Is Snape a Psychopath? (was: The real vampire)

[judyserenity]

No: HPFGUIDX 36115

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "finwitch" <finwitch at y...> wrote:
 > So far I have not seen Snape to *care* of anyone but himself. I do 
> not know if he has a conscience or not - but even if he isn't a 
> total psychopath(Voldy gets full marks), there *are* some 
> characteristics pointing to that direction: Willingness to kill 
> Lupin and Sirius with 
> no remorse for one, pleasing superiors and being nasty to inferiors, 
> calculating of personal benefits with neglect to emotions, 
> meticulousness, following rules, yes - but no personal sense of 
> ethics, getting angry over things that would calm normal persons 
> (like being *saved* by "enemy"), ambitiousness, cunning - always 
> putting Reason over Feeling, lack of compassion, not letting 
> emotions getting into way, ruthlessness, seeming lack of emotions...

Well, my day just isn't complete if I haven't defended Snape.  So, I 
will.  However, I should point out that there are two different issues 
here.  One is "Just how mean and/or evil is Snape?"  The other 
question is "Regardless of how mean Snape is, is he a psychopath?" 

First, a bit of background about psychopaths.  Also known as 
sociopaths, and previously known as "antisocial personalities", a 
psychopath is someone without a conscience.  This is not the same as 
being schizophrenic (crazy). Also, the "antisocial" label has nothing 
to do with being unfriendly; psychopaths are usually quite charming 
when they feel like it.  

Other hallmarks of a psychopath are lack of fear, a possible lack of 
other emotions, an intense desire for thrill-seeking, pathological 
lying and a desire to control others through deception, impulsiveness, 
lack of an ability to form close relationships, and lack of insight 
into one's own actions.  

I'd have to say that Snape really doesn't fit the psychopath profile. 
 (I agree that Voldemort definitely does.)  Snape does seem to have a 
conscience -- a psychopath would have laughed it off when Fake!Moody 
called attention to Snape's Dark Mark; Snape was genuinely upset.  
Furthermore, if Snape has no conscience, it's hard to come up with a 
motivation for leaving the dark Side and spying for Dumbledore. Also, 
Snape is not usually impulsive and he doesn't show any signs of 
thrill-seeking.  Snape doesn't show signs of pathological lying, and 
although he likes to lord it over his Gryffindor students, he doesn't 
do the deceptive, "mind game" types of control that psychopaths like.

About lack of emotion -- I subscribe to the theory that Snape is full 
of emotion, but rarely lets it out.  I think that he's very brave, but 
I don't think he's fearless -- he seemed afraid to do whatever his 
task was at the end of GoF.  

So, regardless of whether he's mean or not, I just don't think Snape 
is a psychopath. And Finwitch, I don't think he's as mean as you 
portray him, either -- he did not in fact turn Sirius over to the 
Dementors, he put him on a nice comfy stretcher and took him to the 
castle.

Again, let me point out that being mean and being psychopathic are not 
necessarily the same thing.  Psychologists see psychopathy as a 
continuum -- someone can be higher than average in psychopathic 
traits, and still be a good person.  (If someone is at the very top of 
the psychopathic scale, however, they are pretty much by definition a 
threat to society.)  I'm bringing this up because I actually think 
Sirius Black is quite high on many of the psychopathic traits - 
particularly fearlessness, impulsiveness, ability to charm, and 
thrill-seeking.  (Possibly, he may be low on self-insight -- he has to 
think before answering the question "how did you stay sane in 
Azkaban"?) However, that doesn't mean Black is evil. (I'm not trying 
to start that debate again!)  Black seems able to form long-term 
relationships, and he shows remorse over the Potters' deaths, which 
weren't even really his fault, so he obviously doesn't have all the 
psychopathic traits. 

Judy