Psychopathy and psychological testing

How people around you might not be who you think they are

Human beings have always been fascinated by evil. Hollywood movies frequently depict psychopaths as the antagonists; to name a few, Dr. Hannibal Lecter, the cannibal psychopath, in The Silence of the Lambs, or Patrick Bateman, serial killer/Wall Street banker in American Psycho. However, those depictions are exaggerated. In fact, research shows that the average psychopath can be anyone you know, from your neighbor to your lawyer. Symptoms of the disorder include: “lack of a conscience or sense of guilt, lack of empathy, egocentricity, pathological lying, repeated violations of social norms, disregard for the law, shallow emotions, and a history of victimizing others” (Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders, 2015: para.1). These descriptors could easily apply to someone you know, as well as dangerous criminals.

Robert Hare, psychologist and leader in the domain of psychopathy, came up with a test to assess psychopathy in individuals who experience issues with criminality (Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders, 2015). The Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) is the most commonly used diagnostic tool to rate an individual’s level of psychopathic or antisocial tendencies (Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders, 2015). It compares an individual’s assessed score with the score of a perfect, “prototypical” psychopath (Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders, 2015). Because the test includes 20 items, and each item is scored on a three-point scale (0= do not apply; 1 = applies somewhat; 2 = fully applies), a “prototypical” psychopath would obtain a score of 40, and a score of 30 or above indicates a diagnosis of psychopathy (Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders, 2015). Individuals with no criminal issues generally obtain a score close to 5 (Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders, 2015).

Since psychopaths are generally repetitive offenders, the PCL-R can be utilised in courtrooms and in institutions as an indicator of possible re-offence and to assess the probability that rehabilitation will be effective (Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders, 2015). The test includes two parts: a semi-structured interview and a review of the individual’s criminal files (Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders, 2015). During the interview, the individual is asked about his family’s history or his criminal background (Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders, 2015). Whatever information the individual discloses during the interview must be later verified with its criminal files, as a symptom of psychopathy is the prolific lying (Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders, 2015).

The creation of measures such as the PCL-R is extremely important and helpful for the judicial system, but one must not forget the ethical costs of administering such test. Indeed, it can easily have disastrous consequences for an individual who is misdiagnosed. Therefore, do not go around testing all your classmates!

Reference: Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders. (2015). Hare Psychopathy Checklist. Retrieved from: http://www.minddisorders.com/Flu-Inv/Hare-Psychopathy-Checklist.html

STUDENT ID: 260536084