The Psychopathic Test

Psychopathic Test blog response

12/1/14

This American Life episode “The Psychopathic Test” was all over a test that was designed by Bob Hare. This test asks basic questions about people’s past as well as their other tendencies to determine whether or not a person can be defined as psychopathic. Bob Hare never really wanted to publish it so that everyone could access it, but eventually he did. This episode talks about the test; the benefits of it, the downfalls of it, and how having some psychopathic tendencies are not always a bad thing.

To answer the question of what do I think about the great effect it can have on people’s lives as well as their impressions would be that I don’t think that is correct. I think the test is definitely a great tool, but must be used with great care, and not be the only thing that is taken into consideration such as in the criminal justice system. For one reason it does not follow the guidelines of a good test. In chapter 8, the book talks about what makes a good intelligence test, the same should apply for all tests. Many could argue that the PLC-R does not provide reliability. In the show they talked about how if two different people administer the test, the results can be much different from each other and many times they are. Some also argued that it is not a valid test, or that it does not measure psychopathic tendencies correctly. I think in many ways it is a good guide to go off of, but one issue that was brought up was the fact that the test had a lot to do with the past. Now in a lot of circumstances, the past does have a great effect on the present and the future, but in the case of Robert Dixon, his past was very troubled but he was not the same person as he was then, yet the test still declared him to be psychopathic. With that being said, I do not think that it is correct for the PLC-R to have such a huge effect on people’s impressions or in their lives. As I said, I think that it is definitely a good resource, but should not be the only thing that psychopathic testing is based off of.

Later in the story we learned about a CEO who had many psychopathic tendencies that actually helped him get ahead in his career and to become successful. When looking at Al Dunlap there were many characteristics that seemed to match up with him being psychopathic. In fact at the end of the interview Jon Ronson comes to calculate that if you added his characteristics up he would be somewhere in the 20’s. Which is not yet psychopathic, but getting up there. What he found was that Al was somewhat narcissistic, and that he felt little remorse, or even some joy from firing people. Both of these are common traits of anti-social personality disorder. Although many times these can be bad things, they actually helped Al Dunlap to do his job. The company needed somebody who would do what was right for the company and spare no one’s feelings. Al said that he thought of these characteristics as good leadership, honesty, and confidence.

Going into this, I was actually sort of hoping that we would get to take the test, and after hearing the results of the radio staff I wanted to even more. Honestly though, I probably would’ve scored about the same as all of them. I have my problems with depression and anxiety, but I don’t think any of them really reach into the psychopathic realm. I may score a few points, but from hearing their results I highly doubt it. I never got into any trouble when I was a kid and if I did, I think I punished myself worse than my parents did. Also I’m one of the guiltiest people I know. I hate lying and I can’t stand not telling someone something that I think they should know. If I say or do something to someone I always feel remorse. With that being said, I think I’d score a zero.

Terms: PLC-R. psychopathic, reliability, validity, narcissistic, anti-social personality disorder.

I think that unless the person has all the symptoms of a Psychopath, then the result should not be so controlling of a person. Also if there are a myriad of people who are psychopaths, then shouldn’t there be a form of therapy developing. Psychopaths do not know how to properly express their emotions or have a sense of remorse. So if a person has scored high on all the questions, but have a sense of remorse and know how to express their emotions then that person should not be labeled as a Psychopath. Then that person can still get jobs and live a regular life. Some of the tendencies can be strengths such as high self-esteem, the person will be confident in themselves and will be looked at as a leader. Also lack of empathy is good in some cases, because then you can be strong in how you handle lazy people, or people who lie constantly. I do not think I would score high on anything except maybe empathy. I do not tend to cry a lot, even in sad movies, and I sometimes laugh if someone is crying, but I think that’s because of being in an uncomfortable situation. Other than that I wouldn’t score high, because I tend to be shy and lack confidence, and have never had any behavioral problems.

The psychopath test is a test that help people learn about mental illness or disorder. Where the one scores high in the test most likely to be those people who commit crimes and break the law. In my own opinion I believe that the score of the psychopath test make a great impact on a person and can affect someone life. As mentioned in the radio blog there is a positive side to the psychopath in the business area and only 4 percent of the people were successful in this area. Sometimes it is understandable to those who score high. I believe that it is not fully their fault that they having a high sore on the test. Their emotion and behavior might be the result of the environment that they were growing up with. They did not receive enough care when they growing up that make them become ruthless and have a negative views about life. As I have mention above there is a positive side of people who score high psychopath test, it help people with their business, as a sell person they required to sugar coat the product that they are selling sometime they have to lies to their customers, and that is how they make money. Without feeling guilty about their lies they persuade people make people believe there words. If I was to take the psychopath check list- revised, I believe my score for the test would be somewhere in the middle. Sometimes might scores would be incline and sometimes my score would remain in the average range because it all depend on how my mood was at a certain time, but most of the time I will feel guilty for something I did not do. I a shy type of person therefore I do not feel comfortable expressing my feelings to others or explaining my action. I would describe myself as a person with a caring personality but sometimes I will be just minding my own business and ignore others. If someone telling me what they are going through I might be worry for them, but I will not shows it out either verbally or nonverbally. I might having problem and conflicts with myself I would do thing that most people will think that I’m dumb for my choice of action, but I have never find myself causing problem to others or hurting anyone.
Term: psychopath test, personality, mental illness, disorder, mood,

This week’s episode of This American Life was definitely interesting to listen to. The main subject of this video was the Psychopathy Check List-Revised test to determine if a person was considered to be a psychopath. This test would determine what kind of traits the person had that a psychopath would portray. Some of the characteristics that would be consider a psychopath is showing no remorse or empathy.The highest score a person could receive is a 40, however, if you reached a score of 30 you were considered a psychopath. Bob Hare was the creator of the test and was reserved on if this test should be took in consideration for determining a person’s fate. Bob Hare’s fears have been coming true that the test would had bad outcomes. The score a person receives can be very different if two people give the test to the person being tested. For example, the psychologist’s hired by the prosecution scored the person higher on the scale and psychologists hired by the defense found lower scores. Act One talked about a man named Robert Dixon. Robert Dixon went to prison for being an accessory to a murder which was committed by his friend John at the time. Robert was sentenced to 15 to life. When Robert took the test he had a high score and he scored higher than 73% of prisoners. When Robert was younger he was accused of raping a woman and beating another. During his childhood, it was said that his father beat him and Robert tried to commit suicide at age 10 and threaten to kill his dad at age 12. Robert says in the interview he is not proud of what have happened and trying to turn his life around. His friends and family believe he is doing good and deserves to be back home. Robert Dixon was denied at his last parole hearing. I do think this is unfair because first of all he did not commit the crime his friend did His situation was probably considered one of those “at the wrong place at the wrong time.” He did though have apart in the murder for just standing around and not doing anything. He should, however, be given a chance to prove that he wants and can live a better life that he was speaking about in the interviews. I think this test would be helpful in determining if a person has qualities that make up a psychopath or warning signs of psychopathic traits. The test, however, I do not think should be all considered when sentencing someone to life in prison. Also, depending on the crime committed should be in deep consideration when deciding the sentence. In chapter 14 it discusses the six approaches to psychotherapy and these could help those who do score high on the PCL-R test. If I were to take the PCL-R test I would say I would score low. I say this because I am an emotional person when it comes to certain subjects. I haven’t had any really traumatic situations happen to me that would lead me to show signs of a psychopath.
Terms- PCL-R test, Psychopath, Psychotic, Psychotherapy

A psychopath is a person suffering from chronic mental disorder with abnormal or violent social behavior. A person who is a psychopath suffers from a psychological disorder. There is psychopathic test that is a bunch of questions asked to rate the person’s response. The psychopathic test determines if a person is a psychopath or not. Although, I think being able to distinguish psychopaths from others can be rather important in certain situations, I find it rather disturbing that a test is the way of determining if someone is a psychopath. I think that the fact a score on a test has so much power over people’s impressions or even someone’s life is very sad to me. I do not think that a score on a test should get to determine how we identify people. I understand why psychopathic tests are used, but what is so special about this test that it is truly able to identify if a person has a psychological disorder or not. Psychopathology is a sickness or disorder of the mind. I believe that the psychopathic test is probably mostly accurate but I just find it so weird to think that a simple test of questions and responses can tell is someone has a sickness or disorder of the mind. People with psychopathic tendencies display more extreme behaviors than people with APD but they are similar. APD stands for antisocial personality disorder which is the diagnosis for individuals who behave in socially undesirable ways. Some examples of APD behavior would be breaking the law, being irresponsible or being deceitful. Although not everyone has did troublesome things while growing up i think some risky behavior while maturing is typically normal for many people. With that being said I wonder what type or things would help to determine who is a psychopath and not during the testing. Obviously some things would throw a red flag for psychopathology, such as, murder, rape, torture and other serious crimes. From listening to this episode of This American Life , I interpreted the idea that it isn’t so much the actions that determine if a person is a psychopath or not, but it is more about how they felt about doing the crime or action. I believe that if a person feelings happiness or pleasure from their bad actions that is more of a sign of psychopathology than just committing a crime is. I believe this because the man doing to psychopathic tests talked about how many of them had talked about past things they had did which probably weren’t the wisest ideas but they felt regret about it which was a sign they were not psychopathic.

I think that there are some psychopathic tendencies that aren’t so bad. I think where psychopaths get such a bad reputation if from psychopaths that become very violent and commit crimes that are very serious. For example, a decent amount of people who commit murder plead that they have a mental illness in court. Not all people who plead this have a mental disorder but psychopathology is one mental illness that is very accustomed to being the reason people commit crimes. So it is major crimes like murder, rape and other very serious crimes that I strongly believe are bad tendencies for psychopaths because of their violent side.

I don’t think I would score as being a psychopath but I would be nervous while taking the test just like the radio broadcasters of This American Life were while taking the test. I would also get myself worked up after the test waiting for my results. I never really committed any bad law breaking crimes while growing up so I wouldn’t get a red flag for that. I would just get worked up over the thought of taking a psychopath test just because it would be very intimidating to wait for the results of if you have a psychological disorder or not.

Psychological terms used: psychopath, psychopathology, Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD)

This episode, The Psychopathic Test, was very interesting to me! The test, designed by Bob Hare, was to test if a person was psychopathic. The test asked a series of questions about the person’s past like if they graduated high school, if they got into fights, etc. If you score high on the test you are more likely to commit crimes, or by psychopathic, but if you score low on the test you are considered normal and not a threat. When I heard these questions I wasn’t sure how they would definitely tell if someone was a psychopathic person because I know plenty of people who got into fights and are for sure not psychos. This was all very interesting to me.

I think the test is very controversial. While in my opinion it is probably not 100% accurate and this is a pretty big deal to diagnose someone, I think other tests and considerations should be taken into thought as well. For example; maybe someone just answers the questions how he/she thinks are the best way to answer them (to get good test results) and not honestly. This could be a problem. I found it very interesting when they were explaining that they think psychopaths do not have the ability to love. And they talked about how they showed a group of people a picture of a chair, and then something sad like a rape scene and the majority of the people’s feelings would drastically change when they saw the sad scene, but when a psychopath saw the two pictures his/her feelings did not change at all. This was very surreal to me; how could a chair and a rape make you feel the exact same thing?? I do believe this can be useful, but there are definitely flaws in the test. It only focuses on the past of people, and while they cannot predict a person’s future actions, that person could have something happen to them and change them completely. I think it was a strong point that the questions covered twenty different areas, it made it more diverse instead of just focusing on the areas we would think a psychopath would obtain. Another flaw in the test is that they have uneducated people judging your answers. Those judges opinions on people’s answers is probably going to vary greatly, and they could very likely become biased depending on their feelings. They should people that are educated on a guideline of rules judging these answers, this is a big deal!!

Using this in the legal system is also controversial. For example, Dixon, because of his scores on the test he was unable to get on parol and had to stay in jail. In this case obviously his past was bad, but the test does not measure how he acts now, he could be working really hard on his behavior so he can be rewarded with parol, but this test is not going to show that. His family was even vaujing for him saying that they could seem improvement in his behavior, while this might also be their biased opinion.

I think my score would be pretty normal, much like the radio people’s. I would feel bad for things I have done wrong, and I most defiantly have a lot of emotion for sad situations. I am able to feel love and compassion, and I do not have a bad past. Emotions are a main part of the test and I feel a lot of emotions. I think it would be very interesting to see how just everyday “normal” people scored on this test.

Terms I used: Psychopath, emotions, psychopathology

The most recent episode of “This American Life” that I listened to was about psychopathy and a test that helps in determining whether someone is a psychopath. This test consists of a variety of questions regarding a participant’s past experiences and the actions that they tend to regularly perform. This test was created by Robert Hare, a psychologist who studies much of the psychopaths in the world. He seemed to have pleasure in watching the videos of the interviews with psychopaths. He began in a prison, performing different forms of tests to the prisoners that were supposed to help determine whether someone was unstable or not.

When it comes to whether our psychological state can be determined by a single test, I believe that it can help but one test alone cannot determine this. The test can create a good sense of what the person is thinking and can assist in narrowing the possible diagnoses down. One issue with this test is that it must be conducted often, not just once. People’s minds and thinking processes change over time and this can affect the results of the test, making it more difficult to use just one test to find the problem. Calling someone a psychopath is a very serious thing. A person cannot be called a psychopath if there haven’t been a good number of test, exams, therapies, etc. Being called a psychopath can change a person’s thinking throughout the rest of their life. This word carries a lot of weight, creating difficulties with treatment or other forms of assistance. The story of Robert Dixon is a good example of how this test should not be relied on so much. Scoring high on a test can cause worry but it doesn’t meant that the person who took the test has to be denied of all possibility of freedom, assistance, and treatment. The problem with this test is that it is based too much upon a person’s past and how they used to be, now about how they have changed since then or how they have progressed. Dixon was not allowed parole because he answered questions the wrong way? This just shows how criminals will never be treated fairly, even if they did change the way they look at the world. Dixon’s behavior in prison changed drastically as well, fighting and getting in to arguments during his first year and then trying to avoid them during his later years.

With all of the bad things that psychopathy can show, there are also some tendencies that can be good, or a positive influence. For example, Al Dunlap, the CEO of Sunbeams, showed psychopathic characteristics that demonstrated qualities of leadership. His empathy and remorse traits were denounced, making him more focused on his goals. He was also able to change people’s thinking, in a way manipulating them. These are very ideal qualities for a person who is to run a huge corporation. Dunlap will be required to fire people, make cuts, and decide between possible ideas. Some people must be a little crazy to deal with all of the pressures that require a person with such a high authority.

In my opinion, if I were to take this psychopath test, I believe that I would probable show some forms of psychopathy. Honestly, everyone in the world would probably show some kind of abnormal characteristic if they were to take this test. All people in the world have something that make them “crazy”, or cause them to become angry, frustrated, etc. I don’t believe that I would score high but because of my past and what I have gone through, the results would probably show that I am at a risk for future instabilities. This is why I believe that this test should not be the main focus for defining if a person is mentally unstable. Other test, examinations, experiments, or requirements must be made to better determine this.

Terminology: Psychopathy, psychopathy test, mental instability

I do not believe that the test the test should have as much of an impact on people and how much it can change their lives if they do not get a good score. There are many times that people can change their lives around and change how they have to follow the rules that are set for their level of being a psychopath. After listening to the broadcast it is easy to see that there are some times that they have problems that are not able to fix the problems that they had in the past and it still affects how they think even when they are in jail. One of the people interviewed for the show stated themselves that they do not like to use the test when it comes to most people because of past events that have shaped them into what they are and they are things that can no longer be changed about them and instead of trying to find ways to help them overcome their past and what they have done the just lock them up saying that they are too dangerous. It is in these situations that the psychopath test would become a larger burden for people who have to take it and are actually trying to make their lives better with either therapy or medication to help them with the problems that they have.
I believe that there would be some things that would be good to have some psychopathic tendencies in the world that we live but they are very, very few and far between. The only time that I could think about a psychopathic tendency being good is the fact that many psychopaths do not really react to fear that many people that are considered normal would. Many times they enjoy the fear that they are in or just do not think that it matters too much when it comes to being afraid of something just because it puts a little fear into them. Outside of that many of the tendencies that people have when they are considered psychopathic are not good enough to be considered helpful in many ways and after a time would backfire on those that do have those problems and cause harm in the future.
I do not know what kind of level I would score on a test like this because I hopefully would not have to take it anytime in my life to determine how I need to live my life. I think that I might score in a mid-range on the test because of my antisocial tendencies when it comes to being in groups. I do not enjoy going to parties or anything like that because of the large groups of people that are usually there and many times I do not like to go out just because I don’t feel like dealing with people that day. Outside of the antisocial tendencies that would come up in the test I think everything else would fall into a very safe level of the scoring range and I would probably have nothing to worry about when dealing with results.

Cassandra Rutledge
Psychopathic Test
12/3/2018

When someone is a psychopath they are totally gone, there is just a black hole where the human emotions should be. When one has the potential of becoming a psychopath they have maybe a few symptoms of being a psychopath. This score of the test saying that someone is a psychopath could cause them not to even care if they are truly a psychopath. They would have no emotion about situations that are terrible they have no sympathy. Others may believe that the person is crazy and have no remorce for their actions. When someone is scored as a psychopath, I believe that it is not the person's fault for being diagnosed with being a psychopath. I also believe that someone can change with age. These questions that were asked on the, Psychopathic Test, were all questions about the past.
When someone is being tortured to spill secrets I believe it would be good to have an emotionless feeling towards the threat of pain. When someone is being asked questions about a friend it would be usefull to be able to lie and not feel bad because you want to keep the secrets between you and your friend. While being in criminal justice jobs it would be nice to not be able to have the horrifying scenes to affect your emotions.
The Psychopathy Check List--Revised is a list of twenty questions that helps you find out who you are, and who you may become in the future. I believe that no matter what the results are that anyone could change who they were, and also can prevent who the could possibly become. I think it would be interesting to see if the people in the justice system could have symptoms of a psycopath. This could cause people to question the justice system. The test actually may be inaccurate because there are so many questioned about the past that can not be changed.
Terms: psychopath, PCL-R, sympathy, crazy, psychopath,

The test does seem unfairly powerful. It is definitely not something the everyday person should have stamped on their record. As the show mentioned, it seems unfair that the test is so heavily based on your past and gives no merit to your present self. However, the fact that this test is mostly done on people who are in prison changes things. I realize that a person can change, that is understandable. I do not think that it is fair, however, to release prisoners who have raped and murdered just because they have become a better person. The entire point of going to prison is that you pay the time for what you have done. If you have aided in ending someone’s life, I do not care how much your personality or lifestyle has improved, you do not deserve freedom. Therefore, I do find it apt that the test is used on prisoners. Perhaps the test could even help people out who were wrongly accused. Someone who is far from being a psychopath and who is highly unlikely to commit a crime should not be in prison.
There are certainly some psychopathic tendencies that seem beneficial. The tendency of psychopaths to become very successful is one example. However, most of the traits seem distasteful in my opinion. For example, having a lack of empathy and remorse is an awful trait. That trait will make it nearly impossible to have any sort of serious relations with people which is certainly not healthy. Al Dunlap did seem to be psychopathic in my opinion. He manipulated every one of the “symptoms” of psychopathy so that they sounded like good and productive character traits. I did not see them that way. Pathological lying is another big one that I found to be pretty bad.
As for how I would score, I am going to guess a zero. I was good in school, have not even gotten so much as a speeding ticket or other traffic violation, and hate pathological lying. Not only that but I have empathy and am remorseful about things I have done that were bad. At work I sometimes realize I messed up an order (I work in a grocery store) and it will eat away at me for the rest of my shift. I will be filled with anxiety, wondering how I did not catch my mistake until the customer left, wondering if they will notice, how it will affect their day, etc…. Basically the opposite of psychopathic thoughts. I have a friend though who surprisingly fits into all of the categories listed in the psychopath test. She lies pathologically, comes off as artificially charming but is not a very nice person, never has remorse for any of her actions, and probably more I cannot think of right now. I have known her for 13 years and I have never seen any ounce of emotion from her, other than when we left for college. It is weird to apply these ideas to the people around me. Maybe I will stop that now.

Terms: psychopath, anxiety, emotion

Being a psychopathology is a sickness or disorder of the mind. There was no way to determine this at one time. One man named Robert Hare, a Canadian psychologist, created the PCL-R. It stands for “Psychopathic Checklist- Revised.” This is an assessment that is used to determine if one is a psychopathic or not. During the testing, a person is asked questions that show if a that individual has certain traits that are in line with psychopathic traits. I do not think that a score should have so much power. Like it was introduced that nothing should happen in courtrooms without first having the person’s PCL-R score stamped on the front of their folders. I think this is kind of stupid for lack of a better word. A person may show many traits, but does that mean that it is relevant information in the case? If needed, it can be brought up, but until then, I believe it is something that should be kept quiet. Test scores also may not reflect an individual. I understand that the results received through the test tend to be very accurate; however, look at ACT scores for college students. Just because one individual has better score than another does not mean that they will have more success in college or life than the lesser scoring person. It was also proven that different psychologists give different results for tests, and some of the people giving the test aren’t qualified to administer it. It could cause more problems too.
Many of the different traits are not bad by themselves. I believe a lot of them could be good to have, but in large numbers, that is where the real problem with psychopathology lies. The etiology for everyone is different. Etiology can be defined as factors that contribute to the development of a disorder. For many of the traits though, they may seem bad, but help them get far in life. Being cunning may help one person get a job or get the girl/guy of their dreams. Another example could be being emotionally shallow or lacking empathy. Some jobs it helps to not feel the pain, because if one did, it could be extremely damaging to themselves. Feeling like you have high self worth could drive you to reach for higher goals and standards too.
I feel like I have quite a few partial characteristics/traits that are part of the PCL-R, but not enough to consider me psychotic. Also, if I did have some of the traits, they would not be extreme cases, at least Id like to think that. In the end though I think that I would score a very minimal score or even a zero, based on the scores that the people from the TAL episode. They all thought that they would have a few points against them; however, all of them had a zero. This leads me to believe that I would probably also score a zero in the test.
Terms: psychopathology, PCL-R, therapist, etiology, drive

The PCLR test for psychopaths is a very important test in our criminal system. It decides if people in jail deserve parole and if people are likely to commit crimes. For the people in jail that are serving life sentences, but are eligible for parole it is a very important test. It determines if the rest of their life will be spent in jail or in the world. If they are even acting and perceive to be competent and capable of feeling emotions like empathy and remorse, the test overrides psychiatrist’s views and diagnosis. The test is largely based on past events and not applicable to a person changing their personality. This was said in the episode and I think it is worth thinking about. The real question is do they truly change. The test does do a good job at predicting people going back to prison. If you score on the high end there is an 80 percent chance they do end back up in prison. The criminal justice system is where it used the most but people do take it for fun and even want to learn to give it. This I don’t think is helpful. People get trained to administer it but they are not trained in psychology. This bring in a lot of skepticism for me. If random people can give it, how can it be as reliable as we use it?
As a society we look down at being a psychopath. For good reason as we see empathetic and remorseful as qualities you need to be a good member in society. If people look at qualities of a psychopath such as poor judgment and incapable to learn from mistakes, promiscuous, and failure to follow a life plan they can see people they know and maybe sometimes have these qualities. They do not consider them psychopaths though. Some qualities can be beneficial. Being manipulative is very common and helpful for our advancement. Everyone can manipulate people or things to go our favor and this I don’t see as one of the worse traits. Another quality that they have is they are charming. This is seen as very positive. Having charm is good is our society and psychopaths just use these badly to get what they want.
I wouldn’t score high on the test. If I do something bad I immediately feel remorse and can’t live with myself. I can be manipulative something, like anyone and I might get 1 or 2 points on the test, but I wouldn’t score high at all to even think of being considered a psychopath. It is very enticing though and can see why people would want to take the test.

Most test scores have impacts on people’s life and the Psychopath test is not exception. When you are tested with the PCL-R test, you hope that you score low. When the test results are not what you are expecting, this can have a large impact on your life. When someone tests high on the test, others might feel uneasy around them. They might try to make more distance between them and the other person. I feel bad, that a simply test score can have such an impact on a person. It is simply not fair for the people. I believe that even if you get some points on the test, it does not necessarily mean you are a psychopath. The test have such a large impact on someone’s life it can be the difference between freedom and life in prison. We heard in the talk show about a man that was denied parole because of his score on the test. Dr. Bradly, who we were from in the radio show, believes the test relies largely on events the person has experienced in the past. I agree with Dr. Bradly. I believe events from your past can have a large impact on the way you think of things today.
There are some psychopathic tendencies that aren’t that bad. Most psychopaths have unrealistic goals. It is very important to set goals and sometimes it is even good to set them high to make you work harder. So to say setting unrealistic goals is a bad thing seems to be a double standard to me. Another trait which they look for is impulsivity. Some people just do things on impulse more than others. I do not believe this is a relevant thing to look at when trying to diagnosis something so in depth and life changing. They also look to see if people like to do crazy or dangerous things for fun. Some people just need to do more rigorous things for an adrenaline rush. I also, do not believe this is a relevant thing when diagnosing psychopathy.
I would hope that I would score low on this test. I would be very nervous before taking this test, and also I would be scared to see to the results. I believe a lived a honest life this far. I also don’t tend to do crazy or dangerous things just for fun. I also had a great childhood and believe that helps my case. I believe I would score a zero similar to all of the those on the radio show.
Terms: Psychopath, psychotic, PCLR- test

I would have to say that I sit on the fence when it comes to the psychopathic test. It seems to be reliable for people who are coming into prison after committing a crime or have a mindset of hurting others to get what they want. On the other hand when someone has spent time in prison and has changed their thinking habits and started creating long term goals I think that the psychopathic test is illogical to use if it is based off of environment and events in the past. People can change but the past can’t. As I was listening to the radio episode my thoughts kept swaying back and forth from ‘let the man go he wants to make a new life for himself’ and ‘what if he is just faking to get out of prison and cause harm?’ The guy who made the test mentioned that the justice system, at the time that the psychopathic test was being created, thought that psychopaths were created and not born. If thinking like a psychopath is created then it is kind of like bad habits that a person forms over time. With the right behavior therapy the habits can go into extinction, but when someone is born with a mindset that functions in a way that is abnormal according to social norms then it would be even harder to create good habits that go against someone’s instincts. Also in the chapter the book said that it was nearly impossible to treat people with antisocial personality disorder. However, people can still change from who they were before. I think that a better test would be if there was one that looks at a bigger picture of a person’s life, incentives, and emotions. A test is never the best way to test someone’s personality, so I don’t think it should be weighed so heavily on someone who wants a new life from the past and join the world. At the end of the podcast there was a reading about a man who seemed like he fit the bill for being a psychopath but was still within the boundaries of normal. The man was a jerk who enjoyed firing people from his company which to me seems like he was a social psychopath because that is not behavior that will get a person friends, but he understood that if he wanted to continue doing what he wanted to do he would have to follow some rules. Maybe we could live with psychopaths as long as they obeyed enough social norms to keep them out of prison.
Personally, I don’t think any psychopathic tendencies are good because I don’t want to be someone who is a liar, who manipulates people, who doesn’t have the ability to empathize with others, or be completely motivated by the present. I could see how some of those attributes can be useful in life. Especially in business when someone has to lay off a group of hard working people. I’m sure a psychopath would have no problems with that. Being overly confident can be good too because it makes a person feel good about himself and more willing to strive for things, but it also can be unattractive if someone is too full of herself. I know it’s not possible but I think I would score in the negatives on the test because I’m the kind of person who feels bad when I didn’t hold the door open for someone coming in a building after me. I don’t know how nor do I enjoy manipulating people to get what I want. My personal goal in life is to be kind to others and offer help whenever it is needed.
Terms used: Psychopathic test, antisocial personality disorder, extinction, behavior, incentives, social norms

The PCLR (the Psychopathy Checklist Revised) is a test that was developed in the 80’s by a researcher, Robert Hare, a psychologist who’s spent his entire career scientifically studying psychopaths and what makes them “tick”. It is comprised of a variety of questioned aimed at determining how closely your personality matches up with the major traits of psychopathy. Generally, I do not feel that the test should necessarily have so much power over the outcome of the rest of their life/how people perceive them. Tests are not always accurate and people can change. However, I think that in most cases if someone is in prison and has committed horrific acts and shows obvious signs of psychopathy there is no problem with the “stamp” of being a psychopath negatively weighs heavily on their chances of getting out of prison. I mainly feel this way in cases of individuals who have committed crimes of rape and murder, because I do not feel they have a right to live free lives outside out prison, no matter how much they’ve worked on improving their personality. However, it’s in cases such as Dixon’s where it becomes a bit more complex and perplexing to me. He doesn’t show obvious signs of psychopathy yet he still scores highly on the PCLR. Situations like these make me curious as to how we perceive psychopaths and just how difficult it may be to evaluate if an individual should be consider psychopathic. The fact that pathological lying is a main characteristic of psychopathy and that in the radio show it was mentioned that more socially intelligent psychopaths could expertly fake normalcy and emotional relationships makes the situation even more perplexing and fascinating to me. How can we truly tell if people like Dixon are not psychopathic? Can we really ever know for sure if people can change and “recover” from psychopathy? I’m not sure.

Although psychopathy is a pretty frightening personality disorder, I suppose it is definitely possible that there are some characteristics that could be considered useful in certain circumstances. In the second act, where Jon Ronson speaks with Al Dunlap (former CEO of a large company responsible for firing thousands of people), Al definitely shares similar characteristics to that of a psychopath, but he chooses to look at those characteristics as positive leadership traits that have helped him become successful, such as lack of remorse or empathy and how it allowed him to make “rational” decisions more quickly. Also the tendency to be manipulative could be looked at more as persuasion and charisma, which are quite helpful tools on the path to success. The narcissistic attitude that is common among psychopaths could be seen as a positive, at least to a small degree. As someone who suffers from poor self-image the idea of thinking/feeling/believing that I’m amazing and superior in all respects seems like an amazing dream, but obviously narcissism when taken to extremes is completely repulsive and unhealthy seeming to others. Another trait of psychopathy that could be helpful is the lack of emotional response to fear stimulus, I could see how in certain situations of being afraid of anything could be EXTREMELY beneficial. To feel comfortable and not have to deal with anxiety would definitely help make day-to-day life much more enjoyable as well as be great tool for success. It was not surprising to me when that there is a higher concentration among rich/powerful/successful people who could be considered psychopathic than compared to those in the general population, (its also pretty scary to think about). If I were to take the PCLR I feel that I would probably score extremely low – 0, mainly because I am extremely emotional, empathetic, and anxious. I care a lot about the happiness and well being of those around me and I hardly ever put myself first.

Psychology Terms: PCLR, psychologist, psychopath (y, ic), anxiety, personality, personality disorder, emotional

This was a very interesting topic to listen to because it makes you think about how you think of them without a test and then with a test. I personally do not think it is right to judge people by a test. It is just like how we aren’t supposed to judge books by their covers. In the listening it said that the questions were asking him about is past and I don’t think it is right to judge people on their past unless it is very recent. The questions were asking him things about when he committed the crime and I don’t think you can judge someone about that far back. I think that he was someone who was genuinely trying to be better. He said that he and his dad had a horrible relationship when he was younger. Then his dad said that their relationship got better as they both aged and I think that is something to note because a father that was threatened with death by his child when he was younger is saying that his son is a changed person.
I do believe that tests have some reflection on how we think but I think they need to be more about the present and less about the past. I also think that his parole shouldn’t be based on the test. His fate should be based off of what another person thinks should happen. I think that everyone does deserve to be punished for their actions, but they do deserve another chance in life unless it is something terribly bad.
This guy was a kid when he did these things and his home life was not good at all. You can only feel bad for the kid and understand why he was such a troubled kid. I do believe that he should have been punished for these things he did because he was about to take another person’s life. Then again that person was his father and he was beating him so you can understand why he wanted to do this. I don’t think killing his father was the right thought but I think he thought that his father should be punished for his actions.

Ricardo Garza

I think that if a person scores a particular score on a test, there is power over people’s impressions abut that person, and even their life at times. Growing up we see that throughout elementary, middle, and high school, we judge others by the grades that they make. If you make a bad grade, people think you are dumb or stupid. If you think about it, people are constantly being judged by their grades and scores on tests. If someone scores badly on the driving test, they may be judged and seen as a bad driver. Another perfect example is the ACT test or SAT test. When we see these scores, we judge ourselves individually and set ourselves into the social aspect of how smart or “dumb” we are. There are also psychopathic tendencies that are not so bad or even useful in certain circumstances. Some of these include, according to Ira Glass, anger. When we use this tendency, we often use it in the presence of fear or in revenge. When the tendency of fear is involved, we often see the fight or flight tendency. For these tendencies, we use stress as a form of helping us during tests. We use stress, not too much and not too little, as a form of keeping our minds on track during the test. I think I would score, with the right tendencies, about average, due to the past tests I have taken and also the information that I have learned from the broadcast.

Terms: ACT Test, anger, stress, SAT test, fear,

Psychopathy checklist revised is a test that they use to test if a person is a psychopath or not. The researchers would eventually test many people including criminals. Many criminals tested that they were psychopaths. I don’t necessarily agree on how much of an impression it has on people. Sure it can tell doctors and psychologists what kind of person you are and maybe it can help you out if you really need help, but if you are an average citizen with a good life, there is no reason to have the test done. What you think about yourself is one thing, but someone should not judge you based on what a test score says about you. You may have criminal qualities but that doesn’t mean that you are going to become a criminal. However, if someone got a psychopathic score then they may think they are a criminal because that is what they are labeled. I think it is interesting if criminals take the test and then their scores are similar showing they are psychopaths.
Robert Dixon was in prison for a very long time because he helped along with a murder. He wanted to leave and his father had been waiting for so long to go fishing with him again and to get to be with his son. Robert was excited because he was really hoping to see his father because his father was getting older. Robert took the PCR test and got a score saying that he was a psychopath and couldn’t get parole. Robert and his family and friend knew that Robert had turn for the better, but because of that score he couldn’t get out for parole. His father and Robert were very discouraged. I understand if the test says that he is a psychopath he may not be able to be in the public, however I think more tests should be given out, not just that one, so it can be more fair.
There are some tendencies that are good for certain circumstances such as in jobs. According to this radio show, twenty five percent of bosses tested for a psychopath. The traits in them must have some good to get them that high into that job field. Psychopaths have many good and useful qualities about them that make them so deviant. Psychopaths are typically charming and confident. That would be very helpful during an interview or during conference meeting where they can be very buoyant. Other qualities may be that they can handle things under pressure, which would be very beneficial in a high-pressured class.
I have absolutely no idea how I would score on this kind of test. I would hope for a score that wouldn’t say I am a psychopath. I would not want that term labeled on me and then society would think differently on me. If I would take the test and it showed I would start to upward compare myself to other people and they would downward compare them selves to me. I would feel worse about myself because I would see other people’s test scores and notice how I am a psychopath and they are not and I would have a lower self-esteem. I think if someone would have gotten a psychopath and I did not I would think of myself higher with a higher self-esteem because it would mean I have a better chance of not being a criminal.

Key terms: Psychopaths, upward comparison, downward comparison, Psychopathy Checklist Revised

After listening to this episode, I was very surprised that people believed they were a psychopath by a test. I do not believe that a test should have control over what people believe. Even though a person might score high on a test, it does not mean that they are completely a psychopath. People who take the psychopath test may be thought of as a psychopath because of the things they did in the past. Some things could include robbing someone, rapping someone, or even vandalizing property that is not theirs. I believe that if you do take the test and it is determine that you are actually a psychopath this is something you have to live with. What I thought was interesting was how the family thought their son was not a psychopath because they knew the “real him.” The family thought that their son had changed when he was in prison for so long. However, some people still believed that he was a psychopath.

A tendency that can not be useful is not showing emotion. I believe that being able to show emotion is a very good trait for a person to have. A psychopath may say one thing but not show any emotion while saying it. This could make it hard for a person to interpret if they really mean what say. I think that looking for a job with this trait can be hard because people may not get along with you. I believe that in order to be successful with a job you should show emotion to express to people what you believe and feel.

I believe that if were to take the test I would score very low. Some people may look at me and think that I am a psychopath but I am not. I would say that I am weird in my own way. I have a personality that makes people laugh by doing weird things. Even though some people may think that I am crazy, I am just being myself. I love who I am and if I ever took a test, I believe that I would score low.

In today’s legal system a lot rides on what you are labeled as. We can see it in today’s society when we look at the news and see how people are labeled by the press just by what is shown at a glance. This is much like what the psychopath test does for these individuals that may be looking to gain parole after their crimes have been committed. When people who take the test get a rating that would qualify them as being psychopathic the board that decides whether or not the get picked will be much more likely to deny them the chance for parole. This is what the creator of the test, Robert Hare, feared. I believe that when he made the test he knew that it would be useful in diagnosing people that have psychological disorders such as being a psychopath. At the same time though, I think that he was reluctant to give it to the criminal justice system because he knew that it would label those people as being psychopaths forever. I think he believes that people are able to change the way that they think through the help of psychodynamic therapy. What putting this label of being psychopathic does is it keeps them from ever being able to get rid of that label even though they may become a changed person. We can see this in the case of Robert Nixon. His friends and his family and even some of the counselors were able to see that he has been changing his views and regrets what it is that he did in the past. Unfortunately for him because he got that label of being a psychopath however many years ago he is more than likely going to be unable to ever gain parole. This doesn’t mean that everyone that is label a psychopath is going to have a change like his, many will probably never start to feel remorse for the crimes that they committed. That being said, sometimes people who may have psychopathic tendencies may become more successful because of it. In the case of Al Dunlap, we see someone who is completely ruthless and unforgiving, yet extremely successful. While he displays some of the psychopathic characteristics he isn’t committing crimes, or being harmful to society. I think this is because he is able to control his emotions and use his ruthlessness in ways that will help his business, and ultimately help himself out. While I’m sure that he is a terrible boss and someone that is feared and hated by many, it can’t be denied that his lack of caring about what others think of him is partly what contributed to his massive degree of success.

Terms: Psychopathic, psychological disorder, psychodynamic therapy

12/3/14

In this episode of This American Life we learn about testing to see whether or not someone is a psychopath. The test, created by Robert Hare, is called the PCL-R. It was originally intended for scientific use. However, after testing it on inmates, it was proven to predict the likeliness of prisoners to reoffend. Inmates with a high score over 30 had an 80 percent chance to reoffend. Since the test results were so shockingly accurate, the justice system wanted to use it. This could determine whether someone could be offered parole or not. The question raised is whether or not this is practical. Is it possible that someone who is not a psychopath could be labeled as a psychopath? Robert Hare says yes. He feared that the test would be used this way. He says that there are people who are poorly trained directing this test. There is not always a professional directing. Some of these people do not have the right degrees to be measuring psychopathy. One person could label one as a psychopath while another would not. One case brought up in this episode is a man by the name of Robert Dixon. Robert, as a child, was clearly a delinquent. He tried to commit suicide multiple times as well as tried to kill his father. He ended up being charged with acting as an accessory to murder. Before the crime he says, “I was a lost person.” Now he says, he has changed, he wants so save the last of his life for doing good in his community. He has also established a loving relationship with his father whom he had never gotten along with before. His father and family members truly believe he has changed. However he continues to score a high score on the PCL-R due to his past experiences. He will denied parole. Can we really know whether he is a psychopath? Is he really that good at pretending to be “changed”? I think not. From hearing him in the interviews I am convinced that he is a changed man. A test should not determine whether or not somebody deserves a second chance.

The second half of the episode focuses on the bright side of being a psychopath. One would obviously ask, “well, is there?” The episode introduces us to a man named Al Dunlap. Al is a very successful business man known for firing high numbers of people and closing down businesses. He appears to have fun firing people. He seems to have no remorse. Jon Ronson sets up an interview with Al. When Ronson arrives at Al’s house he is shocked at the amount of predatory animals displayed visually both in sculptures and paintings. He has got paintings of himself in his home, and gold everywhere. Ronson brings up the test. He explains that his traits make him seem potentially dangerous. Confused, Al asks for more of an explanation. Scared of the reaction he might receive, Ronson tells him that he could possibly be labeled as a psychopath. Al is clearly upset, he demands to know more about the test. He then says, “okay, let’s take it then!” He scores a low 20. This is still pretty high. However, it is not high enough for him to be labeled as a psychopath. However it still brings up an important question. Are traits that are possessed by psychopaths helpful in being successful? I think so. I believe that his high ego and lack of empathy has allowed him to reach his rank. However, I still am not convinced that he is an admirable person.

The staff at This American Life also decided to take a short, dumbed down, version of the test. The three voted to have the highest score were Ira, Jane and Robin. Robin had the most votes. Soon they discovered that they all scored a zero. They were regretful of certain times in their life and showed a wide range of emotion and empathy. Due to their scores, I would assume that I would score a zero. I do show empathy towards many people in my life. I am constantly questioning whether or not I should have done this or that. I have little to no traits that a true psychopath possesses.

Psychological terms: psychopath, PCL-R.

I’m not so sure that the impact that this test makes is a good thing. If it heavily effects how prisons and criminal justice systems in general work than it better be pretty darn fool proof.
In some cases having a few of the tendencies could be a good thing I think. One of those is being cunning and manipulating. Sure this is a good trait to express all the time in everyday life, but what about an extreme situation. Imagine you find yourself in the middle of a store robbery while trying to buy some Twinkies. If you find a way to manipulate criminal into dropping their weapon or distracting them until the proper authorities come I cannot see that as bad. Another one that I don’t see as being too bad is living a promiscuous sexual lifestyle. I personally believe that sex, as long as it makes one happy, is totally normal in any way it comes. If some gets true pleasure from having sexual relations with 1000 people then I have no objections.
There is no way that I would fall under the category of psychopath. I can be the first to admit that I did so obnoxious things as a kid. Some were with friends, and others alone. My childhood neighbor, my brother, and I used to go to the lake that we live on to catch frog, snakes, turtles, and other animals of the nature. The things we did to those creatures were very cruel, but I have since moved on. I don’t do any of that sort of thing anymore. In the beginning of the podcast it was mentioned that psychopaths have no sense of mercy, compassion, empathy, or ability to love. I feel all of those emotions. Sometimes to a fault.

When listening to act one of the psychopath I am starting to see the trend in the radio shows assigned to us. These radio shows have similarities about the theme and we are to dissect how these stories relate to the chapter of psychology that we are talking about. When listening to Dixon speak he lives in regret of his early life. When the show speaks about the psychopathy test Dixon tested above 70% of the population which makes him a psychopath. Dixon and his friends and family feel that he not a psychopath but however normal but according to the court system which administered the test state that he Is. The creator of this test developed this test by examining hundreds of prisoners and non-prisoners. Hare the creator of the test that diagnosed Dixon as a psychopath discovered that people who are psychopaths tend to see normal objects and horrific objects as the same such as a color blind person seeing two colors that appear the same. Hare describes that you cannot teach a color blind person what the color red looks like, you can describe it, give as many definitions as possible but they still will not be able to get a grasp for what it really is, Hare states that this is the same for psychopaths they cannot understand why these objects presented are wrong. The original test that was done to prisoners to determine if one is a psychopath I feel was done wrongly. They had a scoring system that tested people in 20 different categories and if a person scored above a 30 out of a possible 40 points they were considered a psychopath. I feel that if you will diagnose someone as a psychopath off this test that a person who understands this test and is trained with psychopaths should evaluate the prisoner to make an official test. Later I feel Hare and the creators of the test start to understand the test more because the test seemed to evaluate the prisoners past instead of present. I feel that these prisoners have had very difficult lives in which they have seen some horrific events which does not make them a psychopath but this test was finding these men/women as a psychopath. I was glad to know that they tested not the prisoners but the people administering the test and when hearing that the difference between tests scores that the different administrators were giving to prisoners was on average 8 points or greater was ridiculous. These men who did make mistakes when they were young are living life in prison because of a test that could be faulty due to the administrator giving and or evaluating the test incorrectly. When the show talk about how some people in power could be considered a psychopath because of how they are fearless or make decisions without hesitation I feel is wrong. I do think some people in history were truly a psychopath such as Hitler but thinking a person could be a psychopath because they are fearless is not true because a person could be reacting to fight or flight, have experience, or are concealing their true emotions. I’m curious if there is a link between horrific events such as war that can make a person a psychopath, soldiers would be death and gruesome scenes often and learned to ignore it. Does that make them a psychopath? Or those men who came back from war that suffered PTSD would not be considered because they are suffering from the actions of them or others?
Terms- psychopath- psychology- psychopathy- fight or flight- PTSD

I think it’s a tad bit ridiculous. I view it as only a number. Any test like that has its faults. The test was created by humans, and all humans have faults, so how could it be totally accurate? Just because someone had a rough past or made one bad decision, that doesn’t mean that they could be a possible psychopath. I understand that the test is based off of information collected by scientists, but I still don’t find it to be accurate. People with psychological disorders are not easily understood, so how could a simple number define them? Like with the story of Robert Dixon, he’s locked up in a high security prison with the very slim change of parole. And why is this you may ask? It’s not because of his crime, but because of his psychopath test score. That’s a bit extreme. Now I understand all of the bad history that Dixon has and I believe that should be the reason he stays locked up; not because of a test score, but because of his criminal record and mental state. I can’t believe that this test has such power over people’s lives. And what’s even worse is that people’s scores were given by many different people, some who don’t even have degrees. So these people could have no clue how to grade a person, give them a terrible score, and then that person who was tested unfairly is thrown into jail for the rest of their life. How is that fair?!
Some psychopathic tendencies aren’t completely bad and can help out a person’s personality. Many psychopaths have a strong sense of emotion and motivation. They truly believe in their beliefs and will fight for it. They are confident in their ideas and don’t allow others to knock them down. They also are emotionally deaf. They don’t feel things like the normal person. An example that was told was when a psychopath was shown a picture of a table and of someone being raped. They monitored their heart rates as they looked at each picture. Psychopaths were not affected by the rape pictures. They viewed it as if they were viewing a neutral picture of a table. They felt no emotions. This tendency could come in handy if someone had a family member die. They wouldn’t have to worry about being distraught and in mourning. They could still live their life and be unaffected while their family members are barely able to function over the death. Another tendency that could come in handy is intelligence. Psychopaths are not stupid. They know what they’re doing and how to do it, they also know how their actions can affect people and they get a sense of pleasure from it. This tendency could come in handy because if you’re smart in life, then you can go far. If you’re strong willed and quick witted, then you can achieve great things. If I were to take this score, I believe I could be considered a psychopath. I have a history of depression, anxiety, and family members attempting and committing suicide. I think that would view me as a threat to society and myself. My emotions are unstable and could lead me to do terrible things. I’m not saying that’s how I personally feel, but I believe that is how the scientists or people scoring me would see me as.

Terms: psychopath, psychological disorders, emotion, motivation and personality.

When I listened to this radio show, I was a bit shocked at how one little test can alter someone’s life so greatly. We learned about Robert Dixon, who is a man in a maximum security prison for a crime that he committed in his youth, several years ago. He was charged with being an accessory to murder because he was present when one of his friends tried to rob someone, and ended up shooting him instead. Robert will most likely spend the rest of his life in prison because of one simple obstacle: the PCL-R, which stands for Psychopathy Check List-Revised. This test was invented by a psychologist named Bob Hare, who intended for it to be used for basic lab studies only, but instead the test is being used in criminal justice systems all over the world as a way to tell whether or not a person should be granted freedom, or life behind bars. Bob doesn’t agree with the fact that his test is being used by people who are not qualified to administer it. He used the example of a nurse doing surgery, stating that they are just as unqualified as the people who are using his PCL-R test. Hare was asked the question if whether or not he ever thought about his test harming someone, and he said that if he thought about all of the ways that his test could potentially harm another individual, he wouldn’t sleep at night.
There are several characteristics that go along with psychopathy, such as failure to feel remorse, lack of conscience, insensitivity, being manipulative etc. when I heard the stories that Robert’s family and friends shared, I had a hard time identifying any of these characteristics. According to his PCL-R test, he scored fairly high, meaning he has psychopathic tendencies, but according to his friends he is just the opposite. The fact that Robert made amends with his father, gained new friends, and maintained all of his past relationships clearly shows that the PCL-R can be flawed. Determining whether a person lives freely or behind bars, should not be up to a test. I think that the test has a lot of power over people’s impressions because people believe what can be proven. We rely greatly on tests and statistics, so we end up only seeing half of the picture.
The second act of this radio show was about a man named Al Dunlap. He is the CEO of a company and is also a part of Jon Ronson’s book called The Psychopath Test. After hearing that four percent of business leaders were psychopaths, Jon Ronson set out to find business leaders who expressed characteristics of psychopathy, which is where he ran into Al Dunlap. Ronson chose to study Dunlap because of his inability to feel bad when he fired people from their jobs. Any normal person would feel sorry, maybe even guilty about having to fire a person from their job, but Dunlap was just the opposite. Ronson noted that he actually got pleasure out of it, which of course, is a characteristic of most psychopaths. After spending most of the day together, Ronson actually brought up the possibility that Dunlap could be a psychopath, and when he began listing the different characteristics, Dunlap justified every one of them. This in turn caused Ronson to become jealous. He wished he was more like Dunlap and knew what it was like to be relaxed all the time, not having to worry about anything. Although being a psychopath is generally, and almost always a bad thing, Al Dunlap used his psychopathic characteristics to his advantage to help him succeed at his profession. This goes to show that some of the characteristics that go along with psychopaths can sometimes be useful.
If I were to be given the test, I am almost positive that I would score a zero. The reason I say this isn’t because I haven’t done anything bad in my life, but because after every bad thing that I have ever done, I have felt remorse, which is something that psychopaths don’t experience. In fact, people have told me that I have a very heavy conscience. If I have done something that I feel is wrong, it eats me alive until I am able to make it right. I’m a little disappointed that I wasn’t able to take the test because I’m interested to see how I would have scored.
Terms: PCL-R, Psychopaths, conscience, remorse, intelligence

After listening to this episode there was many things that changed my view on this sort of testing. First of all, I think that a score on a test has too much power over people’s impressions or even someone’s life. Life shouldn’t be all about tests and facts and data. Someone shouldn’t be categorized just because some test says that’s where they belong. A test is just a test and shouldn’t have a big impact on someone’s life. Take school for example. For most of us, when we test we aren’t being tested over what we had learned or what we know, just what we memorized. The test doesn’t truly reflect one’s deeper understanding of the material, just what we were required to memorize. So, tests shouldn’t have a lot of power over someone’s life. Tests shouldn’t determine if someone is able to get out of jail or not just because they meet or don’t meet the required checklist. In my opinion that checklist is wrong because the list to me is pointless. That list is a list of “normal” people attributes, but in reality there is no such thing as normal. Even someone who would be categorized in the “norm” category may not even meet the requirements on that checklist. Every single person is different and functions and thinks differently and independently so there shouldn’t be tests and checklists that control our lives. Society is in too deep with testing and making sure everyone falls into the “social norm” category because they want to appear as if they have their act together and everyone is on the same page as everyone else. Tests only tell you the surface of some people. True, there are certain characteristics of a psychopath but that doesn’t necessarily mean that someone has psychopathic tendencies but in other cases someone may. It all depends on the person and if they act on their urges or instincts or thoughts. There are some psychopathic tendencies that aren’t all that bad or even useful in certain circumstances. One for example is inflated ego or narcissism. We need to have people like that in the world because sometimes those people think that they won’t fail so they take the bigger risks which are what we need in our society. They are willing to take the jump because they believe they won’t fall. They can start new ideas because they believe they are right and they persevere. Now, I’m not saying it’s great to have a huge ego all the time, but it doesn’t hurt everything now and then to think somewhat highly of yourself, you feel more confident. I think on this test that I would score very low. I have empathy and for a majority of the wrong things that I have done have some sort of resentment or I feel bad about it.

This American Life Episode, “The Psychotic Test,” was a test given to people to determine if they are psychotic. This test was designed by psychopathy researcher and psychologist, Bob Hare. The test is also known as the PCL-R, Psychopathy Checklist Review. This test is literally a checklist for psychologists to fill out while asking their patient a series of questions usually lasting about an hour. The questions include information about the patients past such as, fights they have been in, if they graduated high school, or how their teachers thought of them. If the patient scores high on the checklist, they are considered to be psychotic. If the patient scores low on the test, they are considered to be normal. The psychologist judges the individual on a scale of zero to two. Two meaning the person answered the question making them seem psychotic. Zero meaning the person answered the question completely normal and the psychologist did not recognize any psychotic physical features during the patient answered the question. The psychologist examines the patients personality and emotions to conclude if the individual is considered psychotic. I personally think that it is not right to judge and individual over a test. I also believe that this test can be significant in some areas but, it exemplifies many flaws. A possible flaw this test can administer is the fact that each psychologist is different and could specialize in different areas of psychology meaning, they may score a patient differently than others.

After listening more to this episode, we learned about a CEO that had many psychopathic tendencies, his name is Al Dunlap. He demonstrated a score that was almost psychotic but not quite. At the end of the interview, Jon Ronson finalized that Al was somewhat narcissistic, meaning he did not feel bad for any of his horrific actions to others. Al Dunlap found enjoyment in firing people because he had the power to pretty much do anything throughout his job. Al exemplified many characteristics that fit him and his job perfectly. He did not mind firing people and how they felt because that was his job as a CEO, to make and produce a solid company. Overall, I believe that this psychopathic tendency of Al Dunlap’s is useful for his job for many reasons. Al demonstrated an unfearful attitude towards his employee’s and established a much stronger company.

If I took the test, to be honest I would be freaked out. Not because I think I am a psychopath but because I would fear that the psychologist would understand me wrong as a person. I would fear they would twist my words into something I did not mean. But overall, I show plenty of emotions, passion, and love for things in life. I think my PCL-R test would come back with a normal score. Now that I know more about this test, I believe it is not right to judge an individual by their score. I think a series of different tests could possibly help or even come to conclusion if a patient is normal or psychotic.

Terms: Psychopathy, Personality, Emotion, Psychology, Narcissistic, Psychopathy Checklist Review (PCL-R)

Psychopath is not a good thing to be called and everyone that hears that you are a psychopath are scared of you. I do believe that we sound have a test having some kind of power like this over people’s impressions or even someone’s life, but I think that test needs to change especially the amount of questions. 20 questions, you would think, would not truly can determine if you are a psychopath of not. I also believe that people using this test should only professionals because if you do it wrong, then that person’s life is screwed over because of them. What the test doesn’t take into consideration is that you might not always we a psychopath all your life, you may turn your life around. The only thing is, how do we really know they are turning their life around or just acting so they can get out of jail? This is very tricky to know if you just base it off of questions being asked, so I think we should try to figure out a way we can medically find out if the brain is producing that connection for emotions. If we figured out how to do that, we wouldn’t have to worry that they really aren’t a psychopath. With the test in jury, they should take into consideration what ranked they were with the “new” test, but if they see the quality of exact opposite of what is known to be called a psychopath, we they should be able to make their own decision on if they can be let go, nobody wants to be locked up all there life. Some examples of characteristics of being called a psychopath would be no remorse or emotions to things that most people would find very emotional. To me this is very different from questions of the test. They aren’t even bad and not useful ,for example some of them were have you ever graduate, scandalized, doing crazy thing for fun, bad temper, been in love. I don’t see how much of anything you could get out of these question because they are looking at only one outcome to why each of these thing have happened which is psychopath but in real life, there could be many causes ,that’s not being a psychopath, that could have contribute to that factor. The story of Robert would be an example of this. He may have been a very troubled teen and young adult, but as he got older he started to realize emotion, you know this because he even made a friend in prison, and you can’t produce emotion, why would be make a true friend? Things like this make me think about my proposal of the finding medically about the brain, so people like this can latter on live a life later one especially because he has remorse about it. When you ask how I think would score, I would say zero, because I have no past crimes where you don’t care about others emotions. But in so ways I think how we all can have at least 1 point scored because sometime in our lives we may be in so much stress that you give up and really don’t care about the other peoples emotions, for example getting into a fight and saying hurtful things but not feeling bad anymore because they need to know. Terms: psychopath, emotions, disorder, mood

The episode that I heard is a story about the psychopathic test. I think even though people get a high score in psychopathic test or they are diagnosed with being psychopathic, it might not affect theirs’ impressions, behavior or even their life greatly. On the basis of several psychopathic tendencies that they did in the past, they will be turned out psychopathic. However, it can’t show everything about them; it is simply no more than figures. That is, although behaviors that they did in the past showed psychopathic tendencies, the behaviors might be conducted by certain circumstances unlike their intention. As well as, whether they are real psychopathic or not can be determined by people around them regardless of the test. That is, they don’t care about high test score greatly. Also, if a certain person is really psychopathic, she or he can’t recognize their psychopathic behaviors well. Therefore, it can’t affect their impressions, that is, I think that the test doesn’t have much power over people’s impressions or even their life.
When we think psychopathic people, we tend to think them negatively because most bad people like serial murders in our society show psychopathic tendencies. However, according to a survey by researcher, Carolyn Bate, in University of Huddersfield, high CEOs in our society also show psychopathic tendencies. For example, Steve Jobs and Kennedy as we know well show psychopathic dispositions with regard to emotional reaction. One of psychopathic dispositions that they have is that they can conceal their emotions very well; also they are good at control their emotions. As CEO of company, concealing and controlling their emotions are really important because they should lead their subordinates; also they have to make decisions reasonably to run the company well. In conclusion, psychopathic tendency, such as controlling emotions, is very useful when it comes to circumstance of CEOs.
If I would take the psychopathic test, I think that I would get a low score as normal people. I have never experienced any severe psychological problems or trauma that affected me greatly before. Also, I think that I am very emotional person. When I watch sad movies or hear sad stories, I can easily drop tears. As well as, I can easily evoke a feeling of love and empathy to other people, as well as when I have a problem, I can get stressed as normal people feel. Therefore, I would get zero score or low score in the test.
Terms: psychopathic test, emotions, empathy

First of all, a psychopath is a person suffering from chronic mental disorder with abnormal or violent social behavior. This episode was about a psychopathic test. This test was created by a Canadian psychologist named Bob Hare. The psychopathic test is known as the Psychopathy Checklist Review or PCL-R test for short. Bob Hare was held back on whether or not this particular test should or could determine a person’s fate. In fact, his worst fears came true, based outcomes have came out due to this test.
The test itself, scores the person. The maximum number that someone can receive on his test is a 40. If a person scored a 30, well then they were to be considered a psychopath. However, the score can change from time to time. For an example, the scores can be different if two different people gave the test to the particular person. The episode had a good example of this. The psychologist’s hired by the prosecution scored the person higher, while the psychologists hired by the difference was scored lower.
I have watched a lot of shows that have dealt with psychopaths. I think that the tendencies can be both useful and not so bad. Psychopaths have different personalities and traits. Psychopaths can tied in a lot with like murders and stuff like that. They plead that they have a mental illness of some sort. Not all these people that plead actually have a mental illness. This leads to the bad reputation. But at the same time, the tendencies can be helpful. On the shows that I watch, somehow the psychopaths always outsmart the good people. The psychopaths seem to not have a care in the world. This could help when doing jobs that some normal people could not handle.
I think if I took the test today, I would probably score a really low number. It would be quite interesting to actually take the test and see what I would score. Throughout my high school years, I was quite shy so I never caused much trouble. The only thing that would slightly drive up my number, would be the fact that my parents got a divorce.
Psychological Terms: Psychopathy, PCL-R, psychology, personality, traits

The psychopath test takes is a series of questions to determine if a person has certain psychopathic tendencies and rates them on a scale to tell whether they are a psychopath or not. This test can carry in heavy roll in the criminal justice system to determine if a person should be locked up and also if a person that has been locked up should be let out on patrol. In Robert Dixon’s case a high score on the psychopathic test means he will probably not get out of jail on parole despite the fact that so many people around him see change and the reporter of this story said he seemed to have a close relationship with a few people and did not seem psychopathic. A score on this test can mean a lot in determining what may happen in a person and their life. I think having a cut and dry test like this is good in the criminal justice system because it is a system that can be applied equally to everyone. The thing that unsettles me is the fact that there are no regulations on who can administer this test. If this test is affecting such important things like someones future and life it should only be able to be applied by a trained psychologist. There are some cases in which having psychopathic tendencies can be beneficial. Psychopathic tendencies can be found in criminals but also some corporation leaders. Some of these qualities help people these people don't base decisions on emotions and connects because psychopaths so have theses. They can be completely objective. I think if I were to take this test I was rate somewhat in the middle. I did has some rebellious behavior throughout my teen years. Despite this past I am a very compassionate heart and value the deep relationships with my friend and family greatly.

test

The Psychopathic Test created by Bob Hare was made to test whether someone was a psychopath or not. They identify multiple characteristics common in that of psychopath, and then asked the participant various questions to help them determine whether that characteristic applied or not, and gave them a score of 0, 1, or 2. There were many questions about the persons past events included in this test, which eventually was seen as a downfall of it. First, when the test was released people were very surprised at how well it was working and how accurate it actually was turning out to be. Then certain situations arose that made people question the validity of the test. Because the test was highly based on past events, if someone was in jail they obviously have done something bad in their past to get them there. Therefore they are more likely to score high on this test, even if they have changed their ways.
I think the test is overall a good idea. It would be beneficial to use as an initial guide for a psychologist to get an idea on their patient’s mental behaviors. However, using it as the final decision of psychopath or not is not okay. It is especially sad that they use this test to determine if someone up for trial is likely to be dangerous again or not. Even if the results are not completely clear, the judge will likely just lock that person up again instead of risking other crime in the community. Since the test results highly off of questions based on past events, it would be nearly impossible for anyone who was in prison to score low enough that a judge would feel comfortable letting them walk the streets as a free man. This is sad because sometimes jail time actually changes people for the better but it really doesn’t matter according to this test. And on the other side of the bars, normal people could take this test, and score closer to psychopath as they thought, which could cause many issues. The self-fulfilling prophecy comes to mind here because I could see someone who just got his score back and wasn’t happy about it, doing reckless, uncharacteristic behaviors and claiming he was a psychopath so it was fine. So it could really bring the bad out in some people.
Some of the psychopathic tendencies could be beneficial to the average person but I also feel like there is a fine line where it goes from beneficial to scary/weird. For example, a lack of fear could be helpful but it could quickly go too far and be bad. For example, riding your bike on the street is scary for some people but a little lack of fear would make you feel comfortable doing it and not feel unsafe about it. Taking it to far would include things like a person walking across a busy street without even looking. Also from the episode, the CEO talked about how his leadership abilities were greater due to his lack of empathy and remorse. I can see how this would be very beneficial to anyone who was completely career oriented because it would make them a good boss and they would likely succeed in their field. But if they had other interests like family life or even the want to travel, these qualities would just make him a bad father and a rude tourist.
I think I would score very similar to the people in the episode, either zero or very close to it. I feel like, again similar to the people in the episode, I never act a certain way aiming to hurt someone, so in legal terms I am never driven by malice. But if I happen to hurt someone, I have a very guilty conscious and will likely feel awful about whatever it is I did to them for a while, as would the average person. A psychopath would indeed be driven by malice, aiming to hurt or harm someone. They also feel no remorse which I definitely am opposite of. So I think it is safe to say I am not a psychopath.
Terms: Psychopath, self-fulfilling prophecy, empathy, remorse, malice, mental, behaviors

What do I think about a test score having power over people's impressions or one's life? Isn't that a bit of a redundant question to be asking a college student? At this point my entire life is governed by a series of test scores, and they certainly will influence people's impressions of me, and employment is a big part of my life, so yes my test scores will also affect my life in some way. With that said, I'd say I feel pretty strongly about test scores, especially if that dictates whether or not people need to be scared of me. As for psychopathic traits that would prove useful? Well, yeah I think there are plenty of useful qualities to being a psychopath. For one, people with a subdued empathic capacity are probably much more hardy and resilient. I know a lot of folks who could use more of that in their lives. Having no fear, while certainly a dangerous concept, means you'll get a lot more done with your life. You'd be completely uninhibited by such trifling fears like dying, and whatever your peers think of your risky and bizarre decisions.

Personally, I'm saddened because I'm certain I'd probably score pretty low on the test, and that bums me out, because I don't think I'd really mind being a psychopath. It'd be refreshing to not feel the need to live with all the societal pressure to conform and fit in, and instead press onward without stopping. Ever ignorant of the fact that you're scaring the ever-living out of everyone around you, and yet you can't be bothered to care. Ah, but I'm rambling. Seriously though, there has to be some pretty serious perks for being biologically fearless. I can't help but wonder at the idea of being able see things more objectively without the interference of strong emotions. I can't imagine it'd be that convenient though. Knowing my luck it'd come with a side of Schizophrenia or something of the sort. I'd just hope for a happy medium. Just out there enough, if that makes any sense. A moderate score that's just enough to give the researchers pause, before sending me back out into civilized society.

The keywords are: psychopath, empathy, hardiness, resiliency, emotions, and Schizophrenia.

This American Life episode discussed the term psychopath and how we define people to be psychopaths through testing. A person who is termed, as a psychopath is generally emotionally deaf and lack the ability to feel empathy, remorse, and love that won’t accept responsibility for their actions. A psychopath also has a tendency of being egocentric a cunning, manipulative, pathological liar. Robert Hare created this test by using research he and other researchers had observed of convicted psychopaths in prison. Taking this test and having a score can have a bad impact on an individual because others will see those who take the test and are termed a psychopath differently. Individuals can stereotype this individual into a group that consists of bad, evil people due to the label they placed upon them. By labeling someone there is always a chance of prejudice and discrimination, which can cause tension between individuals such as avoidance or negative feeling someone. This can be seen with Robert Dixon where his lawyer states that once he learned the results of Dixon’s psych evaluation and was termed a psychopath, he knew for sure every time he brought Dixon before the board they would get denied. This is a prime example of a negative affect of the test on an individual because they are automatically seen as a terrible emotionless killer. Dr. Peter Bradley even suggest that most criminals with a high PCL-R score never get released because the test relies too much on past events from an individuals life. If the individual has a long criminal record then that will ultimately be the deciding factor even if the person has matured and become rehabilitated. So in all my opinion of this test is that it shouldn’t be used a judging factor or decision maker but rather as a useful guideline instead.

Later in the radio show they discuss the CEO Al Dunlap whom Jon Ronson met and used a form of the PCL-R on. Dunlap was a very successful businessman who had earned a reputation for taking great pleasure in firing workers at his company. Ronson learned how to administer the test and met with Dunlap at his home. He evaluated Dunlap who score somewhere in the 20’s that doesn’t make him a psychopath but very close. Dunlap usually turned the questions or characteristics into more positive characteristics such as manipulation into leadership. Dunlap for sure has a serious lack of remorse, cunningness, and superficial charm. Even though he had some serious ones this doesn’t make him a psychopath. These characteristics that he has don’t make him dangerous but rather a more effective businessman because they allow him to keep it all business rather than letting emotion get involved. If I were to take this test on the other hand I feel as if I would score very low because my characteristics would be the complete opposite of a psychopath. I am not manipulative at all, I had lying, I don’t believe I have a superficial charming, and I feel sympathy or remorse for my actions or for individuals. Basically the only this I have going for my that could be termed as a psychopathic tendency would be my cunningness which allows me to think quick and intelligently.

Terms used: psychopath, empathy, stereotype, prejudice, discrimination, PCL-R

I don’t like the idea of a test, just a bunch of silly questions, determining someone's life. The sweetest and most innocent person you know could always score higher than you. This test may be able to tell you who is/could be a psychopath, but it can’t tell you 1) anything else about that person (after all they could be a really cool person) and 2) how well they are able to actually control their tendencies. Just because someone has however many traits of one, doesn’t mean thats what they live their life by. After all, some of the tendencies aren’t so bad. For example not being able to feel empathy isn’t necessarily a bad a thing. As someone who is an apparently powerful second generation empath, I would love to be able to only feel my own emotions ever. I actually went and found a psychopathic test, and I scored a 5 out of around 20+. This means that I had little to no psychopathic tendencies.
Terms: psychopath, tendencies, traits, empathy, emotions, psychopathic test

The PCL-R test was created by Robert Hare. Originally intended for scientific use, after testing it on inmates, it was proven to predict the likeliness that a prisoners would reoffend. Inmates with a high score over 30 had an 80 percent chance to reoffend. The test results were remarkable accurate, which resulted in the justice system continuing to use it. This test could determine whether or not someone could be offered parole. Robert Hare reported that it is very possible for someone to be labeled a psychopath and not be one. Poorly trained people, who do not have the right degrees to measure psychopathy, are being allowed to administer this test, which could be the cause of the mislabeling of inmates. Robert Dixon got 15 years to life with a possibility of parole, for acting as an accessory to murder, he was denied patrol after PCL-R labeled him as a psychopath. Robert Dixon was a delinquent. As a teen, he was convicted of raping one woman, and beating another. Since childhood, Dixon's life had been deeply disturbed. He tried to commit suicide at the age of 10, and again at the age of 12, and threatened to kill himself and his father, who, according to records, often beat him. He was in and out of detention for the rest of his teens. Before the crime he says, “I was a lost person.” Now he says, he has changed, he wants so save the last of his life for doing well in his community. He has also established a loving relationship with his father whom he had never gotten along with before. His father and family members truly believe he has changed. However he continues to score a high score on the PCL-R due to his past experiences. He will denied parole. Is this accurate enough to prove he is a psychopath? Is it act? I’m not really sure what I should believe, science or Dixon. It’s true a test should not determine whether someone deserves a second chance or not, but it’s proven that psychopaths are excellent at manipulating people. It all comes down to if you want to risk a life or destroy a second chance to be better.
Some psychopathic tendencies are not as bad as they seem. About one percent of the population, twenty-five of the prison population and surprisingly four percent of business leaders tested positive for being a psychopath or for having psychopathic tendencies. Sunbeam, a popular toaster and kitchen appliance company hired Al Dunlap. Dunlap was known for actually seeking pleasure by firing people. This was proven when he was in charge of Scott Toilet Paper. He fired thousands and each time he did it, he had a smile on his face and a lack of empathy. Business Magazine even included him in an article about potentially psychopathic CEOs. They have records of his ex-wife’s divorce papers that stated that he pulled a knife on her and said “I’ve always wondered what human flesh tasted like.” As terrible as Dunlap may sound, as soon as Sunbeam named him the new CEO, their stocks raised from twelve dollars and fifty cents to eighteen dollars and sixty three cents. He fired 12,000 employees and shut down poor performing factories. By the end of his rampage, the stocks were raised to fifty one dollars. That is an amazing increase in stocks. They suggest that people with psychopathic tendencies are better at business because they have no fears. Psychopathy can be very essential to business and it has shown that psychotic businessmen have better success in businesses.
Honestly, I don’t think I would score high on the PCL-R. I show absolutely too much emotion to be a psychopath. There’s just no way, unless I’m just really good at mimicking emotions where as I allow myself to blend in with everyone else. Maybe, I could test high on this test, I’ve had my share of traumatizing events in my life. Then again, maybe not, because I wouldn’t even be able to hurt a fly and not feel remorse. I’d feel kind of bad for the fly. In total honest, I have no idea what I would score. I might just have to take it to find out.
Key Terms: Psychopath, Emotion, PCL-R, Psychopathy

The psychopath test is a test created by Bob Hare to determine whether or not somebody is psychopathic. Many of the questions revolve around your childhood. They include questions such as, were you a rowdy child, or did you do dangerous things for fun, or another one is did you hurt young animals or children for fun. The questions are made to try and determine whether or not they have traits that are on the PCLR, or the psychopathy checklist revised. Based off of this checklist and your answers you will get a score, and this score determines whether or not you are a psychopath. In Robert Dixon's case he scored to high on the test, labeling him as a psychopath. Due to this score he was not able to get parole. I believe that the score should not have so much power over somebodies life. They say that psychopaths are made and not born, so therefor they should be able to change back. In Dixon’s case he has many logged hours of classes and self help centers. This man is a prime example, he has changed completely, done a total 180, and yet they refuse to give him a chance due to his score on the PCLR. Now I understand that if they score high then there is an 80 percent chance that they would re-offend. However, after 26 years in prison with the change that Dixon had gone through I believe that that chance has drastically decreased. They say that psychopaths cannot feel love or empathy, and yet Robert Dixon has made a true best friend in prison. This shows how he can make connections and love people. I believe that this test should not have as much power as it does.
In certain cases there are traits of being a psychopath that can indeed be useful. For example, a business CEO who feels no empathy can make decisions that are best for the business, not for the employees. If they have to fire somebody or go shut down a full factory they can do it, they won’t feel bad or lose a wink of sleep for it. In this sense the psychopathic traits are a pro. Without feeling empathy or remorse they can focus completely and totally on the company's well being. Now this may not necessarily be good for the employees as they are constantly living in fear of losing their job. However, the business will be remarkably successful due to these behaviors.
If I were to take this test I believe I would score either low or in the middle. I realize many of us will say this because no one really wants to label themselves as a psychopath. I truly believe though that I would be very low or in the middle. I didn’t have a troubled childhood, I had supportive parents, and I didn’t get into fights. I just really didn’t fit many of the questions.
Key Terms: psychopathic, PCLR, love, empathy

The psychopath test in my opinion is something kind of unfair, and I think this because all the questions you are asked are dealt with your past. Everything that happened in your past isn’t something you can go back and change up because it already happened so you can’t change it. So I think if the person looks like they have changed, then maybe they have because they have basically been locked up. But then again some might not change and stay the same as a psychopath. The psychopath test consists of many questions, and is known as the Psychopathic Check List Revised (PCLR). Some exampled of the question might be things like “Have you ever committed some sort of crime stuff in the past”, or “do you think you can manipulate people”, etc. Usually the people diagnosed with the psychopath personality disorder have committed crimes and have done multiple bad things in their life, usually done during there teenage years. Hearing about all this was very interesting and maybe it was because I hadn’t heard of this, and that they do all this. But then again do feel like the test is kind of unfair since it deals with the past, thus making the person not feel as good. The person then feels like nothing since the test determines, which might not be as accurate. I also think people with the psychopath disorder are scary since they are thought of someone that can do anything. They’re the people that don’t care as much about many things. So I think they should also find other ways to determine if you are diagnosed with this personality disorder. The first act I listened to talked about this guy named Robert Dixon, which had committed many negative things when he was young. He ended up going to prison because he was basically being a look out for his friend and himself since he was scared. Dixon ended up taking the psychopath test and ended up scoring higher that 73% of the other prisoners that had taken it. Dixon says in the interview he has that he is not happy about everything he has done in his childhood. I mean I kind of feel bad for him because he was also abused himself by his own father, which I think corrupted him to making him do all the negative things he did. I also feel bad for him because they wont let him out to be with his family and friends. I think that isn’t as fair to him because again he wasn’t the one that killed someone he was there basically looking out. In my opinion, I think I wouldn’t score to be a psychopath and I think this because first off I haven’t committed any bad crimes or really done anything negative in my life. I also do have feelings and don’t pretended to have them like some psychopaths would.

Terms: Psychopath, Psychopathic Check List Review (PCLR)

Listening to the episode had to be one of my favorites because of my interest in psychopaths and their behavior. I grew up watching Criminal Minds, SVU, and Bones that gave me an understanding in the minds of a killer. I learned that people’s past is very valuable for their future because it shows their emotional and physical growth over the years. Being forensic psychologist is a goal of mine and the knowledge they gave for solving cases is very astonishing to me. Psychopathy is a personality disorder that is a antisocial behavior that can not “feel” or experience empathy or remorse for their actions. They can fake being in love or try to understand people’s empathy, but can never truly understand the meaning. This reminded me of the TV show Dexter, that is about a blood specialist that works with the FBI and at night he is a killer. He cannot feel or understand remorse or empathy towards his wife or the people he kills. The Psychopathy Check List is a list that is 20 questions and it shows who you were or going to be in the near future. I feel that this test is unless because people change and having a test that defines how you feel at that moment is wrong. The questions ask about your family, if you graduated high school and other personal questions that they “think” can determine the answer. In the past chapter, it talked about the treatments that can be used for disorders and the sideeffects that go along with that. The story about Robert Dixon was an example of how that test is unless and should not determine the life of a person and who they are. He was given the test and scored it in and was considered a psychopath. He had a disturbed childhood and was getting into fights while he was in prison, but wanted a second chance at a normal life.
The characteristics of a psychopathy are not having the ability to feel remorse or love, but that was different for Robert. He had a best friend in prison and that made the justice system think that psychopaths are made, not born. I believed that psychopath learn their behavior from outside forces that make up how they deal with things and knowing who to blame. Overall, I understand what Bob Hare, who created the test and sated it was only for basic lab studies. People took it to the extreme and tried making people know the real reason for the experiment. In Jon Ronson’s book “The Psychopath Test” that showed having little remorse and empathy can make a great leader by not having things getting in their way. On one hand, I can understand that logic, but you have to somewhat understood and care about a human beings. Humans were made to love, have compassion, and believe that the world is a beautiful place. Al Dunlap found that he was a good leader by being manipulative that transformed into leadership and understanding. I would like to take the test if I could and see where I stand. Being a psychopath may be wrong, but we only learn from our mistakes or people’s.

Personally, I feel like this test is problematic. It bases psychopathy mainly on your life as a teenager, which we all know is a time in which we change the most and struggle with all sorts of things. Some people can't get out of that environment when they realize that it's wrong. This shouldn't mean that they are psychopaths. Yes, I believe that you should want to measure the psychopathic tendencies of criminals but you can't just giver everyone that label based off of their past. Such as the case with Robert Dixon, who even though scored as a psychopath on the test, is considered a reformed man by his family, friends and even the psychologist who performed the test. Putting labels on anyone is a problematic act in reality. Not only will they carry that label for the rest of their life, but it can and will prevent them from ever being able to change and reform such as Robert Dixon did. Now, due to this label, Robert Dixon has no chance of going on parole because he is considered a psychopath because of what a piece of paper says about his past. This is extremely problematic because who has the right to dictate a person's intentions by doing the PCL-R on them about their past with only 20 questions? No body does. I agree with Bob Hare when he said that it was only meant for lab tests. Of course, once the criminal justice system finds a tool that can be used in the court's advantage, they will make up reasons as to why they need it. It's human nature to do this for your own benefit but it's wrong nonetheless.
Evolutionarily speaking, there are some 'psychopathic' traits that may be useful for survival within a group. Having less emotions about certain decisions is an indicator of leadership. Be able to lead a group and keep them alive, (group selection) is of the utmost importance for survival. Sometimes survival means doing things that may not be exactly what you want to do, but what you have to do. Feelings, naturally, will get in the way of making decisions that will decide whether or not your group will survive. Thus, those who have such leadership within their ranks, will survive while those who do not, will ultimately parish. Human nature is cruel, but that is the very reason that we have survived.
I believe I would definitely score very low on the PCL-R test. I am myself a very emotional person although I try to play it off differently. I wouldn't show remorse for my past mistakes, because frankly, I haven't done anything bad that's worth noting and everything that I have done that is 'bad' I can just laugh off now because I realize how stupid I was. My social anxiety disorder might have an influence on the test if there are questions asking about being alone and the like. However, that's only because I have always been anxious in social situations so I have always been a little bit of a loner, at least in my past.
Terms: PCL-R test, psychopathy, social anxiety, emotion,

Psychopathy is where people know emotions and can fake them but experience no emotion at all. The PCLR shouldn't have so much power on someones life by putting a label on someone and who they are. It ostracizes people in the community that will not harm anyone or cause a threat to people in the community. The test only tells you if you have traits that a psychopath would have. Robert Dixon changed his life around making it possible that you can turn it around because he was doing the wrong thing and had a history of doing bad things. His friends and family believe he has recovered, but he took the test and obtained a score in the high range of the PCLR and hasn't reformed from being a psychopath. With this he was denied parole at the last hearing. I think the family and friends have biased opinions, they want to believe that they are getting better. But a test provides more concrete evidence on where you stand as a person. In the picture test we find out that the psychopaths are emotionless with no remorse or empathy towards a frightening picture, or emotional, versus a picture of a chair.
I think that there are situational psychopathic tendencies that aren't bad and can be useful in certain circumstances. They are pro-active and don't procrastinate, it is good to have these traits but not good to have all the tendencies of a psychopath to the extreme. Certain professions are a good fit such as if you have no emotion of fear it might be good to have a job as a policeman, but with all the other traits it may not be the best idea to be in that position. I think lawyers would be one of the best positions for one because they are cold hearted, manipulative, and collective under great deals of pressure.
I think that I would score a few points on the test because I have been known to take risks, but nothing out of the ordinary. It would be nerve-racking to the possibility that they would get the wrong impression or misinterpret something I said. I show plenty of joy in my life along with other emotions. After learning more about this test i think that it is still not justifiable to judge someones life about things they have done in their past that they can't change.
Terms: Psychopathy, PCLR, emotion

Listening to this episode of This American Life, I think the score on a test having so much power over people’s impressions or even on someones life is that you shouldn’t base your life off of a tests data or facts. You should be able to live your life the way you want to live it, and go with the flow of how things go. You shouldn’t listen to test results that tells if you are a psychopath or not. It could give you false results and then you would live life off of that test. If you think you are a psychopath, then go talk to someone. It goes for the same thing as school testing because sometimes people can not show that they know the context because they can not focus during a test, and you get a bad grade on the test. I am the type of person that can know everything about what I’m learning, and not be able to show it on the exam because I over think everything. This could be a problem with the psychopath test that these people are taking. If someone got asked if they think they get angry easily, they could think they do even when they aren’t just the fact that they are overthinking it. I don’t think this should have so much power over someone’s impressions or even over their lives.
There are some psychopathic tendencies that are not so bad or even can be useful in certain circumstances, for example, when people do not show emotion towards somethings, like a break up. Someone could be heartbroken so much that it does not phase them anymore because they might not be opening up as much as they have before, or they are just so used to it, which is sad. Another could be having a bad temper, I know from experience that someone in high school could have his temper set off by even the littlest things, but had a bad life when he was younger.
I have no idea how I would score on this psychopathic test. If I did have some of these tendencies, then I do, but that makes me who I am today and I am okay with who I am.

Terms Used: psychopathic

This episode seemed very interesting to me. Simply because it was a test to see how psycho you are or not, which seemed very unreliable. They asked a series of questions like if you have ever gotten in a fight, or if you have graduated or not, and things like that. The way the test worked was that if you scored high on it, based on the questions, then you are more than likely going to have a form of being psychopathic, and you are more likely to commit crimes. But if you score low on the test then you are normal, and more than likely won’t cause any trouble in your life. I feel like this test, and a lot of other tests, could not really measure how psycho someone is. Even though they base it off questions that you answer, I feel like it would not be as accurate. I think this because maybe some people have had a rough life and didn’t go the way they wanted it to, but that doesn’t mean that they are psychopathic. I also feel like this test could be very debatable. Because maybe people will lie so they can get the better answer so people won’t think that they are “psycho” and won’t get a bad score. It would be really easy to not tell the truth on this test, which makes another reason why it probably is not accurate.
There are some psychopathic tendencies that aren’t so bad in some circumstances. For example, there was a guy in the episode that had strong qualities of leadership, which may have been considered psychopathic. But having a strong leadership skill is good, especially when working in a big business. He can easily talk to people and tell them what to do, and he can say what has to be said simply because he’s the leader and needs to get the job done. So I do think that this would be a good psychopathic skill to possess.
If I took this test, I feel like I would score like the average human being. I graduated high school, I’ve never gotten a ticket, I’ve never committed a crime. But me, like everyone else in the world goes through a lot of different emotions. At one time I was depressed, and I’m sure a lot of other people in the world have been too, but eventually I got over it, so I don’t think that I should be considered psycho just becauase of that. So if I’m sad or mad about something then maybe I would be considered “psychopathic” but that also is how everyone else is in the world so I find myself to get a normal and average score.
Psychological terms: psychopathic, depression

Alberto Sveum
I think a test that is administered in this way, a question and answer evaluation, should not hold so much weight on people's lives. I thinking too often people are summed up based on a number, a composite score on the ACT, for example. I think to me it sounds like many of the prisoners who received the test had their parole denied solely on this score, which is just not appropriate when the test is really sort of open ended and leaves a possibility for misuse. I think the fact that the founder of the test objects to its use by the criminal justice system shows that maybe there could be a better evaluation, or maybe an entirely different way to label someone a psychopath. I also think that some of the traits listed, including child delinquency, can be experienced by people regardless of psychopathic behavior. Many a times, these sort of evaluations could serve as appropriate marks to draw conclusions about a person, but I'm just not convinced that this is the best way to decide such things, or to imprison someone.

I think sometimes a lack of empathy is needed for jobs like the ceo in the podcast; a repo man, a process server, or possibly even a member of law enforcement probably would not fare too well if they were emotionally conflicted. I think of those movies with the police detective that gets emotionally attached to his case and gets fired for caring too much and becoming careless. Obviously, a little sense of self worth would be needed, but not an obsessive amount, Ayn Rand would likely argue the contrary, but I don't think the ego of a psychopath would score much in social settings. It might help to e a bit violent if you were a boxer or someone who administers pain for a living, this is really isolated though, and the question could be asked if these are even moral practices. I am not convinced that having psychopathic tendencies at such a degree could ever be entirely beneficial, if it did in fact help anything, it would likely damage another aspect of a person's life.
I think I would score under ten, but above zero. I've definitely had my fair share of delinquency, I got in a fight once, but otherwise I don't think I match the requirements. I think I'm pretty emotional and I definitely don't always have the highest opinion of myself. The podcast talked about the fact that psychopaths felt no difference between pictures of neutral objects and emotion evoking ones, this alone makes me think it must take a lot to be a psychopath. I see pictures and almost throw up sometimes. I'll be on my Facebook feed and see something, then purposely avoid Facebook the rest of the day because I don't want to see something. I would definitely not make it as a psychopath.

Listening to episode 436 was very interesting to me. Learning about the psychopathic test and how Bob Hare was the designer was neat. The test asks very general and normal questions about people and there past. They also ask about their habits and tendencies to really determine if they are psychopathic or not. Although Bob Hare was very hesitant about releasing his test and the results, but since he did, people have really been pleased with the test. The episode focuses on Hare’s test, and both the good and bad that come with it.

The test is good and bad. In some areas it’s interesting and helpful in situations, but most of the test is flawed. They only take from the person’s past, and don’t really put into thought that the person might have changed. The test kind of assumes someone should be known as a psycho or psychopath if they ever had a challenged or troubled life. The questions went back to childhood questions, than high school, college, and so on. I don’t agree with the score on this test having such a big impact as it does. The test isn’t fully proven to be perfect, yet it has a huge impact. Some of the questions, answers, and some peoples history won’t fully show if they are psycho or not.

I would say that some of the tendencies aren’t that bad, and they shouldn’t be harmed for those tendencies. The Dixon case which he scored so high on the test, was denied parole and had to serve his full sentence. He was labeled as high rate, because of his high score. This really upset me since his family and friends have noticed the change in his personality for the good. Perhaps they took his high score as him having APD, which is antisocial personality disorder. They could break the law, be not responsible, and so on.

I think I would score well on this test. The questions I’ve been hearing on this episode are things I’ve never done. I’ve never been in love, and my family has never had any problems at all. My temper has never blown up unless something really bad has happened. Lastly, my teachers would say I was a good student in high school overall. I stayed at A’s and B’s my whole school life. My mind has never really questioned anything, and I’ve never been to a therapist. I enjoyed this episode, but there were things I definitely disagreed with. There needs to be some sort of improvement on the test, and have

Terms Used: Psychopathic, Psychopath Test, Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD)

In this episode of This American Life it discusses the credibility and usage of the psychopathic text created by Bob Hare. Psychopathy is a psychological disorder in which the sufferers are anti-social. They also feel no remorse for what they do, and cannot feel love. Having a test be able to determine the outcome of your life are already in place, like the ACT determines whether or not a college or university will accept you based on your intelligence, so this test doesn't seem much different. The PLC-R is a test made up of questions and according to the webcast can accurately determine whether or not someone is likely to commit a crime in the near future. This test, although it is found accurate, can keep people who have committed crimes, like Robert Dixon, in jail even though they have been there for as long as he has, which is upwards of 20 years. I don't think it's right to have a test determine whether or not a person has changed and is ready to be released because after that many years a person is going to be changed. Some of these are good and others bad, but I think that after that many years, especially considering he wasn't the one who killed the victim should be given a chance to prove that he has changed by being let back into society.
According to the excerpt from the book The Psychopath Test written by Jon Ronson he found qualities in a former Sunbeam CEO Al Dunlap. The psychopathic qualities that he found present in Dunlap were seen as good leadership qualities. Being a CEO would require some of these qualities when you think about it. Having to fire the people that work for you would require you to not feel bad about it, or remorse.
I think I would score relatively low on the the because I feel remorse whenever I do something bad, and love my family very much. I am also a very outgoing and social person so it would be obvious to the people around me if there was something not quite right about me. I think scoring high on a psychopath test would be difficult because it would require you to be pretty much numb to your feelings.
Psych Terms: Psychopath, psychological disorder, Antisocial, PCL-R

An individual who takes the PCL-R, which stands for Psychopathy Check List Revised, is known to have psychological tendencies. The PCL-R is a checklist that psychologists use on individuals that need a psychological evaluation. This is mainly used against psychopaths. A psychopath is someone who has a sickness or disorder of the mind. I think that the PCL-R score should not have any power over others impressions and over someone’s life. I also think that it should not be able to define the person who took the test. For example in This American Life episode 436: The Psychopath Test in act one, a young man named Robert Dixon was sentenced fifteen years to life at the age of twenty-six for being an accessory to murder. During his trial he had a psychologist do the PCL-R test on him and his score turned out to be high and he was considered a psychopath. The questions on the test is more focused on the person’s childhood and if they committed any crimes when they were younger. This is the reason why I think that the score should not have any power over someone’s life, especially over Robert Dixon’s. When he was younger he got in trouble with the police and broke many laws. Because of his delinquencies as a child he got a high score on the PCL-R and is now having trouble getting a retrial. Today Robert Dixon has changed and has become a better man and is known to not have any psychopath tendencies but the test is only taken once and he will be considered a psychopath the rest of his life. The PCL-R ruined his life and will more likely be in prison for the rest of his life.
I think that there are some psychopathic tendencies that aren’t bad and can be useful in certain circumstances. In act two Al Dunlap, who is the CEO of Sunbeam, closed down many Scott companies and enjoyed firing people. Because of his actions a lot of people thought he was a psychopath. Jon Ronson, who wrote The Psychopath Test, wanted to figure out if he really was considered a psychopath so he went to Al’s house and Al took the test. Many of the behaviors that were on the test, such as superficial charm, grandiose sense of self-worth, and manipulative, were behaviors that Al all had but they were good things. For manipulative, Al that that manipulative could be seen as describing a leader and having leadership. For grandiose sense of self-worth, Al described that as if you don’t believe in yourself nobody else will. Each one of these behaviors are good things to Al and got him to where he is now, which is the CEO of a big company.
If I took the PCL-R I think that I would score a low number because like I said in the beginning the whole test is practically about your childhood. In my childhood I did nothing wrong and didn’t break any laws. This is why I think I would get a low score.
Psychological Terms: Psychopath, and PCL-R.

The psychopath test has an extraordinary amount of power in determining, not only how a person thinks of them self, but also their fate in the legal system. A person who is applying for parole, often has to take this test to determine how likely they are to commit another crime when they are released. The test asks questions to determine if a person shows certain qualities; such as, lack of empathy, only doing things for their self benefit, taking enjoyment out of harming others, and more. The maximum score on this test is forty but if a person scores thirty or above they are classified as a psychopath. I really don't think a person's future should be determined by such a test because it focuses mostly on past events and feelings, not on the present state of the person in question. The main purpose of the jail system is to not just punish a criminal, but they are also supposed to rehab and improve the criminal as a person. If the legal system is focused on improving them as a person they should focus more on their current mental status than their past problems.
Some of the tendencies shown by a psychopath can be bad in certain contexts, but they are also a distinct advantage for some people as well. One of the determinants of a psychopath is impulsive decision making, this can be a dangerous trait to have, but it can also be helpful to an extent. It is extremely helpful for a person to be able to make a decision quickly so they aren't sitting around thinking too hard about a subject. Another thing that can be helpful to someone, especially a major businessman, is a lack of empathy. It isn't good if a person isn't able to empathize at all, but if a person isn't too over-consumed by empathy they are able to make tough decisions easier. In today's business world you need to be able to cut some necks without regret, for the better of the company, so it would be detrimental to the business if the person calling the shots was letting inefficiencies slide by because he didn't want to step on anyones toes or hurt their feelings. There are also positives of having slight psychopathic tendencies in sports. In order to be a great athlete a person needs to have a killer instinct. The great athlete isn't worried about how is opponent feels in certain situations. I wouldn't be surprised if two time national champion Iowa wrestler, Brent Metcalf was a psychopath. Metcalf was only concerned with himself and how he improved and chased his goal of being the best. For example, in Metcalf's junior year after being defeated in the finals his opponent attempted a back flip in celebration and Metcalf pushed him in mid-air, out of frustration. This shows that he was only concerned with his emotions and he acted impulsively. Because of Metcalf's psychopathic tendencies he was a very successful, and my favorite wrestler at Iowa. Some of the traits associated with psychopaths are helpful for people to have an advantage on their competition.
I don't think I would score on the psychopath test because I have far too much emotion in me. I become attached to people too quickly, and I form strong bonds with friends and loved ones. I, am also too empathetic towards other people, except in sports. Finally, I couldn't be a psychopath because if I do something extremely stupid or hurtful, if it is unjustified, I feel horrible about my actions.
Psychological Terms: psychopath test, psychopath, rehab

In this Episode of TAL, we learn about the Psychopath Test created by Dr. Bob Hare. Dr. Hare created this test to score people’s psychopathic tendencies based on qualities that they possess. One of Dr. Hare’s fears were that people would use this test to ultimately determine someone’s fate. This fear has gradually become true. The test or the PCL-R, is given by a psychologist. Depending on who is giving the test, the person taking the test might score higher or lower in the eyes of the person giving the test. For example, in a given criminal case, the prosecution might hire a psychologist, and that psychologist will most likely find the person on trial to score higher on the PCL-R than a psychologist that was hired by the defense team.

In the first Act of TAL, we hear about the case of Robert Dixon. He was convicted of accessory to a murder that was committed by his friend, John. Robert’s sentences was/is 15 to life. At the time of his conviction, Robert scored 73% higher on the PCL-R test than other prisoners. His childhood groomed him for this result as he was accused of raping a woman at a young age and was already threatening to kill his father by the age of 12. There is also record of him trying to commit suicide by 10 years of age. Despite Dixon’s claims of reversal and his friends/family thinking he is in a much a better place and is deserving of release, Dixon was denied parole at his last hearing.

Dixon’s case is the classic “wrong place at the wrong time” situation. He did not commit the murder, however was in the presence of it, and knowingly hid information from the police. I do believe he should be in trouble for this. Life in jail does seem a little strict compared to what some others get for actually committing murder. I wonder if through psychotherapy he could be “healed” or if once an individual is damaged, there is no repair? If he takes the test again, could he score any better, or would the results be contaminated? All this interests me greatly.

If I were to take the PCL-R, I feel I would score quite low. Although I have faced some tragedy, I am still very well connected to my emotions and can tend to be quite emotional. I think some people when faced with tragedy, they like to harden up. This gives off a psychopathic tendency which in reality, it is just a bizarre defense mechanism so they don’t have to go through the pain they are currently are experiencing or experienced.

psych terms: psychopathic tendencies, PCL-R, psychotherapy.

I don’t think this test should be have such power over someone’s life. I didn’t like how Robert Dixon wasn’t granted parole because he scored so high on the PCL-R test, so they didn’t release him. I agree with Bob Hare that the criminal justice system depends to much on the number that a person gets on the PCL-R test, because it depends so much on the past that things do actually change. Yes, some people maybe always be bad, but there are people who change. I think that it’s so sad that being in jail 26 years for being an accessory to murder isn’t enough for him to be put on parole because of his score is so high, and even for his jury hearing this year he most likely won’t be able to go on parole then either because of his score.

Some psychopathic tendencies are okay. I’m sure we’ve all lied and have felt no remorse. I know when I’m mad I do rational things but nothing where I’m psychotic. There were 25% of business bosses tested for psychopathy, but they aren’t locked up in bars. They obviously have something going for them. They also said that the one worker who took two hours while she was taking the test was rebellious as a teenager, but that’s what teenagers do. Also it was mentioned that being fearless is a psychopathic tendency, but some people are fearless and don’t kill people instead they jump off clips.

Because a lot of the questions are based off of the past I think maybe I might score in the middle. In high school I was a bit of a troublemaker. Never to the point where I would kill someone or anything but I had my fair share of drama with friends, principle office visits, and being grounded. I don’t know if any of that would affect my score, but if they did I might be more of a psychopath than I thought.

Terms: PCL-R, Psychopathic

This week’s radio show was about the psychopath test created by Bob Hare. The PCLR is a checklist that is given to people to see if they could be a psychopath. When getting the score, people with scores over 30 were considered psychopaths. Psychopathology is defined as the sickness of disorder of the mind. Psychopaths are considered people that are “emotional deaf”. In the show, they describe this as trying to describe the color red to a color-blind person. Their emotions are basically not there and they will never understand what it is to care about someone. They are described as being unable to feel love. Some of the factors on the checklist that define a psychopath are lack of empathy, pathological lying, manipulative behavior, parasitic lifestyle, and criminal tendencies.

I think that the PCLR Test is very interesting, but not very accurate. The test, like explained in the show, is more about events from the past that cannot be changed, and not who the person really is. I think the label of being a psychopath would stay with you forever and affect your personality and behavior over time. In my own opinion, I think some people that are told are a psychopath will actually be proud of that. In the book, Girl, Interrupted, one girl who was diagnosed as a psychopath got her power from this information. She felt unstoppable and that she was better than the other girls. On the other hand, I think that this test could bring someone down. After being told they are a psychopath, when they probably aren’t, could make them live their life hating themselves. If I was told I was a psychopath, I would be worried and constantly worried about my behavior.

I think that there are a few tendencies of psychopaths that can be seen as a good thing. In the show, they talked to a man who got some enjoyment out of firing people, and thought that maybe he would have a high score on the test. After talking to the man and finding out he was not a psychopath, they talked about how some of these tendencies could be the reason he is more successful than the privileged kids he went to school with. The show talked about how nice it would be to not live with regret or remorse like this man does. Not living in the past and beating yourself up about things you can’t control could get you further in life than someone who is stuck in the past. Another aspect of being a psychopath that could be good is not having anxiety. You don’t worry as much about other people’s feelings, and that would relieve some stress you have about that. This could lead you to being a happy person and loving yourself.

After listening to the show and some of the questions on the checklist, I don’t think I would have a high score. The show talked about how some of the staff got in trouble as kids a lot and everyone expected them to have higher scores, and they ended up with a score of zero. I grew up a very obedient child and I am a people pleaser. People tend to tell me I have a bad temper, but I don’t show almost any of the tendencies on the checklist.

Psych Terms: Psychopathology, psychopaths, emotions, behavior, disorder, personality

In this episode of an American Life, the topic that was covered was the idea of psychopathy. According to dictionary.com psychopathy is defined as a mental disorder in which an individual manifests amoral and antisocial behavior, lack of ability to love or establish meaningful personal relationships, extreme egocentricity, failure to learn from experience, etc. I thought that this episode was very interesting because they were trying to figure out if a person was a psychopath or not through certain testing. I don't agree with this one hundred percent because I feel like everyone’s personality is different and I’m sure that some cases are pretty similar but there is no way to predict exactly what a person is thinking because no two persons are alike in a sense that we all have our own individuality. In this episode they talked about a certain test called the PCL-R test, which in full terms means the Psychopathic Checklist-Revised. The test was given to prisoners to test where their sanity was at and the higher the score was in the test the more likely the prisoner was to commit crimes. I enjoyed listening to this episode because it made me think of all of the crime scene shows and a special favorite of mine which would be Criminal Minds and Law and Order SVU. I thought of these shows because in the show they focus on the killer or rapists and it talks about how certain events in their lives from their past effect how they act and I think that this relates to this because if you give a criminal a test to test them to see if they are essentially crazy or not then obviously they are going to be self-conscious about themselves which is going to cause social anxiety or depression even. Overall I just didn't find that the test was very effective in the long run. I just don't feel that the test can accurately diagnose if a person is sane by asking very personal questions. I think to some extent the test would be beneficial, but to completely diagnose a person as a psychopath with this test does not seem to be an effective way to diagnose someone.

Some psychological terms that I used were psychopathy, social anxiety, depression,

My personal opinion on taking the psychopath check list is not all id fair. The 20 questions that you are asked that tell who you can be at certain moment in your life should not have a factor on being labeled as a psychopath for the rest of your life. I don’t agree with who you are at the exact moment when you take that test is who you always are. People make mistakes. One of the signs of being a psychopath was them not being able to feel love or empathy. When someone doesn’t feel remorse it can lead them to a lot of different problems.
For example in the talk show I heard to stories that show how some people’s action can greatly affect their lives with the good or the worst. In the story about Robert who was sentenced to prison and due to his high test scores the justice system based him on being a psychopath and he didn’t get to be on parole. In the talk show it talks about how they are not able to feel love, who they are as a person at a certain moment is who they always will be is not true. Robert was always fighting a lot in prison then after a while he got better, and he even made a best friend which is awesome because the first couple of signs of being a psychopath you cannot feel love, or empathy and I think that this shows people can change who they were at that moment, and the justice system shouldn’t have judged his score so highly. For the good part of being psychopath Al Dunlap got the head CEO at his job for being a psychopath. He enjoyed firing people and that is what got his the lead in the job position. They liked someone that didn’t show remorse, and that feelings would not get in the way of the job. For both of these they both had sign of psychopathic behavior and it was all based on the psychiatric disorder of being a psychopath. The way these people were diagnosed with having this disorder was a test of 20 question about job skills, if you graduated from high school, if you have ever committed a crime.
I think if I had to take the test I would test I would be pretty low. I have a lot of job skills, I have never committed a crime and if I did I always got in trouble by my mom. I really wanted to take the test though because what I think my answers might be may different on the person’s judgment, and the questions that they ask. I know for the first one if I love and show remorse that is a big fat yes, I am the most loving person out there and when I do bad I feel so guilty about it, so I think I would be good on the test but it would be pretty neat to be able to do something like that.
Terms: disorders, psychopath, PCL-R test, psychopathic behavior

The PCL-R, or “The Checklist,” is having far too much impact on people’s lives. This is in correspondence with the creator of the test, Bob Hare’s opinion. The purpose of the test was simply to determine whether a person was a psychopath; now the test is used to determine whether a criminal is likely to commit a crime again. Bob Hare and other psychologists were horrified at the thought of this application at first, but eventually gave the “okay”. Hare had originally created the test in a lab, and the results proved to be largely reliable – even if a subject was tested multiple times, the test result was the same, with little to no difference in the subject’s score; applying the test to the real-world has proved to be an inappropriate application, as score differences within a single test subject are large: from 10 to 20 points. This large difference had a great correspondence with whether the test was administered by someone on the side of the prosecutor or the defense, with those administered by those on the defense finding fewer people to be psychotic. Because the person administering the test interprets the subject’s answers, this is hardly surprising and almost surely inaccurate. Considering that anyone with a score above 30 is considered a psychopath, 10 to 20 points can be the difference between a free man and one incarcerated indefinitely.

Robert Dixon has become a victim of this sort. He has been incarcerated for 26 years, and according to several people close to him – not only including family, but also his non-criminal, successful best friend and one of the hosts of the radio show – he does not deserve to still be in jail because of his diagnosis of psychopathy based on the Checklist. His father, whom he once had major issues with, said that Robert has changed, slowed down, and deserves to be freed. His best friend said that he trusts Robert indefinitely, despite having only known Robert since Robert has been a criminal. Finally, the radio show hosts said that she could not imagine that Robert could be faking change to this extent, now having such close, strong relationships. However, the test declared him a psychopath, bound by his nature to commit acts of violence again. The creator of the PCL-R criticizes this criminal justice system application of his test, as he admits that it is weighted heavily toward events that happened in the past, and doesn't look much at “things that can change and do tend to change as one gets older”. However, Robert has been denied parole because of the 26-year-old test results already, and will likely experience the same thing again, possibly for the rest of his life.

I recently was introduced to a television show in which the world has become a dystopia that assesses random citizens on their likelihood of committing a crime. This is done simply by pointing a gun, not unlike that of a police officer’s that determines a car’s speed, at the citizen. The gun then displays the citizen’s score, and determines directions based on it: if the citizen is at risk of committing a crime, the gun turns into a weapon, the result of which result ranged from stunning to take them to jail, to instant death, depending on their risk number. Quite honestly, I think that this is barbaric in the same way that I think that the test is barbaric – the result is ultimately the same.

Certain psychopathic tendencies could be positive in someone’s life, such as being cunning and manipulative, like Al Dunlap. Dunlap also exhibits a lack of empathy and remorse, which likely contributes to his enjoyment of firing people. He liked firing people so much that he closed numerous plants, but this resulted in rapidly increasing stock values for his company – a positive. Psychopaths can be determined by their amygdalae not firing fear into their brains; many very successful people also have that same feature. Other psychopathic tendencies that could be positive are lying/a lack of sincerity, superficial charm, impulsivity, and a high sense of self worth – they can be useful skills in getting others to do what you want, appearing desirable to others, taking profitable risks, and being confident in your abilities, respectively.

As the radio show went on, I was originally thinking that I may have a moderate score on the test, but as it went on, the score I thought that I would get steadily decreased. My initial self-score was based on the fact that I’ve yet to be “in love,” and am not even sure what I think that is, and psychopaths cannot experience being in love. I also enjoy doing crazy, sometimes even dangerous things, and do have an irrationally bad temper. Additionally, when I was younger I went through a phase that I stole. However, I also didn't ever get in trouble with the law, didn’t commit any crimes in middle or high school, got great grades, and graduated. Also, I am a person with strong emotions, who is overly forgiving and empathetic and cannot escape her conscious or feelings of guilt when her conscious is ignored. So I thought I’d have some points, but not enough to be a psychopath. But, when the end of the show revealed that not a single producer had scored even a single point on the scale, I think that if I got any points at all, it’d be very few.

psychopathy, emotion

I think it is bad how much the test has so much influence over everything. The fact that anybody can give the test is ridiculous, and the reason so many people are being labeled as ‘psychopaths’. Most of it is based on past experiences that may make it seem worse than the person actually is. It can not predict what future actions may be in a person, and that is what I believe is one of the biggest flaws because it mostly does go on past experience. The test can be used for good but I do not believe it should be the only thing used to judge if someone is a psychopath.
I do believe that there are some psychopathic tendencies that may be helpful in some situations. For example, if someone was to be abused daily and they eventually will probably stop having feelings towards it. This may be the minds way of not having to deal with it anymore, and that isn’t always necessarily a bad thing. Another way having some of these tendencies would be good is in a company leader, like the man who fired a bunch of people. I’m not saying he is all good but to be the person who has to make decisions to benefit the company, you can’t be afraid of hurting someone’s feelings or you won’t get the job done.
I think I would score pretty low. I don’t think I’ve ever done anything really bad and not feel bad about it. I am generally an empathetic person and seem to be persuaded by others emotions. This is why I could never fire someone but would be able to hire someone. I don’t like hurting feelings and I generally think over my decisions. I am also a very sociable person and that is not a trait of a psychopath.
Psychopath, test. Tendencies, score, sociable

In this episode of “This American Life” There was a lot of talk about of test that had been made up by a man with the name of Bob Hare. The test is called “The Psychopathic Test”. Bob Hare created this test as a way to test a person’s psychopathic tendencies. It is a test of just twenty questions. By answering the questions, the test is supposed to analyze how each question is answered, and define whether a person is psychopathic or not. The test was never intended to be open to the public, but eventually Bob Hare made it so that is was accessible to just about anyone.
I think that a simple test like this one, can be extremely dangerous when open to the public. This test can be detrimental to a person’s self-image. It may cause people to believe something about themselves that isn’t true. It could mess with people psychologically. It made me think of the instance in a previous episode on “This American Life” where a psychiatrist had successfully made a young girl believe she was raped as a child, even though she hadn’t been. I think that the same could happen with this test. People might struggle to absorb the result that the test bring, and self-diagnose themselves as psychopathic. We get easily persuaded by test scores, and I think that this could be dangerous. It is not an accurate enough test to be used as a diagnosis. It could also come up with different results, just depending on how it is administered.
In the middle of the story, the episode talked about how having psychopathic tendencies can be useful in certain circumstances. I do not completely agree with this statement. I believe that even though people have become successful, in business circumstances, it does not help them form relationships with people. There should be a happy medium between having good business skills and good personable skills. The example they used was Al Dunlap. He was a good business man, but probably did not make many friends along the way. He used the idea of having those qualities of leadership, honesty, and confidence. Those are great qualities in a person, but those qualities of leadership should not find joy in firing people.
I have a sort of “business” personality. I would probably score closer to the psychopathic side just because of that. I do not believe myself to be psychopathic, but I am a very strong minded person, who is confident and honest, but I do not believe I would be as close as Al Dunlap because I would not find joy in firing people.


Terms: self-image, psychopathy, psychological, persuade,

I don’t believe that this test should be use to determine whether a person is a psychopath or not. A psychopath is defined as a personality disorder characterized by enduring antisocial behavior, reduced empathy and remorse, along with bold behavior. Some of the questions that could be asked could change from day to day for a person based on their mood. Also it asks a lot of question about a person’s past and I am a firm believer in people can change. That person may have gone through some things in their past but they figured it out and are now a different person but if they take that test their results might still turn out that they are a psychopath. People’s pasts do not determine their futures.If this test says that a person is a psychopath it could ruin their life. There are a number of reasons that a child could act out when they are younger but as they mature they change and become better people. I feel like the test would be more accurate if it had a little more to do with their present and possibly future self and how they see themselves. At the same time I do believe it could also be a good way to determine it but it should not be the only test given. If it goes along with multiple tests and analysis then yes I think it could help determine but should not be the only thing. Another reason I don’t think it should be solely based on that test is because the person could take the test but depending on who is giving it to them the score of the test could change. Also I believe that depending on the person and how intelligent and clever they are they could alter their test to make it seem like they are not a psychopath. I know a lot of psychopaths are indeed very intelligent so they could figure out a way to beat it. There are some good tendencies that psychopaths that could actually help them in life. For example since some do not show remorse or empathy they can have great leadership skills since they do not think of hurting others to get what they want. Also they can be very successful since they do not think of others before themselves. These things can be very good for success but in a way of having compasion and caring about others I dont think it isa good thing. I would rather not be as successful and care about others because being kind seems like a better trait to have. I think that I would score decently low on the test just because I show a lot of remorse for things. I am always the first to apologize about things, I have a hard time being mean to people, and I also am very scared of doing somethings that a lot of actual psychopaths do.

This episode of This American Life covered the testing of psychopaths and what it can involve, including characteristics, and how prisoners can have evaluations before they are released for parole. The test used is called the Psychopathy Checklist - revised, otherwise known as the PCL-R, that is 20 questions long that was originally developed by the Canadian psychologist Robert Hare as just the PCL. I looked it up and I saw that he gets royalties whenever the licensed test was used, which I thought was interesting.

I think that having a test that can decide a person's fate is very concerning. What if they are just an uncaring person? I have a friend and although I love her, she would not show any emotion if I got hurt, except maybe laughing. She would later find out if I'm okay, but initially she would not show concern. She also shows a lack of remorse or guilt, as well as some other traits on the test. It's not her fault, it's just how she is. I also think the test could produce some self positive results, maybe a person knows that they're being evaluated and answer questions weirdly or differently because they're trying to fine the "right" answer. I think that maybe a mixture of personal interviews, personal account collecting, and finally the test should be used. The test should be taken last and reviewed last to prevent bias, because I definitely believe that bias could occur.

I don't think that all psychopath tendencies are necessarily bad. Some traits could be used at an advantage in many situations, like being yelled at for something that's not your fault when you're callous. You wouldn't start balling like I would. On that note, I don't think I'd score very high. I'm a very emotional person and don't really act like a criminal.

Terms used:
psychopath, Psychopathy Checklist - Revised

In this weeks radio recording, the psychopath test, I was very surprised to hear how one test can determine if a person is a psychopath or not. The test consists of questions about family, relationships, activities you have done, and things you have done as a kid. I do not think that one test should be able to determine if someone is a psychopath. I think there should be several tests a person should take, about three to four, and then go by their scores on all test to determine if someone is a psychopath or not. With the interview the radio show had with a man named Robert Dixon who had watched someone shoot a lady for her necklace. He was arrested for being an accomplice and was required to take this psychopath test. As a result of the test he scored to have a high risk of being a psychopath. He scored high based on experiences and because of the experience he had with the women who had been shot, he showed little remorse for the death of someone. As they talked about his score they said it was to high for Robert Dixon to be released on parole, so he spent even more time in prison even though his friends and family have seen him grow and change as a person. The friends and family have said that he is a completely different man. Some tendencies that I think are not bad, or are useful is doing dangerous activities. I feel this way because I enjoy doing things that could put me in danger in ways such as breaking a bone or getting minor injuries, not death. I like doing activities like this for the adrenaline rush. Dangerous activities like jumping off cliffs into lakes, or rock climbing, and so on gives me an adrenaline rush and makes my life interesting so that I do not feel like I am living a boring life. Because of my personality around my family, blaming siblings for things that I have done to not get in trouble and because I enjoy doing activities that give me an adrenaline rush I think that I would score very high. High enough that the test says I am not at risk, but that I am 100% a psychopath.