The document discusses psychopathy and the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R). It describes the factors and facets of the PCL-R and prevalence of psychopathy in forensic populations. It also discusses differences between psychopathy, antisocial personality disorder, and variations of psychopathy. The nature of psychopathic aggression and relation to crime is covered as well.
The document discusses psychopathy and the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R). It describes the factors and facets of the PCL-R and prevalence of psychopathy in forensic populations. It also discusses differences between psychopathy, antisocial personality disorder, and variations of psychopathy. The nature of psychopathic aggression and relation to crime is covered as well.
The document discusses psychopathy and the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R). It describes the factors and facets of the PCL-R and prevalence of psychopathy in forensic populations. It also discusses differences between psychopathy, antisocial personality disorder, and variations of psychopathy. The nature of psychopathic aggression and relation to crime is covered as well.
The document discusses psychopathy and the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R). It describes the factors and facets of the PCL-R and prevalence of psychopathy in forensic populations. It also discusses differences between psychopathy, antisocial personality disorder, and variations of psychopathy. The nature of psychopathic aggression and relation to crime is covered as well.
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Psychopaths
Anna C. Salter
THE PCL-R (1991, 2003)
Published 20
by Multi-Health Systems (MHS)
items scored from interview & file data item scored on a 3-point scale score 0-40
Each Total
Factor
structure Original (1991): 2 factors Current (2003): 2 factors, 4 facets
Neumann, Hare, & Newman, 2007; NA Samples (male, female offenders, male forensic psychiatric : N = 6929 glib/ superficial .73 grandios e self-w orth pathological lying conning manipulative .73 .71 .80 .65 shallow affec t callous lack empathy fail to acc ept responsibility lack remorse or guilt
Interpersonal
.70
Affective
.82
.66 .42 .50 .55 .51
.59
stimulation seeking impuls ivity .71 .60 irresponsible .58 paras itic orientation lack of realis tic goals
.73
.65 .70
poor behavior controls early behavior problems juvenile delinquency revocation of cond. release
Lifestyle .73
Antisocial
.67 .54
.60
.64 criminal versatility
APD Base Rate in Forensic Populations
50% to 75%
(Hare, 1996)
Psychopathy Base Rate in Forensic Populations
10% to 20% (Hare, 1996)
Psychopathy and APD
APD (50 - 80%)
PCL-R Psychopaths (10 - 20%)
All Offenders (100%)
Percentage of Sex Offenders with PCL-R Score of 30+ (Porter et al., 2000) 80
Percentage
64 60
40
35.9
20 6.3 0 ExtraFamilial Molesters
10.8
6.3
Incest Offenders
Mixed Molesters
Rapists
Mixed MolestersRapists
Percentage of Sex Offenders with PCL-R Score of 30+ Across Studies
Child Molesters
5 10%
Rapists Child/Adult
25-30% 60-70% (Hare, 2003)
Subtypes of Psychopathy?
PCL-R scores of 27 or higher
Three
clear clusters or subtypes with high PCL-R scores
Classic
or prototypical: high on all 4 facets
Prototypical (32%)
8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Facet 1
Facet 2
Facet 3
Facet 4
Macho:
low on Interpersonal, high on
others
Prototypical (32%)
Macho (27%)
8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Facet 1 Facet 2 Facet 3 Facet 4
Manipulative:
high on Interpersonal and Affective, lower on others
Bjrkly, 2009 Table 2 Possible differences between characteristics of violence in Aspergers syndrome and psychopathy. Characteristic Sensory reactivity Psychopathy Hypo Manipulative Proactive Positive Denial Aspergers Syndrome Hyper Nave Reactive Negative Confession
Interpersonal communication Typical violence Reinforcement contingency Relating to violence
Findings from these comparisons indicated that there may be substantial differences between the two diagnostic disorders regarding these five criteria.
Psychopathic Aggression
Nature of Aggression/Violence Primarily Reactive
crime of passion extreme provocation self-defense response to threat often relatively uncontrolled
Nature of Aggression/Violence Primarily instrumental
cold-blooded premeditated settle a score goal-directed controlled predatory
Psychopaths capable of both reactive and instrumental aggression/violence But even the reactive aggression/violence is more controlled than in others
Woodworth & Porter, 2002; Porter et al., 2003)
P rimary N ature of C anadian Homicides as a F unction of P C L-R Scores
P R IMAR ILY R EAC T IVE 100 90 P R IMAR ILY INS T R UMENT AL
Percentage of Cases
80 71.8 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 LO W P C L-R MEDIUM P C L-R HIG H P C L-R 28.2
P rimary N ature of C anadian Homicides as a F unction of P C L-R Scores
P R IMAR ILY R EAC T IVE P R IMAR ILY INS T R UMENT AL
100 90
Percentage of Cases
80 71.8 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 LO W P C L-R MEDIUM P C L-R HIG H P C L-R 28.2 67.4
32.6
P rimary N ature of C anadian Homicides as a F unction of P C L-R Scores
P R IMAR ILY R EAC T IVE 93.3 P R IMAR ILY INS T R UMENT AL
100 90
Percentage of Cases
80 71.8 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 LO W P C L-R MEDIUM P C L-R HIG H P C L-R 6.7 28.2 67.4
Tengstrm, Hodgins,Grann, Lngstrm, & Kullgren (2004) Criminal history of patients with various combinations of schizophrenia, substance use, and psychopathy Swedish male patients who received pretrial assessments between 1988 and 1993, and were found guilty of violent offences 202 schizophrenics, & 78 offenders who met PCL-R criteria for psychopathy Lifetime convictions since age 15, per year at risk (free)
Number of Convictions Per Year at Risk
6 5 4 3 2 1 0 S S + SUD S+P S + P + P + SUD SUD P
S = schizophrenia SUD = substance use disorder P = psychopathy
Among patients with schizophrenia, correlation between PCL-R and number of convictions per year at risk: General
= .62 Violent = .38
High ratings of psychopathy are associated with earlier ages of first conviction for a criminal offense and more convictions among the men with schizophrenia, just as among men with no mental illness (p. 385).
These findings suggest that among offenders with psychopathic traits, the traits, not substance abuse, are associated with criminal offending (p. 367).
What About Comorbidty
Patients with schizophrenia and many psychopathic features are at high risk for violence Tengstrm
et al., 2000
Thomson
et al., 2008
PCL-R as a Predictor of Violent Recidivism in Schizophrenic Offenders
1 0.8 PCL-R 0-25
% Surviving
0.6 0.4 0.2 0 0 12 24 36 48 60 72
Tengstrm et al., 2000
Months
PCL-R as a Predictor of Violent Recidivism in Schizophrenic Offenders
1 0.8 PCL-R 0-25
% Surviving
0.6 0.4 0.2 0 0 12 24 36 48 60 72
PCL-R 26-40
Tengstrm et al., 2000
Months
PCL-R as a Predictor of Violent Recidivism in Schizophrenic Offenders
1 0.8 PCL-R 0-25
% Surviving
0.6 0.4 0.2 0 0 12 24 36 48 60 72
PCL-R 26-40
Tengstrm et al., 2000
Months
Dolan & Fullam, in press
24 male patients with schizophrenia (DSM-IV) Secure psychiatric facility in England All convicted for violent offences PCL: SV scores Mean = 12.9 Median split: High, Low psychopathy fMRI while pictures viewed Neutral, anger, disgust, sad, fear Differences between neutral and emotional
Dolan & Fullam, in press
Psychopathic traits in patients with schizophrenia are associated with dysfunction in the prefrontallimbic circuitry over and above that normally associated with schizophrenia alone.
Matching Emotional Tone
A man thrown overboard from a sinking ship A man running from a monster A man surfing on a large wave A woman standing on a yacht A boy carrying a lamp into his room
1. 2. 3. 4.
(Hare, Williamson, et al., 1988; Williamson et al., 1991)
Matching Emotional Tone: Nonpsychopaths
A man thrown overboard from a sinking ship A man running from a monster
Matching Emotional Tone: Psychopaths
A
man thrown overboard from a sinking ship
man surfing on a large wave
Rating Metaphors 6 Point Rating Scale -3 Very Negative +3 Very Positive Man is a worm that lives on the corpse of the earth Love is an antidote for the worlds ills (Herve, Hayes, & Hare, in press)
Attributing Emotions Stories Design to Elicit Emotions Happiness Sadness Embarrassment Guilt (Blair et al., 1995)
Attributing Emotions No Differences Between Psychopaths & NonPsychopaths Happiness Sadness Embarrassed
Attributing Emotions Differences in Psychopaths & Nonpsychopaths Guilt Stories Psychopaths Little guilt to others Indifference or positive emotions, especially intentional harm Happiness for intentional harm
Response to Acts of Violence
Nonpsychopaths Felt Anxiety Guilt Fear
(Walsh, 1999)
Response to Acts of Violence
Psychopaths Felt Excitement Power Satisfaction Justification Increased Self-Esteem
(Walsh, 1999)
Psychopaths & Sexual Offending
Porter et al., in press
310 Male offenders: PCL-R non-sexual sexual: child molesters, rapists, mixed PCL-R predicted nonviolent and violent offenses, but not sexual offenses
Porter et al., in press
But among child molesters, high PCL-R scores predictive of sex offenses Overall, psychopaths (PCL-R of 30 or more) 2 times more likely to receive parole than other offenders They also manage to remain out of prison following release for about half as long as other offenders
evidence of genetic contributions to variance in the personality construct of psychopathy.
Blonigen, Hicks, Krueger, Patrick, & Iacono, Psychological Medicine, 2005, 35, 1-12. The interpersonal-affective (Fearless Dominance) and antisocial (Impulsive Antisociality) traits of psychopathy, are equally and substantially heritable with each accounting for roughly half of the total variance in both men and women.
Larrson, Andershed, & Lichstenstien, Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 2006, 115, 221-230. A
genetic factor explains most of the variation in the psychopathic personality
Behavioral Genetics
Viding, Blair, Moffitt, & Plomin (2005). UK Twin study of 3687 7-year old twin pairs Rated by teachers and parents on items similar to those on the APSD (Frick & Hare, 2001) Assessed heritability: of antisocial behaviors; callous-emotional traits Concluded that genes account for 70% of the individual differences in callousunemotional traits
The core symptoms of psychopathy are
strongly genetically determined
Genetic contribution was highest when callous-unemotional traits were combined with antisocial behaviors
Origins
Behavioral genetics Large-sample twin studies Evaluate heritability of traits that may be precursors to adolescent and adult psychopathy
Referred to as Callous-unemotional (CU) traits
General Findings
Consistent evidence of substantial heritability of CU traits Common genetic factor may underlie CU traits and antisocial behaviors
The Lexical Decision Task
Williamson, Harpur, & Hare, 1991
Words have both denotative (explicit, literal) and connotative
(implicit, implied) meanings The impact of the affective connotations of words can be evaluated by recording: Lexical decision times Brain activity associated with the decisions Event-related potentials (ERPs)
The Lexical Decision Task
Neutral & emotional words, and pronounceable nonwords, briefly presented in random order on a computer screen. e.g., RAPE EPRA TREE ETER
Press button as quickly as possible if you saw a word
Reaction Time and Word Type
msec
950
Nonpsychopaths 900
Psychopaths
850
800
750
700
Neutral
Positive Emotionality of Words
Negative
Williamson, Harpur, & Hare, 1991
Institutional Violence N = 728 Males PCL-R Score >30 No. with Infractions 44%
<30
16% (Hare et al., 2000)
Institutional Violence At least 1 infraction No infractions At least 1 violent infraction Mean PCL-R score: 19.2 14.6
