Psychopath Test Sparknotes

In The Psychopath Test, an inspired reporter retells his journey of uncovering the details of psychopathy and its controversy. Jon Ronson profiles incredible cases and controversial treatment demonstrating the ambiguity of psychopathy and the commonality of self-diagnosis. He asked the question “What does it mean to be a psychopath?”. Ronson's work is an extensive look at the bigger questions that society has about psychopathy, including some of its history. The American Psychological association does not address psychopathy the same way Ronson does in his book. The APA often refers to psychopathy as Antisocial Personality Disorder: characterized by a pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others by an adult. Psychopaths are

currently diagnosed from a check list developed by psychologist Robert D. Hare and his colleagues. This universal, but often questioned twenty-item list, is frequently mentioned in Ronson’s The Psychopath Test.
A focal point of Ronson’s novel is his interactions with a man named Tony who is a patient at a psychiatric facility called Broadmoor in England.

Tony had been originally incarcerated in a typical prison after beating anotherperson. Tony had heard in conversation that if psychopathy is found or “faked” then you can be sent to hospitals, a more desirable environment compared to prison. Ronson meets with Tony to uncover details about this situation. Despite acceptance by doctors that Tony had deceived authority of his being psychopathic, using Hare’s list, Tony was still a diagnosed psychopath. Doctors claimed that the mere act of "faking" severe mental illness shown cunning and manipulative behavior. Tony's avoidance of other patients also prompted the diagnosis of a lack of empathy. Tony also wanted to wear something other than the supplied t-shirt and sweatpants, a pin stripe suit. This was then determined to align with items one and two on the checklist: glibness, superficial charm and grandiose sense of self-worth. Ronson gives a new perspective on the mental healthcare system and delves into controversy of treatment. Besides Tony, Ronson profiles other incarcerated diagnosed psychopaths and the history of treatment for these subjects. Ronson also brings up debate surrounding the history of treatment of mental illness that often was rule unethical and ineffective. Psychopathy has been declared untreatable by

many.
Ronson takes his audience on a personal journey including his struggle with mental illness. This narrative is important because he diagnoses himself from an unfathomable array of mental illnesses from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The number of mental illnesses cannot go ignored. Most people with mental illness go undiagnosed and because of the lack of development in some treatment most go without help or end up incarcerated. While his book does not incumber the audience with the facts about psychopathy, he emphasizes that society must try to prevent some of the associated causes of psychopathy and mental illness. These issues often stem from horrible childhood experiences and trauma. Psychopaths can be prevented from being volatile and are not always violent. Ronson, a journalist and not knowledgeable of psychiatry, wanted to define and demystify psychopathy for his readers with a personal monologue. He wants his audience to know about the preconceptions made by society of psychopaths, showing that they come in numbers, in all shapes and sizes.