The Next Big Idea Daily Most People Are Good. A Few Are Dangerous.
Mar 31, 2026
Tessa West, a social psychology professor who studies workplace behavior, and Leanne ten Brinke, a researcher of deception and dark traits, explain how a small number of harmful people cause outsized damage. They discuss why most people are helpful. They unpack psychopathy and manipulation, show how jerks rise to power, and offer science-backed tactics to spot, contain, and neutralize toxic behavior.
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A Few People Cause Most Harm
- A small minority with dark traits (psychopathy, narcissism) cause disproportionate harm, committing much of serious crime and abuse.
- Ten Brinke notes psychopathy affects ~1% clinically but up to 20% score higher on dark traits and these individuals commit ~50% of serious crime.
False Assumptions Let Dark People Thrive
- Dark personalities exploit our truth bias and assumptions like guilt and punishment deterring behavior.
- Ten Brinke explains we assume others are truthful because we are, making frequent liars and manipulators easy to exploit our expectations.
Shift To Text To Neutralize Charm
- Use communication channels that reduce in-person charm advantages, for example shift negotiations to text to neutralize manipulative charm.
- Ten Brinke cites research showing in-person negotiators with dark traits get better deals than when negotiating over text.
