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This
month is a good time to clarify the usage of the term psychopath
in fiction, given that in April and May I focused on a two-part series
on serial killers, many of whom do fit the
description of a psychopath.
Colloquially, people use the
term to indicate that someone is “crazy,” but that would be a gross
overstatement. I’ve got family members who are crazy, but they are in
no way, shape, or form psychopaths. In the psychological field, the
term is mainly used in conjunction with or as the equivalent to
antisocial personality disorder, but this is shortsighted and
incorrect.
The term psychopath
isn’t located in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders (DSM), which is the canon of therapists,
psychologists, and psychiatrists. Psychopathy (pronounced sigh-COP-ah-thee)
is more like a combination of characteristics from several disorders,
not just one.
Dr. Robert Hare, the brain
behind the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), wants to disassociate
psychopathy from the DSM’s catchall diagnosis of
antisocial personality disorder. “It’s like having pneumonia versus
having a cold,” he said. “They share some common symptoms, but one is
much more virulent.”1
Hare’s checklist roughly follows
the DSM’s “Cluster B” of personality
disorders—antisocial, histrionic, and narcissistic. Antisocial traits
make up only one-third of the playground for psychopaths, so you can
see how equating the two might be narrow-minded.
The PCL-R measures twenty
traits, each of which are scored on a scale of zero to two, to
determine a research-based diagnosis of psychopathy. Information is
gathered from the person’s case history and a semistructured interview
by a clinician with an advanced degree.
But for some fun, grab a pencil
and paper and see how your psychopath character makes out on the test2
below. Score him or her a zero if the trait doesn’t apply at all, one
if it somewhat applies, and two if it fully applies.
Factor 1: Aggressive
Narcissism
1. Glibness and
superficial charm
smooth-talking, engaging and slick
2. Grandiose
self-worth
greatly inflated idea of one’s abilities and self-esteem, arrogance and
a sense of superiority
3. Pathological lying
shrewd, crafty, sly, and clever when moderate; deceptive, deceitful,
underhanded, and unscrupulous when high
4. Cunning/manipulative
uses deceit and deception to cheat others for personal gain
5. Lack of remorse or
guilt
no feelings or concern for losses, pain, and suffering of others,
coldhearted and unempathic
6. Shallow
affect/emotional poverty
limited range or depth of feelings; interpersonal coldness
7. Callous/lack of
empathy
a lack of feelings toward others; cold, contemptuous, and inconsiderate
8. Fails to accept
responsibility for own actions
denial of responsibility and an attempt to manipulate others through
this
9. Promiscuity
brief, superficial relations, numerous affairs, and an indiscriminate
choice of sexual partners
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Factor
2: Socially Deviant Lifestyle
10. Needs
stimulation/prone to boredom
an excessive need for new, exciting stimulation, and risk-taking
11. Parasitic
lifestyle
Intentional, manipulative, selfish, and exploitative financial
dependence on others
12. Poor behavioral
controls
expressions of negative feelings, verbal abuse, and inappropriate
expressions of anger
13. No realistic
long-term goals
inability or constant failure to develop and accomplish long-term plans
14. Impulsiveness
behaviors lacking reflection or planning and done without considering
consequences
15. Irresponsible
repeated failure to fulfill or honor commitments and obligations
16. Juvenile
delinquency
criminal behavioral problems between the ages of thirteen and eighteen
17. Early behavior
problems
a variety of dysfunctional and unacceptable behaviors before age
thirteen
18. Revocation of
Conditional Release
violating probation or other conditional release because of
technicalities
Traits Not Correlated
with Either Factor
19. Many short-term
marital relationships
lack of commitment to a long-term relationship
20. Criminal
versatility
diversity of criminal offenses, whether or not the individual has been
arrested or convicted.
A score of thirty would be
needed for the research diagnosis of psychopathy. A noncriminal (aka
normal person) usually scores around five, while incarcerated offenders
will average out around twenty-two. A “true forty” would be an
off-the-charts psychopath like Ted Bundy.
If you want to be
psychologically on par the next time you call a character (or someone
you know) a psychopath, bookmark this page.
References:
1 http://nyr.kr/KIgIvB
2 http://bit.ly/L3hDcI
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