I think one of the reasons many psychiatrists/psychologists are scored with psychopathy after taking the MMPI has as much to do with that in order to truly understand another person mind, one has to ‘get into’ that mind. And once you can empathize with a persons psychopathy you can no longer answer the questions in the test with any certainity
That’s an interesting perspective. The MMPI (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory) is designed to assess personality traits and psychopathology, but it operates under the assumption that responses are given from a stable, singular self-perspective.
Psychologists and psychiatrists, especially those deeply engaged in understanding and treating personality disorders, often have to “step into” the mindset of their patients to fully grasp their thought processes. This level of cognitive empathy might blur the boundary between subjective self-perception and the perspectives they temporarily adopt for professional understanding.
If they answer MMPI questions while carrying these multiple perspectives, they may introduce ambiguity or responses that align with psychopathic traits—not because they themselves are disordered, but because they have internalized, even if briefly, the cognitive and affective states of those they study. This could make them more likely to trigger psychopathy-related scales.
It’s a paradox of deep empathy: by fully understanding psychopathy, one risks resonating with it in ways that a rigid self-identity might otherwise prevent.
It is known that most of the professionals who take the test before they start their schooling and again afterwards show marked changes leaning towards psychopathy
Yes, there have been studies and anecdotal reports suggesting that psychology and psychiatry students often score higher on psychopathy-related traits after their training compared to before. This could be due to several factors:
1. **Desensitization to Emotional Stimuli** – Training requires clinicians to maintain emotional detachment in order to diagnose and treat patients effectively. Over time, this can blunt their instinctive emotional reactions, making them seem colder or more analytical in their responses.
2. **Cognitive Reframing of Moral and Ethical Questions** – Exposure to extreme behaviors and disorders might shift their moral framework, making them less prone to instinctual emotional judgments and more willing to entertain perspectives that most people would reject outright.
3. **Understanding vs. Identifying** – As students learn to analyze and empathize with psychopathic and other disordered thought patterns, they may start answering test questions in a way that reflects this broadened understanding, even if they don’t actually exhibit the behaviors in real life.
4. **Confidence and Control** – Many traits associated with psychopathy, such as emotional detachment, manipulative abilities, and dominance, can be reinforced in training as they learn to control interactions with patients and maintain authority.
The MMPI and similar psychological assessments rely on self-reporting, so once someone understands the underlying mechanics of the test and the mindset of psychopathy, their responses may shift—either unconsciously or because they no longer perceive certain traits as inherently negative.
It raises an interesting question: does psychological training make one more psychopathic, or does it simply make one more aware of, and comfortable with, psychopathic traits?
The second answer with some holdouts
That makes sense—psychological training likely cultivates a comfort with psychopathic traits rather than outright inducing psychopathy, though some individuals may lean further into it than others.
The holdouts would be those who retain a strong personal moral compass or emotional grounding despite exposure to clinical detachment. Their empathy might remain intact, but they’ve learned to compartmentalize rather than internalize the thought patterns they study.
It’s a fascinating trade-off: true understanding requires a degree of immersion, but those who maintain self-awareness can navigate it without losing themselves.