The Mental Illness of the Hustler

In my last blog How the Humm Components were renamed I described how six of the seven Humm Components were each based on a mental illness.  A Mover is associated with mania, a Doublechecker with depression, Artists with autism, and Politicians with paranoia.  I then suggested that Engineers are associated with the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or OCD. 

In this blog I will discuss which mental illness is associated with the Hustler.  Originally it was associated with Hysteria.  Hysteria is undoubtedly the first mental disorder attributable to women.  The ancient Egyptians thought that Hysteria was caused by movements in the uterus and Hippocrates (5th century BC) was the first to use the term ‘hysteria’.  It was used to define patients who suffered from neurological symptoms, such as numbness, blindness, paralysis, or fits without a definable organic cause.  Hysteria  has now been redefined by DSM-V as a ‘conversion disorder’.

Humm and Wadsworth had a completely different interpretation.  According to them the Hysteroid Component is concerned primarily with self-preservation.  An individual with an excess of this component possesses a character defect with ethically inferior motivation, manifested by malingering, stealing, lying, cheating, and similar anti-social behaviour.  A moderate degree of hysteroid tendency underlies much of our prudence, shrewdness and diplomacy and may even contribute to social adjustment, since socially acceptable conduct often serves the ends of self interest.  About 14% of the population have a higher than average Hustler component.

A good example of combining these two views is the end of Act I of The Crucible.  Abigail is accused of witchery and then she turns on Tituba, who then turns on others in turn, supported by the girls. You were expected to turn others in as the means of saving yourself and this leads to the mass hysteria of the girls that climaxes Act I.  To not accuse others was tantamount to signing your own death warrant, as John Proctor discovers.

Psychologists have defined a Dark Triad of three personality traits: narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy.  Narcissism is characterized by grandiosity, pride, egotism, and a lack of empathy. Machiavellianism is characterized by manipulation and exploitation of others; a cynical disregard for morality, and a focus on self-interest and deception.  Psychopathy is characterized by enduring antisocial behaviour, impulsivity, selfishness, callousness, and remorselessness.  Thus the Humm-Wadsworth definition of Hustler incorporates the Dark Triad.  Some Hustlers are more narcissistic, others more Machiavellian but Hustlers generally have all three Dark Triad personality traits. 

I blogged extensively about Hustlers:

The Emotional Intelligence of a Psychopath
How do you recognise a corporate psychopath? Part 1
Recognising the Corporate Psychopath (Part II)
How common are corporate psychopaths in politics?
Is Kevin Rudd a 'corporate psychopath'?

One of the real strengths of the Humm-Wadsworth is that you learn how to recognise and handle the Corporate Psychopath.  No other profiling system does this and that is one reason I recommend that people use it.