Test 3- Psychopathy Flashcards
Prevalence
- Across all cultures & ethnic groups
- 1% gen. pop., 20% of inmates
- More common in men
- Common in: drug dealers, con artists, gang, terrorists, politicians, lawyers, doctors, and cult leader
Psychopath traits/def
- Completely self-involved
- Do not experience empathy
- Mimics traits and behaviors that they observe to preferred by their victims
- No loyalty
Psychopath Types (2)
- Primary psychopath:
- criminal psychopath
- subclinical/ “successful” psychopath - Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD)
- “Sociopathy”
Primary psychopath
- True psychopath
- Posses certain Biological, Cognitive, Emotional diff. from general & criminal pop.
- Not all psychopaths are criminal
- Psychopathy exists on a continuum
Testing Instrument: PCL-R
Psychopathy Check-List Revised
3 Factors
- Scoring:
0= Absent,
1= Inconsistent
2= Consistently present
- Scores ranges from 0-40
- Cut-off: 30+ is a psychopath
- Below 21= Non psychopath
- In between = Psychotic traits
Info gathered from self-report, interviews w relatives, observations, court/arrest record
Factors to PCL-R test (3)
- Personality “Aggressive Narcissism”
- case history “Socially deviant lifestyle”
- Other traits (not related w both factors)
Factor 1- Personality/Aggressive Narcissism (8)
- Superficial charm
- Grandiose sense of self-worth
- Pathological lying (lie w/out motive)
- Manipulative/Conning (lie w goal)
- Lack of Remorse or Guilt (remorse= guilt+actions to fix it)
- Shallow affect (neutral, but knows how to fake emotions)
- Callous/Lack of Empathy (can not put themselves in one’s state)
- Failure to accept responsibility for own actions and may blame others
Factor 2- Case history/Socially deviant lifestyle (9)
- Need for stimulation/Prone to boredom
= Extreme sports, Thrill crimes - Parasitic lifestyle = lives off others
- Poor behavioral control
- Lack of realistic long-term goals
- Impulsivity
= idea of instant gratification w/out thoughts of consequences - Irresponsibility
= Not honoring major roles expectations - Juvenile delinquency (ages of 13-17)
- Early behavioral problems (under 12)
- Revocation of conditional release
PCL-R use
Risk-assessment for offenders:
- aggravating factor
- due to high recidivism of psychopaths
Only used on indv. 25yrs+
Factor 3- Others (3)
- Promiscuous sexual behavior
- Many short-term marital relationships (3+)
- Criminal versality
Ferdinand Waldo Demara Jr.
“The Great Imposter”
- Motive= Power
- Wanted to be a psych uni teacher, then lawyer, then Military Doc.
- Wants to be Dr. Cyr- Canadian military surgeon
- Korean war-> inter-personates Dr. Cyr
- Saves 16 men by doing surgeries w/out experience, only w medical readings
Differences btw Psychopathy and APD
PSYCHOPATH:
-> Must lack remorse
-> Shallow emotions
- Calculated (most of the time)
- Pleasant/deceptive exterior
- Instrumental aggression
PSYCHopathy focuses on EMOTIONAL component
APD/SOCIOPATH
-> Impulsive
-> Emotional
- May lack remorse
- Constantly in conflict w society
- Reactive aggression
ADP focuses on BEHAVIOR
Female Psychopaths
-> PCL-R may not be the best to test them
-> Rate higher in:
- Deception/manipulation
- Relational aggression (jealousy, self-harm)
- Use sexuality to obtain what they want
- More likely to have co-morbid disorders (BP)
-> Not as overly grandiose as males
Low Fear hypothesis
Psychopath does not experience sufficient fear to promote conditioning or avoidance learning
- Limbic system & Frontal lobe
- Prefrontal cortex
Low Fear- Limbic syst. & Frontal lobe
Disruption of the circuit linking the limbic syst. w the prefrontal cortex could contribute to the impulsivity, lack of control, and emotional abnormalities
-> Amygdala (responsible for fear, anger, disgust+ memories and emotions linked)
= 25% smaller
