Can You Spot A Psychopath?

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ot all psychopaths are murderers and not all murderers are psychopaths. There are a lot of psychopaths out there who aren’t physically violent. There are also a lot of people who have some (but not all) psychopathic behaviors (see The Psychopathic Spectrum). Can you spot a psychopath? Read the questions below and choose the answer that you believe best describes a psychopath.

1. What does gender have to do with it?
a. Most psychopaths are male.
b. Most psychopaths are female.
c. Psychopaths are equally divided between men and women.

2. What does a psychopath look like?
a. Scary and unfriendly
b. Tongue-tied and embarrassed
c. Normal

3. Which profession is more likely to appeal to a psychopath?
a. Social worker
b. Attorney

4. How do psychopaths see the world?
a. They know right from wrong.
b. They don’t know right from wrong.
c. They know right from wrong but don’t care.

5. What percentage of the population are psychopaths?
a. 1-2%
b. 10-12%
c. 24-28%

6. What percentage of the population shows some psychopathic behaviors?
a. 4-5%
b. 12-14%
c. 26-30%

7. Psychopaths are:
a. Curable
b. Incurable

8. Which profession is more likely to appeal to a psychopath?
a. CEO
b. Nurse

9. Which popular TV character is supposed to be a psychopath?
a. Dr. Meredith Gray of Grey’s Anatomy
b. Alicia Florrick of The Good Wife
c. Dexter Morgan of Dexter
d. Mr. Bates of Downton Abbey
e. All of the above

10. Which popular movie character is supposed to be a psychopath?
a. Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street
b. Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs
c. Henry in The Good Son
d. Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men
e. All of the above

11. If you think a co-worker or friend is a psychopath you can:
a. Spot him or her a mile away
b. You’re more likely to blame yourself for any problems

12. Which is easier?
a. Live life with a conscience
b. Live life without a conscience

13. What did Richard Ramirez, the serial killer and rapist known as The Night Stalker, say to reporters after he was sentenced to death?
a. “This isn’t fair – I didn’t hurt no one”
b. “You have the wrong man”
c. “See you in Disney Land”

14. Which novel reveals the true nature of a psychopath?
a. Misery by Stephen King
b. Along Came A Spider by James Patterson
c. Broken By Truth by Dr. Jeri Fink & Donna Paltrowitz
d. All of the above

15. Is The Bad Seed (movie and book) about:
a. Murder
b. A psychopathic child
c. Haunted family trees
d. All of the above.

Answers:
1 a, 2 c, 3 b, 4 c, 5 a, 6 a, 7 b, 8 a, 9 c, 10 e, 11 b, 12 b, 13 c, 14 d, 15 d

12-15 correct answers – you’ve been watching too much Criminal Minds
6-11 correct answers – does your boss, lover, or significant other have a killer instinct you haven’t noticed?
5 or below correct answers – look around you! Carefully.