The Pertinent Negative

I was recently writing a piece on narcissism and paranoia, and how these two disorders can play a part in abusive relationships e.g. narcissists are control freaks, and individuals suffering from paranoia, see the world as being very black and white with no grey areas, meaning they will try to interpret – and connect - other people’s actions and behaviors in a very black and white way, etc. As I went through the symptoms and signs of these personality types (it’s a good few years since I studied them to any depths), I was reminded that in any diagnosis of a disorder, it’s as important to recognize what isn’t there, as what is. The absence of certain conditions/symptoms, is as crucial in terming/diagnosing a personality disorder, as those conditions that are present e.g. for somebody to be classified as a narcissist, five or more things must be present out of a list of the following character traits: has grandiose ideas about themselves, requires continual and excessive admiration and attention, feels/believes they are entitled, exploits others, lacks empathy, fantasizes about success and power, believes they are unique, is envious of others and behaves in an arrogant and aloof fashion. We may know someone who has one or even four of these traits, but without a fifth, we wouldn’t be able to “technically”/”correctly”, identify them of being a narcissist. We would refer to this absence of a fifth condition, as being a “Pertinent Negative”. The value of these Pertinent Negatives is that they stop us jumping to conclusions about things, which would result in an incorrect diagnosis, and a misunderstanding about what is actually happening. Pertinent Negatives, also come in to play when we look at Situational Awareness, and assessing threats/dangers.

During a corporate seminar, I was asked by a female participant/attendee, about a particular situation that she often found herself in. On the opposite side of the road from the front door to her house, across a relatively busy road, two older men would regularly shout inappropriate suggestions and remarks to her as she left or came back home – these guys hung out, on the corner of a street. Her question was an extremely reasonable one: should she fear for her safety? I asked her a few questions, about how long this had been going on? Since she’d moved in a few years ago. Had anything that had been said escalated over that time? No, it was pretty much the same remarks and comments, each time, etc. I also asked her if they’d ever tried to cross the road to make contact with her, to which she replied that they never had made any movement that suggested that they were going to cross the road. This lack of movement was the Pertinent Negative. If they had wanted to cause her physical harm, they would have had to cross the road – and until they did that, as uneasy/threatened as she felt, she was not at any physical risk; we talked about being prepared, and what to do if they did, including the use of pepper spray, and other strategies, etc., however until they engaged in that synchronization of movement, and tried to get close to her, she wasn’t in any physical danger.

When I used to work door, and had to refuse people entry, I’d often receive a lot of verbal abuse, which was normally delivered from a certain distance. In assessing that there was no immediate risk/danger, the Pertinent Negative was the fact that those hurling the abuse kept back, at distance, and out of range, etc. Sometimes, they would work themselves up, and then move in to close the distance, but until they did, there was no imminent danger. The Pertinent Negative of an aggressor putting themselves in a position where they could cause you harm, means that legally they are not committing an assault, they are simply engaging in threatening behavior. Once they move into a position where they could cause you harm (and you have reason to fear for your safety, e.g. they are telling you what they are going to do to you), then they are guilty of assault.

It is not just the absence of movement or position, that can act as a Pertinent Negative. It is sometimes the absence of things in our environment, which give us the warning that we are in danger. Take a scenario, where a utility worker knocks on your door, and tells you that there is a crucial issue with one of your services – maybe they tell you that a gas leak has been detected, and traced to your house, and unless they see to it right away, your entire street is at risk (nothing like putting the burden of responsibility on you for everyone else’s welfare and continued existence). Despite the worker having the appropriate ID, and uniform, etc., you feel that something isn’t right, however you can’t quite put your finger on it. As you start to tell yourself you’re being stupid and imagining things, you realize that this workman who is to do this vital work (and will need tools to do it), doesn’t have a van/truck with them. You suddenly realize that this is what is missing from the situation. It is easy enough for a determined predator to get hold of a discarded utility uniform, and fashion a realistic ID, etc., but much harder for them to get hold of a company truck/van. It’s the absence of this which is the Pertinent Negative, and that alerts you to danger.

When I talk about effective Situational Awareness (SA) versus Hyper-Vigilance (which people often mistake situational awareness for), I often liken it to the way in which a gazelle, can graze within 20 feet of a sleeping lion; it’s natural predator. It can do this in a relaxed state, because there is an absence of any hunting activity or behavior – an extremely Pertinent Negative. Often we are told that good situational awareness involves looking out for and identifying certain things, but it also involves understanding what should be present in a dangerous situation, and isn’t.