People do not want a score. They want to know if their score is normal. So here is the number nobody prints on the result page: on the Dark Mirror, the median psychopathic score is 20 out of 100. Half of everyone who has ever taken it scores 20 or below.
That is what normal looks like. Everything else on this page is about how far from it you are.
How the score is built
The Dark Mirror is twenty scenarios. Each has one answer that reads as cold, calculating, or unmoved by consequence, and five that pull toward other axes. Your psychopathic score is the share of your answers that fell to the cold option, so it moves in steps of five: 0, 5, 10, all the way to 100. A 45 means nine of your twenty answers went that way.
That matters for reading your result, because a score is not a smooth measurement. It is a count of choices, and the difference between 20 and 25 is one scenario.
The bands, in order
I read every axis in four bands, and I would rather you read the band before the number.
Baseline, 0 to 15. The axis is present but not a feature. Nearly half of takers, about 48%, sit here on the psychopathic axis.
Traits, 20 to 35. Recognisable and common. About 30% of takers. Cool under pressure, a bit unsentimental, comfortable with leverage. Not the person, just a pull.
Pronounced, 40 to 55. The axis is shaping choices. About 15% of takers. This is where a result starts to deserve your attention.
High, 60 and above. Dominant, twelve or more of your twenty answers in one place. About 7% of takers. The only band anyone should read as "the type", and still not a diagnosis.
The ladder
Percentile is the share of takers you rank above. As of August 2026, against 2,197 people:
- A 0 is higher than about 5% of takers (the ties are split down the middle, which is why zero is not zero).
- A 20, the median, is higher than about 53% (ties split, so the median rung reads just over half).
- A 35 is higher than about 76%.
- A 45 is higher than about 86%.
- A 55, where the top 10% starts, is higher than about 92%.
- A 65 is higher than about 96%.
- An 80 is higher than about 99%.
The full ladder, every score from 0 to 100 with the count of people at each rung, is on the psychopathic axis page. It has a slider; move it to any score and it tells you the band, the percentile, and how many people scored exactly that.
Why your rank moves and your band does not
The app
Want this in your blood, not your bookmarks?
Daily voice notes, the simulator, the drills, and Receipts on the messages you actually got. Free to start.
Get the appThe Index recomputes against everyone who has taken the quiz every morning. Sixty or seventy people a day take it right now, so the curve fills in and your percentile drifts, usually by a point or two a month. Your band is fixed to your score, so a 45 is pronounced today and pronounced in December. Your rank is a live number.
That is the reason to keep your result rather than screenshot it. Inside a paid result the "How you compare" block updates every time you open it, and if you keep the app on your phone it is one tap away.
What a normal score means about you
Not much, and that is the honest answer. Baseline or traits on the psychopathic axis puts you with four in five people who took a dark psychology quiz on purpose. It does not mean you are soft; it means the cold answer did not win most of your scenarios. Look at your other five axes and at your second-highest one. That is usually where the interesting part of the mirror is.
How these numbers are made: the sample, what is excluded, reliability figures and the gap between the Index and published prevalence are on the methodology page; every figure, numbered and dated for quoting, is on the statistics page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a normal psychopathy score on the Dark Mirror?
The median is 20 out of 100 and the mean about 23. Half of all takers score 20 or below, and nearly half sit in the baseline band at 15 or below. If your score is between 0 and 35, you are with the large majority.
Is a psychopathy score of 45 high?
It is pronounced, and it is higher than about 86% of people who have taken the quiz. It is not the high band, which starts at 60, and it is not a diagnosis. It means the cold answer won nine of your twenty scenarios.
What score counts as the top 10%?
As of August 2026 the top 10% starts at 55. Only about 7% of takers score 60 or above. Both figures move as more people take the quiz; the live ladder is on the Index.
Do percentiles change over time?
Yes. The Index recomputes against everyone who has taken the quiz every morning, so a score that was top 9% can drift as the population grows. Your band does not move; your rank does.
Take the Dark Mirror to get your score and percentile, or read the live curve first.