What is psychopathy?
Being psychopathic doesn't necessarily mean that you're a serial killer – or even that you'll break the law. Actually, within the framework of clinical psychology, a psychopath is someone with a distinct cluster of personality traits including ruthlessness, fearlessness, narcissism, charm, charisma, impulsivity, persuasiveness, manipulativeness and a lack of conscience and empathy.
Sure, these traits may well come in handy if you aspire to be an axe-murderer! But they can also come in handy in the courtroom, on the trading floor, or in the operating theatre. It just depends on what else you've got going on in your personality, and the start you get in life.
Another misconception about psychopaths concerns diagnosis. A lot of people think that you're either a psychopath or you're not, that it's all very black and white. But there is evidence to suggest that it’s not as clear-cut as this. In fact, psychopathy – like height and weight, for example – lies on a spectrum.
At the sharp end you may well find your serial killers and axe murderers! But at the same time, all of us have our place at some point along the continuum. Some of us may score higher on some psychopathic traits than on others. But unless you score high on all of them, you don't really have anything to worry about!
What are the traits of psychopathy?
Delve into the lives of some of the most interesting and influential characters in history and you will find that in many cases the presence of a number of psychopathic traits was critical to their success.
Psychopathy is characterised by amoral and antisocial behaviour, an inability to establish meaningful personal relationships, a callous disregard for others, extreme egocentricity, a lack of remorse or conscience, and a failure to learn from experience.
Intriguingly, these qualities can sometimes code for greatness.
About the psychopathic spectrum
When most people think of psychopaths, Hannibal Lecter typically springs to mind! But actually, being psychopathic doesn't necessarily mean that you're a serial killer – or even that you'll break the law.
Some of us may score higher on some psychopathic traits than on others. But unless you score high on all of them, you don't really have anything to worry about! Another misconception about psychopaths concerns diagnosis. A lot of people think that you're either a psychopath or you're not, that it's all very black and white. But there is evidence to suggest that it's not as clear-cut as this. In fact, psychopathy – like height and weight, for example – lies on a spectrum.
This test is not a diagnostic tool nor is it psychometrically validated. It cannot be used to clinically diagnose psychopathic personality or any mental illness.
Within the framework of clinical psychology, a psychopath is someone with a distinct cluster of personality traits including ruthlessness, fearlessness, narcissism, charm, charisma, impulsivity, persuasiveness, manipulation and a lack of conscience and empathy. Sure, these traits may well come in handy if you aspire to be an axe-murderer! But they can also come in handy in the courtroom, on the trading floor, or in the operating theatre. It just depends on what else you've got going on in your personality, and the start you get in life.
At the sharp end you may well find your serial killers and axe murderers but, all of us have our place at some point along the continuum.
Background to the quiz
Professor Kevin Dutton has worked with the biographers of some well-known figures to look into their backgrounds and life stories to see where they fall on the psychopathic spectrum.
The famous faces were given a score out of 100 - a psychopath "percentage" - for the following psychopathic traits:
- Narcissism
- Fearlessness
- Emotional detachment
- Rebelliousness
- Coolness under pressure
These traits represent 5 characteristics of the Psychopath Personality Inventory (PPI)(This link opens in a new window) scale