The Psychopath Test, Now Available in Convenient Book Form

[Formaldehyde]

"The Psychopath Test" Author Jon Ronson Interviewed On Daily Show

Even an expert doesn't always know when he's confronted by a psychopath, as Jon Ronson, author of "The Psychopath Test" said last during his interview with Jon Stewart on "The Daily Show."

Ronson said it took him three hours to realize that a prisoner he went to visit was actually a psychopath. The tell tale sign came when the prisoner said, "If you can get people to like you, you can manipulate them to do whatever you want them to do."

Ronson also provided some very startling statistics. Stewart said that most of us assume that the psychopath is solely "the guy who as bodies buried in his backyard," but the truth is, you might even work with a psychopath. Ronson stated, "One out of every 100 people walking around are psychopaths." Twenty-five percent of the prison population is psychopaths, as well as four percent of corporate chiefs.

If you're interested in finding out whether or not you're a psychopath, you can buy Ronson's book and take the test. Stewart himself took the test and was "happy to report [he is] just neurotic."

Link to video.

Hare Psychopathy Checklist:

Factor1: Personality "Aggressive narcissism"

Glibness/superficial charm
Grandiose sense of self-worth
Pathological lying
Cunning/manipulative
Lack of remorse or guilt
Shallow affect (genuine emotion is short-lived and egocentric)
Callous/lack of empathy
Failure to accept responsibility for own actions

Factor2: Case history "Socially deviant lifestyle".

Need for stimulation/proneness to boredom
Parasitic lifestyle
Poor behavioral control
Lack of realistic long-term goals
Impulsivity
Irresponsibility
Juvenile delinquency
Early behavior problems
Revocation of conditional release

Traits not correlated with either factor

Promiscuous sexual behavior
Many short-term marital relationships
Criminal versatility
Acquired behavioural sociopathy/sociological conditioning (a newly identified trait i.e. a person relying on sociological strategies and tricks to deceive)

One in 100 people are psychopaths? One in 4 criminals? One in 25 CEOs? That is a lot of psychopaths!

Do you think it is possible to legally identify and monitor this group so they will be less likely to become inmates and CEOs?

Or is being psychopathic a desirable trait in CEOs and criminals?

How many of the CEOs who belong in prison are actually psychopaths? Or are they less likely to commit criminal acts?

How many prison inmates might be CEOs if they weren't locked up?

Or is this attempt to pigeonhole people what is truly disturbing, as the author suggests at the end of the video?

Mental health labeling is creeping closer to the boundary of normal. Difficult toddlers are now bipolar children. What I discovered is a fascinating tale of corrosive dangers which reduces people to their maddest pitches.

(Not sure about thet last word in the quote; "pitches". I couldn't quite make it out...)

 

[Mr. Dictator]

Any efforts to identify the psychopathic population would make me wary.

Monitoring them would be even worse.

I'm more interested in the question of how one becomes a psychopath. If its natural, then what would the evolutionary purpose behind it be? If its a social disease, then what are the factors that lead to it?

 

[timtofly]

Any efforts to identify the psychopathic population would make me wary.

Monitoring them would be even worse.

I'm more interested in the question of how one becomes a psychopath. If its natural, then what would the evolutionary purpose behind it be? If its a social disease, then what are the factors that lead to it?

What if a psychopath is the end result of evolution?

 

[Wolfbeckett]

I don't think you have a solid grasp of evolution theory if you speak of an "end result" of it . Evolution doesn't terminate at some arbitrary stopping point like a train, it keeps going and going and going until it's cut off artificially (by, say, the sun eradicating all traces of life on the planet).

 

[Mr. Dictator]

What if a psychopath is the end result of evolution?

We've all got our Nietzsche.

 

[timtofly]

I don't think you have a solid grasp of evolution theory if you speak of an "end result" of it . Evolution doesn't terminate at some arbitrary stopping point like a train, it keeps going and going and going until it's cut off artificially (by, say, the sun eradicating all traces of life on the planet).

Would we survive if we were all psychopaths? I was not being literal though.

 

[Wolfbeckett]

I know it was tongue in cheek, hence the .

And we might not, but you didn't say human evolution, you just said the end point of evolution, which will go on long after we're gone (unless we blow up the planet on our way out).

 

[Lovebird]

I would like to see the medical/scientific basis for diagnosing people thru a book. Otherwise this just looks like another crappy pop psychology cash grab.

 

[galdre]

is anyone surprised that 4% of CEO's are psychopaths? Honestly I would have guessed a higher number

 

[Formaldehyde]

Good thing they didn't evaluate Congress, corporate sales departments, and Hollywood.

 

[Akka]

I would like to see the medical/scientific basis for diagnosing people thru a book. Otherwise this just looks like another crappy pop psychology cash grab.

The author himself said it's very difficult to actually discover who is a psychopath and who is not, even in direct probing. The title of the thread doesn't come from him, it's just a tongue-in-cheek joke by the OP

 

[Terxpahseyton]

I'm more interested in the question of how one becomes a psychopath. If its natural, then what would the evolutionary purpose behind it be?

Evolutionary speaking psychopaths could be the ones who survive under conditions not favoring group effort.
Empathy basically is a tool of communication and team work, it allows us to understand others on an emotional level and bounds us together.
If I am a psychopath, I lack this bound and hence will act more independently of the group and more focused on my own desires. If I don't depend on the success of the group, this is an advantage.

Modern society favors psychopaths, because close bondship is of less importance.

To illustrate:

If you are 10 people who hunt some deer, you depend on each other so that every one will eat and live. Not caring for the fate of the others will only hurt yourself in the end.

Now imagine you find no dear, but have a little of meat left in storage. Now this meat could get one man over the winter, but not the entire group. If you lack empathy, you will have less trouble to take the meat. And you will maybe survive, in contrast to the empathy-dudes you stole from.

Now let's say you are a salesman in our modern world. You don't depend on the success of other salesman and not really on customers making a good deal. Empathy is rather a burden for economic success.

But there are other explanations. Maybe humans are designed to simply adapt to the world they find in the assumingly most profitable way. The author of the book said that by focusing on spotting psychopaths, he moved towards being one himself. This tells me that we adopt the behavior we believe to be surrounded by. People who don't trust others will be untrustworthy themselves.
Referring to psychopaths: If you don't have faith in the empathy of others or just feel like no one cares for your feelings, you may start to do the same. Adopting to your environment. So psychopaths might also represent a self-reinforcing cycle within a society which increasingly fails to offer social and moral security, which I would claim to be an important factor for healthy empathy. Which again is favored by modern society where your fate is not pin-pointed to a specific group.

 

[NetGear]

Psychopathic population in my non expert opinion, is a minority of population that learned to survive by flying under the radar when most of population evolved empathy and pro social traits.

 

[punkbass2000]

According to the The Corporation, corporations themselves are psychopathic, almost by definition.

 

[Kraznaya]

I thought the psychopath book test was called Atlas Shrugged.

 

[bernie14]

.....in terms of sociopathy, this is not just the manson's or dahmer's of the world, but it is the reason that laws actually exist....it is that little thing inside every person that tells them that they may be just a little more "special".....so, if u eliminate this trait, u actually do limit diversity and possibliy even critical thinking....

me 3/25/11

the correct current classification is "antisocial personality disorder"
and this is the criteria,as per current dsm (iv)

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders fourth edition, DSM IV-TR = 301.7, a widely used manual for diagnosing mental disorders, defines antisocial personality disorder (in Axis II Cluster B) as:

A) There is a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others occurring for as long as either childhood, or in the case of many who are influenced by environmental factors, around age 15, as indicated by three or more of the following:
1.failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest;
2.deception, as indicated by repeatedly lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure;
3.impulsiveness or failure to plan ahead;
4.irritability and aggression, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults;
5.reckless disregard for safety of self or others;
6.consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain consistent work behavior or honor financial obligations;
7.lack of remorse, as indicated by indifference to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another;
B) The individual is at least 18 years of age.
C) There is evidence of conduct disorder with onset before age 15 years.
D) The occurrence of antisocial behavior is not exclusively during the course of schizophrenia or a manic episode.

the criteria changed quite a bit from dsm iii, which included:

A. Current age at least 18
B. Evidence of Conduct Disorder with onset before age 15, as
indicated by a history of three or more of the following:
1. Truancy
2. Running away
3. Fights
4. Using weapons
5. Forcing sexual activities on others
6. Physical cruelty to animals
7. Physical cruelty to people
8. Destruction of others'property
9. Fire-setting
10. Lying
11. Stealing without confrontation of a victim
12. Stealing with confrontation of a victim
C. A pattern of irresponsible and antisocial behavior since age 15, as
indicated by at least four of the following:
1. Unable to sustain consistent work behavior (3 behavioral
indicators)
2. Fails to conform to social norms with respect to lawful
behavior
3. Irritable and aggressive (2 indicators)
4. Fails to honor financial obligations {3 indicators)
5. Fails to plan ahead, or is impulsive (2 indicators)
6. Has no regard for the truth (3 indicators)
7. Reckless (2 indicators)
8. Lacks ability to function as a parent (6 indicators)
9. Has never sustained a monogamous relationship for more
than one year
10. Lacks remorse (3 indicators)
D. Occurrence of antisocial behavior not exclusively during the
course of Schizophrenia or manic episodes.

basically, the defining trait of a psychopath is lack of consideration for the the feelings of others....talk about a specturm.....

and your expert is sub estimating the prevelace, closer to about 3% among males and 1% amoung females...

this trait is quite fascinating really, although many claim a biological basis for "morality", the whole "let's all get along for civ's sake" argument, the opposite might actually make more sense.....society/civilizations have flurished and fallen based on the quality of their leaders, and to be a leader, you have to be somewhat psychopathic, that is, make decisions that many are going to be unhappy with....

in addition, the psychopath is naturally drawn to leadership positions...just think of how full of S*** the average politician is when giving a speech...combine that with a little narcissism and histrionics...and people go crazy for these types....

 

[classical_hero]

It is a good thing people posting on gaming forums were not tested for being psychopathic.

 

[Scratch]

I thought the psychopath book test was called Atlas Shrugged.

No, that's the instruction manual.

 

[Ayn Rand]

Oh please! Give me a break

 

[Rashiminos]

Any efforts to identify the psychopathic population would make me wary.

Monitoring them would be even worse.

I'm more interested in the question of how one becomes a psychopath. If its natural, then what would the evolutionary purpose behind it be? If its a social disease, then what are the factors that lead to it?

There is a natural variant and an acquired variant. The latter can be cured by present human knowledge (although it's not widely disseminated).

I would like to see the medical/scientific basis for diagnosing people thru a book. Otherwise this just looks like another crappy pop psychology cash grab.

The DSM critics would love you.

What if a psychopath is the end result of evolution?

Then they might be the dead end.

***

A related subject: Ponerology