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Jason's Reviews > The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry
The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry
by Jon Ronson
by Jon Ronson
I thought this would be a great tool for self-diagnosis, but actually Ronson skitters from one case to another without really making any definitive point. But maybe that’s the point. Psychopathy is probably not an absolute for most people, as there are many among us who exist in some sort of sociopathic gray area (myself included). Me, I scored a 10, so I’m a partial psychopath. (Surprise, surprise!) My downfall? Apparently, I don’t really care too much about other people.
Here, take the test!
Here, take the test!
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rated it 5 stars
Sep 02, 2012 04:53am
Charming.
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You should visit a doctor if you want a diagnosis. just sayin'. a book might not be a great way to judge your sanity
All the test gives you is a number...how do you know what the number means? I guess psychopathy is a spectrum from 1 to the max, 40? But what is the cut-off for diagnosis?
That's a good question. From what I remember, anything above a 30 is a diagnosis for psychopathy, but I'm sure there are degrees of severity, you know what I mean?
Yea, I'm guessing it is a spectrum, kind of like autism. Afterall if there are people whose amygdala don't work at all (psychopaths) and people with over-active amygdalas (anxiety disorders) there must be an entire range in between of people with more or less active amygdalas. (i hope i'm spelling that right)
Lisa wrote: "Yea, I'm guessing it is a spectrum, kind of like autism. Afterall if there are people whose amygdala don't work at all (psychopaths) and people with over-active amygdalas (anxiety disorders) there ..."If you read the book, they shortly comment on this and problematize the cut-off, if I am not mistaken. But the book is more the work of a journalist than a book on psychopathy. Then you'd have to delve into more heavy stuff. Not that it is necessarily the best one, but Robert Hare's "Without conscience" is a good starting point, and Hare is frequently appearing in "The psychopathy test" as well. A good chance to see some more of his work than what appears in this book.
Lol in my experience, people who claim sociopathy are usually the type that want to feel strong in an idea of emotional numbness and manipulative cleverness. But this statement is along the lines of what one with antisocial personality disorder would say, which is a related disorder, so youre probably not far off, so thats nice :)
