Status
Available
Call number
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Publication
Riverhead Hardcover (2011), ebook edition, 288 pages
Description
"In this madcap journey, a bestselling journalist investigates psychopaths and the industry of doctors, scientists, and everyone else who studies them. The Psychopath Test is a fascinating journey through the minds of madness. Jon Ronson's exploration of a potential hoax being played on the world's top neurologists takes him, unexpectedly, into the heart of the madness industry. An influential psychologist who is convinced that many important CEOs and politicians are, in fact, psychopaths teaches Ronson how to spot these high-flying individuals by looking out for little telltale verbal and nonverbal clues. And so Ronson, armed with his new psychopath-spotting abilities, enters the corridors of power. He spends time with a death-squad leader institutionalized for mortgage fraud in Coxsackie, New York; a legendary CEO whose psychopathy has been speculated about in the press; and a patient in an asylum for the criminally insane who insists he's sane and certainly not a psychopath. Ronson not only solves the mystery of the hoax but also discovers, disturbingly, that sometimes the personalities at the helm of the madness industry are, with their drives and obsessions, as mad in their own way as those they study. And that relatively ordinary people are, more and more, defined by their maddest edges."--Provided by publisher.… (more)
Media reviews
Mr. Ronson’s latest book has less ballast. Though he retains his own paranormal ability to locate and befriend wing nuts of every stripe, he has to try a little harder than usual to get “The Psychopath Test” going. Chalk up some of that forced quality to the fact that Mr. Ronson’s BBC Radio
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4 program, “Jon Ronson on ...,” is considered comedy. Throw in the fact that most psychopaths aren’t really all that funny. Still, his winning style pervades most of “The Psychopath Test,” as when Mr. Ronson wonders whether he will have psychopaths for readers. According to the second characteristic on the 20-item Hare Psychopathy Checklist (from which this book takes its title), some of them will. “Grandiose sense of self-worth” is one of their notable traits. “What should my message to them be?” he asks one Harvard Medical School psychologist. “Turn yourselves in?” Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member RidgewayGirl
This is just a huge amount of fun. It's not just a book about Hare's famous checklist; it's also a book about Jon Ronson's reactions to the people and entities he encounters while learning about the checklist and his reactions to assorted other people and entities having to do with the mental
"I could really be onto something," I thought. "It really could be that many of our political and business leaders suffer from Antisocial or Narcissistic Personality Disorder and they do the harmful, exploitative things they do because of some mad striving for unlimited success and excessive admiration. Their mental disorders might be what rule our lives. This could be a really big story for me if I can think of a way to somehow prove it."
I closed the manual.
"I wonder if I've got any of the 374 mental disorders," I thought.
I opened the manual again.
And I instantly diagnosed myself with twelve different ones.
This is a stroll through the horrific with a Bertie Wooster-type narrator. He distracts and veers off in odd directions while managing to ask difficult questions in very non-threatening ways. From Scientologists to a captain of industry who enjoyed laying people off to a death-squad leader in prison for mortgage fraud, Ronson gets some very interesting people to speak with him. The most frightening people to me were not the psychopaths, but the conspiracy theorists. Take this encounter where a conspiracy theorist talks about a woman injured in a terrorist bombing that he insists was all a hoax:
"I am also very suspicious of the fact that she refuses to sit down and have a dispassionate briefing about 7/7," David said. "Why won't she allow somebody to patiently talk her through the evidence?"
"She was in the carriage!" I said. "She was in the CARRIAGE. You really want her to sit down with someone who was on the internet while she was in the carriage and have them explain to her that there was no bomb?"
I guess it should be comforting to think that people who deny all actual evidence and cling angrily to some nonsensical idea are actually mentally ill, but it still makes me very, very tired. Having Ronson bug out his own eyes in disbelief now and again made the journey not only bearable but entertaining. In the above encounter, Ronson eventually ends the interview with a very professional "Oh, fuck off."
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illness industry. That's not to say I didn't learn quite a bit. I did. Just that this is not a finely focused study or anything like that. In The Psychopath Test, Ronson takes a look at psychopathy in a roundabout way, beginning with these thoughts about the DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders):"I could really be onto something," I thought. "It really could be that many of our political and business leaders suffer from Antisocial or Narcissistic Personality Disorder and they do the harmful, exploitative things they do because of some mad striving for unlimited success and excessive admiration. Their mental disorders might be what rule our lives. This could be a really big story for me if I can think of a way to somehow prove it."
I closed the manual.
"I wonder if I've got any of the 374 mental disorders," I thought.
I opened the manual again.
And I instantly diagnosed myself with twelve different ones.
This is a stroll through the horrific with a Bertie Wooster-type narrator. He distracts and veers off in odd directions while managing to ask difficult questions in very non-threatening ways. From Scientologists to a captain of industry who enjoyed laying people off to a death-squad leader in prison for mortgage fraud, Ronson gets some very interesting people to speak with him. The most frightening people to me were not the psychopaths, but the conspiracy theorists. Take this encounter where a conspiracy theorist talks about a woman injured in a terrorist bombing that he insists was all a hoax:
"I am also very suspicious of the fact that she refuses to sit down and have a dispassionate briefing about 7/7," David said. "Why won't she allow somebody to patiently talk her through the evidence?"
"She was in the carriage!" I said. "She was in the CARRIAGE. You really want her to sit down with someone who was on the internet while she was in the carriage and have them explain to her that there was no bomb?"
I guess it should be comforting to think that people who deny all actual evidence and cling angrily to some nonsensical idea are actually mentally ill, but it still makes me very, very tired. Having Ronson bug out his own eyes in disbelief now and again made the journey not only bearable but entertaining. In the above encounter, Ronson eventually ends the interview with a very professional "Oh, fuck off."
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LibraryThing member DieFledermaus
This book wasn’t quite what I expected and I was initially annoyed with the rambling and disconnected episodes and the author continually inserting himself into the story. After a couple chapters, however, I got used to the chatty style, the skipping around and the decidedly nonscientific focus.
The author starts out with a puzzle – a cryptic book sent to multiple academics. He was considering writing something about madness in general especially after he meets some of the odd characters related to the book. This first chapter didn’t draw me in though it seems like the story itself should have been compelling. I was a bit irritated with the author describing all the communications, traveling and small talk with his subjects. He also mentions his anxiety issues. In the next chapter, he meets with Scientologists and they give him their spiel on the evils of psychiatry. Ronson shows the good with the bad which is a bit different from the usual depiction of Scientologists. He also meets a man, Tony, who is locked up in a psychiatric institute but claims to be normal. Learning that Tony is diagnosed as a sociopath, the author sets out to learn about the condition. By that time, I was settled into the book and appreciated the random tangents and humor. Ronson continues to pick and choose bizarre stories – the case of the Canadian psychiatrist who used nude LSD therapy on a group of psychopaths, Emmanual “Toto” Constant, a vicious Haitian paramilitary leader who fits Robert Hare’s checklist too well, Al Dunlap, an ex-CEO who doesn’t seem offended when Ronson asks if he is a sociopath, and David Shayler, a British conspiracy theorist who moves from denying the British and American terrorist attack to dreams of being the Messiah. Ronson interacts with Robert Hare and other names I recognized from the list of books to read on sociopaths. In the final chapters, he ponders the role of doctors and journalists in looking for and diagnosing madness and his last chapter points out the problems when the drug companies become involved.
In the end, I thought the personal style worked well for the book that Ronson wanted to write. He was able to show his ambivalence over the list as well as ambivalence towards people like Tony, who might be a manipulator but doesn’t deserve to continually be locked up. It was also funny to read about his becoming a bit drunk with power over his ability to diagnose sociopaths (including a critic). In describing his constant travels to follow up a slim lead, Ronson later has something to look back on when thinking about the madness of journalists. I thought his discussion of the “right” kind of madness was interesting – people want to see someone’s bizarre ideas or behavior but nothing too crazy (not like the woman he refers to who painted with her own feces). The first chapter may not have been as compelling as it could have been but most of my reservations stemmed from having different expectations of the book. I would recommend it as a lighter, personal look at sociopaths and the diagnosing industry.
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After that, I was able to enjoy the book and read it pretty much in one sitting. The stories were interesting, I learned about a number of bizarre episodes in psychology/psychiatry history and I thought the author did make a serious point about the misuse of Hare’s psychopath checklist and the DSM in general. The author starts out with a puzzle – a cryptic book sent to multiple academics. He was considering writing something about madness in general especially after he meets some of the odd characters related to the book. This first chapter didn’t draw me in though it seems like the story itself should have been compelling. I was a bit irritated with the author describing all the communications, traveling and small talk with his subjects. He also mentions his anxiety issues. In the next chapter, he meets with Scientologists and they give him their spiel on the evils of psychiatry. Ronson shows the good with the bad which is a bit different from the usual depiction of Scientologists. He also meets a man, Tony, who is locked up in a psychiatric institute but claims to be normal. Learning that Tony is diagnosed as a sociopath, the author sets out to learn about the condition. By that time, I was settled into the book and appreciated the random tangents and humor. Ronson continues to pick and choose bizarre stories – the case of the Canadian psychiatrist who used nude LSD therapy on a group of psychopaths, Emmanual “Toto” Constant, a vicious Haitian paramilitary leader who fits Robert Hare’s checklist too well, Al Dunlap, an ex-CEO who doesn’t seem offended when Ronson asks if he is a sociopath, and David Shayler, a British conspiracy theorist who moves from denying the British and American terrorist attack to dreams of being the Messiah. Ronson interacts with Robert Hare and other names I recognized from the list of books to read on sociopaths. In the final chapters, he ponders the role of doctors and journalists in looking for and diagnosing madness and his last chapter points out the problems when the drug companies become involved.
In the end, I thought the personal style worked well for the book that Ronson wanted to write. He was able to show his ambivalence over the list as well as ambivalence towards people like Tony, who might be a manipulator but doesn’t deserve to continually be locked up. It was also funny to read about his becoming a bit drunk with power over his ability to diagnose sociopaths (including a critic). In describing his constant travels to follow up a slim lead, Ronson later has something to look back on when thinking about the madness of journalists. I thought his discussion of the “right” kind of madness was interesting – people want to see someone’s bizarre ideas or behavior but nothing too crazy (not like the woman he refers to who painted with her own feces). The first chapter may not have been as compelling as it could have been but most of my reservations stemmed from having different expectations of the book. I would recommend it as a lighter, personal look at sociopaths and the diagnosing industry.
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LibraryThing member AgneJakubauskaite
WHAT IS IT ABOUT?
In his book “The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry,” a bestselling journalist Jon Ronson, propelled by a mysterious hoax played on the world’s leading scientists, dives into the world of madness to explore just how mad we really are. During his two-year
THUMBS UP:
1) Intriguing introduction.
The first chapter of “The Psychopath Test” is THE BEST (mysterious, suspenseful and utterly captivating) introductory chapter I have ever read in a non-fiction book. The opening story is so bizarre it can be easily turned into a book itself.
2) Well researched, skillfully written.
Ronson’s style is quite humorous and engaging, making his non-fiction very readable and not in the least dry. Also, the author put quite some time and effort into researching and interviewing, which allowed him to explore the madness industry from multiple perspectives, which in turn enables the readers to form their own opinions on the matter.
COULD BE BETTER:
1) Not what I expected.
I guess it’s not really the author’s fault, but I was expecting this book to be more about psychopaths and less about everything else. Instead, at least half of the book has little to do with psychopathy as the author probes multiple issues related to general insanity. It works this way as well, but I was hoping for an in-depth exploration of the psychopath’s mind and thus was a tiny bit disappointed.
2) Fragmented and seemingly directionless.
While I was reading “The Psychopath Test,” I felt rather confused as if the story has been patched together from several seemingly unrelated parts: at first the book seemed like a really engaging mystery, then it became psychopath-oriented, but soon enough the chapters became quite independent, loosely connected by the general madness theme. Honestly, up until the final chapters I wasn’t sure where the story was going. Although at the very end the author’s intentions became more or less clear, Ronson could have done a better job guiding the reader throughout the whole book.
VERDICT:
Although “The Psychopath Test” might seem a little fragmented and directionless, it is nonetheless a very entertaining non-fiction that carries an important message.
In his book “The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry,” a bestselling journalist Jon Ronson, propelled by a mysterious hoax played on the world’s leading scientists, dives into the world of madness to explore just how mad we really are. During his two-year
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journey, Ronson not only interviews a bunch of madmen as well as several influential psychologists, psychiatrists and anti-psychiatric Scientologists but also practices his newly gained skill of using Hare Psychopathy Checklist to spot psychopaths. Unexpectedly and quite disturbingly, the author discovers the society’s drive for the ‘right amount’ of insanity, and often detrimental tendency to define individuals by their maddest edges.THUMBS UP:
1) Intriguing introduction.
The first chapter of “The Psychopath Test” is THE BEST (mysterious, suspenseful and utterly captivating) introductory chapter I have ever read in a non-fiction book. The opening story is so bizarre it can be easily turned into a book itself.
2) Well researched, skillfully written.
Ronson’s style is quite humorous and engaging, making his non-fiction very readable and not in the least dry. Also, the author put quite some time and effort into researching and interviewing, which allowed him to explore the madness industry from multiple perspectives, which in turn enables the readers to form their own opinions on the matter.
COULD BE BETTER:
1) Not what I expected.
I guess it’s not really the author’s fault, but I was expecting this book to be more about psychopaths and less about everything else. Instead, at least half of the book has little to do with psychopathy as the author probes multiple issues related to general insanity. It works this way as well, but I was hoping for an in-depth exploration of the psychopath’s mind and thus was a tiny bit disappointed.
2) Fragmented and seemingly directionless.
While I was reading “The Psychopath Test,” I felt rather confused as if the story has been patched together from several seemingly unrelated parts: at first the book seemed like a really engaging mystery, then it became psychopath-oriented, but soon enough the chapters became quite independent, loosely connected by the general madness theme. Honestly, up until the final chapters I wasn’t sure where the story was going. Although at the very end the author’s intentions became more or less clear, Ronson could have done a better job guiding the reader throughout the whole book.
VERDICT:
Although “The Psychopath Test” might seem a little fragmented and directionless, it is nonetheless a very entertaining non-fiction that carries an important message.
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LibraryThing member bragan
After being called upon to investigate a bizarre mystery that eventually leads to a man he can only describe as "a crackpot," journalist Jon Ronson finds himself becoming fascinated by the topic of mental illness in general, and, almost by accident, psychopathy in particular. He sets out to explore
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the topic, taking the reader along on his journey as he interviews the man who invented the checklist used to diagnose psychopaths, a business leader who fits the profile, a man who faked mental illness to get himself committed to treatment instead of jail and then turned out to maybe be in the right place anyway, and many other interesting folks. Along the way, he shares his own thoughts and perceptions as his ideas about psychopaths and mental illness develop and change and become increasingly ambiguous. In the end, he presents the reader with some thoughts on the way both the psychiatric profession and the media treat those who are considered mad, and on the disturbingly fuzzy borderline between insanity and normality. It's an interesting and nuanced personal exploration of the topic, one that raises important questions while avoiding easy answers. It's also very readable. Ronson's writing is breezy and entertaining, without trivializing the often disturbing things he talks about, including some pretty horrific crimes committed by psychopathic serial killers. Show Less
LibraryThing member acgallegos91
A "meh" piece of armchair psychology by a writer who owns a copy of the DSM-IV and took a weekend class with a psychologist who believes you can spot a psychopath by going down a simple checklist. Author Jon Ronson goes around "diagnosing" a man in a psychiatric hospital, an ex-CEO and cadre of
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out-of-the-way personalities despite Ronson's tenuous grasp on clinical psychology. There's no real depth to this book and Ronson gives too much credence to Scientology's argument that psychology is a pseudoscience. The book skips over any actual science for a curious cast of characters, and Ronson has this annoying habit of referring to journalism as a means of exploiting crazy people for a story. Is the book entertaining? Kind of. Is it useful? Not really. Show Less
LibraryThing member robfwalter
Jon Ronson's style is so breezy it's almost apologetic. If you take him at face value, he bumbles here and bumbles there and then somehow meets so many interesting people that he has no choice but to come to his conclusion. He doesn't purport to be telling any particular story, just relating his
Nevertheless, the consequence for me, as a reader, is that this is a very light read. It doesn't make any very grand claims, but then it doesn't take too much of your time and energy, either. If you're eager to learn about the subject matter you will probably find this book disappointing, but if you like the soudn of going on a quirky adventure with a self-conscious, somewhat anxious guide, I'd highly recommend The Psychopath Test.
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own meanderings and the start of the book doesn't even really indicate what he plans to do or why he wrote it. However, I don't believe for a second that's how Ronson actually wrote the book. I imagine he agonised over it, followed endless dead ends and carefully crafted the prose.Nevertheless, the consequence for me, as a reader, is that this is a very light read. It doesn't make any very grand claims, but then it doesn't take too much of your time and energy, either. If you're eager to learn about the subject matter you will probably find this book disappointing, but if you like the soudn of going on a quirky adventure with a self-conscious, somewhat anxious guide, I'd highly recommend The Psychopath Test.
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LibraryThing member jcbrunner
The author's erratic appearance on The Daily Show made me worry about this book whose topic is both important and timely. Unfortunately, the author's gonzo journalism approach and limited interest in research does not do the subject justice. Simply interviewing some of the people in the field can
Thus, even one of Ronson's villains, Al "Chainsaw Al" Dunlap, fails to score high enough on the psychopath test. Those interested in the topic would be advised to read INSEAD professor Manfred Kets de Vries' work on neurotic organizations and narcissistic leadership. Ronson's fluffy book would work better condensed into article-length.
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only offer a superficial glimpse at the subject. Ronson promotes Bob Hare's psychopath questionnaire which not only suffers from confirmation bias but also lacks transactional and situational awareness. How one answers these questions depend on the persons involved and the situation the action takes place in.Thus, even one of Ronson's villains, Al "Chainsaw Al" Dunlap, fails to score high enough on the psychopath test. Those interested in the topic would be advised to read INSEAD professor Manfred Kets de Vries' work on neurotic organizations and narcissistic leadership. Ronson's fluffy book would work better condensed into article-length.
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LibraryThing member marycrear
I have to admit I wanted to read this after viewing Mr. Ronson on The Daily Show. This is not a book for serious understanding of mental illness of psychopaths. What it does do is make us laugh and wonder about our own possible diagnoses and Mr Ronson's. I found I didn't want to put it down and
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stayed up way too late. A kind of David Sedaris meets Bill Bryson if you can imagine that! Show Less
LibraryThing member Smiler69
Equipped with a 40 point questionnaire provided by its creator, Ronson sets out to identify psychopaths (once and for all, I now know that 'psychopath' and 'sociopath' are one and the same thing). He makes the very valid and probably all too true point that psychopaths are often to be found at the
One theory he proposes is that society, and specifically, all the EVILS in society, are caused by psychopaths shaping the world to suit their needs for exploitation and victimization. I believe this book has been hugely influential since it came out in 2011 and may directly or indirectly have influenced journalists and the public at large to claim that the current POTUS is unhinged and probably a psychopath... though since this term isn't used in DSM-4 (The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; DSM-5 was released in 2013, after the publication of this book), the closest diagnosis they can give is 'narcissistic personality disorder', which essentially amounts to the same thing.
Statistics show that 1% of the population are psychopaths and that they are much more present in our daily lives than we might realize. Most people reading on psychology and psychiatry has a natural tendency to worry that they may have whatever illness is described, so the question 'am I a psychopath?' is bound to occur to most readers, but the author claims that just the fact of worrying if you are one indicates you definitely aren't, since psychopaths aren't capable of introspection to begin with. Also, anyone with a surfeit of empathy, as Joh Ronson is (he suffers from pronounced anxiety problems) is more likely to be a victim of a predatory sociopath than to become one. The current theory is that people are born this way and are impossible to 'cure' and that trying to rehabilitate them only teaches them how to more convincingly mimic how most sane people express emotions, in effect providing a kind of 'finishing school' for psychopaths. I found those segments describing how the illness (or characters trait) is manifested and how researchers used extremely unusual methods (including LSD trials) to find a 'cure' really fascinating. Definitely recommended.
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top of the echelon, as politicians and especially CEOs, since their lack of empathy and competitive urge and predatory instincts are useful traits to have in a cut-throat financial market. In the later part of the book, Ronson makes the case that psychiatry has overreached its purpose by giving diagnoses where none are necessarily needed, and he mentions both autism and bipolar disorder as two of the most commonly inappropriately and overused mental conditions ascribed to children. One specialist argues that there is no real evidence that bipolar disorder actually exists in children, as apparently the illness usually develops in late teens or young adulthood and not before. I contest this finding as I'm absolutely certain I've been 'bipolar' (or whatever new term they find for my specific condition in future) since early childhood. One theory he proposes is that society, and specifically, all the EVILS in society, are caused by psychopaths shaping the world to suit their needs for exploitation and victimization. I believe this book has been hugely influential since it came out in 2011 and may directly or indirectly have influenced journalists and the public at large to claim that the current POTUS is unhinged and probably a psychopath... though since this term isn't used in DSM-4 (The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; DSM-5 was released in 2013, after the publication of this book), the closest diagnosis they can give is 'narcissistic personality disorder', which essentially amounts to the same thing.
Statistics show that 1% of the population are psychopaths and that they are much more present in our daily lives than we might realize. Most people reading on psychology and psychiatry has a natural tendency to worry that they may have whatever illness is described, so the question 'am I a psychopath?' is bound to occur to most readers, but the author claims that just the fact of worrying if you are one indicates you definitely aren't, since psychopaths aren't capable of introspection to begin with. Also, anyone with a surfeit of empathy, as Joh Ronson is (he suffers from pronounced anxiety problems) is more likely to be a victim of a predatory sociopath than to become one. The current theory is that people are born this way and are impossible to 'cure' and that trying to rehabilitate them only teaches them how to more convincingly mimic how most sane people express emotions, in effect providing a kind of 'finishing school' for psychopaths. I found those segments describing how the illness (or characters trait) is manifested and how researchers used extremely unusual methods (including LSD trials) to find a 'cure' really fascinating. Definitely recommended.
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LibraryThing member tayitude
Two and a half stars, really. It was a quick, engaging read and amusing for the most part, so I think it at least deserves an "ok" rating. I usually go for nonfiction that has more substance to it and comes from someone with a bit of actual authority on the subject, rather than, well, a journalist.
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Since I had already read the wikipedia article about psychopaths, I didn't actually learn much of anything from Ronson's book (the most informative bit was his explanation of the PCL-R psychopath checklist). I doubt the author really needed to fly all over the Western world to come up with his conclusions: psychiatry isn't exactly a hard science and the categories it creates aren't foolproof by any means; the industry is full of ethical dilemmas regarding various diagnoses (ADD, childhood bipolar disorder, autism and of course psychopathy); and the public eats up stories about crazy people, because deep down we all suspect we might be a little bit crazy ourselves. Show Less
LibraryThing member brianinbuffalo
First, let's ponder what I call the "relief clause" in this entertaining book. Any reader perusing the pages who fears that he or she might be a psychopath probably isn't -- by virtue of the fact true psychopaths would have no such concerns (whew!) Now that that's out of the way, it's fair to say
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that Ronson's book is well-researched, educational and even engaging. Through interesting case studies, he delves into many issues. He also addresses some fundamental questions (what's the difference between a psychopath and a sociopath? Nothing, really.) Still, this work lacked a cohesion that I was yearning for by the time I hit the halfway point. It felt a bit like an almanac of case studies, veering quite close to being almost disjointed in spots. In summary, it's a book worthy of reading -- but one that could benefit from a bit more cohesion. Show Less
LibraryThing member LadyLiz
I'm not sure where to begin without giving it all away, but this book was much better than I expected! I'm not much of a non-fiction reader, but this book had me hooked. It had a definite plot, and the inner thoughts of the author really made me feel like I was going on a journey to find out the
On the topic of the initial mystery, the mysterious "Being or Nothing" book, as I read it, I got an idea. Anybody else see a connection to that book and "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy?"
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mystery of psychopathy. I especially liked how the initial mystery that sparked the author's journey to discover psychopathy comes back at the end; perfect framing technique.On the topic of the initial mystery, the mysterious "Being or Nothing" book, as I read it, I got an idea. Anybody else see a connection to that book and "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy?"
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LibraryThing member Davidgnp
I bought this because I have always enjoyed the 'Jon Ronson on...' series on BBC Radio 4. One happy result of approaching the author in this way was that I could 'hear' Jon's voice through the narration as I read, which helped the natural flow. I noticed that some of the episodes and interviews
Ronson's style is consciously egocentric, mildly self-deprecating and deceptively rambling - I say 'deceptively' because there is actually a carefully-considered structure which holds together the apparent meandering. All of the above I see as positive traits in this case because they allow Ronson to lace humour into even the most serious topics without being forced or inappropriate, and to narrate with an apparently effortless informality that is personable and extremely readable, as engaging as his radio presence.
I learnt a lot (at least superficially) about the characteristics of psychopathy and have found myself, as the author did, analysing friends, acquaintances and family looking for the psychopaths in our midst. There seem to be a lot of them about!
I'm encouraged now to read more of Jon Ronson and will report back. If you haven't yet heard his radio series give it a try - it makes for good listening.
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related here (such as his chapter on the Madness of David Shayler) were also some of those covered in his radio series, which was fine by me - it was interesting to see them treated textually as well as aurally. Ronson's style is consciously egocentric, mildly self-deprecating and deceptively rambling - I say 'deceptively' because there is actually a carefully-considered structure which holds together the apparent meandering. All of the above I see as positive traits in this case because they allow Ronson to lace humour into even the most serious topics without being forced or inappropriate, and to narrate with an apparently effortless informality that is personable and extremely readable, as engaging as his radio presence.
I learnt a lot (at least superficially) about the characteristics of psychopathy and have found myself, as the author did, analysing friends, acquaintances and family looking for the psychopaths in our midst. There seem to be a lot of them about!
I'm encouraged now to read more of Jon Ronson and will report back. If you haven't yet heard his radio series give it a try - it makes for good listening.
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LibraryThing member TheAmpersand
Those of you who've already read John Ronson probably know what to expect from "The Psychopath Test": our game, affable narrator sallies forth into the world to interview its strangest, most dangerous inhabitants. He meets a few ringers this time out, too, including a Haitian death squad leader and
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a man whose diagnosis of psychopathology has gotten him condemned to England's infamous Broadmoor prison. We also meet Al Dunlap, the notorious job-cutter, who proves to be a fantastically unselfconscious capitalist caricature almost too real for reportage. It's all the usual good fun, but the book takes an unexpected, and unexpectedly thoughtful, turn in its last chapters. The author halts the parade of human oddities and meditates instead on the social uses of madness and asks whether any test, even one as well designed as Robert Hare's psychopath test, can accurately classify the entire range of human experience. "The Psychopath Test" is a light and breezy take on its deadly serious subject, but it's recommended. Show Less
LibraryThing member thewalkinggirl
A fast, light read with an engaging tone and a muddled thesis. Like others, I do wish there had been more science in this pop-science book, but it did give me the idea to take the actual 20-question psychopath test and compare it with some romances I've read, especially the old-school rapey ones,
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with the question Is the hero an ass-hat or a psychopathic ass-hat?" Show Less
LibraryThing member 2chances
I'm not sure if Jon Ronson's (isn't that a strange name? Don't you intuitively feel it should actually be Ron Johnson?) The Psychopath Test is really THAT GOOD, or if it is simply the exact antidote I needed to Pete Earley's book Crazy. I finished The Psychopath Test in about three hours - it's not
Ronson is fascinated by (you guessed it) the psychopath test, a clinical checklist of defining characteristics of a psychopathic personality, and by the uses and misuses of this checklist. Ronson's interests are far-ranging, so learning about psychopaths leads him down some pretty interesting roads: to some peculiar therapeutic byways of the sixties, for instance, or to the origins of the DSM-IV (the diagnostic manual used by therapists and psychiatrists.) Ronson is even-handed and self-aware; an entertaining feature of his book is his ongoing awareness that he (and lots of other "sane" people) occasionally display,in milder form, the very characteristics of the dangerous criminals he interviews. His chapter on the DSM-IV was particularly interesting to me, detailing as it does the absurdly random method by which these clinical criteria were produced.
Ronson is no Scientologist, denying the existence of mental illness (because, as any Scientologist knows, what seems to be schizophrenia is really just dead aliens in your brain). On the contrary, he finds himself, as his knowledge increases, doing amateur diagnoses of individuals he dislikes - leaving himself (and the reader) with lots and lots of questions about the current state of diagnosis and treatment of mental illness. As he reminds us, homosexuality used to be a psychiatric disorder; and Atypical Child Disorder nearly made it into the DSM-III. What were the symptoms? Well, it's hard to say; the kids were atypical.
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very long - and was left feeling as satisfied as if I had just finished a very healthy and tasty meal. Ronson is fascinated by (you guessed it) the psychopath test, a clinical checklist of defining characteristics of a psychopathic personality, and by the uses and misuses of this checklist. Ronson's interests are far-ranging, so learning about psychopaths leads him down some pretty interesting roads: to some peculiar therapeutic byways of the sixties, for instance, or to the origins of the DSM-IV (the diagnostic manual used by therapists and psychiatrists.) Ronson is even-handed and self-aware; an entertaining feature of his book is his ongoing awareness that he (and lots of other "sane" people) occasionally display,in milder form, the very characteristics of the dangerous criminals he interviews. His chapter on the DSM-IV was particularly interesting to me, detailing as it does the absurdly random method by which these clinical criteria were produced.
Ronson is no Scientologist, denying the existence of mental illness (because, as any Scientologist knows, what seems to be schizophrenia is really just dead aliens in your brain). On the contrary, he finds himself, as his knowledge increases, doing amateur diagnoses of individuals he dislikes - leaving himself (and the reader) with lots and lots of questions about the current state of diagnosis and treatment of mental illness. As he reminds us, homosexuality used to be a psychiatric disorder; and Atypical Child Disorder nearly made it into the DSM-III. What were the symptoms? Well, it's hard to say; the kids were atypical.
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LibraryThing member lilywren
The first non-fiction book I have read in a while and it didn't disappoint. I love Ronson's affable, easy going, self-deprecating writing style and will certainly be seeking out more of his books. The Psychopath Test offers an interesting viewpoint into psychopathy. It's incredible to think how the
The theme running through the book is the investigation into the possibility of how certain people in positions of power may actually be psychopaths or at least have psychopathic tendencies. When we imagine a psychopath we are probably thinking about someone who has killed or physically hurt someone. Rostron poses the theory that there are psychopaths who walk among us and may work with us, who are focused on power and leadership and making their way in the world through manipulation, domination and control. They may be in high powered jobs and essentially do not care about what they are doing to other people and society. This is a scary thought and I ended up thinking of leaders and managers who could fit into the boxes of the Hare test....
Goodness me! Imagine a country or multi-national company being run by a psychopathic leader, your own boss being a psychopath!? I'm sure it isn't beyond the realms of possibility. It's certainly an interesting viewpoint and whilst I don't think we can start to put all the ills of the world down to psychopathic managers and leaders it certainly made me think and look at the world with different eyes. If this is indeed the case it is comforting to know that there really is sod all I can do about it and so I need to create a life in my own bubble seeking to find the switch to 'blissful ignorance' and turning it to the 'on' position...
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diagnosis rests upon tick boxing up to a list of 20 characteristics of The Hare Psychopathy Checklist (the diagnostic tool used to rate a person's psychopathic or antisocial tendencies). In all honesty most of us would be able to at least tick a couple of tendencies on the list however, prior to its' introduction diagnosis was even more subjective.The theme running through the book is the investigation into the possibility of how certain people in positions of power may actually be psychopaths or at least have psychopathic tendencies. When we imagine a psychopath we are probably thinking about someone who has killed or physically hurt someone. Rostron poses the theory that there are psychopaths who walk among us and may work with us, who are focused on power and leadership and making their way in the world through manipulation, domination and control. They may be in high powered jobs and essentially do not care about what they are doing to other people and society. This is a scary thought and I ended up thinking of leaders and managers who could fit into the boxes of the Hare test....
Goodness me! Imagine a country or multi-national company being run by a psychopathic leader, your own boss being a psychopath!? I'm sure it isn't beyond the realms of possibility. It's certainly an interesting viewpoint and whilst I don't think we can start to put all the ills of the world down to psychopathic managers and leaders it certainly made me think and look at the world with different eyes. If this is indeed the case it is comforting to know that there really is sod all I can do about it and so I need to create a life in my own bubble seeking to find the switch to 'blissful ignorance' and turning it to the 'on' position...
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LibraryThing member madamepince
Test your friends! Discover who's a true psycho path! The book's a quick, often funny trip through interviews with some truly crazy people.
LibraryThing member laluna179
Began reading this book, it is going in many unexpected directions so far. I have learned a lot about Scientology and their beliefs about the psychiatry profession. Was a bit confused about the mysterious book that was sent to scholars around the world. So far I am thinking that the purpose was to
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explain how the author got mixed up in trying to define what a psychopath is. I am not sure what his opinion of Scientologists are yet. Show Less
LibraryThing member yarriofultramar
An excellent read that introduces reader into the creepy world of psychopaths and more importantly research into what exactly is a nature of psychopathy. I cannot stress enough how approachable and interesting this book is. For a topic so disturbing, it has a remarkably light and entertaining, even
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funny tone. I think the author perhaps overindulges into describing his feelings and thoughts but what it looses in concrete it makes up in strength of the message. Yes, there are psychopaths among as and there is preciously little we can do to change them. On the other hand the psychiatry itself comes out as a science filled with traps. Well, the brain is a complicated thing indeed. I would recommend this book to anyone. It is a real page turner and the subject is fascinating. Perhaps a little bit light on the content but fantastically well written and moving. I cannot wait to read some more works by Jon Ronson. Show Less
LibraryThing member CK25_00
Just a few years back, globetrotting journalist Jon Ronson was caught up in praise for his work, The Men Who Stare At Goats, which explored a secretive army experiment that sought to train soldiers in psychic warfare, but really exposed light-hearted idiocy of just one of the many hare-brained
A brisk read that’s over all too quickly, The Psychopath Test is less about hard conclusions about the kind of people that rise to power by stepping on the heads of others and more about Ronson’s personal journey, beginning to end, of how the concept of psychopaths was introduced to him and how he went about his research. The book starts with a puzzle. A book called Being or Nothingness that has been mysteriously circulated to major academicians around the world. Quickly developing a list of bit players that are suspects, the ensuing adventure leads Ronson to conclude that the author of Being or Nothingness fits the description of the topic he is about to embark, a psychopath.
Ronson’s style flits from psychiatry, to Scientology anti-psychiatrists, to Bob Hare, developer of the modern checklist of the psychopath test, to a facility in Broodmoor where an inmate named Tony has been kept under guard for over 10 years, and eventually to a former CEO of the Sunbeam company, who, back when toasters were being churned out in US factories, fired tens of thousands of employees without so much as breaking a sweat.
The resulting text is one that doesn’t so much dwell on hard questions about modern psychiatry practices but rather indulges Ronson’s newfound ‘ability’ to spot psychopaths as he rattles off checklist questions that could pertain to certain personalities (lack of empathy; grandiose sense of self-worth).
But what is a psychopath? Apart from the imagery a connotation with the word ‘psycho’ drudges up, it is simply a person who can’t experience emotions…at all. Think Dennis from It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia. It isn’t merely a lack of empathy…it’s that the psychopath can’t imagine what it would be like to have it. Imagine if you were born blind…the concept of red just wouldn’t translate into anything meaningful. For psychopaths, emotion is just a weakness, something to be shrugged off or used as a tool in manipulating others.
One of the problems facing Ronson is after he attends a weekend seminar by Bob Hare, creator of the Hare Checklist, a group of questions in which, if one scores high enough (over 30), could get you locked up for the rest of your life, Ronson becomes almost psychopathic himself (a tendency he’s all to ready to admit on the part of being a journalist) in trying to break down others’ personalities to conform to the Hare checklist. Is Tony, an inmate who’s been locked away since age 17 who chose to fake mental illness to avoid prison time (inadvertently leading him to the Broodmoor institution in a catch-22 situation), really a psychopath or just someone caught up in the system forever attempting to prove his saneness? Are certain CEOs or people in powerful positions secretly disguising their own psychopathic tendencies to maintain some sense of normalcy?
These questions and others are brought up in frantic fashion but never delved into a way that lends credence to exactly how to deal with people of this nature. By the time Ronson brings up the possibility of Wall Street financial honchos possessing these character qualities and the wide-reaching implications, the book’s narrative trip is nearly at a close and remains just a footnote to the overarching question of how DSM illnesses are conceived and diagnosed by specialists. This tumbles into digressions on the modern sense of what most regard as a ‘Prozac Nation’ and an overreaching sense of duty to medicate kids improperly labeled as Bi-Polar or Autistic, when really parents are just tired of trying. What remains with the reader are several tools for diagnosing psychopaths should they ever suspect someone in their circle (apparently they make up 1% of the world population) and a brief history of psychiatry from the LSD-fueled trips of the 60’s and 70’s (which, although, in an attempt to help psychopaths overcome their illness, actually churned out more repeat offenders than if they had merely sent them to a jail for a few years) to the refining of the Bob Hare checklist. So then, are psychopaths secretly ruling the world? Is there a secretive influence to their behavior that has shaped our history in the mold of their mind’s creation? Can’t say definitively, but as a guidebook The Psychopath Test at least gets the discussion going.
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schemes to come out of U.S. government toward defeating our ‘enemies’. Now, Ronson is back to explore another segment of society, the psychopath.A brisk read that’s over all too quickly, The Psychopath Test is less about hard conclusions about the kind of people that rise to power by stepping on the heads of others and more about Ronson’s personal journey, beginning to end, of how the concept of psychopaths was introduced to him and how he went about his research. The book starts with a puzzle. A book called Being or Nothingness that has been mysteriously circulated to major academicians around the world. Quickly developing a list of bit players that are suspects, the ensuing adventure leads Ronson to conclude that the author of Being or Nothingness fits the description of the topic he is about to embark, a psychopath.
Ronson’s style flits from psychiatry, to Scientology anti-psychiatrists, to Bob Hare, developer of the modern checklist of the psychopath test, to a facility in Broodmoor where an inmate named Tony has been kept under guard for over 10 years, and eventually to a former CEO of the Sunbeam company, who, back when toasters were being churned out in US factories, fired tens of thousands of employees without so much as breaking a sweat.
The resulting text is one that doesn’t so much dwell on hard questions about modern psychiatry practices but rather indulges Ronson’s newfound ‘ability’ to spot psychopaths as he rattles off checklist questions that could pertain to certain personalities (lack of empathy; grandiose sense of self-worth).
But what is a psychopath? Apart from the imagery a connotation with the word ‘psycho’ drudges up, it is simply a person who can’t experience emotions…at all. Think Dennis from It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia. It isn’t merely a lack of empathy…it’s that the psychopath can’t imagine what it would be like to have it. Imagine if you were born blind…the concept of red just wouldn’t translate into anything meaningful. For psychopaths, emotion is just a weakness, something to be shrugged off or used as a tool in manipulating others.
One of the problems facing Ronson is after he attends a weekend seminar by Bob Hare, creator of the Hare Checklist, a group of questions in which, if one scores high enough (over 30), could get you locked up for the rest of your life, Ronson becomes almost psychopathic himself (a tendency he’s all to ready to admit on the part of being a journalist) in trying to break down others’ personalities to conform to the Hare checklist. Is Tony, an inmate who’s been locked away since age 17 who chose to fake mental illness to avoid prison time (inadvertently leading him to the Broodmoor institution in a catch-22 situation), really a psychopath or just someone caught up in the system forever attempting to prove his saneness? Are certain CEOs or people in powerful positions secretly disguising their own psychopathic tendencies to maintain some sense of normalcy?
These questions and others are brought up in frantic fashion but never delved into a way that lends credence to exactly how to deal with people of this nature. By the time Ronson brings up the possibility of Wall Street financial honchos possessing these character qualities and the wide-reaching implications, the book’s narrative trip is nearly at a close and remains just a footnote to the overarching question of how DSM illnesses are conceived and diagnosed by specialists. This tumbles into digressions on the modern sense of what most regard as a ‘Prozac Nation’ and an overreaching sense of duty to medicate kids improperly labeled as Bi-Polar or Autistic, when really parents are just tired of trying. What remains with the reader are several tools for diagnosing psychopaths should they ever suspect someone in their circle (apparently they make up 1% of the world population) and a brief history of psychiatry from the LSD-fueled trips of the 60’s and 70’s (which, although, in an attempt to help psychopaths overcome their illness, actually churned out more repeat offenders than if they had merely sent them to a jail for a few years) to the refining of the Bob Hare checklist. So then, are psychopaths secretly ruling the world? Is there a secretive influence to their behavior that has shaped our history in the mold of their mind’s creation? Can’t say definitively, but as a guidebook The Psychopath Test at least gets the discussion going.
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LibraryThing member pdplish
How many psychopathic traits do you possess? Any one reading this book can't help but to reflect on 1, how they would do on the test & 2, how many of the people they know or encounter everyday would not pass the test. Mr. Ronson's writing style keeps this book moving along with little chance of
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boredom. I personally loved each interview he had with a certified psychopath. Quite interesting they would be so candid & agreeable to his questioning, even while raising their eyebrows at some. I guess that;s the Gradiose trait??? Show Less
LibraryThing member triscuit
Who knew that exploring the world of psychopaths could be so entertaining and funny? The author takes a course on administering the Psychopath Checklist and finds himself ticking items on the list, not only when interviewing CEOs and inmates of prisons and asylums, but on the experts and himself.
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Don’t miss this fascinating, fast-paced look at the complex world of madness. Show Less
LibraryThing member wbc3
This was one of the books I purchased based on his talk at TED this year. You may have heard about one of Ronson’s previous books, The Men Who Stare at Goats. He seems to like examining people outside of the ordinary. The Psychopath Test is an enjoyable read that definitely makes you question
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psychology. I would recommend this book if you are interested in the meaning of psychosis or wonder about what it really means to be psychotic. Show Less
LibraryThing member clstaff
Intriguing, frightening and uncomfortably hilarious.
Awards
British Book Award (Shortlist — 2012)
Publishers Weekly's Best Books of the Year (Nonfiction — 2011)
Globe and Mail Top 100 Book (Nonfiction — 2011)
Language
Original publication date
2011
Physical description
288 p.; 5.73 inches
Local notes
A journalist investigates psychopaths and the industry of doctors, scientists, and everyone else who studies them. An influential psychologist who is convinced that many important CEOs and politicians are, in fact, psychopaths teaches Ronson how to spot these high-flying individuals by looking out for little telltale verbal and nonverbal clues.