Let's discuss Psychopaths VOL. Jon Ronson

sir charles

sir charles

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Lets start with this video, which is a TEDtalk done by Jon Ronson, author of The Psycopath Test. Here he explains his journeys as a "Psychopath Spotter." I posted it in the MIT thread and it's unfortunate that it could not bloom into a better discussion.



For mobile users;

It's a very interesting video, and I highly recomend watching it before anything else.


Here is the psychopath checklist, which is used to determine how psychopathic an individual is;

glib and superficial charm
grandiose (exaggeratedly high) estimation of self
need for stimulation
pathological lying
cunning and manipulativeness
lack of remorse or guilt
shallow affect (superficial emotional responsiveness)
callousness and lack of empathy
parasitic lifestyle
poor behavioral controls
sexual promiscuity
early behavior problems
lack of realistic long-term goals
impulsivity
irresponsibility
failure to accept responsibility for own actions
many short-term marital relationships
juvenile delinquency
revocation of conditional release
criminal versatility
Click to expand...

This test is split up by forty points. Two per symptom. Scoring between a thirty and forty puts you at "high risk" of being a psychopath. I don't recomend "diagnosing" yourself, because your results will be far from acurate.


Anyway, enjoy the video.
 
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Sure. I've known a psychopath and I made a thread about it. It was weird when I realized she was actually a psychopath.
 
ATLien Seeko said:
Sure. I've known a psychopath and I made a thread about it. It was weird when I realized she was actually a psychopath.
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Was she actually diagnosed as a psychopath? Or are you going off of Askmen? Which said that all women are psychos and have histrionic personality disorder?
 
Sir Charles said:
ATLien Seeko said:
Sure. I've known a psychopath and I made a thread about it. It was weird when I realized she was actually a psychopath.
Click to expand...

Was she actually diagnosed as a psychopath? Or are you going off of Askmen? Which said that all women are psychos and have histrionic personality disorder?
Click to expand...

No, it wasn't that Askmen thread, it was one before that. I'll find it in a few. But I diagnosed her.
 
mustbefire said:
Meh. Very disappointing. I'm only 1/4 crazy.
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I'm disappointed that nobody wants to talk about something so interesting as psychopath spotting, and my one of my favorite psychologists.


On the 40 point scale where do you rate yourself?

10/40?
 
Good post OP. 

The psychopath-capitalism link is interesting and something I've never thought about before, it makes a lot of sense though as some of those qualities like lack of empathy/remorse, superficial charm, and manipulativeness would be advantageous in a corporate setting.

I think a lot of people fall into that grey area that he mentions when it comes to diagnosing disorders. It's crazy as **** but the criteria list for what qualifies as "normal" is getting longer and longer. I'd be willing to bet that a large majority of our population show signs of at least a few of those disorders. And to think that people are using arbitrary checklists to decide courtroom hearings etc. that impact people lives forever  
mean.gif


Edit: Kinda pointless to rate myself I'd probably say 20/40 tho
 
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Moe Fab said:
I just took this test 2 weeks ago. I scored a 32. Criminal tendencies
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A 32 diagnosed by yourself or a professional?


But that number means you are at high risk of being psychopathic, or you will be diagnosed when you go to the doctor.


Story? If you don't mind me asking.
 
Got a 28 based on my own understanding of myself.

In for when the powers back on and I'm on a damn computer.
 
Sir Charles said:
Moe Fab said:
I just took this test 2 weeks ago. I scored a 32. Criminal tendencies
Click to expand...
A 32 diagnosed by yourself or a professional?


But that number means you are at high risk of being psychopathic, or you will be diagnosed when you go to the doctor.


Story? If you don't mind me asking.
Click to expand...
Some girl I know is a Psych major and she was talking about it. So me being the curious lad I am, decided to take the test (several wrong tests until she showed me the real one) and I scored a 32. It said I scored a 77% on one type of disorder a 80-sumthin on another and 100% for something ego related. I've gone through some S*** even Hollywood couldn't write, so I think that has shaped me. I actually think I am Manic Depressive, I've voluntarily gone to counseling and have sought out help because I know mental disorders run in my family. 
 
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Last year in highschool we had a guestspeaker come to our school for a psychopathy presentation. I don't recall the name but it was some professor from the University of Ghent.

Very interesting, this particular test came up a few times too. It is correct that you most likely won't recognize a psychopath if you do happen to come across one as they can be very charming.

The way he described the behavior of people he diagnosed with 36+ to 40/40 scores though. 
sick.gif
 
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RIP sleazyy said:
Got a 28 based on my own understanding of myself.

In for when the powers back on and I'm on a damn computer.
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That storm was a ***** last night :smh:

girlslovewaffles said:
Just stop.

None of you guys are psychopaths.
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I said not to diagnose yourself, this is just people's curiosity. You could say that nobody is a psychopath, but they are more common than you think. You would never even know unless they told you.

This type of post is unnecessary and I don't understand why you made it.

PLVN said:
What is different between a psychopath and a sociopath?

Is there even a difference?
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Psychopathy is hereditary, sociopathy is environmentally influenced.
 
Sir Charles said:
You could say that nobody is a psychopath, but they are more common than you think. You would never even know unless they told you.
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Depends on how far up the scale they are. The way that professor at my school described people he has interviewed who scored near maximum they're basically what you would expect a stonecold serial killer to be like. Charming in a way yet they give off a certain vibe that makes you feel extremely uncomfortable.

Either way those type of people are very rare anyway, at least I hope so.
 
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I think sociopaths are those who are somewhat normal as far as being able to form emotional relationship's with others like family and actually feel empathetic towards them.

Psychopaths are supposed to be those who lack the ability to form close relationships and feel sorry for anybody including family.
 
Took another test.

http://www.counseling-office.com/surveys/test_psychopathy.phtml

Results:
[h2]Do you show symptoms of being a psychopath
or related personality disorders?
The Results.[/h2]


There are indications that you might have a psychopathic / antisocial personality disorder.
You reached 75.00% of Factor 1  which captures the core personality traits of psychopathy that define the interpersonal and affective deficits of this personality disorder (e.g. shallow affect, superficial charm, manipulativeness, lack of empathy) and that are correlated with narcissistic personality disorder, low anxiety, low empathy, low stress reaction and low suicide risk. But Factor 1 is also associated with extraversion and positive affect - affected persons usually score high on scales of achievement and well-being, so some aspects of the personality disorder may even be beneficial for the psychopath (in terms of nondeviant social functioning or if it comes to profit  from manipulation or lies).
You reached 77.78% of Factor 2  which captures the traits of antisocial behavior (e.g. criminal  versatility, impulsiveness, irresponsibility, poor behaviour controls, juvenile delinquency) and is associated with reactive anger, social deviance, sensation seeking, anxiety, increased risk of suicide, low socio-economic status, criminality, and impulsive violence.
You reached 100.00% in other relevant traits  that can indicate this personality disorder.
However, there are disputes over the correct diagnosis of psychopathic resp. antisocial personality disorders, and the standardization of clinical testing for APD/PPD is still in the process.
Regarding the perspective for psychopathic/antisocial personalities and treatment options, please refer to my article about psychopathy and antisocial behavior in the "Papers" section of my website.

Score: 30  of 38 [30:12/14/4]

There are strong indications that you might have a
narcissistic personality disorder.
There are slight differences between the major diagnostic manuals in how to diagnose a narcissistic personality disorder, with the ICD-10 manual stating that a person may only be diagnosed with a Narcissistic Personality Disorder if she/he does not meet the diagnostic criteria for a dissocial (antisocial, psychopathic), histrionic or any of the other personality disorders at the same time. For the DSM-IV manual, there is no such exclusion. It is unusual for NPD personality types to seek therapy, as they unconsciously fear exposure or inadequacy and will usually disdain therapeutic processes or the idea of psychotherapy itself, sabotage the therapeutic process or openly oppose it. Pharmacotherapy is rarely effective.
Score: 9  of 9

There are strong indications that you might have a
histrionic personality disorder.
There is, however, no scientific test to confirm this diagnosis other than to verify the symptoms by subjective means. Thus, some people may be wrongly diagnosed as having the disorder while others with the disorder may not be diagnosed - with the result that treatment is often only prompted by depression  associated with dissolved romantic relationships. Medication does little to affect this personality disorder, but may be helpful with symptoms such as depression. Psychotherapy may be of benefit and will aim at self-development through resolution of conflict and advancement of inhibited developmental lines.[D:13/I:9]

You meet 100%  of the range of general personality disorder  criteria.
This further indicates that you might have to deal with a severe personality disorder.
Thus, is strongly recommended you seek a professional diagnosis to be sure what exactly you are dealing with.
It might turn out useful to print the previous page including your selections and take it to a psychotherapist, psychiatrist or psychologist.[G:5]

*Shrugs*
 
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