The Relationship among Psychopathy, Emotional Intelligence, and Professional Success in Finance

Abstract

The current study examined the relationship between psychopathic traits, emotional intelligence, and professional success in finance. The literature suggests that possessing certain psychopathic personality traits and emotional intelligence can be conducive to advancing professionally in the financial sector. It was hypothesized that interpersonal-affective psychopathic traits and emotional intelligence would be associated with one another and would also show positive associations with professional success. Fifty-five individuals employed at financial institutions in the New York metropolitan area completed the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised, the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test, and answered questions about their employment and income. The current sample showed significantly higher levels of interpersonal-affective psychopathic traits than those reported in other community samples and significantly lower levels of emotional intelligence than those found in a comparison sample. Although interpersonal-affective psychopathic traits were not significantly related to emotional intelligence, impulsive-behavioral traits were negatively related to emotional intelligence. Interpersonal-affective psychopathic traits were related to higher annual incomes and were predictive of higher corporate ranks.