To think most people have psychopathic tendencies?

[BatShite]

I was reading about a scientist who found out he had the 'brain imaging pattern of a psychopath' which mentioned this Hare Psychopathy test. So I searched for the test that was mentioned.

uk.businessinsider.com/hare-psychopath-checklist-test-sociopath-2016-11/#1-do-you-have-excess-glibness-or-superficial-charm-1

I score 35 on this. Obviously not all people who would be diagnosed psychopaths go onto kill or anything, but its still a bit concerning scoring so highly (though it is true that I have huge issues with empathy and always have done). But then I thought, surely a lot these apply to most people?! So lets find out I guess.

This explains the typical results for people

www.minddisorders.com/Flu-Inv/Hare-Psychopathy-Checklist.html

When properly completed by a qualified professional, the PCL-R provides a total score that indicates how closely the test subject matches the "perfect" score that a classic or prototypical psychopath would rate. Each of the twenty items is given a score of 0, 1, or 2 based on how well it applies to the subject being tested. A prototypical psychopath would receive a maximum score of 40, while someone with absolutely no psychopathic traits or tendencies would receive a score of zero. A score of 30 or above qualifies a person for a diagnosis of psychopathy. People with no criminal backgrounds normally score around 5. Many non-psychopathic criminal offenders score around 22.

I scored 8. Phew I'm not a psychopath.

I got 24. Like you, I've never had much empathy. I can recognise when something is a bad situation for someone else, but I don't feel any emotion unless something happens directly to me. I care about things like homelessness and genocide and social problems but I honestly don't feel a thing if "everyday" bad things like job losses or breakups happen to people I know. Likewise I don't feel any joy if nice things happen to them. I make the right noises but I don't see the logic in feeling emotions about things that don't impact me

Zero. Which makes me sound quite boring, if you look at the questions.

I scored 1!

I care about things like homelessness and genocide and social problems but I honestly don't feel a thing if "everyday" bad things like job losses or breakups happen to people I know. Likewise I don't feel any joy if nice things happen to them.

This is a genuine question, not me being nasty/goady - do you expect/appreciate support from others when bad things happen to you? I guess not, as you seem to quite consciously avoid the word 'friends'?

I scored 1.

Some of these are quite context dependent. For example, to an outsider my career plans might sound “grandiose” or unrealistic or impulsive (which would be 6 points) but are normal within my industry.

Again, this is why it's supposed to be done by a professional through interviewing you, not self-assessment. They're likely to have a much bigger and more sensitive range of 'normal', and so be more conservative in doling out the points than a self-assessment! For a lot of people the same is true the other way - they might give themselves a '1' or even '2' for things like 'not having realistic goals' because they feel a bit aimless/like they don't have a clear life plan, but a professional evaluating in the context of the entire population would consider them entirely 'normal'.

@Margaret I should probably clarify that the way I feel doesn't stop me offering support to people who approach me needing it and I'd always listen or try and help out where I could, I just wouldn't be feeling anything. And in answer to your question no, I don't have any expectations of people. In fact my default position is to expect blanket indifference and anything more than that is a welcome bonus.

I got 0. Maybe I'm lying to myself, but I have a visceral reaction when someone gets hurt physically or emotionall, or is about to.

Another 4 here.

I scored 3.

I scored 3. I feel like I’m constantly carrying other’s emotions, so have waaay too much empathy!!! But I’d say based on your description of yourself, your score is accurate.

circle - she's worse in the books

I got 6 which is interesting as I thought it would be higher because I sometimes feel I am not very empathetic- I don't sometimes understand why people get upset about the things they do.

But empathy is only one of the questions - I am not terribly charming or manipulative, I am not a delinquent and have plenty of self control and long term goals. Seems there is more to being a psychopath then a lack of empathy!

I was 1 on Do you have a grandiose sense of self-worth?
I got 0 on Have you had many short-term "marital" relationships and the parasitic lifestyle one.

I am actually now finding it so strange that people are scoring so low! The questions genuinly do seem to me like a lot of them would apply to everyone. I am actually thinking now of seeing a professional as this one thing online has kind of..concerned me a little.

2! I consider myself quite an empathic person - as others have said it has its cons - for example I am crap in a crisis, over-invested in others lives sometimes etc. I once got told after a personality test for a job interview that I was ‘too emotionally led’!

Which questions do you find it hard to imagine anyone not saying yes to? Btw if you're concerned that actually shows a level of empathy and conscience in itself - some people know they lack morals and compassion and this makes them feel superior, not concerned.

I think the problem is that when people think of a psychopath their mind automatically goes to killers and criminals. I found Channel 4's Psychopath Night fascinating in its dispelling of some myths surrounding it. It was made by Jon Ronson and Kevin Dutton who have been previously mentioned. The quiz from the night is still on the website www.channel4.com/programmes/psychopath-night - you can see the average scores from over 3 million respondents. I came out at 21% but I'm also incredibly bad at spotting the psychopath in the other quiz!

Concerned may be the wrong word, curious may be better.

Questions I really did think everyone (or near everyone) would score high on would be

1. Do you have an excess need for stimulation or proneness to boredom?
2. Are you conning or manipulative? (thought most people know how to manipulate situations for their desired result, and as such do it often)

10. Do you have poor behavioural controls? 11. Do you have a history of promiscuous sexual behaviour? (thought this would go for a lot, obviously not all) 13. Do you lack realistic long-term goals? 14. Are you overly impulsive? (don't most people do what they want to, when they want to do it?) 17. Have you had many short-term "marital" relationships? (though I scored 0 on this, most people I know would score here, so figured the general population would too)

So yeah. Very surprised at the low scores.

I've read before that if you are worried or concerned about the fact you might be a psychopath, then you probably don't score highly enough for it to be something you need to be worried about. Because if you were a dangerous psychopath you wouldn't care.

I got 2. OP I really don't think most people would score highly on this at all.

I wonder whether you're judging yourself overscrupulously - a lot of those questions say things like 'excess' or 'overly'. So yes, everyone gets bored sometimes, but by definition excessive need for stimulation isn't average.

Also, the opposite of a lot of those things isn't perfectly balanced mental health, it's its own pathology. So, no, I'm not impulsive, for instance - I worry and obsess over small decisions to the extent I sometimes can't make them at all, because I have a lot of anxiety problems. So I get a 0 on that question, but not because I'm so well-adjusted!

I think the question about poor behavioural controls would probably cover things like running up massive debts, getting into fights, walking out of jobs/getting sacked, shoplifting etc etc. Which seems quite extreme, particularly if you did a variety of things like that.

Realistic long term goals - I have irrational dreams about winning the lottery/writing a bestseller, but I also have rational career-based goals and a pension etc.