Psychopaths: New Research & Studies

[Mythopoeika]

I got 18%, 'cos I'm such a big softie.

 

[ramonmercado]

21%! They didn't ask the right questions.

 

[escargot]

64%.

 

[ramonmercado]

64%.

Would have expected a bit higher for you!

 

[escargot]

C'mon, I'm all heart!

 

[henry]

30 but im not sure it took into account my compulsive lying

 

[Cochise]

24%

I'm not surprised. I don't like hurting people, or anything for that matter.

 

[ramonmercado]

C'mon, I'm all heart!

 

[IamSundog]

45%.

But the intent behind the questions was transparent and made it easy to try to put the best face on things. Cleverer psychological tests are designed to see through your disingenuousness.

 

[GNC]

Yeah, I wouldn't put much store by an internet gimmick designed to advertise a TV theme night about what fun it is to be a psychopath.

 

[Spookdaddy]

30 something - I wasn't concentrating; I was trying to defrost the freezer without letting my collection of heads thaw out.

I used to worry about myself - I don't seem to have a grief mode (at least not in the way it seems to occur with other people), or a belonging mode (ditto probably), I blink much less than human beings are apparently supposed to, (I've also got very blue eyes - the combination has unnerved several people I've known over the years), and used to be very attracted to risk (although I'm kind of growing out of that one).

Also, when it comes to physical confrontation I don't, and never have had, a 'play' mode - there are only two settings: not fighting at all, or berserker. Used to get me in loads of trouble when I was younger - there was no such thing as a 'play' fight in my dictionary.

Anyway, I think I'm okay, because I fail in some areas, at least according to Jon Ronson's The Psychopath Test - and Kevin Dutton's The Wisdom of Psychopaths, which I'm reading just now, suggests it may not be an entirely bad thing to be a bit psycho after all.

 

[Mythopoeika]

'cos psychopaths are such warm, fuzzy people who care a lot about the rest of us...yeah, that might work.







Or not...

 

[ramonmercado]

What could be more frightening than a nuclear war?

This proposal.

Excellent story!

 

[Fluttermoth]

I got 18%, 'cos I'm such a big softie.

Me too

 

[Swifty]

70% .... probably because I'm having a bad week :cry: ... I'll go and sit in the corner just so I won't be tempted to murderise anyone tonight ..

 

[Quake42]

27%. I'm warm and empathic apparently. News to me.

 

[SHAYBARSABE]

30% here. Not a big surprise, I suppose.

 

[ramonmercado]

Jim Fallon, professor of psychiatry at the University of California, has a particularly personal interest in this research. After discovering a surprisingly large number of murderers in his family tree he had himself genetically tested and discovered he had an awful lot of genes that have been linked to violent psychopathic behaviour.

As he puts it: "People with far less dangerous genetics become killers and are psychopaths than what I have. I have almost all of them"

But Jim isn't a murderer - he's a respected professor.

His explanation is that he was protected from a potentially violent legacy by a happy childhood. "If you've the high-risk form of the gene and you were abused early on in life, your chances of a life of crime are much higher. If you have the high-risk gene but you weren't abused, then there really wasn't much risk. So just a gene by itself, the variant doesn't really dramatically affect behaviour, but under certain environmental conditions there is a big difference ...

The Mystery of Murder: A Horizon Guide is on BBC Four at 21:00 GMT, 9 March 2015 - or catch up on BBC iPlayer

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-31714853

 

[ramonmercado]

Psychopaths and sociopaths share a number of characteristics, including a lack of remorse or empathy for others, a lack of guilt or ability to take responsibility for their actions, a disregard for laws or social conventions, and an inclination to violence. A core feature of both is a deceitful and manipulative nature. But how can we tell them apart?

Sociopaths are normally less emotionally stable and highly impulsive – their behaviour tends to be more erratic than psychopaths. When committing crimes – either violent or non-violent – sociopaths will act more on compulsion. And they will lack patience, giving in much more easily to impulsiveness and lacking detailed planning.

Christian Bale in American PsychoPsychopaths, on the other hand, will plan their crimes down to the smallest detail, taking calculated risks to avoid detection. The smart ones will leave few clues that may lead to being caught. Psychopaths don’t get carried away in the moment and make fewer mistakes as a result.

Both act on a continuum of behaviours, and many psychologists still debate whether the two should be differentiated at all. But for those who do differentiate between the two, one thing is largely agreed upon: psychiatrists use the term psychopathy to illustrate that the cause of the anti-social personality disorder is hereditary. Sociopathy describes behaviours that are the result of a brain injury, or abuse and/or neglect in childhood. ...

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-s...en-a-psychopath-and-a-sociopath-10422016.html

 

[Coal]

42%...didn't realise I was such a pushover...

 

[Frideswide]

67% Love. Me. NOW. :glee:

 

[ramonmercado]

67% Love. Me. NOW. :glee:

Why am I not surprised?!

 

[Coal]

67% Love. Me. NOW. :glee:

No point, you won't understand

 

[Frideswide]

No point, you won't understand

irrelevant! just do as you're told!

 

[Cultjunky]

61%

"Though your conscience is in the right place you also have a pragmatic streak and generally aren’t afraid to do your own dirty work! You’re no shrinking violet - but no daredevil either. You generally have little trouble seeing things from another person’s perspective but, at the same time, are no pushover. ‘Everything in moderation – including moderation’ might sum up your approach to life."

Fairy Nuff I guess.

 

[Vardoger]

24%

"You are warm and empathic with a heightened awareness of social responsibility and a strong sense of conscience."

I'm like the nicest guy in the neighbourhood!

 

[Analogue Boy]

33%. Of course a true psychopath knows how to average these tests. But apparently it's some of you lot I have to watch out for. And don't think I'm not making a list.

. You are warm and empathic with a heightened awareness of social responsibility and a strong sense of conscience. You like to carefully weigh up the pros and cons of a situation before you act and are generally averse to taking risks. You are very much a ‘people person’ and dislike conflict. ‘Do unto others…’ are your watchwords. But, although you avoid hurting others, those residing at the higher end of the psychopathic spectrum might not be as considerate, so stay vigilant to avoid being hurt unnecessarily.

 

[Mythopoeika]

Just an observation, but the women score much more highly than the men.

 

[Analogue Boy]

Just an observation, but the women score much more highly than the men.

If Fortean Times forum had a politically correct HR department, I'd dob you in for that.

 

[Mythopoeika]

If Fortean Times forum had a politically correct HR department, I'd dob you in for that.

It was pure science. Based on factual observation. No wayward politically-incorrect thinking at all.
Honest.