The Persistent Predatory Personality Model

Attributes (20)

Group 1 – They drive the agenda  

1. A drive for control, power, dominance
An intense, all-pervasive drive to dominate their world and the people in it using tactics ranging from the more subtle and covert to the transparent and evident.  Control can be asserted in a once-off act or over long periods of time. 

1. Self-view of superior and special, entitled
A deeply held inner belief that they are ‘better than’ other humans and have the right to behave in ways that please them. They are highly gratified by the process of manipulating others which they see as a means of confirming their superiority.  

2. A pathological, explosive inner response to being compromised or challenged
A powerful negative inner response of ‘hot anger’ when their view of themselves as superior is challenged and/or they are exposed. This negative inner response may or may not be manifested behaviourally at the time although it can sometimes be detected in the features of the face. People of dark personality also use cold/instrumental anger, the emulation of anger to intimidate and cause fear in others. 

4. Vengeful
They inflict harm on others for perceived injury. This may occur instantaneously or days, weeks, months or even years later. The form of harm often corresponds with the form of perceived injury and can be a one-off event or a prolonged process, sometimes lasting for decades. 

5. Uncompromising
A steely unwillingness to make concessions or to negotiate in a manner that involves mutual consideration for the interests of all parties. While they may at times appear to compromise and even be caring and supportive, self-interest is core, and any concessions or ‘goodness’, have an underlying motive. 

Group 2 – They are motivated and operate differently and darkly 

6. Predatory (including calculated) 
Motivated to gain something out of someone else’s weakness or suffering. This often includes satisfaction from a ‘cat and mouse’ process with the victim, the process of isolating, weakening and ultimately destroying their victim. 

7. Sadistic (including cruel) 
Derives pleasure from the intentional infliction of pain, suffering, and/or humiliation in others. The frequency and triggers for pleasure vary but this is an intrinsic feature. Pain, suffering, and humiliation may be emotional, physical, psychological, sexual, financial, professional, social, relational, educational, spiritual, familial, and/or reputational.  

8. Has a low regard for laws, regulations, and agreements, as well as social and moral codes. 
Comfortable with and willing to engage in behaviours that deviate from that which society recognises as acceptable, moral, credible and/or lawful. 

9. Sexual boundarylessness. 
Open to anything regarding sexuality although the ways and extent to which sexuality manifests behaviourally varies. The expression and use of sexuality often includes breaking laws, taboos, agreements, and/or contracts; and the use of sexuality to provoke, to control, to demean, to intimidate, to harm and/or to leverage.  

10. Unreasonable expectations of others. 
Makes demands on others, subtly or more overtly, which may be excessive, and which may expose others to risk. 

Group 3 – They are hard to identify, and the truth is not easy to distinguish 

11. Actively cultivates facade of ‘normal’. 
Spends considerable time and energy creating and maintaining an image of ‘normal’. This includes the subtle and relentless grooming of everyone around them to believe in the created public image. Seems like a ‘normal’ person, convincing, and in many cases well-intentioned and even compelling.  

12. Chameleon-like. 
Consciously and strategically transform their mannerisms and approach as they move in and out of different scenarios. Create different personas that are used interchangeably to manipulate people in different situations and contexts. Individuals often have completely opposed experiences of the same person and cannot even imagine what the other is experiencing if it is different from their own experience.  

13. Dishonest. 
An ability and willingness to weave a web of lies that can reach over years and over generations, to create an image of themselves as a good person and vilify their targets/victims. This often involves complex rewriting of a narrative. It almost universally involves playing the victim when in fact they are the protagonist and may include the use of real stories which are harder to disprove and changing just one or two key details or the context.  

14. Devious and manipulative, including consciously exploiting and misleading others to be inadvertently complicit (The dark personality superpower). 
Consciously and deliberately exploits, misleads, and manipulates. This includes complex manoeuvring involving telling different people conflicting narratives and ensuring these people are kept apart or do not believe the credibility of the other, so the truth is rarely exposed.  

15. Unwillingness to accept responsibility for negative impacts they cause.  
They do not take ownership of their role in causing harm, suffering and/or distress to others. A collection of tactics is used to assist including, deflection, denial, blaming, minimising, blocking, lying, attributing their actions to the victim, bringing in supporters, bribery, coercion, threats, intimidation, and/or causing confusion. 

Group 4 – They don’t experience feelings in the same way as others 

16. Without authentic emotion, emotional responses are acted. 
Limited and deficient emotional experience, sometimes referred to as shallow affect. Appropriate responses to situations which would likely have an emotional impact are learned, usually by watching others. A lack of an appropriate emotional response, particularly at times of distress or crisis, is often misinterpreted as calmness. This includes objectification and dehumanisation of the targets/victims. 

17. Callous. 
Without real understanding of or regard for the feelings of others, particularly where these feelings are hurtful and/or painful, although they can emulate behaviours of concern for others. (Unremorseful and callous are different. Lack of remorse is about an attitude to one’s own behaviours while callousness is about others.) 

18. Unremorseful.  
Without shame or regret for the negative impact of their own behaviours on others’ rights, freedoms, feelings, relationships, confidence, safety, mental health, physical health, financial health, sexual health, and/or aspirations. (Unremorseful and callous are different. Lack of remorse is about an attitude to one’s own behaviours while callousness is about others.) 

19. Self-interested. 
The focus is on maximising one’s own interests although they are often able to convincingly position their actions as if they are in the best interests of others. While they may at times appear to compromise and even be caring and supportive, self-interest is core, and any concessions or ‘goodness’, have an underlying motive. 

20. Brazen. 
Behaves confidently in situations that would elicit discomfort, shame and/or embarrassment in people of non-dark personality.