PSYCHOPATHY
True taxon or
the end of the continuum
Psychopathy
Based on work of Robert Hare; derived from
conceptualization of Cleckley
More emphasis on affective and interpersonal
features
Most (but not all) psychopaths will be antisocial
personality disorders, but not all ASPD’s will
be psychopaths
Most inmates will be ASPD, but only 25% or
less will be psychopaths
Psychopathy
• Etiology unknown: thought to be interaction of
biological/genetic factors and social forces
• Expression of disorder depends on social and
developmental context (shaped by environment)
• Most research with criminals, but construct
important in general society
• Most studies to date on white males, but recent
research suggests validity with females and
other ethnic/cultural groups
Hare, 2001
1%
Psychopaths in General Population
Hare, 2001
10-30%
Psychopaths in Prison Populations
Hare, 2001
44%
Psychopaths as killers of Law Enforcement Officers
Hare, 2001
90%+
Psychopaths as Serial Killers
Hare, 2001
Are psychopaths “mad”?
• Unless comorbid condition present, not
usually in legal or psychiatric sense
– Know right from wrong, know the rules
– But own rules are more important than society’s
– Knowledge of rules is intellectual, not
emotional
Are all psychopaths criminals?
• Not in technical, legal sense
• Behaviour is often unethical, but may not
end up in jail
• Hare undertaking studies of subclinical,
white collar psychopaths
Criminal vs White-Collar Psychopaths
• Although underlying personality structure is
similar, other factors shape the outcome:
–
–
–
–
Physical attributes and appearance
Intelligence
Social and economic status
Family social connections (it’s who you know,
not what you know)
– Opportunities available in the environment
Core Personality Traits
Attributes,
Background,
Opportunity
Violation of
legal and ethical
standards
Outcome
Good
Bad
Subcriminal
psychopaths
Criminal
psychopaths
subtle
flagrant
Fame, fortune
Minor setbacks
Prison
Early death
Hare, 2001
ASPD
3-5%
Psychopaths
1%
Psychopathy and ASPD in General Population
Hare, 2001
ASPD
50-80%
Psychopaths
15-25%
Psychopathy and ASPD in Offender Populations
Hare, 2001
20 Characteristics of Psychopaths
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Glib/Superficial Charm
Grandiose Self Worth
Need for Stimulation/
proneness to boredom
Pathological Lying
Conning/Manipulative
Lack of Guilt or Remorse
Shallow Affect
Callous/Lack of
Empathy
Parasitic Lifestyle
Poor Behavioral Controls
11. Promiscuous Sexual Behavior
12. Early Behavioral Problems
13. Lack of Realistic Long-Term
Goals
14. Impulsivity
15. Irresponsibility
16. Failure to Take Responsibility
for Own Actions
17. Many Short-Term Marital
Relationships
18. Juvenile Delinquency
19. Revocation of Conditional
Release
20. Criminal Versatility
Features of Psychopathy
•
•
•
•
•
Responsible of large proportion of crime
More violent crimes
Offend later into life
Higher rates of recidivism
More likely to use instrumental than reactive
aggression (less often crimes of passion)
• Can be politicians, CEO’s, rather than criminal justice
offenders
• May get worse with treatment
Neurobiological Differences in Psychopaths
• Psychopaths show absence of autonomic
responses of anticipatory anxiety to
punishment (e.g. electric shock)
• Criminal psychopaths show abnormalities in
function of limbic system and frontal cortex
while processing affective stimuli (e.g. words)
• Amydala and hippocampus less active
(emotion and memory)
• Fronto-temporal cortex more active
(need more cognitive, non-emotional neural
resources to process emotional stimuli)
Neurobiology and Psychopathy
• Fearlessness Hypothesis - higher threshold for
experience of anxiety/fear; don’t respond at
autonomic level to anticipated threat/punishment
• Cortical hypo-arousal – brain is understimulated
except by dangerous/thrill seeking behavior
• Different (non-limbic) processing of affective
stimuli; not processed on an emotional level
Some conclusions from Robert Hare
• Psychopaths are not the same as you and I
• They think, feel and act differently
• Emotions and deep processing play little
role in their thinking, language or behavior
• They may mimic emotions well, but it’s
mostly an act
• Their approach to the world is instrumental;
they are viewed by us as predatory
• They do not play by our rules, nor do they
care about our feelings or welfare
• They put on a good show, and it’s hard not
to be taken in