Psychopaths

**jns** · 05-25-2011 09:30 PM

I came across this book review that has a test for psychopathic properties. How many do you see in yourself and how many do you see in others. Google [how to spot a psychopath guardian] and go for the Guardian hit. The 20-point Hare PCL-R (Psychopathy Checklist-Revised) is interesting. Comments?

**ItsASecret** · 05-25-2011 10:33 PM

Psychopathy is a big interest of mine. It fascinates me that psychopaths and sociopaths can cause so much harm to society and yet the people who commit these crimes do not seem to be such deceitful, reckless, harsh criminals. One thing on that list that often pops up in a true psychopath diagnosis is that the individual is very intelligent. These criminals are smart people, they know how to read a person and how to manipulate that person. They know how to deceive and how to plan. Psychopaths are not people you see in a mental institute being catatonic or raging in fits. No, psychopaths are the ones that will help with your groceries if they happen to fall out of your car, act very charming, ask you for a coffee later, then murder you in sadistic ways and feel absolutely no remorse afterwards. Not all psychopaths are murderers though. Some may manipulate people into giving them money, or lie their way to high end jobs, their actions do disturb and cause emotional harm to those involved though.

**CHANDLERS WISH** · 05-26-2011 02:30 AM

I so googled it, found the Guardian and book, but no 20 points to view?

K, I need sleep but, I am very interested.

I have read all of Ann Rules books - she was an ex American Police Officer turned "true crime" writer and one in particular, had me feeling sick, Albert Fish - gardener - old man - had the parents agree to take their 10 year old daughter to a party... She never came back... He wrote them a letter years later, how tasty her bottom was, once roasted... And, yes he was serious, that's the short version.

CW

**jns** · 05-26-2011 06:25 PM

Glibness/superficial charm

Grandiose sense of self-worth

Need for stimulation/proneness to boredom

Pathological lying

Cunning/manipulative

Lack of remorse or guilt

Shallow affect

Callous/lack of empathy

Parasitic lifestyle

Poor behavioural controls

Promiscuous sexual behaviour

Early behaviour problems

Lack of realistic long-term goals

Impulsivity

Irresponsibility

Failure to accept responsibility for own actions

Many short-term marital relationships

Juvenile delinquency

Revocation of conditional release

Criminal versatility

A list by Robert Hare to determine if a person is a psychopath. Each category is scored 0 for little or none of that characteristic, 1 for a moderate amount and a 2 for lot of it. A score of 30 to 40 is an indication of a psychopath.

The article is by Jon Ronson, dated 21 May, 2011, and is quite long, but gives a lot of details.

**purplehaze** · 05-27-2011 04:13 AM

A good book to read is "The Sociopath next Door". Sometimes they are not easy to spot, but once you began to see the red flags in these types of people please run in the opposite directions as fast as you can. I believe people can be very naive about these types of people and how much damage they can do.

**ItsASecret** · 05-27-2011 10:07 AM

The Mask of Sanity by Hervey Cleckley is a really good book on psycopathy.

Add another to the personality trait list, charm. And a lot of it. These people are cunning and extremely good at being a charming individual. That is how they manipulate someone so well.

Also account for the very low prevalence rate of psycopathy, which is actually a part of the larger heading of antisocial personality disorder. Sociopathy is also under the antisocial personality disorder heading. You cannot just walk the street and say "that person is lying they must be a psycopath"....of course some people would do that because they believe one word answers but a true psychopath is rare. Somewhere in range of less than 3% in total population, and women making up 1% or less of that.

**stariana** · 05-27-2011 11:26 AM

from what i've read on here so far, i certain my ex is a psychopath. wow . . . . and would just say that out of anger!

**Magnetism** · 05-27-2011 12:40 PM

My ex, who was known as a sweet, caring and open-minded guy to the general public.

There were red flags when I first met him that demonstrated a clear lack of empathy. I discussed this with my friend (who introduced me to him), and my friend blew it off as him being such a nice guy that's probably joking. Should have trusted my instincts back then!

**CHANDLERS WISH** · 05-27-2011 03:55 PM

Glibness/superficial charm

Grandiose sense of self-worth

Need for stimulation/proneness to boredom

Pathological lying

Cunning/manipulative

Lack of remorse or guilt

Shallow affect

Callous/lack of empathy

Parasitic lifestyle

Poor behavioural controls

Promiscuous sexual behaviour

Early behaviour problems

Lack of realistic long-term goals

Impulsivity

Irresponsibility

Failure to accept responsibility for own actions

Many short-term marital relationships

Juvenile delinquency

Revocation of conditional release
Criminal versatility

Can I use the above on my Divorce papers?

7 and a half years isn't short term, as a marriage goes, but only through shear determination on my behalf, to work with it, I'd say it was gone after 3, his previous wife, 14 months and girlfriends, short as well...

Strangely, in some instances he picked people that could use some of that back onto him, ie) Bipolar disorder, stealing money from his account and claiming not to remember, or a prison guard, whom was raped, whom ended up killing herself...Yet miss witchy was picked as she owned a house and had a career, so there is was money, or the hope of...

I recall establishing another source that I believed 4 years ago, fitted him perfectly but reading this? Geez Louise, nearly ever box there I would have to tick...

As we are tied financially, it has not enabled me to work on the Property Settlement, hense no Divorce, I however, decided that I won't let him off easily. Conditional release he would prefer to use, "the only thing I ask".... whilst I placed 7 and a half years, left and had to buy furniture, a new car as his sat behind the garage for all those years, mine on the street and it could hold two cars by the way, the pergola, work on the house, his holidays blah blah blah, he feels what is his is his, mine, mine forget the money I put in, or had to spend, and by the way, return the engagement ring, (his mothers diamonds)...

Yeah na, I'll have the gift re-design it and I'll also get back the money I put in, especially after reading this lols.

Sorry for the vent there JNS, needed it

What would be interesting, I guess to me, is I vented, those whom write, that they saw the traits of these, in their ex's, how it affected them, he affected them and where are they now, back to themselves, or still tainted by "him"...

Personally until I get the full closure I probably still hold anger from all that occured but I am definately back to me, if not even a better me, and happy as....

**Jimbeau** · 05-27-2011 07:39 PM

From what I've read they think it's genetic.

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