Chapter 3: Individual Differences in Antisocial Behaviour Flashcards
How do we define evil?
An evil act is intentionally inflicting harm upon others for the pleasure of doing so (sadistic). It is marked by egoism and selfishness, with no empathy for the victim. Evil individuals are often classified as “monsters” and given non-human attributes.
It is hard to create an objective definition of evil because it is subjective, we should look at evil as a continuum rather than a categorical characteristic.
What traits make up the Dark Triad? Is there a correlation between the traits?
Coined by Paulhus and Williams (2002), they classified narcissism, machiavellianism, and psychopathy (and potentially sadism) as the dark triad.
There is a positive correlation between the three personality traits, with the biggest relation between narcissism and psychopathy.
How are the Dark Triad traits observed and classified?
Traits are subclinical and can be observed in the everyday population. They occur on a continuum and are not categorical so people with these characteristics can live a normal everyday life. To be classified as a psychopath you need to meet a certain threshold
having these traits does not meet having a disorder.
Previously these traits were studied individually but this is problematic, they overlap each other and there is a shared variance (ex. the “core” of the Dark Triad)
Is possessing the traits of the Dark Triad inherently “bad”?
These traits are not necessarily “bad”; no personality trait is inherently bad or good. These traits convey benefits to the self, but generally at the cost of others.
ex. narcissism leads to short-term popularity,
psychopathy allows for reduced stress in situations that would stress others
What did Moshagen et al. (2018) classify as the Dark Factor of Personality?
The Dark Factor of Personality (D); high levels of D use others for their own benefits and can justify their actions
High D individuals have a general tendency towards ethically, morally, and/or socially questionable behaviour
What is the origin, clinical disorder and trait of narcissism? How is measured? Who are some narcissistic celebrities?
- Origin: the Greek myth of Narcissus; a man who fell in love with his own reflection
- Clinical disorder: Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD)
- Trait: subclinical narcissism
- Measured by: the NPI; participants choose which statement mostly resembles themselves, most score 30 out of 40
ex. I try not to be a show off, I will usually show off if given the chance - Narcissistic individuals: Donald Trump, Kim Kardashian, Kanye West
What are the key characteristics of narcissism? What is vulnerable narcissism?
- Grandiosity: exaggerated belief in your own self-importance
- Entitlement: belief that you are more deserving than others
- Superiority: belief that you are better than other people
- Self-enhancement: behaviours that improve and promote your self-image
- Self-absorption: concern/focus on your own emotions/interests
Vulnerable narcissism;
- low self-image, insecurity, fragile self-esteem who desire praise
- they are hypersensitive to criticism
- perceive negative qualities in other
How are narcissists both likeable and unlikeable?
Narcissists make good first impressions. They tend to dress better and are conscious of their appearance, people may perceive narcissism as self-confidence
However, these impressions degrade over time and antagonistic nature becomes more apparent.
Can social media progress narcissism in an individual?
We do not know (yet); there is evidence of a positive correlation between narcissism and social media use, as social media is a good platform for self-promotion and self-enhancement.
What is the difference between clinical psychopathy and subclinical psychopathy? How do we measure both forms of psychopathy?
- Clinical psychopathy: there is not an official diagnosis in the DSM, so known as:
- Conduct disorder in children/youth
- Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD) in adults
a. Measured by the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R); must score 30 out of 40 - Subclinical psychopathy is a “milder” form of clinical psychopathy
b. Measured by the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (LSRP)
Who is psychopathy found in?
Psychopathy is not only found in inmates/violent
For example, neuroscientist James Fallon is a “pro-social” psychopath who is highly ambitious
Psychopathy has been found to help you get promoted on the corporate ladder (but only for men)
Psychopaths: Ted Bundy, Martin Shkreli (CEO)
- Martin Shkreli bought pharmaceutical company and raised price of AIDS drug from $13.50 to $750/pill. He served a 7 year prison sentence for securities fraud, and showed no remorse.
What are the key characteristics of psychopathy?
- Impulsivity: don’t weigh the pros/cons of behaviour before doing it
- Thrill-seeking: crave excitement and novelty; live “on the edge”
- Lack of guilt: unconcerned about consequences of their behaviour on others
- Aggressiveness: prone to hostility, easily angered
- Shallow affect: “emotional poverty”, do not experience same emotions (ex. blunted fear), they can pass lie detector tests because they do not have anxiety with lying
- Callousness: low empathy
Why do psychopaths have low empathy?
Their lack of empathy is rooted in brain differences. They have decreased activity in the:
- vmPFC, related to decision-making
- right amygdala, related to emotions
Who coined machiavellianism? How is it measured? Who are some machiavellian individuals?
- Coined by Christie & Geis (1970); inspired by The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli
- Measured by the MACH-IV. Sample item: “you never tell anyone the real reason you did something unless it is useful to do so.”
- Machiavellian individuals: Vladimir Putin, Josef Stalin
- they are know as the “manipulative schemer”
What are the key characteristics of machiavellianism?
- Cynicism: distrust of others
- Exploitative: will take advantage of others for personal gain
- Deceitful: willingness to lie and cheat to get ahead
- Callous affect: emotionally “cool” in interpersonal interactions
- Strategic/calculating orientation: plan ahead, consider long-term outcomes
What are some of the antisocial behaviours of machiavellian individuals in applied settings?
- Workplace; counterproductive work behaviours (CWBs)
ex. harassment, gossip, theft, sabotage, intentional poor work, absenteeism - Romantic relationships; will cheat on partners and be emotionally abusive
- Academic dishonesty; will plagiarize term papers
What is the potential new member of the dark triad? What are some examples of behaviour of the potential new member?
Sadism would make it a Dark Tetrad.
ex. trolling on internet forums, bullying, malicious pranks
What are the key characteristics of sadism?
- Enjoyment of cruelty: enjoy hurting others/witnessing others suffering
- Dominance: pleasure from being in control and subjugating others
- Lack of empathy: unaffected by others’ suffering (emotional or physical)
Describe the bug squishing study used to study sadism.
Conducted by (Buckels et al., 2013). Participants were given test for sadism then asked to choose between four unpleasant tasks:
- bug killer
- assistant bug killer
- dipping hand in ice water
- toilet cleaning
Bugs were given names to give a “human” characteristics, ¼ of participants chose to be bug killers and they had the highest sadism scores, reporting the most enjoyment
What is self-control? Who suffers the most from a lack of self-control?
Self control is internal restraints that should inhibit the release of aggressive response tendencies
- 2-3 year olds lack the self-control skills needed to regulate aggressive urges
Describe the first ego depletion study done by Stucke and Baumeister.
Experimenters put a plate of treats in front of the participants.
I.V: resist vs. don’t have to resist eating treats
All participants were given a creativity task and then received negative feedback from experimenter
D.V: allowed to give an evaluation of the experimenter that had big implications (ex. loss of study funding) for the experimenter
“Treat resistors” gave more negative feedback to experimenter, presumably because their ego was depleted; we already used our resistance to not eat the treats, we could not resist giving bad feedback
Describe the second ego depletion study done by DeWall et al. What conclusion can be drawn on ego depletion?
Experimenters stopped participants from eating either a donut or a radish
I.V: resist doughnut vs. resist radish
Participants were provoked by confederate by being given negative feedback on essay
D.V: how much hot sauce they gave to confederate
Doughnut resistors (requires high self-control) administered more hot sauce than radish resistors
Conclusion: self-control inhibits aggression and is a limited resource (ego depletion); in the absence of provocation, low self-control does not predict aggression
How does aggression progress in children? Why do children resort to aggression?
Before age 2, babies are engaging in exploratory aggression
Children are most aggressive at 2 year olds, ¼ social interactions are aggressive
Aggression steadily declines starting at age 4 and at this age children begin engaging in indirect forms of aggression
Like animals, our natural reactions is to resort to aggression but because we are a group species, we learn other mechanisms to allow for a successful evolution
There are individual differences in aggression based on temperament
When does aggression emerge in humans?
The precursors of individual differences in aggression emerge very early in life.
At 3 months, a child can recognise anger in adults’ facial expressions.
Aggression related to frustration is first seen in the second half of the first year.
Aggression in conflicts with peers and adults become frequent at 2 and 3.
What is the Cardiff Infant Contentiousness Scale
The CICS addresses six aspects of use of physical force in social interaction and the expression of anger in babies: - does not let go of toys - pulls hair - hit at other people - bites - has angry moods - has temper tantrums Babies whose parents noted these behaviours at 5-8 months, were more likely to use physical force in free play at 11-15 months.