Reviewed by Joyce Alexander, RNP (Retired)
I bought The Psychopath Test—A Journey Through the Madness Industry, by John Ronson, based mainly on the title. Jon Ronson is a journalist and author of two previous books that were widely accepted. A movie was made about one of them, The Men Who Stare at Goats, starring George Clooney. The first couple of chapters of this book weren’t all that interesting to me, but before long I was hooked into the story he was writing.
Mr. Ronson looks at the “madness industry” from an outsider’s point of view. He actually took training from Dr. Robert “Bob” Hare in how to use the Psychopathic Check List-Revised to spot a psychopath. Ronson went a few steps further, though, in his learning about commercial psychiatry, and the industry that has grown up around the DSM II-V, defining what is and what is not “madness.”
Dr. Robert Hare, as we know, was the developer of the PCL-R, which is similar to the “cook book” diagnostic manual for psychiatry (DSM), with check lists of symptoms for definite diagnostic criteria to define and “diagnose” what is normal behavior and what is not. There were some interesting discussions documented between Ronson and Dr. Hare about the validity of the PCL-R and where the “cut off score” should be.
Ronson gave the history of the development of the DSM, which has expanded with numerous added “disorders” and “mental illnesses” with each new edition and revision, to where it is now nearly a thousand pages. Though it is intended for mental health professionals, the DSM IV sold many, many more copies, mostly to laypeople, than there are mental health professionals in the world.
Ronson set out to interview and evaluate several people who were “notorious” criminals or well known high-flying and important business leaders and politicians in several countries to see how they fared when compared to the PCL-R. He also was able to visit the inside of the “hospitals” in the UK where diagnosed psychopathic criminals are held, literally “forever,” while they are being “treated” for their psychopathy after their criminal sentences are served out.
Ronson’s faith in the diagnostic ability of the mental health professionals was not strengthened when he studied the famous experiment by Dr. David Rosenhan and several others in the 1970s, who went to several mental hospitals and reported to the physicians there that they “heard voices” in their heads. This was the only abnormal symptom (or lie) that they presented to the professionals. They were admitted to the hospitals, where they never again acted “crazy” or lied to the staff. They behaved entirely normally. It was almost two months before they could “get out” by admitting that they were crazy and needed help. “There was only one way out. They had to agree with the psychiatrists that they were insane and then pretend to get better.”
Rosenhan’s experiment, once published, caused pandemonium in the mental health profession. One hospital challenged him to send in more fakes. Rosehan agreed. The hospital claimed it found 41 fakes the first month. The down side of their sleuthing, though, was that Rosenhan hadn’t sent any fakes to their hospital.
While no branch of medicine is totally objective, (they don’t call it the “practice” of medicine for nothing!) by its very nature, psychiatry is somewhat more subjective (in the eye of the beholder) than physical medicine. Ronson’s book does make the point, though, that putting labels on every behavior imaginable isn’t the answer to improving the practice, and neither is a pill for every disorder.
Psychiatry and pharmacology have both made vast improvements in the lives of many people who are truly mentally ill, but with poor diagnosis and poor medication, some great horrors have also been accomplished as well. Not every bad behavior means a person is psychopathic and not every bouncy kid is ADHD or bi-polar at age three. Ronson does make the point that mental health is a located on a continuum. No one is 100% mentally “healthy,” any more than no one is 100% physically “healthy.”
On the whole, I enjoyed the book, and he makes some great cases and writes in an interesting manner. The only criticism for his writing are the first couple of chapters “The Missing Part of the Puzzle Revealed—”and I’m not quite sure why they were included in this otherwise very interesting book. Maybe somehow I missed his sense of humor, but the rest of the book made up for the start I didn’t get.
I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn about abnormal versus normal psychology, and a bit about the “industry” that has grown up around “madness.”
The Psychopath Test on Amazon.com.
Dear Joyce (Oxy),
It was an interesting book and I like your review! The part where Ronson was comparing himself to the checklist was so realistic because I have done the same thing. Wondering if I am a narcissist because I seem to talk about this experience so often.
I would recommend this book as well. Ronson interviewed some famous, very sick, people and compared them with the checklist. I liked his writing style and sense of humor. When he was interviewing the inmate in prision who seemed perfectly normal and the scientologist was trying to set him free, I thought the inmate was chilling because that is how they act. They are charming and friendly and you have no idea of all the crap that they are capable of. I have never seen a better liar then the spath I was married to and he reminds me of this inmate.
Thanks for the review Joyce, you are so articulate! I think this book is still only in hard cover but I was able to read it while I was in Barnes and Noble when I was waiting for my daughter to get out of play rehearsal. It took two rehearsals to finish it (probably 3 hours) and I didn’t feel too bad since I buy a lot from Barnes and Noble.
I also read what you wrote to me on another post, I want to thank you so much for the kind words. You were always there for me and you made a huge impact on my life! Thank gosh the fog has lifted.
Dear Hope4,
I had forgotten about you mentioning reading a book at B&N, (CRS!) and glad it was this one….I bought it USED off the net for just a few bucks, and yes it was in hard cover, but the cost was still minimal. I seldom if ever buy a new book when even just a few weeks after one comes out it is available used for just pennies compared to new cost.
Hope4, believe it or not, I learned SO MUCH FROM YOU…..the frustration I felt when you kept hanging on to your marriage delusions almost had me over the “top”—and then I realized that was a knee jerk response from myself—I was so involved emotionally in wanting to “save” you, to rescue you, and when I realized that it was NOT MY RESPONSIBILITY TO SAVE YOU, it was YOURS….I had an “ah ha” moment or two about OXY’s place in the world, and Oxy’s responsibilities and what is NOT Oxy’s responsibility. It believe it or not, helped me over that hump of “wanting to save” others so much. That “wanting to save” others is one of the things I think that hooks us into giving the psychopaths another chance and another and another.
Even when our intentions are “good” (remember: the road to hell is paved with GOOD INTENTIONS) there are some things that are NOT our responsibility and when we do things for others (or try to) that they should and must do for themselves, then we are unfair both to ourselves and to them. We deprive them of the potential for growth and learning.
It is just like if you never let your child learn to dress him self, you always dressed him– how on earth would he ever learn? Can you imagine an 18 year old that doesn’t know how to put on his own socks because mama always did it for him? We must not be so arrogant that we think we can do a better job, and thus deprive someone else of the opportunity to learn and to grow.
You provided me an opportunity to learn as well and I will always remember it as a pivotal point in my own journey toward healing. ((((hugs)))) and Much love!
Dear Oxy ~ In reading your comments above about wanting to “save” people, I realized that it’s one of the qualities that made us so vulnerable to these s/p sort of people. You are exactly right when you say that we need to remember that we are NOT responsible for other’s behavior.
It’s very hard to see someone struggling and not offer help. It’s something that I have always had a difficult time restraining myself from doing.
Bless you Oxy for being here and contributing so much to the healing of everyone here. I learn something from you each and every time I read your posts. (((hugs)))
h2h
Dear Hope2,
Thank you for your kind words. Yea, I have always wanted to “help the underdog”—from literally bringing home stray and crippled dogs when I was in grade school, to wanting to bring in stray people as well who “needed help.”
Years ago, there was a young woman with a toddler and 8 months pregnant who through my church I met. Her husband was an abusive guy and she was trying to get away from him. I got my husband to go with me and he and I and she drove 800 miles 1-way to get her stuff out of storage and haul it back to town and the church helped us and we got her and the toddler an apartment and put her furniture in it and got her set up….got her on welfare, food stamps and all that stuff…got her a doctor to deliver her baby….and then BANG! The husband moves in and I felt so BETRAYED. So angry.
That feeling of being angry when you help someone and they 1) don’t appreciate your help or 2) waste it and jump back into the flying pan etc. is a TIP OFF TO YOU that YOU have been enabling someone.
When we do something to “help someone” we cannot then put expectations on those people. If we give a dollar to a homeless guy and then watch him go to the liquor store….what is our feeling? Are we angry that he didn’t get food? We GAVE him the dollar, but that does NOT give us the right to put OUR EXPECTATIONS ON HIM as well.
My egg donor wanted to give me money (which I didn’t want) so she could THEN PUT HER EXPECTATIONS ON TO ME. It wasn’t a GIFT it was a down payment on CONTROL.
Just as me giving a homeless guy a buck doesn’t give me the RIGHT to CONTROL how he spends it or the RIGHT to be upset with him for buying booze…..I don’t want to give control over my life to my egg donor by accepting “gifts” from her. (that are not really “gifts”)
Back when she discarded me because I wouldn’t accept her control or her “gifts” she gave “gifts” to the P-DIL and the Trojan Horse Psychopath who then BETRAYED her by using her. She was FURIOUS because she had “bought” their “love” and paid for it and they BETRAYED her! LOL She wanted me back then. NOPE! Not gonna happen.
Just as I now realize that I can’t control anyone but myself—and I have NO RIGHT TO—I can offer assistance, but each person must help themselves. If I give the homeless guy a buck, that is my choice, but it is up to him how he spends it. Or, I can buy a hamburger and offer it to him….again, my choice.
But anything I do for someone must be a FREELY OFFERED GIFT without expectations on controlling how they use that gift.
I had a therapist tell me once, and I remembered this, (just didn’t always practice it) that THE ONLY TRUE RESCUE IS TO PULL AN UNCONSCIOUS MAN FROM A BURNING BUILDING.
I will go one step further with that as well, if he gets up and RUNS BACK IN, we don’t have to follow him back into the burning building.
Dear Oxy ~ wow, your words always resonate with me. I’ve always been a “rescuer”, and yes, sometimes I have been upset or down right angry at someone for the way they went right back to the bad situation they had been in.
I am better now, but still have the tendency. I think it’s because we feel empathy for those in need. It’s so hard to see someone in pain, or struggling!
You just brought to mind an e-mail I received recently. It suggests using egg whites to help cool and heal a burn. Ever heard of such a thing?
h2h
Ox – Your post makes so much sense. Spot on. Thank you.
I feel like the reason I keep repeating that same tendency is because not to puts me in a category way too close to the spaths. Now that I find myself almost paranoid about people’s personalities and motivations, it isn’t lost on me that that is exactly how he behaved. The thing I have to remember every day is that I can judge the help needed and what that help is. I can hold a hand, pray, lend an ear, FEEL for someone’s pain, without crossing either my or their boundary.
Hard lessons learned are usually the ones that last. I would like to remind all who post regularly here to remember how much you have helped so many with your words and insights, whether painful or humorous. You’ve made a tremendous contribution to a lot of people that you might never know or understand how and when. I know that for a fact because you’ve made that contribution to my life and I’ve no way of showing it except to say it here.
There is a reason why we care and it is what we are meant to do for each other. For me, not caring will always feel unnatural and wrong for a very good reason. The difference is, now I know there are many ways to care without sacrificing my self.
Sj
Oxy:
I have a comment about wanting to fix people. Even though I am very compassionate and like to help people, I never in my life felt like fixing someone until I met the X spath. I wonder why??? It still bothers me as I never felt that tremendous pull in my entire life. So I didn’t have that pattern of wanting to fix people and I think that is why I have even more of an attachment to this guy because why him?? I mean, I know now that I have ran into sociopathic people in my life, but never felt like I did with him. Maybe I was/am just at a certain point in my life…I don’t know. Do you have any insight into it?
Oxy:
Also, what a story about that young lady you helped move 800 miles away and then the abuser moves in with her!!!! I would have been livid!! Thank you so much for sharing that story. It’s a perfect example of enabling someone. But you didn’t have a crystal ball…you didn’t know she would do that.
Louise;
I second your comment. The x-spath was the only person I was ever drawn to whom I thought I could fix. Why? I think that because I had some of the issues I saw him him but to a lesser degree, by helping him fix his, I could also fix mine.
Perhaps subconsciously we felt that by “fixing” them, they would then be happy and connect happiness with us.