Do You Think Like a Serial Killer?

A while back, I was talking to a friend of mine over the phone, when she told me about an e-mail that a friend of her's (a psychologist) sent. A very brief story was told in the e-mail and at the very end, it asked a question. Supposedly, most all psychopaths and/or serial killers answered the question in the same manner. So, if you or anyone else answered it like they did, then you or that other person must think like a psychopath or a serial killer. Right? I don't think so. I admit, I got the question right, as in, in accordance with the psychopaths and serial killers and the friend I was talking to became very quiet. Her friend told her that if anyone gets the question right, to be very afraid and not to ever speak to them again. This didn't happen, of course, but she did seem a bit freaked out for a few minutes thereafter.

I just read the story to my mother and she answered it correctly as well. I viewed a forum where the question was posed and 10 out of 20 responders answered it correctly. Am I really to believe that my mother, 50% of the posters in that forum, and I are all psychopathic serial killers? I don't think so.

Here is the story and question I am referring to:

"While attending her mother's funeral, a woman meets a man whom she did not know. She thought he was amazing and she quickly realizes that he is perfect for her. Unfortunately, he leaves the funeral before she can get his name or phone number. A few days later, the girl kills her sister.

Question: What is her motive for killing her sister?"

Read it very carefully and don't answer it like, "I don't know why anyone would kill another." Try to answer it using the information that's given to you and from her viewpoint. In my opinion, it's spelled out for the reader and it's just using logic given the information that's presented. A female meets a male whom she didn't know at her mother's funeral. She was very attracted to him, but didn't get his phone number. Just a few days later, she killed her sister. It's all connected. She has to figure that since the man was there for her mother's funeral, he'd be there for her sister's funeral, where she could then get his phone number. Right? Yes, it'd be psychotic for a person to actually do that, but just because a person is able to solve that little mystery doesn't make them psychotic for doing so.

Just because the majority of psychopaths and/or serial killers answer a certain way on a test, doesn't mean that everyone who answers it in the same manner is a psychopath and/or serial killer. If the majority of "geniuses," with IQ's of 150 or greater answer this same test in a different manner, that does not mean that any and all who answer with the same response as these "geniuses" are themselves geniuses. Just because it has been considered the steroid era in baseball and many who have eclipsed the 40 home run mark in a season during this era has come forward about using muscle-enhancing substances, that does not mean that every player who eclipsed 40 home runs in a season during this era was on steroids or other illegal muscle-enhancing drugs. These tests and studies can give very misleading correlations as to the results of their subjects and the general population.

Have you ever had a mystery thriller film or novel figured out by the midway point, where you know who did it, where it happened, when it occurred, how, and why they did it? Does this make you a psychopath? No. In all honesty, it makes you bright, quick-witted, and perhaps you should be a detective.

By the way, the official answer, as pointed out on the forum link that I will post below is:

"The official answer I have heard for this is that she killed her sister in hopes that the guy would also appear at her sister's funeral."

If it is true that criminal psychologists look at this test for some clue as to if a person is potentially psychopathic or not, then they have a long way to go. Because, from the people I know and results I've seen, more than 50% of people are psychopathic according to this test and that is far from accurate.

Link:

http://www.gamespot.com/pages/unions/read_article.php?topic_id=24576895&union_id=3960