The Psychopath Test : : a Journey Through the Madness Industry

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Call Number: Adult Book / Nonfiction / Social Science / Psychology / Ronson, Jon
On Shelf At: Traverwood Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Traverwood Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Social Science / Psychology / Ronson, Jon	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Pittsfield Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Nonfiction / Social Science / Psychology / Ronson, Jon	4-week checkout	Due 04-29-2024

"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.
"In this madcap journey, a bestselling journalist investigates psychopaths and the industry of doctors, scientists, and journalists who study them"-- Provided by publisher.

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A Very Good Read submitted by subeth on July 18, 2011, 10:28pm You never really get to take the psychopath test, but you get a clear understanding of what makes a psychopath a psychopath. And for those of us wondering, the word sociopath is used interchangeably, with the same meaning. I also came away understanding that the author, who suffers from anxiety, has the opposite glitch in his brain from the psychopath. The psychopath doesn't register fear, the overly anxious person, in contrast, is always on high alert. Same part of the brain, opposite problem.

enjoyable and informative submitted by aunal on August 3, 2011, 5:57pm As usual, Jon Ronson writes a very enjoyable report. Of course, we've all read about the past horrors in the name of psychology/psychiatry; lobotomies, electroshock "treatments", the Oak Ridge experiment. In this book, written almost as a diary, Ronson ultimately focuses on psychopathy; definitions, "treatments", in particular how to recognize a psychopath, hence the title. I found myself applying the 20 question psychopath test to myself, and was greatly relieved when an expert was quoted as saying that if you wonder if you are a psychopath, you are certainly not one.
However, I am now totally convinced that any politician must be.

A good intro to a frightening topic. submitted by GJBarnett2 on August 15, 2011, 3:34pm Psychopaths walk among us and are often extremely charming but always extremely dangerous. The approach may be a little light-hearted in order to be more readable than a more clinical text. A good intro but those interested in the subject would be better off to go straight to the works of Cleckley, Hare and Stout.

interesting read submitted by KOH on August 13, 2017, 11:06am Worth looking into. I liked it.