![\"\"](\"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Joni-Mihura-Manson-Assessment-MAIN.jpg\")
<\/a>Dr. Joni Mihura, a psychology professor at UToledo who is board certified in assessment psychology, was among a team of psychologists given full access to a comprehensive psychological evaluation of Manson conducted in 1997.<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cThe main question about Manson has always been was he schizophrenic,\u201d said Dr. Joni Mihura, a psychology professor at The University of Toledo who is board certified in assessment psychology. \u201cPeople have debated this for years, but no one had access to his actual, formal psychological test results.\u201d<\/p>\n
That changed following Manson\u2019s death in 2017, when a team of psychologists including Mihura were given full access to a comprehensive psychological evaluation of Manson that was conducted in 1997 after he was temporarily transferred to California\u2019s highest security state prison.<\/p>\n
Using notes and data collected during that assessment, the researchers sought to better characterize Manson\u2019s mental and personality disorders and their relevance to both his crimes and his emergence as a role model for extremist groups in more recent years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe takeaway is Manson was not schizophrenic. That\u2019s the main, really clear thing,\u201d said Mihura, who also has expertise in assessing psychosis. \u201cFrom our contemporary analysis, it looks like he might have a little bit of hypomania, but not mania. It also became really clear how his narcissism fueled his need to be the focus of attention, and he maintained that focus until he died.\u201d<\/p>\n
The findings were published late last year in the Journal of Threat Assessment and Management.<\/p>\n
Forensic psychologist Dr. Tod Roy, who conducted the 1997 evaluation and had agreed not to publish his assessment or raw test materials until after Manson\u2019s death, served as the publication\u2019s lead author. The research team also included Dr. Reid Meloy, a California-based forensic psychologist who has consulted on several high-profile criminal cases, including the Oklahoma City bombing.<\/p>\n
Mihura was invited into the project to review Manson\u2019s responses to a Rorschach test administered during the 1997 evaluation. An expert in inkblot test analysis who has presented internationally, she has in recent years helped develop the Rorschach Performance Assessment System as an improved method for administering and interpreting Rorschach tests.<\/p>\n
Though Manson\u2019s responses during the 1997 Rorschach test \u2014 many of which were aggressive and highly sexualized \u2014 fall well outside the norm, Mihura said they were not indicative of the disorganized thinking, cognitive impairment and disinterest in interacting with people that are characteristic of schizophrenia.<\/p>\n
\u201cStatistically speaking, what he described would be seen by way less than 1% of people, but they are not the kind of bizarre responses that suggests a formal thought disorder, where you have loose associations, jumping from one thing to the next,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
In addition to the Rorschach test, Mihura\u2019s assessment of Manson also drew from a pair of television interviews, one from 1970 when he was on trial and a 1993 jailhouse interview with journalist Diane Sawyer.<\/p>\n
While the 1993 interview features a number of outbursts and non-sequiturs from Manson, Mihura said his actions seem deliberate rather than uncontrolled.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe developed this sort of crazy persona to maintain attention from the media. In watching and listening to the video, you can see he\u2019s very much in control of that interview\u201d she said. \u201cHe\u2019s trying to distract Diane Sawyer from asking about his guilt and his part in the murders. It\u2019s very purposeful.\u201d<\/p>\n
The researchers determined Manson wasn\u2019t suffering from schizophrenia. However, Mihura said he clearly met the criteria for psychopathy, which includes a grandiose sense of self and callous manipulative use of others.<\/p>\n
For Mihura, who had only a passing knowledge of Manson\u2019s history before embarking on the project, the research proved to be an intriguing opportunity to answer decades-old questions about one of the most notorious criminals in American history.<\/p>\n
But the exercise was more than just a historic curiosity \u2014 though the murders committed by Manson\u2019s followers occurred more than 50 years ago, further understanding the pathologies that drive someone to kill remains important.<\/p>\n
There also is value, the authors argued, in understanding the link between Manson\u2019s psychopathology and the race war he promoted, particularly in light of a recent increase in violent, racially motivated attacks.<\/p>\n
\u201cAccurately assessing psychosis that can lead to violence is extremely important. While Manson\u2019s crimes are well in the past, there remains a threat from others whose mental state and ideology are comparable to that of Manson\u2019s,\u201d Mihura said. \u201cIf someone has an inclination to kill, it is important to identify the driving factors. For example, if they are psychotic with command hallucinations to kill, you can try to intervene to treat the psychosis and hopefully reduce that threat. In cases like Charles Manson\u2019s, it is equally important to know they are not psychotic and such treatments would not reduce the threat.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n