Psychopathy Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

- by Frank S . Perri JD, CPA, CFE
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- Leadership, Psychopathy, White Collar Crime, Narcissism

Violent behaviour appears to be the result of a complex net of interacting genetic as well as environmental factors. Both antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) and psychopathy are associated with a propensity owards violence, although there is some evidence that psychopathy may be associated with instrumental aggression, while ASPD is
more associated with reactive aggression. People with psychopathic personality are characterized by a constellation of traits including interpersonal affective features (e.g. lack of affect and emotion) and antisocial features (e.g. impulsive and aggressive behaviour). Cognitive and affective emotional processing deficits associated with brain
abnormalities, particularly structural and functional impairments in the orbitofrontal prefrontal cortex and amygdale, have been found in psychopathy. Frontal and temporal obe abnormalities are associated with violent behaviour, such that prefrontal deficits have
been associated with behavioural disinhibition, increased risk taking, and
impulsivity, whereas the temporal lobes, among others, are involved in affect regulation and sexual behaviour. Psychopathy has not traditionally been associated with generalized cognitive or intellectual dysfunctions, but rather with circumscribed deficits in specific neuropsychological domains. Based on research using neuropsychological assessments and other techniques, several cognitive characteristics appear to exist among subjects with psychopathy, such as cognitive inflexibility, attention deficits and inappropriate processing of contextual cues in
the environment. The neuroscience of psychopathy is a field undergoing rapid growth and, like any field in its nascent stages, is vulnerable to methodological inconsistencies and subsequent interpretive variations. Although psychopathy is a major area of research in psychology and
criminology, much remains unknown about its etiological underpinnings. Heterogeneity of the genetic and the neurocognitive findings
may be partly due to the existence of different subtypes of psychopaths. Future studies need to examine the relationships between genes and interpersonal, behavioural and neuropsychological features of psychopathy, in addition and in combination with their role in legal decision-making.

People abused by angry discipline as children, may tend to abuse or overly punish other people or themselves for perceived wrongs in their adult life. In some individuals, aggressive personality traits may be genetically inherited. The aggressive personality may feel weakened by having guidelines or boundaries for anger. Anger is a normal human emotion, and these guidelines can help express anger in a healthy way.

- by Thomas H Costello
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- Psychology, Cognitive Science, Personality, Psychopathy

The 'Dark Triad' refers to three socially-aversive personalities, namely, Machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy. Previous research shows both how such behaviours can be both counter-productive and advantageous. However, there is little on how the Dark Triad is linked to specific workplace behaviours. This article fills this gap by looking at the relationship between measures of the Dark Triad and self-assessments of leadership, management, team working and influencing behaviours, as well as with 360 degree assessments of such behaviours. It identifies particular behaviours that are used by each of the three personality types, along with 360 degree assessments of such behaviours. Given that the Dark Triad exists and that it has implications for the workplace behaviours, organisations have to deal with such behaviours. The article ends by considering the practical implications of the research findings, including issues around selection and placement, team composition and training and development. Finally, it suggests areas for further research.

- by Lifescience Global Canada
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- Personality, Psychopathy, Machiavellianism, Narcissism
- by V. Kulidzanishvili
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- Psychology, Cognitive Science, Psychopathy, Antisocial Personality Disorder
- by Richard Wiebe
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- Psychopathy

Neuroscience has identified brain structures and functions that correlate with psychopathic tendencies. Since psychopathic traits can be traced back to physical neural attributes, it has been argued that psychopaths are not truly responsible for their actions and therefore should not be blamed for their psychopathic behaviors. This experimental research aims to evaluate what effect communicating this theory of psychopathy has on the moral behavior of lay people. If psychopathy is blamed on the brain, people may feel less morally responsible for their own psychopathic tendencies and therefore may be more likely to display those tendencies. An online study will provide participants with false feedback about their psychopathic traits supposedly based on their digital footprint (i.e., Facebook likes), thus classifying them as having either above-average or below-average psychopathic traits and describing psychopathy in cognitive or neurobiological terms. This particular study will asses...

- by Cassandra Popham
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- Criminology, Psychology, Self Control, Free Will

Psychopathy is generally considered to be a male adaptation. While studies have elucidated a relationship to freely circulating testosterone, less is known about the role of prenatal testosterone (PT) in the development of primary and secondary psychopathy and how this pertains to sex differences. In this study (N = 148), digit ratio (2D:4D) was used to investigate the relationship between prenatal testosterone and primary and secondary psychopathy. In addition, quality of recalled maternal bonding was measured to see if postnatal experience could affect the influence of PT on psychopathic behaviours. Low LH2D:4D predicted primary and secondary psychop-athy in women. In men, low maternal care predicted primary psychopathy and high maternal protection predicted secondary psychopathy. Low maternal care also predicted primary psychopathy in women. Lower levels of maternal care and higher levels of maternal control contributed to primary psychopathy above and beyond PT. Lower levels of maternal care were also an influential factor for secondary psychopathy above and beyond PT, although higher levels of mother control were not.

- by Alyson Blanchard
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- Evolutionary Psychology, Life History Theory, Psychopathy, Parental Bonding

Purpose. The predictive validity of the psychopathy checklist-youth version (PCL:YV) and Youth Level of Service/Case Management Inventory (YLS/CMI) for juvenile offenders were compared to examine whether a broad needs-risk tool predicted... more

- by Vincent Egan
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- Assessment, Psychopathy, Adolescents
- by Erik Gooch
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- Psychology, Forensic Science, Homicide, Criminal Psychology
- by Francis Tuazon
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- Psychology, Forensic Psychology, Psychopathy
- by Madeleine Hansen
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- Psychology, Cognitive Science, Personality, Internet Culture

The Adaptation of the Short Dark Triad Personality Measure – Psychometric Properties of a German Sample This paper was published as and please cite this article as: Malesza, M., Ostaszewski, P., Büchner, S., & Kaczmarek, M.C. (2017).... more

- by Marta Malesza Leuenberger
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- Psychopathy, Machiavellianism, Narcissism, Dark Triad

Psychopathy, which literally means an illness of the mind, has been largely a mystery throughout history. Although damage caused by psychopaths far exceeds other mental disorders such as schizophrenia, general understanding of it has remained incomplete, dominated with sensationalized portrayals in film and news media. While psychiatric institutions have been hesitant to recognize psychopathy with clear diagnostic criteria, researchers such as Hervey M. Cleckley in The Mask of Sanity (1941) and Robert D. Hare with his Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (1991) recognized it as a personality disorder and established a clear clinical definition for it. In recent years, as the influence of psychopathy has grown, their observation expanded beyond prison populations and psychiatric patients. The author in this paper aims to further the theory by examining its intrusion into everyday life. Primary objectives are threefold: (1) to explore the core of psychopathy, (2) elucidate its manifestations through examining destructive patterns that emerge in romantic and interpersonal relationships and 3) to understand its deeper implication for society at large.

- by Nozomi Hayase
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- Psychopathy, Liberation Psychology
- by Stijn Vanheule
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- Criminology, Psychology, Forensic Psychology, Forensic Anthropology

The 64-item Hare Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (Hare SRP; Paulhus, Neumann, & Hare, in press) is the most recent revision of the SRP, which has undergone numerous iterations. Little research has been conducted with this new edition; therefore, the goal of this study was to elucidate the factor structure as well as the criterion-related, convergent, and discriminant validity of the measure in a large sample of college students (N = 602). Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the best fitting model was the original 4-factor model proposed by the authors of the Hare SRP (compared to a 1-factor, 2-factor, and 4-factor random model). The 4-factor model revealed superior fit for the data relative to the other alternative models. In addition, we elaborated on the psychometric properties of this 4-factor model in this sample. The Hare SRP total and factor scores evidenced good internal reliability as well as promising criterion-related, convergent, and discriminant validity in terms of predicting scores on conceptually relevant external criteria. Implications for theory and future research are discussed.

This research explores the relationships between need for drama (NFD), self-efficacy, and self-esteem. People who have dramatic tendencies tend to be manipulative, impulsively outspoken, and believe they are consistently the victim of circumstance. High NFD individuals tend to have low self-esteem. Self-esteem and self-efficacy strongly correlate. In the present research, we tested the hypothesis that higher levels of NFD would correlate with lower levels of self-efficacy. High NFD individuals' cycles of maladaptive behaviors may be over-compensation for negative self-evaluations and limited self-efficacy. Study 1 showed that NFD did not correlate with self-efficacy in a student and an M-Turk sample. Exploratory analyses did, however, show a quadratic U-shaped relationship in the M-Turk sample such that self-efficacy decreased as NFD increased but self-efficacy increased at the high end of the NFD scale. Study 2 showed a weak negative linear association between NFD and self-efficacy, but we replicated the strong quadratic relationship found in Study 1. There was also a strong inverted U-shaped relationship between NFD and stress. High NFD individuals may interpret their impulsive and manipulative tendencies as self-efficacy, which may contribute to the cycle of drama in their lives, but which also may buffer them from stress. A secondary research aim was discussed, as were future directions.

- by Scott Frankowski
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- Personality Psychology, Self-Efficacy, Psychopathy, Self-Esteem
- by Jean-Baptiste Desveaux
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- Juvenile Delinquency, Psychopathy, Delinquency, Prosocial Behavior

Mutuality between handwriting and individual's inclination toward crime is an area of profound fascination. It is challenging to enter the most hidden corners of an abnormal mind in order to discover, understand and explain its resorts, and also to provide clues regarding the way of approaching, treating and planning rehabilitation. In India and other common law countries, insanity is exempted from punishment even if insanity leads to the person committing heinous crimes; because they are considered incapable of deciding the rightness or wrongness of an act. Therefore, it is crucial and imperative to understand the reason behind the antisocial crime and associated factors influencing personality of the offenders especially psychopaths. Forensic graphology and psychiatry are the two major disciplines involved in assessment of psychopathic tendencies and criminality. Both the approaches follow projective nature to analyse and get into deepest of the personality of an individual. Forensic is a punitive science concerned with the passing judgement on human conduct while psychiatry is a therapeutic and reformative science followed for the benefit of society, human rights and psychopaths. Though the two approaches assess personality from different perspectives, when applied together can give a more effective and holistic explanation of criminal behaviour. The present paper describes some important techniques of handwriting analysis and highlights common handwriting patterns of psychopaths.

- by Pradeep Gupta
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- Clinical Psychology, Forensic Psychology, Psychiatry, Forensic Science

In five studies (total N = 1,300) we developed and validated a Polish version of the Dirty Dozen measure (DTDD-P) that measures the three traits of the Dark Triad, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism. We detail the presence and stability of a bifactor structure of the 12 items and present evidence for good internal consistency and test–retest reliability. We examine the nomological network surrounding the Dark Triad and show that both the Dark Triad total score and the subscales have acceptable validity. We also present evidence on the Dark Triad and moral behavior. Dark Triad predicts utilitarian moral choice (e.g., approval for sacrificing somebody’s life for the sake of saving others) and this link is mediated by low empathic concern. In total, our results suggest that the Polish Dirty Dozen—Parszywa Dwunastka—is valid, stable, and useful for the study of lingering puzzles in the literature.

- by Anna Czarna
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- Psychology, Personality Psychology, Social Psychology, Moral Psychology

Are we rational creatures? Do we have free will? Can we ever know ourselves? These and other fundamental questions have been discussed by philosophers over millennia. But recent empirical findings in psychology and neuroscience suggest we should reconsider them.This textbook provides an engrossing overview of contemporary debates in the philosophy of psychology, exploring the ways in which the interaction and collaboration between psychologists and philosophers contribute to a better understanding of the human mind, cognition and behaviour. Miyazono and Bortolotti discuss pivotal studies in cognitive psychology, social psychology, developmental psychology, evolutionary psychology, clinical psychology and neuroscience, and their implications for philosophy.Combining the latest philosophical and psychological research with an accessible style, Philosophy of Psychology is a crucial resource for students from either discipline. It is the most up-to-date text for modules on philosophy of mind, philosophy of psychology, philosophy of mental health and philosophy of cognitive science.

- by Kengo Miyazono and +1
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- Autism, Philosophy of Psychology, Psychopathy, Delusions

Case studies were conducted on eight serial killers in India who were inmates in central prisons of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The study is a pioneering one on serial killers in the locale of the study. All available information about the lives of offenders were collected through multiple sources, including in-depth interviews with serial killers in the prisons, interviews of relatives of the killers, surviving victims, Investigators, crime scene studies, etc. The collected data have been chronologically arranged to construct biographies of the offenders. The rich biographies were carefully analyzed to construct an inclusive motivation model that can explain the process of individuals evolving into serial killers from a life-course approach. The motivation in each of the eight cases was explained with the proposed motivation model. The constructed motivation model is unique from the existing models, which were mostly rigid, therefore, not applicable to cases outside the studies. The model proposes three critical determinants for explaining the evolution of a person into a serial killer, 'nature,' 'Deep Resting Life Factor' and 'key Incidents.' The study found a relatively short incident named 'trigger' in the lives of six serial killers, which played a significant role in bringing out the dormant killer instinct and push the subjects towards the first murder. The comparative analysis of the motivation in different cases revealed that though there were recurring factors in the lives of serial killers, their interactions were more important than standalone factors. The study also found that there are no predetermined recipes for the making of a killer like some past researchers claimed.

- by Dr. S. A. Deepak
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- Developmental Psychology, Violence, Psychopathy, Serial Murder
- by Jean Decety
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- Neuroscience, Cognitive Psychology, Cognitive Science, Social Psychology
- by John McAteer
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- Aesthetics, Popular Culture, Philosophy of Film, Aesthetics and Ethics

The accumulation of anecdotal accounts of copycat crime suggests that popular culture plays an important role in some instances and aspects of criminal behavior. However, there is little empirical research specifically examining the copycat effect on criminal behavior. Questions remain regarding the nature and extent of copycat crime,
cultural influences that shape the copycat effect, the role and relevance of popular culture as a motivating factor for criminal behavior, and issues the copycat phenomenon raises for legal determinations of criminal responsibility.
This paper reviews the research literature and contemporary case examples of copycat crime with attention to the influence of mass media technology on criminal behavior, the mechanisms of media-mediated crime, and the relevance of understanding the copycat phenomenon for determinations of criminal responsibility in insanity cases. An integrative theoreticalmodel of copycat crime is proposed, amethodological framework for empirically investigating copycat crime is presented, and practical implications for understanding the role of the copycat effect on criminal behavior are discussed.

- by Jackie Helfgott
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- Psychopathy, Criminal Behavior, Crime Media and Culture, Copycat Crime
- by Tiffany Princep
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- Criminology, Sexuality, Psychopathy, Pornography
- by Magdalena Oleśniewicz
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- Psychology, Forensic Psychology, Psychiatry, Sexuality
- by ugo pace
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- Criminology, Psychology, Cognitive Science, Forensic Psychology

This paper serves to discuss the biological, psychological, and social factors which may contribute to an individual’s propensity for violent criminal behavior. To do this, the history and definitions needed to understand Biopsychosocial theory and violence as a construct are laid out. The psychological factors influencing violent behavior which are discussed include psychopathy and other aspects of personality theory. The biological factors influencing violent behavior which are discussed include brain differences in structure, gray matter, and function, as well as sex, and trauma/incidents affecting the brain which may cause personality/behavioral changes. The social factors influencing violent behavior which are discussed include early childhood family relationships/interactions, early attachment injuries, misogyny, and socialization differences between men and women. The paper concludes with an analysis of the data presented and short discussion surrounding how this information can be used and implemented by potential victims and family members to prevent future crime.

- by Kalvin Garrah
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- Criminology, Psychology, Personality Psychology, Social Psychology
- by Andreia Souza
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- Psychology, Cognitive Science, Personality, Narcissism (Psychology)

Despite increasing empirical and theoretical work on empathy, particularly on the content of empathic representations, there is a relative lack of consensus regarding the information processing necessary for empathy to occur. Here we attempt to delineate a mechanistic cognitive model of empathy in order to provide a framework within which neuroimaging work on empathy can be located, and which may be used in order to understand various disorders characterised by atypical levels of empathy. To this end data from individuals with psychopathy, autism, and alexithymia inform the model, and the model is used to provide a unifying framework for any empathy impairments seen in these disorders. The model adopts a developmental framework and tries to address the four difficult questions of empathy: How do we know what another is feeling? What is the role of theory of mind in empathy? How does the state of another cause a corresponding state in the self? How do we represent another’s emotion once emotional contagion has taken place?

- by Geoff Bird
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- Autism, Empathy (Psychology), Autism Spectrum Disorders, Psychopathy

Theoretischer Hintergrund: Neuere Ansätze der Schuldfähigkeitsbegutachtung machen auf das Problem der differentialdiagnostischen Abgrenzung von Dissozialität und störungsbedingtem Verhalten aufmerksam. Aus differentialtypologischer Sicht kommt dem Psychopathy-Konstrukt sensu Hare hierbei eine besondere Bedeu-tung zu. Fragestellung: In welchem empirischem Zusammenhang mit der Schuldfähigkeit lässt sich das Psychopathy-Konstrukt als Extrembeispiel des dissozialen Typus finden? Methode: Aus einer Inhaltsanalyse von 33 Schuldfähigkeitsgutachten liegen die PCL-R Scores vor. Hieraus werden Gruppenunterschiede berechnet, Zusammenhangsmaße für Gesamtscore und Einzelfaktoren mit den jeweiligen Schuldfähigkeitsgruppen und das Klassifizierungsvermögen. Ergebnisse: Es findet sich kein statistisch bedeutsamer Unterschied zwischen Schuld- und vermindert Schuldfähigen. Für Faktor 2 der PCL-R findet sich ein mäßiger Zusammenhang mit verminderter Schuldfähigkeit und eine geringe diskriminatorische Bedeutung. Diskussion: Die Befunde werden vor den historisch-konventionalen Forderungen von Justiz und Psychiatrie einerseits und entwicklungspsychologischer Befunde zum Phänomen der Dissozialität andererseits diskutiert.

- by Alexander F Schmidt
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- Psychopathy, Criminal responsibility
- by Amanda J White and +1
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- Psychopathy, Aggression, Trait Displaced Aggression

A number of past studies have identified an association between psychopathy and specific demographic variables. However, these studies have predominantly been conducted on male offenders in the Western world. The following research responds to this gap in the psychopathy literature base by providing a description of the demographic variables of three groups of female South African offenders (N = 108). Specifically, the analysis aims to isolate demographic variables that discriminate between non-psychopathic, medium psychopathic and advanced psychopathic traits. Demographic data was obtained by means of a self-compiled biographical questionnaire, and levels of psychopathy were determined by using the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R). The chi-square test for independence revealed significant associations between the three groups with regard to the demographic variables under study. Distillation of the demographic data provides provisional support for the manifestation of secondary psychopathy in the present sample. The results underline the importance of specific demographic variables in identifying high-risk groups of offenders.

- by Ryan Botha
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- Psychopathy
- by Daniel M Keeran MSW
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- Psychology, Computer Science, Communication, Education

Outlining why empathy should not be the go-to solution for political change or social injustice.

- by Tristam V Adams
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- Critical Theory, Neuroscience, Political Philosophy, Political Theory

Written by H. Maibom and J. Harold. Published in French in La Nouvelle Revue Française d'Esthétique 6 (2010): 71-84 as “Sans goût : l’art et le psychopathe”

- by James Harold
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- Aesthetics, Ethics, Psychopathy

This chapter discusses how the childhood history of politicians and their enablers can throw light on certain aspects of national and international politics. Our work is based on and inspired by the core of Dr Alice Miller’s theory and critically explores the latest literature, with reference to recent and current historical events. The relations between religion and clinical practice are examined through the psychology of forgiveness, enabling, narcissism and power, so as to throw light on the hidden dynamics between political leaders and their supporters. We then move on to adultocentric practices in order to make sense of the above phenomena.

- by Luisa Passalacqua and +1
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- Psychology, Family Therapy, Psychoanalysis, Family studies

The terms psychopath and sociopath are often used interchangeably, but there appears to be some hesitance by researchers in the many disciplines comprising criminology to continue this trend. The problem seems to be that as research has advanced in studies of psychopathy, which is the more common of the two terms, psy-chopathy now commands a much more specific definition, and this is what alienates it from its estranged cousin, sociopathy. As language can serve to hinder or confound research, it is crucial that these terms take their proper place in brain science. Here, I present how the two terms are currently used in neuroscience and psychology, and suggest how research in sociopathy should progress.

This meta-analysis investigated the relationship between measures of brain imaging and psychopathy. The study population included a total of 58 studies in which measures of aMRI, fMRI, SPECT, and PET from patients with diagnosed psychopathy were compared to those obtained from control populations. The typical hypothesis in these studies was that those patients with psychopathy would show deficiencies in neural activity and brain matter in the prefrontal cortex relative to controls. The meta-analysis results indicated an overall significant effect size across studies of approximately 20%. The effect size was consistent across 56 of the 58 studies. Two studies showed an effect that was not in the predicted direction. Effect size was also related to the type of brain imaging. Those studies that used fMRI and MRI techniques produced generally smaller effect sizes relative to those that used aMRI, PET or SPECT techniques. The effect sizes in these studies were unrelated to other variables, such as the sample size, percent of males in the study, and the average age of the participants. The results demonstrate abnormal activity in the PFC regions of people with psychopathy when compared to controls.

- by Sherry Nickerson
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- Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review, Psychopathy

Studies on reactions to psychological stress suggest a strong association between personality traits and coping
style. Despite of the many studies on this topic, there is a lack research that has examined whether the different
social aversive personality traits are associated with different coping preferences. A personality framework
dedicated specifically to the socially aversive traits is the Dark Triad Personality referring to Machiavellianism,
psychopathy, and narcissism. Therefore, the current study was aimed at examining the association between
Dark Triad personalities and coping strategies. Two hundred individuals (82 men) completed the short Dark
Triad questionnaire and two different self-report coping scales (CISS,WCQ). Correlation and multiple regression
analyses showed that the way how narcissists cope with psychological distress appear to be clearly distinct from
the coping preferences associated with Machiavellianism and psychopathy. More specifically, Machiavellianism
and psychopathy were negatively associated with task-oriented coping and positively with the emotionaloriented
coping process suggesting a more emotional reaction to stress. In contrast, narcissism was found to be
associated with task oriented and emotionally controlled coping.

- by Birkás Béla
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- Coping Strategies, Narcissism (Psychology), Psychopathy, Machiavellianism