Pieter Hintjens - The Psychopath Code - Cracking the Predators That Stalk Us

❂ Bloodlust - the emotion of killing your prey. Trigger: signing on the dotted line, swiping your card, or handing over a roll of hundreds. It is understandable why so many people love shopping, are even addicted to it.

❂ Gluttony - the emotion of eating your prey. Trigger: taking your new luxury consumable home, unwrapping it, and admiring it. A smart business makes this "unboxing" experience tangible and tactile. The packaging is half of the prize.

❂ Satiation - the emotion of having eaten enough or too much. Trigger: a newer model comes out. Your luxury has gone stale. Rotten, almost. You stop showing it off. You start to obsess for the newer model.

❂ Blocked - the emotion of a failed hunt or chase. Trigger: the shop is out of stock. You feel like life itself has stopped for a few hours. You ponder on alternatives. You feel diminished and yet saved from a possible error.

Let’s look at negative triggers for the defense emotions:

❂ Surprise - the emotion of reacting to a sudden threat. Trigger: the bank declines your card. You try to imagine how this is possible. You have not used it for weeks. You pay in cash and look for the number for your bank.

❂ Suspense - the emotion of detecting a potential threat. Trigger: the bank tells you there have been various large payments with your card. Your blood runs cold. Time seems to slow down. You realize… Mallory! You text him, "did you use my card??"

❂ Terror - the emotion of wanting to flee from a threat. Trigger: Mallory is on his way home. He’s not replying to your texts. You know there’s going to be a fight. You huddle in the couch, looking for a safe space in the house.

❂ Flight - the emotion of fleeing from a pursuing threat. Trigger: Mallory comes home and slams the door. You run to the bathroom and close the door. He is shouting. You make out the words. He’s using horrid language. He accuses you of stealing the family’s money, sleeping around, trying to kick him out.

❂ Anger - the emotion of defiance against a threat. Trigger: Mallory opens the bathroom door and yells insults at you. His face contorts into a mask of anger: eyes wide open, teeth bared, arms outreached. You feel he might murder you right there.

❂ Rage - the emotion of physically attacking a threat. Trigger: Mallory strikes you on the face, so fast you cannot defend yourself. You jump at him and wrap both hands around his throat, yelling incoherent noises. You squeeze as hard as you can. You feel nothing except surprising strength. You keep squeezing.

❂ Shock - the emotion of preparing for sudden death. Trigger: Mallory’s face goes blank. You think you’ve killed him. You let go. He punches you in the face, so hard that your head hits the wall. Blood starts pouring down your face. He’s broken your nose. You’re thinking: this has gone way too far, and you collapse to the floor.

❂ Triumph - the emotion of asserting dominance. Trigger: you get up and smile at Mallory. "Thanks," you tell him. "I’m going to the hospital. If you’re still here when I get back, I’m going to the cops and have you charged for assault." You walk out past him.

❂ Defeat - the emotion of submitting to dominance. Trigger: in an alternate time-line, you stay on the floor, and you wait for Mallory to leave. When he’s gone you clean yourself up. Not so bad, you think, looking in the mirror. The next day Mallory acts like nothing happened. You wonder who you can borrow money from to pay off your credit card.

Let’s look at negative triggers for the sexual emotions.

We know the emotional triggers are different between the two genders. Men respond to simple visual cues. These are hip-to-waist ratio, breast shape, leg-to-body ratio, nose shape, hair length. A plastic doll with the right features is erotic to most men. It’s the basis for the porn industry. Women respond to a different and more subtle set of cues like male power.

Men and women also look for sexual partners in different ways. In 2015, hackers leaked the client database of the Ashley Madison website. This site claimed to offer cheating spouses a way to hook up. Analysis of the data showed that for about 3 million men there were less than 1,450 actual women. The bulk of "female" accounts were Ashley Madison employees or scripted "bots". The business model was to show interest in men, then get them to pay to send chat messages.

Ashley Madison was able to trigger interest, desire, and lust in men, and then convert that into profits. It is a common pattern in product marketing, aimed at men. Step one: show beautiful women who display interest. This triggers desire. Step two: cut to desirable products. This flips the sexual emotions into predatory ones.

Marketing aimed at women rarely takes this route. I suspect it does not work on women. Rather, it uses another route. Step one is to show thin young female shapes. This triggers subconscious jealousy and anxiety. Then, cut to desirable products, flipping these emotions into predatory ones.

Let’s look at negative triggers for the family emotions:

❂ Love - the emotion of being close to a family member. Trigger: Mallory tells you how much she loves you. She gazes deep into your eyes, texts you a hundred times a day, spends hours in bed with you. You respond by falling in love with her.

❂ Longing - the emotion of being far from a family member. Trigger: Mallory disappears without warning and does not respond to her phone. You feel intense longing. When she turns up, you accept her explanation without question.

❂ Loss - the emotion of losing a loved family member. Trigger: Mallory breaks up with you after a violent argument. She packs her bags and walks out. You beg her to stay, it makes no difference.

❂ Happiness - the emotion of being in a good situation. Trigger: Mallory is so happy, and shows it in her face and body language. Everything is fantastic! You’ve never felt happier in your life.

❂ Sadness - the emotion of being in a bad situation. Trigger: Mallory is not talking to you. When she looks at you, she has no expression. It makes you feel hurt and sad. She does not seem to care. So cold.

❂ Fear - the emotion of asking for help from a threat. Trigger: Mallory says she’ll tell everyone you raped her if you don’t give her the money she says she needs. You feel cold horror and dread. You call your dad for advice and help.

❂ Distress - the emotion of being lost or threatened. Trigger: Mallory makes more threats. She starts to smash kitchenware. You lock yourself in the bathroom and call your sister. She says you’re crazy to stay there.

❂ Jealousy - the emotion of competing for attention. Trigger: it’s New Years' Eve and you’re at a company dinner with Mallory. She is so radiant, like she is an actress. She radiates strength and confidence. Everyone stares at her. She spends most of the evening talking to your boss. You feel sad and then when Mallory comes to ask, "is everything OK?" you act angry and petulant. She laughs at you, not in a nice way. As you drive home, Mallory in the passenger seat complains about how controlling you are.

Let’s look at negative triggers for the tribal emotions:

❂ Loneliness - the emotion of being disconnected. Trigger: your sister isn’t talking to you any more. You mention this to Mallory, who immediately says, "Such a bitch. She’s jealous because I told her about the money your dad gave us." You’re angry with your sister, and then you start to feel sick.

❂ Belonging - the emotion of being safe within your tribe. Trigger: Mallory organizes a party for your birthday. Lots of strangers turn up. Your own friends seem to be few. Still the company makes you feel secure and happy.