Psychopathy Flashcards
What is psychopathy?
A personality disorder characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, lack of empathy, guilt, and emotional depth, along with egocentric and manipulative tendencies.
What are the two main factors in psychopathy?
Factor 1 (Interpersonal and Affective Traits): Superficial charm, manipulativeness, lack of empathy, and shallow emotions.
Factor 2 (Lifestyle and Antisocial Behavior): Impulsivity, irresponsibility, and a tendency to break societal rules.
What is the most widely used tool to measure psychopathy?
The Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) developed by Robert Hare.
How is the PCL-R scored?
It consists of 20 items scored on a scale from 0 to 2, with a maximum score of 40. A score of 30 or higher typically indicates psychopathy.
What are some items included in the PCL-R?
Glibness/superficial charm, grandiose sense of self-worth, pathological lying, and lack of remorse or guilt.
What brain structure abnormalities are linked to psychopathy?
Dysfunction in the amygdala (linked to fear and empathy) and prefrontal cortex (linked to decision-making and impulse control).
What evidence supports the role of the amygdala in psychopathy?
Blair et al. (1999): Found reduced amygdala activity in psychopaths during tasks involving emotional recognition.
Gao et al. (2010): Found deficits in fear conditioning in children who later displayed psychopathic traits.
How does the prefrontal cortex relate to psychopathy?
Reduced prefrontal activity is associated with poor impulse control and antisocial behavior.
What evidence supports the role of the prefrontal cortex in psychopathy?
Raine et al. (1997): Found reduced prefrontal gray matter in individuals with antisocial personality disorder, a condition related to psychopathy.
What evidence supports a genetic basis for psychopathy?
Viding et al. (2005): Found high heritability for callous-unemotional traits in twin studies.
Larsson et al. (2007): Found that psychopathic traits in adolescents have significant genetic components.
How can early experiences contribute to psychopathy?
Adverse childhood experiences, such as neglect or abuse, can lead to the development of psychopathic traits.
What research supports the role of environment in psychopathy?
Farrington (1995): Found that poor parenting and exposure to violence in childhood are risk factors for psychopathic traits.
Lykken (1995): Proposed that psychopathy results from a combination of genetic predispositions and environmental factors (e.g., poor socialization).
What cognitive deficits are associated with psychopathy?
Impaired recognition of emotions, particularly fear and sadness, and deficits in moral reasoning.
What is the role of fearlessness in psychopathy?
Psychopaths display reduced sensitivity to fear stimuli, making them less likely to be deterred by punishment.
What evidence supports the role of impaired emotion processing in psychopathy?
Blair et al. (2001): Found that psychopaths perform poorly on tasks requiring recognition of fearful expressions.
Patrick et al. (1993): Found reduced physiological responses to aversive stimuli in psychopaths.
How is psychopathy linked to criminal behavior?
Psychopaths are more likely to engage in violent and impulsive crimes due to lack of empathy, poor impulse control, and a tendency to manipulate others.
What research supports the link between psychopathy and criminality?
Hare (1980): Found that a significant proportion of violent offenders score high on the PCL-R.
Widom (1977): Found that psychopaths are more likely to commit a range of crimes, including fraud and violent offenses.
What are some criticisms of the PCL-R?
Subjectivity in scoring.
Overemphasis on criminal behavior, which may exclude non-criminal psychopaths.
Cultural bias in its application.
What are broader criticisms of psychopathy research?
Focus on male populations; limited research on female psychopathy.
Ethical concerns about labeling individuals as “psychopaths.”
Debate over whether psychopathy is a distinct disorder or part of a broader spectrum of antisocial behavior.
Why is psychopathy considered difficult to treat?
Psychopaths lack motivation for change, empathy, and emotional depth, making traditional therapeutic approaches less effective.
What treatment approaches have been used for psychopathy?
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) focusing on impulse control.
Programs targeting specific behaviors rather than attempting to “cure” psychopathy.
Risk-Need-Responsivity (RNR) model: Tailoring interventions to individual risk levels and needs.
What experimental designs are used to study psychopathy?
Brain imaging studies (e.g., fMRI) to observe structural and functional differences.
Behavioral experiments involving decision-making and emotion recognition tasks.
How can twin studies help in understanding psychopathy?
By estimating the heritability of psychopathic traits and distinguishing genetic from environmental influences.
