The Psychopath Test, a book by British writer Jon Ronson which delves into the definition of psychopathic behaviour and the real-life people affected by it, is to be adapted into a thriller starring Scarlett Johansson.

The adaptation is to be taken on by Kristin Gore, daughter of former vice president Al Gore, who has previously worked on the forthcoming David O Russell romance Accidental Love. In the director’s chair is Jay Roach, who helmed the Austin Powers and Meet The Parents franchises.

The book is a journalistic foray into the world of psychopathy, looking in particular at the work of Robert D Hare and his checklist to determine the condition – and whether it can indeed be quantified and clearly defined. Ronson’s previous book The Men Who Stare at Goats was similarly adapted for a Hollywood treatment, starring George Clooney, Ewan McGregor and Jeff Bridges.

It’s another collaborative project for Roach and Gore, who are already working on Women in Space, a sci-fi comedy about a group of women working to establish an outer space colony – it’s being developed as a half-hour TV show for network HBO. Gore is also writing a film for Sony Pictures about a family man going undercover with the mob, set to star Channing Tatum.