Psychological implications of the Psychopathy Q-sort

The construct validity of the Psychopathy Q-sort (PQS; Reise & Oliver, 1994) was investigated by correlating it with an array of observer-based and self-report personality measures in a sample of 350 men and women assessed at the Institute of Personality Assessment and Research (IPAR). High discriminant validity of the PQS was indicated by a pattern of significant correlations with self-report measures of the Cluster B personality disorder scales of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed., rev.; American Psychiatric Association, 1980) and the absence of correlations with scales belonging to Clusters A and C of the manual. The PQS also correlated positively with the California Psychological Inventory measures of social poise and assurance and correlated negatively with measures of normative control of impulse. Gender differences in psychopathy were explored using Adjective Check List (Gough & Heilbrun, 1983) ratings provided by IPAR staff observers and by 76 pairs of spouses.     

Psychological Implications of the Psychopathy Q-Sort

The construct validity of the Psychopathy Q-sort (PQS; Reise & Oliver, 1994) was investigated by correlating it with an array of observer-based and self-report personality measures in a sample of 350 men and women assessed at the Institute of Personality Assessment and Research (IPAR). High discriminant validity of the PQS was indicated by a pattern of significant correlations with self-report measures of the Cluster B personality disorder scales of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed., rev.; American Psychiatric Association, 1980) and the absence of correlations with scales belonging to Clusters A and C of the manual. The PQS also correlated positively with the California Psychological Inventory measures of social poise and assurance and correlated negatively with measures of normative control of impulse. Gender differences in psychopathy were explored using Adjective Check List (Gough & Heilbrun, 1983) ratings provided by IPAR staff observers and by 76 pairs of spouses.     

Examining the construct validity of the elemental psychopathy assessment

Lynam and colleagues recently developed a new self-report inventory for the assessment of psychopathy, the Elemental Psychopathy Assessment (EPA). Using a sample of undergraduates (N = 227), the authors examined the construct validity of the EPA by examining its correlations with self and stranger ratings on the Five-Factor Model, as well as self-reported ratings of personality disorders, social cognition, and love styles. The EPA psychopathy scores manifested expected correlations with both self and stranger ratings of the Five-Factor Model, particularly with the domains of Agreeableness and Conscientiousness, and were significantly related to various forms of personality pathology such as narcissism and antisocial personality disorders. The EPA also manifested expected relations with aggressive social cognitions. Finally, the EPA psychopathy scores were correlated with romantic love styles indicative of game playing and infidelity. The current results provide further evidence of the construct validity of the EPA as it manifests relations consistent with the nomological network of psychopathy.     

The reliability and validity of the psychopathy checklist: youth version (PCL:YV) in nonincarcerated adolescent males

Current knowledge about the validity of the psychopathy syndrome in youth is limited largely to studies relying on parent-teacher rating scales or slight modifications of adult measures. Recently, the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV) was designed for use with adolescents. However, most studies that have used this measure examined incarcerated males and addressed only validity criteria related to antisocial behavior. We investigated the generality and construct validity of the psychopathy syndrome in an adolescent sample by assessing 115 adolescent males on probation with the PCL:YV. Reliability of measurement was high. PCL:YV ratings predicted not only antisocial behaviour but also other indices of childhood psychopathology, interpersonal behaviors associated with adult psychopathy, and a lack of attachment to parents. These findings suggest that the PCL:YV identifies a syndrome in adolescence consistent with theory and research on adult males.     

Validity of factors of the Psychopathy Checklist--Revised in female prisoners: discriminant relations with antisocial behavior, substance abuse, and personality

The validity of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) has been examined extensively in men, but its validity for women remains understudied. Specifically, the correlates of the general construct of psychopathy and its components as assessed by PCL-R total, factor, and facet scores have yet to be examined in depth. Based on previous research conducted with male offenders, a large female inmate sample was used to examine the patterns of relations between total, factor, and facet scores on the PCL-R and various criterion variables. These variables include ratings of psychopathy based on Cleckley's criteria, symptoms of antisocial personality disorder, and measures of substance use and abuse, criminal behavior, institutional misconduct, interpersonal aggression, normal range personality, intellectual functioning, and social background variables. Results were highly consistent with past findings in male samples and provide further evidence for the construct validity of the PCL-R two-factor and four-facet models across genders.     

A comparison of MMPI--2 measures of psychopathic deviance in a forensic setting

We examined the convergent and discriminant validity of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory--2 (MMPI--2) measures of psychopathy, including the Clinical Scale 4, Restructured Clinical Scale 4 (RC4), Content Scale Antisocial Practices (ASP), and Personality Psychopathology Five Scale Disconstraint (DISC). Comparisons of the empirical correlates of these scales were conducted with 2 samples of participants evaluated at a criminal court clinic. The 2 samples included 59 men and 19 women and 913 men and 327 women, respectively. Two types of criteria (clinician ratings and archival record review) were utilized in the analyses. Relative to Clinical Scale 4, RC4 had significantly greater convergent validity in predicting psychopathy as measured by the Psychopathy Checklist--Screening Version (S. D. Hart, D. N. Cox, & R. D. Hare, 1995) and behavioral criteria associated with this construct. RC4 also showed substantially improved discriminant validity when compared with its Clinical Scale counterpart. Among all the MMPI-2 scales studied, RC4 was the best measure of the social deviance traits of psychopathy.     

A preliminary investigation of the construct of psychopathic personality (psychopathy) in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

Although the construct of psychopathy has received considerable attention in humans, its relevance to other animals is largely unknown. We developed a measure of psychopathy for use in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), the Chimpanzee Psychopathy Measure (CPM), and asked 6 raters to complete this index on 34 chimpanzees. The CPM (a) demonstrated satisfactory interrater reliability and internal consistency; (b) exhibited marginally significant sex differences (males > females); (c) correlated positively with measures of extraversion, agreeableness, and observational ratings of agonism, sexual activity, daring behaviors, teasing, silent bluff displays, and temper tantrums, and negatively with observational ratings of generosity; and (d) demonstrated incremental validity above and beyond a measure of dominance. Although further validation of the CPM is needed, these findings suggest that the psychopathy construct may be relevant to chimpanzees.     

Validity of observer ratings of the five-factor model of personality traits: a meta-analysis

Conclusions reached in previous research about the magnitude and nature of personality-performance linkages have been based almost exclusively on self-report measures of personality. The purpose of this study is to address this void in the literature by conducting a meta-analysis of the relationship between observer ratings of the five-factor model (FFM) personality traits and overall job performance. Our results show that the operational validities of FFM traits based on observer ratings are higher than those based on self-report ratings. In addition, the results show that when based on observer ratings, all FFM traits are significant predictors of overall performance. Further, observer ratings of FFM traits show meaningful incremental validity over self-reports of corresponding FFM traits in predicting overall performance, but the reverse is not true. We conclude that the validity of FFM traits in predicting overall performance is higher than previously believed, and our results underscore the importance of disentangling the validity of personality traits from the method of measurement of the traits.     

Construct validity of psychopathy in a community sample: a nomological net approach.

The construct validity of psychopathy was examined within a sample of 326 male and female university students. The interpersonal circumplex served as a nomological net for the examination of convergences between psychopathy measures and convergent and discriminant validity with a measure of personality disorders was examined using a matrix approach. Measures included: (a) Antisocial scale of the Personality Assessment Inventory (Morey, 1991); (b) Self-Report Psychopathy scale (Hare, 1991); (c) Psychopathic Personality Inventory (Lilienfeld & Andrews, 1996); (d) Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire-4 (Hyler, 1994); and (e) Interpersonal Adjective Scales Revised-Big 5 (Trapnell & Wiggins, 1991). Results indicated (a) substantial convergence between psychopathy measures; (b) high convergent validity between psychopathy measures and antisocial personality disorder; and (c) high discriminant validity from other personality disorders. The prevalence of psychopathy within this non-forensic sample is also discussed.     

A room with a cue: personality judgments based on offices and bedrooms

The authors articulate a model specifying links between (a) individuals and the physical environments they occupy and (b) the environments and observers' impressions of the occupants. Two studies examined the basic phenomena underlying this model: Interobserver consensus, observer accuracy, cue utilization, and cue validity. Observer ratings based purely on offices or bedrooms were compared with self- and peer ratings of occupants and with physical features of the environments. Findings, which varied slightly across contexts and traits, suggest that (a) personal environments elicit similar impressions from independent observers, (b) observer impressions show some accuracy, (c) observers rely on valid cues in the rooms to form impressions of occupants, and (d) sex and race stereotypes partially mediate observer consensus and accuracy. Consensus and accuracy correlations were generally stronger than those found in zero-acquaintance research.     

The content validity of juvenile psychopathy: an empirical examination

This study examined the content validity of a juvenile psychopathy measure, the Childhood Psychopathy Scale (CPS; D. R. Lynam, 1997), based on a downward translation of an adult instrument, the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; R. D. Hare, 1991). The CPS was compared with two other indices of juvenile psychopathy: (a) an index derived from expert ratings and (b) an empirical index based on correlations with adult psychopathy. The 100 items of the Common Language Q-Sort (CLQ; A. Caspi et al., 1992) provided a common metric for the comparison. Psychopathy and personality were assessed at age 13 years with the mother-reported CPS and the CLQ. Psychopathy was assessed at age 24 years with the interviewer-rated Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV; S. D. Hart, D. N. Cox, & R. D. Hare, 1995). Data from over 250 participants of the middle sample of the Pittsburgh Youth Study were used to examine these relations. Item content analyses demonstrated considerable overlap among the three indices, indicating that the downward translation utilizes criteria similar to those of experts and the empirically-derived measure. In addition, these indices, even after removing overlapping items, demonstrated considerable convergence, also supporting the content validity of the downward translation. These results suggest that the downward translation method is adequate for understanding the juvenile psychopathy construct.     

Development and Preliminary Validation of a Self-Report Measure of Psychopathic Personality Traits in Noncriminal Population

Research on psychopathy has been hindered by persisting difficulties and controversies regarding its assessment. The primary goals of this set of studies were to (a) develop, and initiate the construct validation of, a self-report measure that assesses the major personality traits of psychopathy in noncriminal populations and (b) clarify the nature of these traits via an exploratory approach to test construction. This measure, the Psychopathic Personality inventory (PPI), was developed by writing items to assess a large number of personality domains relevant to psychopathy and performing successive item-level factor analyses and revisions on three undergraduate samples. The PPI total score and its eight subscales were found to possess satisfactory internal consistency and test-retest reliability. In four studies with undergraduates, the PPI and its subscales exhibited a promising pattern of convergent and discriminant validity with self-report, psychiatric interview, observer rating, and family history data. In addition, the PPI total score demonstrated incremental validity relative to several commonly used self-report psychopathy-related measures. Future construct validational studies, unresolved conceptual issues regarding the assessment of psychopathy, and potential research uses of the PPI are outlined.     

Using the FFM to conceptualize psychopathy: a test using a drug abusing sample

The present study examined whether psychopathy can be understood as a constellation of traits from the Five Factor Model (FFM) of personality. Using a prototype matching approach, we examined the ability of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R; Costa & McCrae, 1992) to represent psychopathy in a sample of 297 male and female known crack cocaine abusers. Importantly, we examined the convergence and divergence between FFM psychopathy and other personality disorders assessed using the FFM. FFM psychopathy was correlated with self-reports of antisocial behavior, drug use, risky sex, and externalizing and internalizing disorder symptoms. As expected, there was overlap in the relations between psychopathy and several Cluster B personality disorders, but there were also important points of divergence. These results further extend the nomological network of FFM psychopathy and provide additional support for considering psychopathy a constellation of personality traits from a general model.     

Psychopathic traits and externalizing behaviors: a comparison of self- and informant reports in the statistical prediction of externalizing behaviors

It has long been assumed that features associated with psychopathy, such as a lack of insight and deceitfulness, may compromise the utility of self-report measures, particularly for understanding the relations between these traits and important outcomes (e.g., offending). Unfortunately, little research has explicitly examined the relations between self- and informant reports of psychopathy and their relations to these outcomes. The current study examined the incremental validity of self- and informant reports of psychopathic traits, assessed with 3 validated psychopathy measures, in the statistical prediction of externalizing behaviors (EBs). To reduce shared method variance, self- and informant reports of EBs (i.e., substance use, antisocial behavior, gambling, and intimate partner violence) were examined separately. Results indicate that both self- and informant reports of psychopathy are related to EBs and provide some degree of incremental validity, although self-reported psychopathy scores proved slightly more useful than other-reported psychopathy scores. These findings suggest that, in nonforensic settings, psychopathy data derived from both self- and other-reported psychopathy measures have utility in understanding the relations between psychopathic traits and EBs.     

The Convergent Validity between Self and Observer Ratings of Personality: A meta‐analytic review

The convergent validity between self and observer ratings of the Big Five dimensions of personality was examined by cumulating research findings across studies. The mean correlation corrected for coefficient α in self‐ratings and inter‐rater reliability in observer ratings was .46 for agreeableness (N=6359, k=53), .56 for conscientiousness (N=6754, k=58), .51 for emotional stability (N=8000, k=55), .62 for extraversion (N=7725, k=50), and .59 for openness to experience (N=5333, k=38). Results indicate that, although there is a high degree of construct overlap, both self and observer ratings have substantial unique variance. Moderator effects were analyzed. The duration of acquaintance (strangers vs close relatives) as well as observer type (peers at work vs relatives) were analyzed. Acquaintanceship had a large moderating effect whereas observer type did not moderate the level of convergence.     

An examination of the Validity of the Elemental Psychopathy Assessment: Relations with Other Psychopathy Measures,Aggression, and Externalizing Behaviors

The Elemental Psychopathy Assessment (EPA) is a new self-report measure of psychopathy designed to assess the personality traits associated with psychopathy from a Five Factor Model perspective. The current study examined the validity of the EPA in sample of undergraduates by examining the relations between the EPA scales and three validated self-report psychopathy instruments, as well as assessments of aggression, substance use, and antisocial behavior. The EPA scales manifested strong convergent validity with the extant psychopathy measures and an expected pattern of relations with measures of externalizing behaviors. Overall, the EPA appears to be a promising measure of psychopathy which provides new opportunities to explore the underlying structure of this construct and parse its relations with constructs central to its nomological network.     

Assessing the basic traits associated with psychopathy: development and validation of the Elemental Psychopathy Assessment

A new self-report assessment of the basic traits of psychopathy was developed with a general trait model of personality (five-factor model [FFM]) as a framework. Scales were written to assess maladaptive variants of the 18 FFM traits that are robustly related to psychopathy across a variety of perspectives including empirical correlations, expert ratings, and translations of extant assessments. Across 3 independent undergraduate samples (N = 210-354), the Elemental Psychopathy Assessment (EPA) scales proved to be internally consistent and unidimensional, and were strongly related to the original FFM scales from which they were derived (mean convergent r = .66). The EPA scales also demonstrated substantial incremental validity in the prediction of existing psychopathy measures over their FFM counterparts. When summed to form a psychopathy total score, the EPA was substantially correlated with 3 commonly used psychopathy measures (mean r = .81). Finally, in a small male forensic sample (N = 70), the EPA was significantly correlated with scores on a widely used self-report psychopathy measure, disciplinary infractions, alcohol use, and antisocial behavior. The EPA provides an opportunity to examine psychopathy and its nomological network through smaller, more basic units of personality rather than by scales or factors that blend these elements.     

Predictive Criterion-Related Validity of Observer Ratings of Personality and Job-Related Competencies Using Multiple Raters and Multiple Performance Criteria

The purpose of this study was to assess the predictive validity of observer ratings of personality and job-related competencies in a selection setting. Based on ratings from multiple raters of both the predictors and the criteria in a sample of MBA students, results indicated that observer ratings of Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, leadership, and interpersonal skills predicted work performance, team performance, and academic performance. For work performance and team performance, a composite of the four predictors had incremental predictive validity over general mental ability, even after controlling for how well the rater knew the ratee.     

Psychopathy scores predict adolescent inpatient aggression

This prospective study found that psychopathy scores predicted aggressive behavior among 72 adolescent psychiatric inpatients, even after controlling for age, sex, socioeconomic status, length of hospital stay, and independent self-report measures of impulsivity and conduct problems. Psychopathy was assessed within 3 days of hospital admission by clinical raters trained in the use of Hare's Psychopathy Checklist-Revised. Aggressive behavior was recorded by clinical staff members who were unaware of psychopathy ratings. Adolescents rated higher in psychopathy exhibited higher frequencies of both reactive and instrumental aggressive behavior than adolescents rated lower in psychopathy. Post hoc regression analyses revealed that psychopathy had incremental validity in predicting aggression beyond the contribution of clinical diagnosis or scores on the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory.