From theoretical to empirical: Considering reflections of psychopathy across the thin blue line (original) (raw)
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Frontiers in Psychology, 2018
Despite widespread assumptions that psychopathy is associated with serious and repeated law-breaking, individuals with psychopathic personality traits do not invariably become chronic criminal offenders. As a partial explanation for this finding, Lykken (1995) ventured that a fearless temperament underlies both psychopathic traits and heroic behavior, and that heroic individuals' early exposure to effective socializing forces such as warm parenting or healthy self-esteem often fosters a characteristic adaption that tends to beget "successful" behaviors, thereby differentiating heroes from convicts. In this study, we investigate relations between psychopathy, principally its fearless dominance dimension, pride, and prosocial and antisocial behavior in a community sample (N = 339). Fearless dominance and self-centered impulsivity components of psychopathy yielded differential relations with authentic and hubristic pride (Tracy and Robins, 2004), such that fearless dominance was significantly positively correlated with both facets of pride while self-centered Impulsivity was significantly negatively correlated with authentic pride and significantly positively correlated with hubristic pride. Further, authentic pride moderated (potentiated) the relation between fearless dominance and transformational leadership, one of the two outcome measures for prosocial behavior employed in our investigation. Authentic pride did not moderate the relations between fearless dominance and either our other measure of prosocial behavior (heroism) or antisocial behavior, nor did positive parenting moderate the relations between psychopathy components and social behavior. Unexpectedly, hubristic pride significantly moderated the relation between impulsive-antisocial features and antisocial behavior in a protective manner.
Exploring psychopathic personality traits and moral development in a non-criminal sample
Bewsey, Kyle. Exploring Psychopathic Personality Traits and Moral Development in a Non-Criminal Sample. Doctor of Philosophy (Clinical Psychology), May 2013, 88 pp., 17 tables, references, 95 titles. This study explored psychopathic personality traits among a non-criminal, college undergraduate sample. Much research has been done on conceptualizing the construct of psychopathy, but this work has been conducted primarily with incarcerated individuals using a structured interview, The Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 1991, 2003). The goal of the current study was to assess psychopathic traits among non-criminal individuals using The Self-Report Psychopathy Scale-Version Four (SRP-IV; Paulhus, Neumann, & Hare, in press), and compare how SRP-IV scores were associated with a well recognized semi-structured interview for psychopathy, The Psychopathy Checklist-Screening Version (PCL: SV; Hart, Cox, & Hare, 1995). The study also examined whether psychopathic personality traits could be predicted using a measure of normal-range personality, based on the five-factor model (FFM; Digman, 1990), and a measure developed by Loevinger (1976) related to ego development. Five-Factor Model Rating Form (FFMRF; Mullins-Sweat, Jamerson, Samuel, Olson, & Widiger, 2006) scores and Total Protocol Ratings (TPR score) on the Washington University Sentence Completion Test (WUSCT; Hy & Loevinger, 1996) were used to predict psychopathy scores. Correlations of SRP-IV scores and PCL: SV scores with FFMRF scores and WUSCT TPR scores were also examined for their uniformity. As predicted, there were significant, negative correlations between FFM domains, Agreeableness and Conscientious, and SRP-IV scores, as well as significant, negative correlations between WUSCT TPR scores and SRP-IV scores. These correlations ranged from small to strong for both SRP-IV overall scores and for SRP-IV factor scores (i.e., Interpersonal Manipulation, Callous Affect, Erratic Lifestyle, and Criminal Tendencies). Additionally, FFM domain scores and WUSCT TPR scores significantly predicted SRP-IV scores. FFM domains, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness, and WUSCT TPR scores, were the strongest predictors of SRP-IV scores. Similar results were found when FFM domain scores and WUSCT TPR scores predicted SRP-IV factor scores. Results also indicated Agreeableness and Conscientious explained an additional 24% of the variance in psychopathy scores, after controlling for WUSCT TPR scores. Conversely, WUSCT TPR scores explained an additional 5% of the variance in psychopathy scores after controlling for Agreeableness and Conscientiousness. Finally, as predicted, the differences in correlations between psychopathy scores (i.e., PCL: SV, SRP-IV), and Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and WUSCT TPR scores were not statistically significant providing evidence that correlates of psychopathic traits can be measured among non-criminal individuals using a self-report measure, the SRP-IV, and that these findings are concordant with those based on a standardized structured assessment for psychopathy. Limitations of the study, implications, and recommendations for future research are also discussed.
Psychological assessment, 2015
Two recent meta-analyses have suggested that boldness, as assessed by the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI) Fearless Dominance dimension, is largely unrelated to total or factor scores on the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), raising questions concerning the relevance of largely adaptive features to psychopathy. Nevertheless, given that the PCL was developed and validated among prisoners, it may place less emphasis than do other psychopathy measures on adaptive traits, such as fearlessness, social poise, and emotional resilience. We conducted a meta-analysis (N = 10,693) of the relations between (a) boldness, as assessed by the PPI and its derivatives or measures of the triarchic model of psychopathy, and (b) non-PCL-based psychopathy measures across 32 samples. The average weighted correlation between boldness and psychopathy was medium to large (r = .39) and considerably higher than reported in prior meta-analyses; when analyses were restricted to well-validated psycho...
Criminal and Noncriminal Psychopathy: The Devil is in the Detail
Corporate Psychopathy, 2019
Psychopathy is prevalent and problematic in criminal populations, but is also found to be present in non-criminal populations. In 1992, Robert Hare declared that psychopaths may also "be found in the boardroom", which has since been followed by an interest in the issue of non-criminal, or even successful, psychopathy. In this chapter the paradox of criminal and noncriminal psychopathy is discussed with specific attention given to the similarities and differences that account for psychopathic personality across contexts. That psychopathy is a condition typified by a constellation of traits and behaviours requires wider research across diverse populations, and thus the streams of research related to criminal and non-criminal psychopathy are presented and the implications of these contrasting streams are explored. Understanding the Details Research and case presentations have observed vast variation in psychopathic personality, from high performing executives to violent offenders (Babiak, 1995;
Factors of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory
Assessment, 2008
Psychopathy is a personality disorder that includes interpersonal-affective and antisocial deviance features. The Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI) contains two underlying factors (fearless dominance and impulsive antisociality) that may differentially tap these two sets of features. In a mixed-gender sample of undergraduates and prisoners, we found that PPI fearless dominance was related to low Behavioral Inhibition System activity, high Behavioral Activation System (BAS) activity, expert prototype psychopathy scores, and primary psychopathy. Impulsive antisociality was related to high BAS activity and all psychopathy measures. High Extraversion and Openness and low Neuroticism and Agreeableness predicted fearless dominance, whereas high Neuroticism and low Agreeableness and Conscientiousness predicted impulsive antisociality. Although low levels of Agreeableness predicted both PPI factors, their differential relations with other five-factor model traits highlight difference...
Psychological Assessment, 2016
Researchers are vigorously debating whether psychopathic personality includes seemingly adaptive traits, especially social and physical boldness. In a large sample (N=1565) of adult offenders, we examined the incremental validity of two operationalizations of boldness (Fearless Dominance traits in the Psychopathy Personality Inventory, Lilienfeld & Andrews, 1996; Boldness traits in the Triarchic Model of Psychopathy, Patrick et al, 2009), above and beyond other characteristics of psychopathy, in statistically predicting scores on four psychopathy-related measures, including the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R). The incremental validity added by boldness traits in predicting the PCL-R's representation of psychopathy was especially pronounced for interpersonal traits (e.g., superficial charm, deceitfulness). Our analyses, however, revealed unexpected sex differences in the relevance of these traits to psychopathy, with boldness traits exhibiting reduced importance for psychopathy in women. We discuss the implications of these findings for measurement models of psychopathy.
Psychopathic Personality Traits in Students Entering Helping Professions
2019
Psychopathy is often misrepresented as a sign of criminality and deviance. However, current literature suggests that psychopaths make up approximately one-fifth of the general population. Some people use these characterological traits to their benefit in positions of leadership. In this study, students from a Christian university in the Pacific Northwest were selected to participate in a survey, based upon their chosen major (Business, Psychology, and Religion). It was hypothesized that Business students would have the highest total levels of psychopathy and religion majors would show the lowest levels of psychopathy. Since religion often serves as a protective factor, it is further predicted that religion will mitigate the effects of psychopathy, and will be negatively correlated with psychopathic traits. Multiple one-way ANOVAs and Tukey post hoc tests were used to determine which degrees had statistically significant differences, and a correlational study examined the possibility of religion as a mitigating factor. Results indicated that Religion students had the highest levels of primary psychopathy as well as overall psychopathy levels, whereas Business students had the highest PSYCHOPATHIC PERSONALITY TRAITS iv levels of secondary psychopathy. It was also determined that primary and secondary psychopathy had no significant relationship to one another, and that total psychopathy levels had no significant differences between age and gender. The implications of this study show the potential for individuals with more psychopathic personality traits to enter prosocial leadership roles, such as clergy, and the benefit of pre-employment personality screening.
Psychopathic personality traits and delinquent careers: An empirical examination
International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 2008
Purpose: Few studies have simultaneously investigated psychopathic traits in relation to assorted dimensions of a delinquent career. The current study examined the role that psychopathy might play in facilitating research on the small subset of youth at risk for persistent antisocial behavior.
Fearless Dominance and Psychopathy: A Response to Lilienfeld et al
Personality Disorders-Theory Research and Treatment, 2012
argue that Lilienfeld et al. commit multiple logical and scientific errors throughout their response: minimizing the centrality of antisocial behavior in previous conceptions of psychopathy, magnifying the role of psychological health in these same conceptions, ignoring the relative sizes of relations, and selective reporting of studies and specific findings within studies. We identify two points of agreement with Lilienfeld et al.: (a) the presence of fearless dominance (FD) traits is not sufficient to indicate the presence of psychopathy; and (b) traits related to FD may have a role to play in psychopathy. Beyond these points of agreement, we find Lilienfeld et al.'s response to be less than compelling. We reiterate our main conclusions that Psychopathic Personality Inventory's FD subscale assesses stable extraversion and is, at best, considered a diagnostic specifier rather than an essential feature.