Are you a psychopath?
Where to draw the line between eccentric and insane
“You feel the last bit of breath leaving their body. You’re looking into their eyes. A person in that situation is God!” — Ted Bundy
Disturbing, right? That’s exactly what I was looking for a few years ago, when I picked up “The Psychopath Test” by Jon Ronson.
Jon Ronson’s fascinating journey into the world of psychopathy starts when neurologists all over the world receive a strange book from an unknown address. This unusual book seems to contain cryptic messages that they can’t quite seem to figure out.
Jon Ronson, when looking into this strange occurrence, gets dragged into the world of madness.
He is introduced to, and meets many people. One of these interesting characters is a man called Tony. Tony committed grievous bodily harm and instead of doing the time in jail, decides he’d rather fake being mad and ends up at Broadmoor psychiatric hospital (once called Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum, which gives you an idea of what the place must be like).
After talking to Tony, Jon meets with other people, one being the creator of “The Hare Checklist”. This Canadian (yay!) psychologist (Bob Hare) created a checklist of items used to diagnose psychopaths.
This is when I quickly ran to the nearest computer in order to see if I am myself a psychopath.
Unfortunately, don’t be fooled, although the test is a 20-item checklist of personality traits and behaviors, the checklist must be completed during a semi-structured interview by a mental health professional with access to official records.
Jon Ronson learns to spot psychopaths directly from Bob Hare himself, by reading their body language and checking items off the list as he interacts with them.
Eventually though, Jon comes to wonder if someone who doesn’t know a person can truly assess and diagnose something that will ultimately change their life. (Here he thinks of Tony) Does “The Hare Checklist” give us an accurate idea of what is and who has psychopathy?
But then again, wouldn’t you trust a psychologist who not only has years of training and experience but also has access to this person’s official records; most likely depicting their delinquent childhood and lack of remorse when committing severely violent acts?
I know I would.
Ronson, J. (2011). The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through The Madness Industry. New York, NY: the Penguin Group
ID: 260533092
