[DanBC]

You had a great point until you brought in psychiatric diagnoses.

I think this is an example of the conjunction fallacy, or The Linda Problem.

Bob walks in and changes the channel even though other people are watching.

Is Bob an asshole, or is Bob and asshole and has Asperger's?

[austinjp]

Indeed.

For those unfamiliar with the Linda problem, Daniel Kahneman's Thinking Fast and Slow explains it.

There are far more assholes than there are people with Asperger's. Consequently Bob is probably an asshole, plain and simple.

[fleitz]

Your point is still great, and IT IS a sociopathic thing to do, they are immediately asserting dominance and challenging anyone to question it.

That doesn't mean they are going to kill you, it means they understand how social hierarchies work and are moving up the ladder.

[EliRivers]

I disagree with your assessment of my comment, but upon re-reading I can see that I was not clear enough.

I believe I suggested that this was the action of a dickhead, OR the action of someone who would have trouble understanding the social rules that suggest he shouldn't just change channel without asking (e.g. Aspergic, or a sociopath of some sort; probably not textbook psychopath, as they're often charming and quite able to abide by social rules in this sort of situation). If I had said "AND" rather than "OR", I would agree with you. I certainly intended to offer the Aspergic/sociopath option as an alternative rather than an additive.