?

Well played sir, oh good game!

Tricking someone into thinking you have a Titan for sales and taking a large amount of imaginary pixel-money from them as a result?

U R MENTALLY SICK SOCIOPATH!!!!11


Obviously it's the lack of real life consequences that make the difference.

Only problem with that is, some of this input isn't armchair psychology. I'm surprised you didn't add "and generalizations to gloss over the uncomfortable truths involved." Oh. You weren't being intellectually honest, just showing some jaded 'tude. I get it.

Poker game where everyone knows there is money on the table.
In game scam targeting in game money.
In game scam targeting out of game money.

These three things are different.

Because they're still just players.

If the scammer actually got to know his target(s), met them at a Fanfest, visited them, met families, went on golf outings, then I believe their resolve to pull the big scam would be greatly diminished. It could be argued that once a person has crossed that boundary from player into person, then scamming them might very well be psychopathic behaviour, no longer of the virtual variety.

So you're not aware that bluffing, I mean scamming, is part of the game in EVE? I mean CCP even made an EVE advert advocaing corp theft as a method of revenge!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGplrpWvz0I

So how exactly is this different?