Social and Anti-Social Characteristics
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Now that Hubbard implemented a subversive form of processing undermining people’s ability to make independent evaluations of others and themselves (see: Overts and Withholds), he then provided his followers with “mental filters” which they could use to evaluate themselves and others in place of direct awareness and evaluations of their own – enter the PTS/SP Technology (Potential Trouble Source / Suppressive Person).
Under this subject, Hubbard essentially framed people into two basic categories – Social and Anti-Social (or Suppressive) – and established a supposed relationship between the two that he claimed as some natural law or mechanism. To make his message more clear, he equated Anti-Social Personality with Anti-Scientologist so any person having some negative disposition toward Scientology would be viewed as a “suppressive person” or someone who was under the influence of a “suppressive person” – a potential trouble source (PTS).
Hubbard somehow came up with 12 “distinct” characteristics which people can watch out for in evaluating whether someone was an Anti-Social Personality or a Social Personality.
This is again presented to the public on this official website:
http://www.scientologyhandbook.org/suppression/sh11.htm
… as well as in this YouTube clip:
The subject of Merchants of Chaos also relates to this – another form of vilification of someone “out there” trying to ruin your day.
http://www.scientologyhandbook.org/solutions/SH12.HTM
DECONSTRUCTING THE “12 CHARACTERISTICS”
It is not very clear how Hubbard came up with the 12 characteristics, but what is clear, once you really look at it, is how the Social and Anti-Social paradigm formulated by Hubbard can be used effectively to suppress dissent and unwanted thoughts and reactions toward Scientology itself while providing a “blue print” for the “right” form of behavior. Let’s take a look and evaluate some of Hubbard’s ideas in this area and how they can influence the formation of someone’s psychology.
The main reference for these characteristics is: HCOB 27 SEPTEMBER 1966 THE ANTI-SOCIAL PERSONALITY THE ANTI-SCIENTOLOGIST (color, compressed-file).
Before Hubbard even begins to describe the characteristics, he begins the reference with a following sentence:
There are certain characteristics and mental attitudes which cause about 20 percent of a race to oppose violently any betterment activity or group.
Since Scientology promotes itself as a betterment activity and a group, the very first sentence in the reference implies that it is about those who oppose Scientology specifically, even though it does not state so directly. The title “THE ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITY THE ANTI-SCIENTOLOGIST” also gives it away.
In addition to “opposition” Hubbard also links FAILURE as being caused by “antisocial personality hard at work.”
When we trace the cause of a failing business, we will inevitably discover somewhere in its ranks the antisocial personality hard at work.
In families which are breaking up, we commonly find one or the other of the persons involved to have such a personality.
Where life has become rough and is failing, a careful review of the area by a trained observer will detect one or more such personalities at work.
Failing business?! How about not enough demand or other economic factors? There are so many potential factors behind something failing, yet, within the logic in this reference, it all comes down to “antisocial personality” as some hidden cause of all that is wrong in the world.
FAILURE IS A PART OF NATURE (and what is and isn’t viewed as a “failure” can in itself be subject to considerations). No form of manifested reality can exist forever especially when we speak of realities related to human existence. Existence requires continuous effort (energy) to maintain creation. Don’t feed the body and with the right foods, and it “fails.” Don’t make correct business decision or do nothing, and business seizes to exist. Same with relationships – if partners in a relationship do nothing to continue creating it, it “fails” – no “antisocial personality hard at work” required. Yes, someone working to undermine some form of reality (for whatever reason) can be a factor, but it is only ONE OF MANY potential causes – each situation needs to be properly evaluated to determine what the true causes are behind the apparent failures whatever they may be.
A good way to evaluate the true causes behind failure or success of something is to use Hubbard’s own description of Cycle of Action:
(September 1956) The Fundamentals of Thought, Chapter 2 “Basic Principles”:
THE ACTUAL CYCLE OF ACTION is as follows: create, create-create-create, create-counter-create, no creation, nothingness.
CREATE = make, manufacture, construct, postulate, bring into beingness = CREATE.
CREATE-CREATE-CREATE = create again continuously one moment after the next = SURVIVAL.
CREATE-COUNTER-CREATE = to create something against a creation = to create one thing and then create some thing else against it = DESTROY.
NO CREATION = an absence of any creation = no creative activity.
Someone working to undermine an activity would fall under COUNTER-CREATION, but there can be so many possible reasons including simply CONFLICTING POSTULATES / GOALS / DESIRES / INTENTIONS…
A staff member in Hubbard’s totalitarian organization may be working on a postulate of “saving the planet” or “helping people” and so constructively contributing to the organization, but that same staff member may also struggle with conflicting postulates of wanting more freedom to pursue one’s own goals that don’t align with that of the organization. Such postulates could prompt the person to not be as productive or even start taking actions to undermine one’s position if postulates for an alternative reality for one’s own life begin to gain in power. This would be completely understandable… In the same wise, a relationship can also “fail” because the involved parties can simply grow in desire to move in different directions.
Hubbard ends off the introduction by setting up a clear US-vs-THEM paradigm:
As there are 80 percent of us trying to get along and only 20 percent trying to prevent us, our lives would be much easier to live were we well informed as to the exact manifestations of such a personality. Thus, we could detect it and save ourselves much failure and heartbreak.
It is important then to examine and list the attributes of the antisocial personality. Influencing as it does the daily lives of so many, it well behooves decent people to become better informed on this subject.
Who exactly is Hubbard aggregating under his concept of “us?” There are so many different people and groups in the world with different cultures, world views, and attitudes that do not always align with each other and can in themselves result in conflicts. Conflict itself is a part of the natural world where livings forms compete with each other for resources, areas of control, procreation opportunities and so on. To say that anybody that doesn’t fall under “antisocial” category must fit into a narrowly defined “social” band and not take into account multitudes of other factors that determine human behavior is guaranteed to result in false expectations and some real lack of actual understanding of how different people and their groups actually operate.
CHARACTERISTIC 1: Making Generalizations
| Anti-Social |
| 1. He or she speaks only in very broad generalities. “They say…” “Everybody thinks…” “Everyone knows…” and such expressions are in continual use, particularly when imparting rumor. When asked, “Who is everybody…” it normally turns out to be one source and from this source the antisocial person has manufactured what he or she pretends is the whole opinion of the whole society. This is natural to them since to them all society is a large hostile generality, against the antisocial in particular. |
| Social |
| 1. The social personality is specific in relating circumstances. “Joe Jones said . . .” “The Star Newspaper reported. ” and gives sources of data where important or possible. He may use the generality of “they” or “people” but seldom in connection with attributing statements or opinions of an alarming nature. |
Because of this characteristic #1, Scientologists become very sensitive to both making and hearing GENERALIZATIONS. This implied prohibition against generalizations can in itself become a suppressive factor toward reaching and communicating potentially negative CONCLUSIONS about the group at large. Someone who had lived through Scientology abuses or has read or heard about it somewhere can say things like: “They lie to people…” “Stay away from Scientology, they’ll take all your money…” “They’ll lock you up and brainwash you…” which would be immediately filed under “suppressive generalizations” for someone indoctrinated into Hubbard’s “anti-social” characteristics. That’s why these are presented as early as possible when someone first enters Scientology.
Even Hubbard himself said that “people tend to generalize,” and indeed an ability to generalize is an important ANALYTICAL SKILL.
AN INDIVIDUAL SHOULD BE ABLE TO BOTH GENERALIZE AS WELL AS DIG INTO DETAILS. Being stuck in one or the other is “an aberration” as Hubbard would say. If someone cannot actually look into details, their generalizations may be off and unfounded. If someone always looks at details and never generalizes, they won’t be able to see the big picture or arrive at a general conclusion about something. This is one of the contributing factors that keeps people psychologically entrapped in the grip of Scientology – inability to reach conclusions about the movement at large but instead forced to look at specific incidents in line with “social” characteristic. [Endlessly looking at “trees” and not seeing the “forest.”]
As an example: If someone stayed, say, in three different locations of the same hotel chain where service was bad, it is a perfectly normal function of the analytical mind to generate a conclusion about the entire hotel chain having bad service even though it may have hundreds of other locations. Sometimes, even ONE incident is enough for a conclusion to emerge that will rightfully keep an individual from repeating the experience. Yet Scientologists can go through incident after incident that “screams of red flags” (troubling observations) for years and be unable to form generalized conclusions because of an idea that making generalizations is a “suppressive characteristic” – on one side – while bombarded by direct suppression of bad thoughts and criticism on another (under Overt-Motivator theory and practice).
CHARACTERISTICS 2 & 3: Passing communication, bad news, and criticism
| Anti-Social |
|
2. Such a person deals mainly in bad news, critical or hostile remarks, invalidation and general suppression. 3. The antisocial personality alters, to worsen, communication when he or she relays a message or news. Good news is stopped and only bad news, often embellished, is passed along. |
| Social |
|
2. The social personality is eager to relay good news and reluctant to relay bad. 3. A social personality passes communication without much alteration and if deleting anything tends to delete injurious matters. |
Here we go again. If someone starts to communicate about something that is seen to be negative – “bad news,” criticism, contradictions to Scientology’s claims (invalidation) – there it goes under “anti-social characteristics.” It is worth noting that it is one of Scientology’s tactics to flood or invalidate any criticism or “bad news” about itself with an overwhelming amount of “success stories,” (as well as attacks toward the source of criticism) and if someone says: “But wait… what about all these stories of harm…?” etc. – it will be filed under “Such a person deals mainly in bad news.” It can also be “filed away” under another one of Scientology’s analytical concepts: “spreading entheta” (enturbulating information) or “forwarding enemy lines,” or being a “merchant of chaos.”
It should be noted that it is a form of BIOLOGICAL PROGRAMMING of the mind to pay bigger attention to alarming information and stimuli that could present a threat to survival than something that does not. Having “bad news” on the mind is natural because it is a form of information that can prevent an organism from getting into a potentially non-survival situation. Also, someone who “deals mainly in bad news” about Scientology itself could actually be a very SOCIAL personality that tries to go out of one’s way to warn others about the dangers of Scientology.
CHARACTERISTIC 4: Response to corrective measures
| Anti-Social |
| 4. A characteristic, and one of the sad things about an antisocial personality, is that it does not respond to treatment or reform or psychotherapy. |
| Social |
| 4. Treatment, reform and psychotherapy particularly of a mild nature work very well on the social personality. Whereas antisocial people sometimes promise to reform, they do not. Only the social personality can change or improve easily. It is often enough to point out unwanted conduct to a social personality to completely alter it for the better. Criminal codes and violent punishment are not needed to regulate social personalities. |
It is a matter of Hubbard’s policy that if someone does not seem to respond to Scientology’s “betterment techniques” – such a person can be filed under a “no gain case” meaning a suppressive person. Scientology does have some authentic betterment techniques, but many of its techniques are also directed at reconditioning a subject’s thinking and behavior, making a person believe that certain freedoms such as being able to communicate with whoever one chooses, research information of one’s choice, or communicate on matters of concern to others or the public at large are re-evaluated in Scientology as being “out-ethics” or committing “suppressive acts” or “crimes” (within Scientology’s own justice system). If someone, say, refused to be reconditioned and submit to or be effected by Scientology’s reconditioning techniques of the human psyche – such a person of actually strong will and determination could and most likely would be labeled as a “suppressive person.”
CHARACTERISTIC 5: The state of surrounding people
| Anti-Social |
| 5. Surrounding such a personality we find cowed or ill associates or friends who, when not driven actually insane, are yet behaving in a crippled manner in life, failing, not succeeding. Such people make trouble for others. When treated or educated, the near associate of the antisocial personality has no stability of gain but promptly relapses or loses his advantages of knowledge, being under the suppressive influence of the other. Physically treated, such associates commonly do not recover in the expected time but worsen and have poor convalescences. It is quite useless to treat or help or train such persons so long as they remain under the influence of the antisocial connection. The largest number of insane are insane because of such antisocial connections and do not recover easily for the same reason. Unjustly we seldom see the antisocial personality actually in an institution. Only his “friends” and family are there. |
| Social |
|
5. The friends and associates of a social personality tend to be well, happy and of good morale. |
Here is another very misleading evaluation point. Those in high end organized crime networks or a sphere of corrupt politics or corporations can live a very abundant life if they continue to “follow along with the program” or not get caught and overpowered by some greater forces such as law enforcement, while often time it is the otherwise “social” personalities driven by false convictions can become quite oppressive to their friends and family members. The history is replete with examples where the “good doer wannabe’s” committed some of the greatest atrocities under influence of false convictions either from religious dogma or some utopian political system. Under Christian dogma for example, some parents could want to be so “good” and “righteous” that they could actually oppress their children’s self-expression to result in all sorts of miserable conditions for them, while someone who was not specifically a “good doer” and didn’t give a heck (for the lack of a better term) could be more permissive and tolerant of the natural forces within his or her child, or other persons. Again, every situation needs to be thoroughly investigated to determine the actual factors that give rise to some observable reality.
CHARACTERISTICS 6 & 7: Determining causative factors and finishing cycles of action
| Anti-Social |
|
6. The antisocial personality habitually selects the wrong target. 7. The antisocial cannot finish a cycle of action. |
| Social |
|
6. The social personality tends to select correct targets for correction. 7. Cycles of action begun are ordinarily completed by the social personality, if possible. |
Really?! If such was the case, then no criminal network or system of political corruption would be able to develop and flourish for an extended period of time – some are so well planned out and executed that they can literally last for generations.
Also, according to Hubbard’s own definitions, a cycle of action consists of “start, change and stop” and would include any form of action such as going to a grocery store or driving a car. Someone would have to be seriously mentally incapacitated to be, in general, unable to finish a cycle of action – such as someone with short memory loss who kept forgetting what he was trying to do in the middle of a cycle and so unable to finish it.
It is interesting that Hubbard cited such people as Napoleon, Hitler and Dillinger as examples of anti-social personalities, yet Napoleon and Hitler completed many successful cycles of action to conquer much of the world before they were stopped by other forces, while John Dillinger managed to rob 24 banks, 4 police stations!, and escape from jail twice! before he was eventually apprehended and killed by law enforcement (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Dillinger) – these just do not seem like men who could not finish cycles of action or skilfully analyze a situation to determine causative factors (such as selecting right targets to accomplish their aims).
CHARACTERISTIC 8: Confession and guilt
| Anti-Social |
| 8. Many antisocial persons will freely confess to the most alarming crimes when forced to do so, but will have no faintest sense of responsibility for them. Their actions have little or nothing to do with their own volition. Things “just happened.” They have no sense of correct causation and particularly cannot feel any sense of remorse or shame therefore. |
| Social |
| 8. The social personality is ashamed of his misdeeds and reluctant to confess them. He takes responsibility for his errors. |
Starting with the early 1960’s Scientology itself became all about confessions and guilt induction over its participants for even thinking “bad thoughts” or criticism about Scientology. Guilt is effectively used by all kinds of manipulators to subdue people into compliance with their wishes, that’s why it is actually a matter of spiritual development to be able to overcome feelings of guilt and process it out of one’s system. If someone learns to look at actions and events in “raw format” as a fact of past occurrence, as something that “just happened” that could stem from many different factors, such a person yet again would fall under an “anti-social characteristic.” Finger pointing and guilt tripping is a big part of Scientology’s manipulative system where the concept of “taking responsibility” takes a grand stand.
Again, what is considered a “misdeed” is subject to considerations, and shame is a feeling that is most directly associated with a group culture that one is in that can evaluate one’s actions as either good or bad. Even such a passive event as having some portion of a body exposed could be subject of “shame” in one group setting while a matter of fashion in another.
Also, it could be a very much false and misleading claim to state that an anti-social personality will not be connecting one’s actions with own volition or “have no sense of correct causation.” Quite on the contrary, those that steal, kill, or commit other crimes can often times plan their activity in advance and with great precision. Not feeling a sense of remorse has to do with a lack of empathy or whatever faculty in one’s mind that causes one to feel the suffering of others. It has little if anything to do with a sense of “correct causation,” and in fact those that are in the business of inflicting suffering usually very clearly understand what they are doing and use the fact of their “causative ability” for further intimidation and achievement of their aims.
CHARACTERISTICS 9, 10, 11: Attitude toward constructive and destructive groups and actions
| Anti-Social |
|
9. The antisocial personality supports only destructive groups and rages against and attacks any constructive or betterment group. 10. This type of personality approves only of destructive actions and fights against constructive or helpful actions or activities. 11. Helping others is an activity which drives the antisocial personality nearly berserk. Activities, however, which destroy in the name of help are closely supported. |
| Social |
|
9. The social personality supports constructive groups and tends to protest or resist destructive groups. 10. Destructive actions are protested by the social personality. He assists constructive or helpful actions. 11. The social personality helps others and actively resists acts which harm others. |
Of course, Scientology goes to great lengths to advertise and propagandize itself as a “constructive group” that helps others and wants to better the entire human race in its drive toward a New Civilization. Though in some sense these characteristics may hold true of truly antisocial and social personalities, they are used in Scientology to identify and label Scientology critics (many of whom are ex-Scientologists) as suppressive persons.
CHARACTERISTIC 12: Attitude toward private property.
| Anti-Social |
| 12. The antisocial personality has a bad sense of property and conceives that the idea that anyone owns anything is a pretense, made up to fool people. Nothing is ever really owned. |
| Social |
| 12. Property is property of someone to the social personality and its theft or misuse is prevented or frowned upon. |
This is absurd! Someone would have to be seriously mentally incapacitated in order to not understand the notion of private property. A more likely explanation why a true psychopath would have no trouble robbing people of their possessions is desire (for possession) combined with ill-intent and lack of empathy preventing the psychopath from feeling the loss and suffering of another person.
BASIC MOTIVATION
| Anti-Social |
| The basic reason the antisocial personality behaves as he or she does lies in a hidden terror of others. To such a person every other being is an enemy, an enemy to be covertly or overtly destroyed. The fixation is that survival itself depends on keeping others down” or “keeping people ignorant.” If anyone were to promise to make others stronger or brighter, the antisocial personality suffers the utmost agony of personal danger. They reason that if they are in this much trouble with people around them weak or stupid, they would perish should anyone become strong or bright…. |
| Social |
| The social personality naturally operates on the basis of the greatest good. He is not haunted by imagined enemies but he does recognize real enemies when they exist. The social personality wants to survive and wants others to survive, whereas the antisocial personality really and covertly wants others to succumb. Basically, the social personality wants others to be happy and do well, whereas the antisocial personality is very clever in making others do very badly indeed. A basic clue to the social personality is not really his successes but his motivations. The social personality when successful is often a target for the antisocial and by this reason he may fail. But his intentions included others in his success, whereas the antisocial only appreciate the doom of others…. |
Okay… So According to Hubbard, Hitler or Dillinger had a “hidden terror of others” since he cited these individuals as prime examples of antisocial personalities. According to Hubbard’s own Tone Scale well described in his book Science of Survival, TERROR (or FEAR in its milder form) is a very low emotional state with POOR PERCEPTION and POOR COMMUNICATION ABILITIES. John Dillinger robbed banks, police stations, and escaped from jail more than once – does it really seem like a person who was terrified of others? Adolf Hitler worked himself up to essentially become a dictator of Germany for over TEN YEARS (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler) and managed to rile up the entire nation into a global war – this just doesn’t seem like a person who was terrified and who had poor perception and communication skills.
On the other hand, Hubbard’s description of the “social personality” resembles that of a superman who “naturally operates on the basis of the greatest good,” fights against evil, can recall and relay specific details (does not generalize), determine correct causes, and has a high sense of ethics to struggle with shame and guilt over one’s own misdeeds. This is supposed to be 80% of the world population? How many people in the world actually if only just give a thought to such a concept as “the greatest good?” Beyond “changing a tire” or recalling some basic details, most people need professional education and training to be able to operate with competence in more complex areas of life.
Additional references:
Tech Vol 5: 2 Apr. 1964 Two Types of People (HCO Info. Ltr.)
Tech Vol 6: HCOB 28 Jan. 1966 Search and Discovery Data-How a Suppressive Becomes One
This material was initially published on CivilizationUpgrade.com as part of page “PTS/SP Technology” on October 15, 2014. It was moved to ScientologyAnalysis.com on June 20, 2020.