CHAPTER 11 - PSYCHOPATHY

What is Psychopathy?

• A personality disorder, which is a rigid and unhealthy pattern of thinking, functioning, and behaving

• Referred to as “intra-species predators” as they prey on fellow humans

• On one hand, psychopaths use charm and social skills to achieve their goals

• On the other hand, psychopaths also use violence and intimidation

• Psychopathy is seen across cultures

Antisocial Personality Disorder

Pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others

Sociopathy

Label for someone whose psychopathic traits are assumed to be due to environmental factors (vs. genetic predisposition)

Mask of Sanity (1941)

• Outlined 16 features of the typical psychopath based on offender interviews

• The most popular method for measuring psychopathy is the Hare PCL-R

Self-reported Measures of Psychopathy

PPI-R and SRP

• Useful because they are easy to administer and can target emotions that are not visible, but they are problematic when used with psychopaths a.k.a. master manipulators

• Usually only used with sub-clinical samples

Hare Psychopathy Checklist - Revised (PCL-R)

• 20-item scale consisting of a semi- structured interview and review of file information

• Assesses three facets of psychopathy:

  • interpersonal, affective/emotional, behavioural

  • Each item is rated using a three-point scale

  • Strong empirical support for its use

Items in the Hare PCL-R

• Glibness/superficial charm

• Grandiose sense of self

• Pathological lying

• Conning/manipulation

• Lack of remorse or guilt

• Shallow emotions

• Lack of empathy

• Failure to accept responsibility

• Parasitic lifestyle

• Reoffends

• Need for stimulation

• Poor behavioural control

• Early behavioral problems

• Lack of realistic long-term goals

• Impulsive

• Irresponsible

• Promiscuous

• Juvenile delinquency

• Criminal versatility

• Short-term marital relations

Ted Bundy

• Serial killer and common example of a psychopath

• Raped, tortured, and murdered between 30 and 100 women

• PCL-R score of 39 – one of the highest scores recorded

• Appears to be normal and charming in an interview

Myths About Psychopathy

• Psychopaths are born and not made

• All psychopaths are violent

• You either are or are not a psychopath

• There are no female psychopaths

• Psychopaths are all intelligent

• Psychopaths are untreatable

Psychopath in the Community

• About 1% of the general population are psychopaths

• Not all psychopaths are violent – may use their skills to become successful elsewhere

• In the business world, psychopaths are referred to as “snakes in suits”

• Psychopaths in the workplace are often the root of company problems, as they spread rumours, cause conflict, and fail to pull their weight while blaming others

Psychopathy and Violence

Psychopaths are overrepresented in their involvement with serious crime and violence

Versatile Violence

Start at a younger age, persist longer, engage in more violent crimes more often, commit a variety of crimes, more likely to violently reoffend

Unique Violence

Engaging in instrumental violence associated with higher PCL-R scores (versus reactive violence), especially cold-blooded homicide

Sexual Sadism

Psychopaths report positive emotions before committing rape, whereas non-psychopaths report negative emotions

Psychopathy and Interviewing

Interviewing psychopaths is a challenge, as many tactics used against typical suspects will not work

Psychopaths exhibit challenging interview
behaviour:

• Try to outwit the interrogator

• Enjoy being the focus of attention

• Attempt to control the interview

• Will not be fooled by bluffs

• Attempt to shock

Recommendations for Interviewing Psychopaths

• Case familiarity

• Convey experience and expertise

• Admiration

• Avoid criticism

• Avoid emotion about the case

Heredibility

Twin studies show that many traits related to psychopathy can be attributed to genetics

Environment

Longitudinal studies show that several environmental factors can impact psychopathic traits

Cognitive/emotional Deficit

• Ignore inhibitory information

• Lack of emotional response

• Structural differences in the brain

Treatment of Psychopathy

• There is pessimism among many psychologists regarding whether psychopaths can be treated

• According to this research, treatment makes psychopaths worse!

• More recent research has shown more promising results with treatment

Psychopathy in Youth

• The assumption that psychopathic traits develop gradually from childhood

• Concerns with the stigma of labelling youth as psychopaths

• Psychopathic traits are somewhat stable from childhood into middle age

• Like adults, children with psychopathic traits exhibit more criminality and violence

• Youth with psychopathic traits are more amenable to treatment, so there are benefits to identifying such traits early

Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD)

Assesses precursors to psychopathic traits

Hare Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV)

Measures psychopathic traits in youth aged 12-18