I had the below e-mailed to me and had a friend vouch for its validity. Some cursory searches of the Internet only yielded sites reproducing the story so I’ve turned to these forums. Is this, in fact, a true test developed by a reputable pschologist or not. Obviously you know what answer I got or I wouldn’t care about it.
Thanks,
Duane
> > This is a genuine psychological test.
> >It is a story about a girl. While at the funeral of her own mother,
> >she met this 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 but never asked for his number and could not
> >find him. A few days later the girl killed her own sister.
> >
> >Question: What is her motive in killing her sister?
> >Give this some thought for a while before you scroll down. DON’T
> >CHEAT!
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >Answer: She was hoping that the guy would appear at the funeral
> >again. If you answered this correctly, you think like a psychopath.
> >This was a test by a famous American psychologist used to test if one
> >has the same mentality as a killer. Many arrested serial killers took
> >part in this test and answered it correctly. If you didn’t answer
> >correctly
> >* good for you. If your friends hit the jackpot, may I suggest that
> >you keep your distance. (If you got the answer correct, please let me
> >know so I can take you off my e-mail list…unless that will tick
> >you off, then I’ll just be extra nice to you from now on… )
>
yes, I heard about this one before.
It was abit scary that the only person to get it right at the second try, is my cousin.
I always knew she was a bit strange, but still…
there’s an actual check-list that they use to determine if you are a psychopath, but I’ve forgotten what it’s called. It’s named after the doctor who designed it, I think he’s Canadian.
Oh, and did you know that in GB 1/200 is a psychopath, while in USA that number is 1/100?
I still don’t see how getting the ‘right’ answer makes you psychopathic…Analytical, yes, but psychopathic?? So, you’re a problem solver, good for you. Just because one can figure out why sister A offed sister B, doesn’t mean he would act in the same manner or even condone sister-killer’s action.
Hmmmm… this test should put a lot of court-appointed pyschiatrists out of business.
Seriously, I really don’t think psychopathy (or any mental illness) can be diagnosed by one question. Even trained professionals can have hard time making a diagnosis after hours of interviews and tests.
Kind of related story: I once read a book called “Alone With the Devil” about a forensic psychologist’s experinces with some truly horrifying criminals. He was relating his interview with one guy who was a suspect in a brutal homicide of almost an entire family. The police were pretty sure they had the guy, but there was a lack of evidence (this was pre-DNA), and the guy was not confessing or even behaving strangely under questioning. The psychiatrist asked him a series of interpretive questions to see if there was a disconnect in his thinking apparently. One question he asked was the meaning of the saying “mounted beggars race their steeds”. The guy had no clue what it meant. The psychiatrist then stated that this was an indication that the guy was possibly psychopathic because of his lack of thought patterns (or something like that).
It seemed to me a pretty strong conclusion from one question (I didn’t know what it meant either), so maybe one question can at least indicate mental states. To be fair, the guy had been interviewing him for a while, and there were probably other clues.
In the end, the guy turned out to be the killer, so I guess it worked. Better brush up on your proverbs if you’re ever under questioning, I guess.
What if the guy just had an exceptionally small vocabulary but was perfectly innocent? Or perhaps he had a learning disability that prevented him from effective executive functioning? I wouldn’t want the proof of my guilt or innocense to rely on one question.
What if the guy just had an exceptionally small vocabulary but was perfectly innocent? Or perhaps he had a learning disability that prevented him from effective executive functioning? I wouldn’t want the proof of my guilt or innocense to rely on one question.
