# I am a psychopath! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 9, 2006, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-psychopath/356031 "2006-05-09T06:01:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-psychopath/356031/1 "2006-05-09T06:01:52Z")
At least, according to an Internet email question, which I answered correctly. Apparently this question was posed to a number of serial killers and _they_ all answered it correctly, too. I am not the only member of my family who answered it correctly. We pretty much all did. Except my daughter-in-law, who is now a bit worried. Heh heh. Now, I have a question. Exactly how much reliance should anyone put on a two-sentence Internet psychopath test? Should I isolate myself, along with the family members who also passed this test? Should we seek help? I would guess that, if this test was given to a large sample and only serial killers answered it correctly it would have some merit. Obviously that’s not the case, as I am not a serial killer, nor are my sons, and I’m pretty sure my husband isn’t, either. (I don’t know where he’d find the time.) ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-psychopath/356031/2 "2006-05-09T06:03:27Z")
What was the question? ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-psychopath/356031/3 "2006-05-09T06:04:59Z")
Not at all? Why do I get the feeling that the question I just answered is the question that determines whether or not one is a psychopath, and I just failed the test? ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-psychopath/356031/4 "2006-05-09T06:05:11Z")
I don’t remember what the question was, but I remember taking the test. I, too, am a psychopath. Wanna get together after work and kill some people? ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-psychopath/356031/5 "2006-05-09T06:06:01Z")
> [@Rysto](#): > > Not at all? That’s in response to the question, “Exactly how much reliance should anyone put on a two-sentence Internet psychopath test?” ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-psychopath/356031/6 "2006-05-09T06:06:08Z")
I’m gonna say less than zero reliance. Here’s the test _per_ Snopes: > [@](#): > > This is a genuine psychological test. It is a story about a girl. While at the funeral of her own mother, she met a guy whom she did not know. > > She thought this guy was amazing, so much her dream guy she believed him to be, that she fell in love with him there and then… A few days later, the girl killed her own sister. > > What is her motive in killing her sister? > > She was hoping that the guy would appear at the funeral again. ---
**Author:** ![Dan\_Norder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4af34b/32.png) [@Dan\_Norder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dan_Norder)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-psychopath/356031/7 "2006-05-09T06:46:24Z")
Honestly, the whole idea that it’s a test for psychopaths is too silly for words. From my experience with it, it’s a quick question linked to standard ones used on IQ tests The expected answer is pretty obvious by the limited info given using standard problem-solving cues. Whether you would ever do such a thing in real life is unrelated. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-psychopath/356031/8 "2006-05-09T09:36:34Z")
I think the only real two question test that would definitively answer whether you were a psychopath would be something to the effect of “Did you ever know anybody who got between you and something you really wanted?” and “What did you use to hide the evidence?” If the answer to part two is a tangible noun, the odds are pretty good you’re a psychopath. Of course wouldn’t a psychopath lie on a test? ---
**Author:** ![Electronic\_Chaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2006, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-psychopath/356031/9 "2006-05-09T09:55:55Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > I’m gonna say less than zero reliance. Here’s the test _per_ Snopes: Obviously the guy was in reality her long lost sibling, born as a woman, but identifying as a male. She killed him because they could never be together. At least, that’s how my sleep-deprived mind interpreted it. ---
**Author:** ![Mame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/858c86/32.png) [@Mame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mame)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-psychopath/356031/10 "2006-05-10T14:20:01Z")
Ah, now my answer was “He was her sister’s husband whom she had never met before”. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-psychopath/356031/11 "2006-05-10T14:34:20Z")
Looks like I’m just too darn traditional to be a proper psycho, time-spent-on-internet notwithstanding. My answer was “it looked like the sister was getting ahead with him faster.” ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-psychopath/356031/12 "2006-05-10T14:44:54Z")
I’m apparently not a psycho either. Should I be disappointed? ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-psychopath/356031/13 "2006-05-10T14:47:58Z")
> [@Kythereia](#): > > I’m apparently not a psycho either. Should I be disappointed? Only if you’re okay with not getting invited to all the popular parties. -foxy ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-psychopath/356031/14 "2006-05-10T15:10:25Z")
I really hate this bullshit. It’s horribly difficult to detect and diagnose psychopaths, and for every worthless “test” like this there’s a bunch of morons who’ll believe in it. ---
**Author:** ![bat312](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c77e96/32.png) [@bat312](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bat312)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-am-a-psychopath/356031/15 "2006-05-10T15:18:22Z")
My answer was “She was a psychopath.”