Guest blogger Ali Hull reviews Jon Ronson at Love Arts Leed Festival
When people ask how I spent my Friday night, it’s not often I reply “oh, you know, thinking about psychopaths.” Last Friday was the exception.
Leeds Grand Theatre was the venue for an enjoyable hour in the company of the extremely affable Jon Ronson, who gave us a brief, thought-provoking and frequently very funny talk about his latest book ‘The Psychopath Test.’
After leafing through a friend’s copy of the DSM IV (The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, the primary reference point for diagnosis) Ronson decided to investigate how someone might receive a diagnosis of psychopathy. He recounted attending a three day workshop on how to spot the typical psychopath, reporting somewhat alarmingly that he was one of the more attentive students on the course. He met and spoke to the creator of the test, Robert Hare, who believes psychopaths are born not made, therefore holding a bleak view of the possibility of treatment or change.
Ronson introduced us to a range of colourful characters, including the charismatic leader of a Haitian death squad and a resident of Broadmoor called Tony, a man so successful at faking psychopathy that he ended up in secure hospital longer than he would have ever served in prison for his crime. Ronson’s confusion about whether or not Tony was truly a psychopath was a useful way of guiding the audience through the minefield of diagnosis.
Ronson described how characteristics that seem fairly unremarkable in everyday life can become pathologised when presented as part of a diagnosis. This reminded me of confirmation bias, where a phenomenon is found simply because we are looking for it.
Ronson’s skill was to raise interesting questions about a complex issue in an accessible, entertaining way, yet steering clear of easy answers. Whilst not anti psychiatry, Ronson raised reasonable concerns about the potential dangers of labelling and over-diagnosis. This led to an interesting, if all too brief discussion about the increasing numbers of very young children in the US diagnosed with juvenile bipolar disorder.
Ronson went on to describe how, aside from issues of law and order (psychopaths being massively over-represented in the prison population) there may be wider social implications of psychopathy. He argued that capitalism rewards psychopathy, with entire industries and individual organisations being run in a psychopathic manner, citing examples such as the American health insurance industry and the behaviour of journalists during the recent phone hacking scandal. Potentially, he argued, even nation states could be run in a psychopathic manner. I found his answers to audience questions honest and direct, accepting for example that he had made an oversight in not considering gender issues in diagnoses of psychopathy (men being considerably more likely to receive this diagnosis than women.)
All in all it was an interesting, extremely thought provoking evening. I would have happily listened for an extra hour and left with my mind buzzing with possibilities, theories and considerably more questions than answers.