Psychopathy

Importance of learning about psychopathy

Psychopaths make up 25% of male prison population but perform > 50% of violent crime

Psychopaths recidivate 3 - 4x more than non-psychopaths following release from prison

Psychopaths are not all in jail and are not all criminals.

“Successful” psychopaths use the system and people to get what they want

Knowledge is power!

Three types of Characteristics of Psychopathy

Interpersonally

Affectively

Behaviourally

Interpersonally

Egocentric, manipulative, dominant, cold-hearted

Affectively

Labile emotions, no long lasting bonds to people or principles or goals, lack of empathy or guilt

Behaviourally

Impulsive, sensation-seeking, violate social norms

Hare Psychopathy Checklist –Revised (PCL-R) uses

Used only in the prison population (there is an altered version for public use)

• assessing and diagnosing psychopathy for research and clinical purposes

• parole board hearings / dangerous offender verdicts

• best predictive tool for recidivism / risk assessments

Scoring on the PCL-R

20 characteristics

Semi-structured interview and collateral information

Highest score possible is 40

Every item is scored 0, 1, or 2

30/40 = psychopathy

22/40 or less = normal

Factor 1 PCL-R Items

Affective/Interpersonal

1. pathological lying

2. lack of empathy

3. Manipulative

Factor 2 PCL-R Items

Antisocial

1. Impulsivity

2. Irresponsibility

3. Parasitic lifestyle