View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How secure are psychopaths in their own worldview?

2. What might be learned about psychopaths from brain imaging technology?

3. On what basis do parole boards release prisoners?

4. How do psychopaths get into therapy?

5. How did psychopaths in the prison study of brain patterns respond to emotionally charged words?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is a hypothetical, and why is it dangerous in arriving at a diagnosis of psychopathy?

2. What warnings does the author give to those who are trying to deal with psychopaths in their lives?

3. What kinds of professions are likely choices for white-collar psychopaths?

4. Who is Dr. Death, and why was he given that name?

5. What attitude do white-collar psychopaths take toward their victims?

6. Why does Kiki Olson say that the inclusion of more women in the workforce has opened new pathways for psychopaths?

7. Why is the typical advice to quit indulging misbehaving youth and get them into therapy considered by the author to be doomed to failure?

8. What characteristics distinguish psychopathic use of non-verbal communication?

9. Why does the author think it important to know about the eyes of a psychopath?

10. Why is the option of ignoring the presence of psychopathy in children no longer available?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why do you think psychopaths do not normally get along with one another? Do you think they can recognize others who are like them? What makes you think so or not? In your essay, provide evidence for your opinion.

Essay Topic 2

Imagine that you have a friend whose new romantic interest appears to you to be a psychopath. You know that if you directly make this suggestion to your friend, your friendship will be at an end. Write an essay on the nature of psychopathy that you could show your friend in hopes that s/he would see the similarities between the cases to which you refer and her own situation. Feel free to invent the facts of your friend's situation, remembering that those facts have to demonstrate psychopathy.

Essay Topic 3

Use the descriptions provided in this text to compose a word portrait of a typical psychopath for a person who has never heard the term. What would he or she do in a first encounter? What identifying features would present themselves? How could a psychopath be recognized?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,063 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample