What is The Psychopath Test, what are the traits and signs and what’s the difference between a psychopath and a sociopath?
The term psychopath conjures an image of a callous, killer living outside the norms of society. But, researchers say we all sit on the psychopathy spectrum
How do you recognise a psycho?
The term psychopath conjures an image of a callous, killer living outside the norms of society. But, researchers say we all sit on the psychopathy spectrum.
What is The Psychopath Test?
The Psychopath Test is a book by author Jon Ronson which delves into what makes someone a psychopath.
Full blown psychopathy is a highly destructive personality disorder that combines antisocial and sensational behaviour with cold-heartedness.
But, traits can also help effective leadership and good decision making.
In many cases people with psychopathic traits are highly successful - in fact they are believed to occupy three and four per cent of senior positions.
The book's full title is The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry.
It explores the concept of psychopathy, along with the broader mental health industry.
Ronson visits purported psychopaths, as well as psychologists and psychiatrists who have studied them.
He heavily cites Canadian psychologist Robert D. Hare, the author of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist, a 20‑part test administered to detect psychopathy.
What are the traits and signs of being a psychopath?
Ronson based his assessment on Hare's checklist of signs of being a psychopath.
These include having a superficial charm, an inflated sense of self worth, becoming bored easily, lying pathologically, manipulating people and failing to feel guilty or showing remorse.
Psychopaths can also include being callous, having poor behavioural controls, behaving promiscuously, a history of poor behavioural controls, having no realistic goals, being very impulsive, being irresponsible and being unable to commit to relationships.
Psychopaths often begin a life of crime when they are young.
Personality traits of a psychopath include charm, charisma, fearlessness, a massive ego and a lack of conscience, according to Dr Kevin Dutton, a research psychologist at the University of Oxford.
The traits given in the test include superficial charm, pathological lying, lack of remorse, emotional shallowness, a lack of behavioural control and a tendency to boredom.
But a high score is not necessarily a bad thing - both Winston Churchill and Jesus feature on the leaderboard.
What's the difference between a psychopath and a sociopath?
According to studies sociopaths and psychopaths do share some traits but psychopaths are said to be more likely to get into trouble with the law which sociopaths are more likely to blend in with society.
A sociopath is a person with antisocial personality disorder.
Psychopathy can be thought of as a more severe form of sociopathy, with more symptoms.
Therefore all psychopaths are sociopaths but sociopaths are not necessarily psychopaths.
What Makes a Psychopath airs on BBC 2 at 9pm on August 29.
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What are the jobs with the most psychopaths working in them?
Earlier this year Dr Dutton revealed the jobs with the most psychopaths working in them after conducting an extensive survey.
Topping the list were CEOs followed by lawyers and those working in TV and radio.
Surgeons, salespersons, journalists and police officers also featured on the list.
Psychopaths at the very top scale can dangerous because they lack the emotion and empathy that commonly stops people committing crime.
Famous psychopaths include serial killer Ted Bundy, Nazis Adolf Hitler and Joseph Mengele, as well as Hungarian noblewoman Elizabeth Bathory who is believed to have tortured and killed hundreds of young women.