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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why are psychopathic killers sometimes judged sane?
(a) They are unusually intelligent.
(b) They suffer from mental illness.
(c) They fool the authorities.
(d) They are not deranged.

2. What does Hervey Cleckley say the psychopath is incapable of understanding?
(a) Other people's behavior.
(b) Mental illness.
(c) Personal values.
(d) Society's rules.

3. How are psychopaths unlike psychotics?
(a) Unlike psychotics, psychopaths are emotional.
(b) Unlike psychotics, psychopaths are distressed.
(c) Unlike psychotics, psychopaths are rational.
(d) Unlike psychotics, psychopaths are intelligent.

4. What do clinicians who prefer the term "sociopath" believe?
(a) Psychopathy is caused by life experiences.
(b) Psychopathy is inborn.
(c) Society is responsible for creating psychopaths.
(d) Psychopathy is a mental illness.

5. What emotions are the mainsprings of conscience for most people?
(a) Love and hope.
(b) Shame and embarrassment.
(c) Altruism and kindness.
(d) Fear and anxiety.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why are murderers often given early parole?

2. Why did Gary Gilmore claim that he was not a great thief.

3. What is the author's objective in writing this book?

4. What characteristics make psychopaths unsuitable for dangerous jobs?

5. What attitude toward children is a common theme among psychopaths?

Short Essay Questions

1. What distinguishes psychopaths who become criminals?

2. Why has the author determined not to devote much of his book to psychodynamic, unconscious processes of psychopathy?

3. Why doesn't the psychopath's need for change and excitement make him a good candidate for dangerous jobs?

4. What distinguishes psychopaths from the mentally ill?

5. Why is it important to determine whether a psychopath is mentally ill or simply a wrongdoer?

6. How do normal criminals become involved in a criminal lifestyle?

7. Why has the author decided that it's important to write about the technical topic of psychopathy at a level that the public can understand?

8. Without an internal motivation to abide by society's rules, what is the psychopath free to do?

9. What signs did Helen have that her preadolescent daughter, Alice, was "off"?

10. What are some important differences between the violent acts of psychopaths and the violent acts of other criminals?

(see the answer keys)

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