The Dark Mirror Index
Edition No. 162 · daily
Updated
Sample 7,722 takes+145 since yesterdaySince 4 April 2026 · 6 axes · 20 items43 regions with 30+ takes

Out of 100 · 12 September 2026

Out of 100 people who took this quiz, how many lean psychopathic?

20 in 100 lean psychopathic: it is their highest axis of six. 3 in 100 score high, 60 or more out of 100. That is 7,722 people who took the Dark Mirror as of this morning, self-selected from a dark-psychology audience, never a population rate.

Beside it, the research: the Sanz-Garcia et al. 2021 meta-analysis puts psychopathy at about 4.5% of the general adult population across every instrument, and 1.2% when only clinician-rated PCL-R studies count. The two numbers measure different things, and this page keeps them apart.

Every axis, in whole people

Of 5,000+ people who took this quiz. “Lean” means the axis was their highest of six; “score high” means 60 or more on that axis, whatever their highest was. Rose squares lean; gold squares lean and score high.

  1. 20 in 100 lean psychopathic. 3 in 100 score high on the axis.

    Median score 15 of 100. The psychopathic axis

  2. 9 in 100 lean sociopathic. 0 in 100 score high on the axis.

    Median score 15 of 100. The sociopathic axis

  3. 5 in 100 lean narcissistic. 0 in 100 score high on the axis.

    Median score 10 of 100. The narcissistic axis

  4. 6 in 100 lean borderline. 0 in 100 score high on the axis.

    Median score 10 of 100. The borderline axis

  5. 0 in 100 lean histrionic. 0 in 100 score high on the axis.

    Median score 5 of 100. The histrionic axis

  6. 59 in 100 lean neurotypical. 26 in 100 score high on the axis.

    Median score 35 of 100. The neurotypical axis

Beside the research

Prevalence figures as printed in the source. These are the research estimates of how common psychopathy is; they are not the Index's numbers, and the Index does not compete with them.

  • Psychopathy, all instruments: 4.5% (95% CI 1.6 to 7.9)

    General adult population, 15 studies, 11,497 people. Meta-analysis. Sanz-Garcia et al. 2021, Frontiers in Psychology

  • Psychopathy, PCL-R (clinician-rated): 1.2% (95% CI 0 to 3.7)

    General adult population. Meta-analysis, PCL-R studies only. Sanz-Garcia et al. 2021

  • Psychopathy, self-report scales: 5.4% (95% CI 1.9 to 9.5)

    General adult population. Meta-analysis, self-report studies. Sanz-Garcia et al. 2021

  • Psychopathy by sample type: Community 1.9%, students 8.1%, organizations 12.9%

    General adult population, split by where the sample was drawn. Meta-analysis subgroups. Sanz-Garcia et al. 2021

  • Psychopathy by sex: Men 7.9%, women 2.9%

    General adult population. Meta-analysis subgroups. Sanz-Garcia et al. 2021

  • Psychopathy, PCL:SV in a community sample: 1.2 in 100

    514 adults from a US community sample, rated by clinicians on the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version; 1.2% scored at or above the cut for possible psychopathy, and about seven in ten scored zero on it. Neumann and Hare 2008, Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology

The Index will read higher than every row above, and it should. People who take a dark-psychology quiz on a dark-psychology creator's site are not a community sample; the meta-analysis itself finds self-selected and organizational samples running four to seven times the community rate. Our high band is also a reading aid on a self-report screener, not a PCL-R assessment. Read the Index as an audience portrait beside the literature, never as a rival estimate of prevalence.

Where would a score sit?

Pick an axis and a score, and read how many of 100 people who took this quiz it is higher than. Percentiles are mid-rank: scores move in steps of five, so ties are split rather than counted as beaten.

Pick a psychopathic score

45

Pronounced

A psychopathic score of 45 is higher than 91 of 100 people who took this quiz. Out of 7,722 takers, 239 scored exactly this.

The axis is shaping choices.

BASELINE56%TRAITS30%PRONOUNCED11%HIGH3%YOU0255075100
The psychopathic axis. Count of takers at each score; the vertical line is the score you picked and the band it falls in is named. Every figure here describes people who took this quiz, never a population.

That was a score you picked. Twenty scenarios, seven minutes, and the Index reads your real one on every axis.

Get your real one

Frequently asked questions

How many people out of 100 are psychopaths?
Research estimates: the Sanz-Garcia et al. 2021 meta-analysis puts psychopathy at about 4.5 in 100 adults across every instrument, and about 1.2 in 100 when only clinician-rated PCL-R studies count. Among 5,000+ people who took the Dark Mirror, 20 in 100 lean psychopathic (it is their highest axis of six) and 3 in 100 score high, 60 or more on a 0 to 100 scale. Those are people who took this quiz, self-selected, not a population rate.
What percentile is a psychopathy score?
On the Dark Mirror, the median psychopathic score among 5,000+ takers is 15 out of 100. Percentiles are mid-rank over the live histogram, so a score is compared with everyone who took this quiz and ties are split. Use the slider on this page to read any score, or take the quiz to get your own.
Is a high score on this quiz a diagnosis?
No. The Dark Mirror is a 20-item self-report screener and its bands are a reading aid, never a diagnosis. Psychopathy is assessed clinically with instruments like Hare's PCL-R, by a trained rater, over hours. A high score here means a person answered like the people who score high here, nothing more.

Your own number, out of 100.

Seven minutes, twenty scenarios, then how many of 100 takers you rank above on every axis.

Take the Dark Mirror
Your numberTake the Dark Mirror, seven minutes, and see where you land on this curveThe long readDark psychology, the beginner's guideThe bookThe Sociopathic Dating Bible, the instrument this quiz grew out of

Method

The Dark Mirror is a 20-item scenario quiz. Each answer is attributed to one of six axes; a score is the share of your answers that fell to that axis, so scores move in steps of five. Your type is simply your highest axis.

Baseline
0 to 15
Present, not a feature.
Traits
20 to 35
Recognisable and common. Not the person.
Pronounced
40 to 55
The axis is shaping choices.
High
60 to 100
Dominant. The only band to read as the type.

Every axis is read in four bands: baseline (0 to 15), traits (20 to 35), pronounced (40 to 55) and high (60 to 100). Bands are fixed cut points chosen so that high means at least twelve of twenty answers went to one axis. They are the Index's reading aid, not clinical thresholds.

Percentiles are computed against everyone who has taken the quiz and recomputed daily at 09:41 UTC; each recomputation is an edition. Ties are split down the middle: higher than 91% means 91% of takers scored strictly lower, plus half of those who tied.

Regions are browser timezones, so New York means Eastern-time takers rather than the five boroughs; regions with fewer than thirty takes are held back. Nothing here is a population estimate and nothing here is a diagnosis.

Written and read by Kanika Batra, diagnosed ASPD, clinically assessed as Factor 1 psychopathy. An audience portrait, not a census.

The full method, exclusions, reliability and how to cite
Out of 100 People, How Many Are Psychopaths? Our Data Beside the Research | Dark Mirror Index