Psychopathy (Forensic Psychology)

Flashcards on Psychopathy

Hervey Cleckley

Provided one of the most comprehensive clinical descriptions of psychopathy in his book, The Mask of Sanity.

Prevalence of Psychopathy among the Gen. Population

0.6-1% of the general population

Prevalence of Psychopathy among Criminal Offenders

15 to 20%

Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R)

The most popular method of assessing psychopathy in adults, developed by Robert Hare at the University of British Columbia.

PCL-R Scoring

A 20-item rating scale where each item is scored on a 3-point scale, 40 is max score: 30+ is considered psychopathic, 25 may be sufficient.

Interpersonal features of psychopathy

Relating to relationships + communicating between ppl (e.g grandiosity, manipulativeness)

Affective Features of Psychopathy

Relating to moods, feelings + attitudes (lack of remorse, shallow emotions)

Behavioural Features of Psychopathy

Relating to actions (impulsivity, antisocial acts)

PCL-R Factor 1

Related to interpersonal & affective traits; strongly related to instrumental violence, emotional-processing deficits, dropping out of treatment + poor treatment response.

PCL-R Factor 2

Related to unstable and socially deviant traits; strongly related to reoffending, substance abuse, lack of education and poor family background.

PCL-R Administration

Uses a semi-structured interview + review of file information to assess interpersonal, affective and behavioural features of psychopathy.

Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised (PPI-R)

A 154-item inventory designed to measure psychopathic traits in offender and community samples.

Self-Report Psychopathy Scale

A 64-item self-report measure designed to assess psychopathic traits in community samples.

Self-Report Scales for Psychopathy

Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised (PPI-R) and Self-Report Psychopathy Scale

Advantages of Self-Report Questionnaires

Measures those emotions + attitudes not easily observed. Easy to administer, score + inexpensive. NO bias from interrater reliability.

Disadvantages of Self-Report Questionnaires

Psychopaths OFTEN lie (can be mitigated with measures of response scales); may not have sufficient insight to assess their emotions, or may not be able to identify emotions they’ve never experienced (e.g remorse)

Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD)

Personality disorder characterized by a history of behaviours in which the rights of others are violated, beginning in childhood/early adolescence and continuing into adulthood.

Factors of Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (SRP)

Erratic lifestyle, callous affect, interpersonal manipulation, criminal tendencies.

Sociopathy

Term coined in 1930 to describe those people who refused to adapt to society; traits develop as a result of poor parenting + other environmental factors.

Is sociopath a construct validated by empirical literature?

NO. NO assessment instruments have been developed to identify it.

Adult Symptoms of APD

Repeated criminal activity, deceitfulness, impulsivity, irritability, irresponsibility, lack of remorse, reckless behaviours.

How many adult symptoms needed for an APD diagnosis?

3/7

APD vs. Psychopathy

APD places a greater emphasis on antisocial behaviours than the PCL-R; almost all psychopaths can be classified with APD but most offenders diagnosed with APD are not psychopaths.

Prevalence of APD among adult offenders

80%

Psychopathic Offenders

Prolific + versatile, younger career criminals, more violent crimes, more violent upon release. Do NOT commit homicide more often than non-psychopaths.

Nature of Psychopathic Violence

predatory, goal-motivated, callous + calculated (no emotional arousal, less familiar victims, no emotional context)

Factor 1 PCL-R score predicts…

Tendency to engage in instrumental violence (target strangers, material gains, cold-blooded homicide).

Psychopathic Homicide Characteristics

Multiple victims, stranger victims, male victims, tendency to leave scene of the crime, tendency to deny responsibility

Prevalence of psychopathy among corporate professionals

5% scored 30+ above (Babiak et al, 2010)

Negative traits found in Psychopathic Corporate Professionals

poor team players, management skills, performance appraisals.

Strengths found in psychopathic corporate professionals

more creative, strategic thinks, communication skills.

Psychopathic Managers

Create a toxic work environment through conflict + bullying. Provide little guidance, care little about employees + yell.

Psychopathy and Sexual Offences

Only weakly associated with sexual offences; offenders who commit sexual homicides are most psychopathic, followed by mixed sexual offenders, then rapists.

Treatment of Psychopaths

Most clinicians and researchers are pessimistic that psychopaths are responsive to treatment

Why is treatment less effective with psychopaths?

Psychopaths suffer little personal distress + see little wrong with their behaviour; seek treatment only when it is in their best interest to do so.

Youth Psychopathic Traits

Linked with delinquency + aggression; psychopathic traits in youth are more responsive to intervention; begin criminal behaviours younger, engage in more violence, greater risk of reoffending once released.

Assessment Instruments for Psychopathic Youth

Antisocial Process Screening Device (ASPD) + Hare Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version

Genetic Contribution to Psychopathy

Growing evidence suggests a strong genetic contribution to psychopathy, since identical twins are much more similar in scores than fraternal.

What percentage does genetics account for psychopathic scores?

37% to 44%

Epigenetic Theory of Psychopathy

Genes for psychopathy are there, but they must be “turned on” (abusive or neglectful or unstable childhood).

why is it difficult to interrogate psychopaths?

try to outwit police, attempt to control interrogation, are not fooled by bluffs, enjoy being the focus of the investigation.

Strongest family background predictors of developing psychopathy

criminal parent, uninvolved father, low family income, disrupted family life, physical neglect + maltreatment

Effective strategies for interrogating psychopaths

appeal to grandiosity, show liking or admiration, avoid criticism, avoid conveying emotions, ensure case familitarity, convey experience + confidence.

Response Modulation Deficit

Psychopaths fail to see contextual cues; if engaged in specific rewarded behaviour, they will not pay attention to other information that might inhibit their behaviour.

Emotional Deficit Theory

Psychopaths DISCONNECTED between cognitive-linguistic processing + emotional experience; deficit in emotions that GUIDE prosocial behaviour + inhibit deviance.

Amygdala Dysfunction Theory

The findings of emotional deficits in psychopaths have led some researchers to propose an amygdala dysfunction theory.

Amygdala

Almond-shaped structure located in the medial temporal lobe. Part of the Limbic Centre (emotional expression + memory). RESPONSIBLE for memory, control of autonomic nervious system, aggression, decision making, approach + avoidance + defence reactions.

Paralimbic Model of psychopathy

Supposedly explains the emotional deficits in psychopaths.

Instrumental Violence

Premeditated violence to obtain some goal.

Adversarial Allegiance

Tendency for forensic experts to be biased toward the side (defense or prosecution) that hired them.

Sex Differences Among Psychopaths

Males scored higher than females, with greater impulsivity, and more severe antisocial behavior, though females may exhibit higher relational aggression.

Sexual Sadism

People who are sexually aroused by fantasies, urges, or acts of inflicting pain, suffering or humiliation on another person.