PsychopathyHistory of the ConstructRobert HareTwo FactorsASPD vs. PsychopathyASPDPsychopathy vs. ASPDDSM-IV-TRHare’s Use of Cleckley’s conceptsPCL-RPCL-R Items ContinuedDo Child Psychopaths Exist?Female PsychopathsEthnic and Racial DifferencesWhite Collar PsychopathsSlide 16Problems with PCL-RResearch findingsSexual PsychopathsWhat mechanisms underlie Psychopathy?Mechanisms (Continued)ContinuedPCL-R in CourtsTreatment of PsychopathsPsychopathyForensic PsychologyDr. Jasmine TehraniHistory of the Construct•Beginning of 19th century: Psychological defect•Pritchard (1835): moral insanity•1885: psychopathy became related to antisocial bx and by mid 20th century, was used as an equivalent of personality disorder.•Cleckley (1941) The Mask of Sanity- described his experience with non forensic psychopathic patients.–Description and characteristicsRobert Hare•Built upon work of Cleckley•Psychopathy is not a diagnosis in the DSM-IV-TR. Rather, it is conceptualized as a constellation of cognitive, emotional and behavioral symptoms. The symptoms of psychopathy include: lack of a conscience or sense of guilt, lack of empathy, egocentricity, pathological lying, repeated violations of social norms, disregard for the law, shallow emotions, and a history of victimizing others.•Estimates??•General population: 1%•Adult prisons: 15-25%Two Factors•Factor 1: Interpersonal/ Affective Dimension.•Factor 2: Antisocial/ Deviant Lifestyle Dimension.ASPD vs. Psychopathy•Often confused, by clinicians and the general public, in part, because definitions are similar.•Hare argues that ASPD is more narrow because it is restricted to behavioral indicators.•Psychopaths possess certain behavioral, emotional and cognitive aspects that distinguish them from the general population.ASPD•Pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of rights of others occurring since age 15, with 3 or more of the following present:–Failure to conform to social norms–Deceitfulness, repeated lying or conning of others–Impulsivity or failure to plan ahead.–Irritability or aggressiveness.–Reckless disregard for safety of self or others.–Irresponsibility (to employer, family, financial obligations)–Lack of remorsePsychopathy vs. ASPD•Researchers suggest that approximately 1/3 of those with ASPD are also psychopathic.•Those who are psychopathic also have other Cluster B traits (antisocial, borderline, narcissistic, histrionic)DSM-IV-TR•Psychopathy, sociopathy and dissocial personality disorder are synonyms for antisocial personality disorder.•Refers to other traits associated with the construct (glibness and superficial charm)•No guidelines on how to incorporate them into ASPD dx.Hare’s Use of Cleckley’s concepts•Normed on Canadian, forensic sample•Hare (1980):PCL- 22 item semi structured interview•PCL-R (1985): 2 items removed•PCL-R (1991) Manual and scoring instructions•PCL-R (2003) Updated norms, literature reviewPCL-R•1. Glibness/ superficial charm.•2. Grandiose sense of self-worth•3. Need for stimulation/ proneness to boredom•4. Pathological lying•5. Conning/ manipulative•6. Lack of remorse/ guilt•7. Shallow affect.•8. Callous/ lack of empathy•9. Parasitic lifestyle•10. Poor behavioral controlsPCL-R Items Continued•11. Promiscuous sexual bx.•12. Early behavioral problems•13. Lack or realistic, long-term goals•14. Impulsivity•15. Irresponsibility•16. Failure to accept responsibility for own actions•17. Many short-term marital relationships•18. Juvenile delinquency•19. Revocation of conditional release•20. Criminal versatilityDo Child Psychopaths Exist?•PCL-YV•Subgroup of children who will continue with antisocial bx and go on to be adult psychopaths. •Combo of ADHD and CD may be an important risk factor for adult psychopathy.•Problems?–Early labeling–Perhaps just signs and processes common in “normally” developing youth.Female Psychopaths•Similar but some notable differences.•More research neededEthnic and Racial Differences•Cooke study•Skeem et al. findings•Conclusion: Appears to be valid for ethnic minorities.White Collar Psychopaths•-cool under pressure•-adroit use of charm, charisma, and intimidation to gain or maintain control•-loves social interactions, but controls them•-intrudes on personal space i.e., the predatory stare•-natural ability to lie, deceive, and not get flustered when caught doing so•-willing to look for and use the weakness and vulnerability of others for own purposes•-easily uses jargon, impressive sounding words, phrases and concepts•-inherent lack of concern for others•-rationalizers i.e., they deserved it because they are too greedy, stupid etc.•-easily exploits the loopholes in the law•-grandiose•-seek attention, success, and power•-charismatic, dynamic•-live in the present•-ruthless•-often hold leadership positions•-thrive in unstable conditions i.e., mergers, takeovers, periods of major political, social and economic change•-is smooth and polished, interviews well•-convincingWhite Collar Psychopaths•Successful psychopaths.•Hare argues should study unscrupulous businessmen, telemarketers, etc.•Problem? Important features of the prototypical psychopathy (including unreliability, aimlessness and poor impulse control are absent.•More research neededProblems with PCL-R•Normed on Canadian sample•Cut-off scores and base rates.•False positive rates•Low scores•Correlation coefficients•What is the outcome measure?•Retrospective study design.Research findings•Predicts to violent offending (factor 1), as well as general recidivism (factor 2).–In some cases, better predictor than prior hx of violence!•Predicts to institutional violence.•Psychopaths violate parole sooner than non-psychopaths. •Age?•Psychopaths with sexual devianceSexual Psychopaths•Higher among rapists than child molesters. •Sex offenders with a combo of high PCL-R score and PPG evidence of deviant sexual arousal are at particularly high risk for re-offending.What mechanisms underlie Psychopathy?•1. Hare’s Lateralization Theory -Differences in processing affective aspects of language have been demonstrated between psychopaths and non psychopaths. Psychopaths yielded smaller physiological responses to emotional connotations of descriptive statements.•2. Lykken’s Low-Fear Theory- Psychopaths lack a normal fear or anxiety response.