Psychopath test

What does this psychopath test measure?

In research, psychopathy is treated as a set of traits that vary across the whole population. This test measures two of its main sides:

• Boldness and impulsivity: fearlessness, thrill-seeking and acting before thinking.
• Coldness: low empathy, low guilt and a willingness to be mean.

Boldness on its own can be useful: it is common among emergency workers, pilots and leaders. It is the combination with coldness that causes harm.

This is not a clinical test

Psychopathy is not an official diagnosis in the main psychiatric manuals; the closest is antisocial personality disorder. Clinicians assess psychopathy with structured interviews and records, such as Robert Hare's checklist, which is only valid when used by trained professionals. An online quiz cannot tell you if you, or someone else, is a psychopath.

See the full picture with the dark triad test.

Questions people ask

How common are psychopaths?

Researchers estimate around 1 percent of the general population has high levels of psychopathic traits, with higher rates in prisons.

Can psychopaths feel emotions?

Yes, but people high in psychopathy tend to feel fear, guilt and empathy less strongly than others.

Psychopath vs sociopath: what is the difference?

Neither is a formal diagnosis. "Psychopath" is often used for a colder, more controlled pattern, and "sociopath" for a more impulsive, hot-headed one, but researchers use the terms inconsistently.