forensic chapter 11

Psychopathy

A personality disorder characterized by lack of empathy, shallow emotions, manipulativeness, and antisocial behaviour

Psychopath

An individual who displays traits such as callousness, lack of remorse, and persistent antisocial behaviour

Callousness

Lack of concern for the feelings or suffering of others

Lack of remorse

Absence of guilt or regret for wrongdoing

Superficial charm

A smooth, engaging interpersonal style used to manipulate others

Grandiose sense of self-worth

Inflated view of one’s abilities and importance

Pathological lying

Habitual and compulsive lying for personal gain or pleasure

Manipulativeness

Using others deceitfully to achieve personal goals

Shallow affect

Limited emotional depth and reduced emotional expression

Lack of empathy

Inability to understand or share the feelings of others

Impulsivity

Acting without thinking about consequences

Irresponsibility

Failure to fulfill obligations or commitments

Parasitic lifestyle

Reliance on others for financial or emotional support without reciprocation

Early behavioural problems

Signs of antisocial behaviour beginning in childhood

Juvenile delinquency

Criminal behaviour occurring during adolescence

Criminal versatility

Engaging in a wide range of different criminal activities

Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R)

A standardized tool used to assess psychopathy

Factor 1 (Interpersonal/Affective)

Traits involving emotional deficits and manipulation

Factor 2 (Lifestyle/Antisocial)

Traits involving impulsive and antisocial behaviours

Score cutoff (PCL-R)

A score (typically 30) used to classify someone as a psychopath

Primary psychopathy

Psychopathy driven by emotional deficits such as low fear and anxiety

Secondary psychopathy

Psychopathy associated with emotional instability and environmental factors

Instrumental violence

Planned, goal-directed aggression used to achieve a specific outcome

Reactive violence

Impulsive aggression in response to perceived threat or provocation

Low fear hypothesis

Theory that psychopaths have reduced fear responses to punishment

Response modulation hypothesis

Theory that psychopaths fail to process peripheral cues, especially emotional ones

Amygdala dysfunction

Impaired functioning in the brain area responsible for emotional processing

Prefrontal cortex deficits

Impairments in decision-making, impulse control, and moral reasoning

Somatic marker hypothesis

Theory that emotional signals guide decision-making, which is impaired in psychopaths

Moral reasoning deficits

Difficulty understanding moral rules in an emotionally meaningful way

Attention deficits

Difficulty shifting attention to important emotional or contextual cues

Reward dominance

Tendency to focus on rewards rather than punishment

Conditioning deficits

Difficulty learning from punishment or negative consequences

Emotional detachment

Lack of emotional connection to others

Cold-heartedness

Extreme lack of compassion and emotional warmth

Fearlessness

Lack of anxiety or fear in risky or dangerous situations

Poor behavioural controls

Difficulty regulating anger and aggression

Early onset of antisocial behaviour

Beginning of criminal or aggressive behaviour at a young age

Genetic influences

Biological factors that contribute to the development of psychopathy

Environmental influences

Life experiences (e.g., abuse, neglect) that shape psychopathic traits

Recidivism

Tendency to reoffend after punishment or intervention