Amount of altruistic punishment accounts for subsequent emotional gratification in participants with primary psychopathy

We are often willing to incur personal costs in order to punish people that violate group norms. Previous studies have suggested that high-psychopathy participants may engage in more such “altruistic punishment behaviors” than those with lower levels of psychopathy. Although this finding could suggest that psychopathy is in fact associated with prosocial behavior, high-psychopathy participants show clear evidence of various decision-making and emotional deficits. It is therefore possible that the increased altruistic punishment behavior observed in psychopathy participants is in some fashion related to such deficits. To address this possibility, we administered the altruistic punishment paradigm to a group of university students with low and high levels of psychopathy (N = 50). We found that high-psychopathy participants (n = 24) gave defectors significantly more punishment than did low psychopathy participants (n = 26), under personally costly conditions. Furthermore, a mediational analysis revealed that the amount of altruistic punishment administered completely mediated the relationship between primary psychopathy and a person’s emotional gratification subsequent to performing the altruistic punishment behavior. These findings suggest that while high psychopathy participants do appear to engage in greater levels of altruistic punishment behavior, they may do this largely for their own emotional gratification.     

Psychopathy and the personality dimensions of psychoticism,extraversion and neuroticism

The Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) was administered to 173 male prison inmates for whom reliable assessments of psychopathy were available. Psychopathy was significantly correlated with the Psychoticism (P) scale (r = 0.16) and the Lie scale (r = 0.14), but not with the Extraversion (E) or Neuroticism (N) scales. Zone (octant) analysis indicated that psychopathy was not associated with any particular combination of P, E and N scores. Additional analyses, based on the discriminant function procedure described in the EPQ manual, indicated that inmates with high assessments of psychopathy were significantly less psychiatrically abnormal, in the EPQ sense, than were those with low assessments of psychopathy. A series of comparisons was also made between the P scale and a 22-item psychopathy checklist. The P scale was significantly correlated with six of the items, and with factors 1 (r = 0.30) and 4 (r = 0.19) that emerged from a principal components analysis of the checklist. Factor 1 is related to an impulsive, unstable lifestyle with no long-term commitments and factor 4 to the early appearance of antisocial behavior. It is argued that the P scale reflects the criminal, antisocial aspects of psychopathy and that the results probably have no direct implications for the suggestion that psychopathy and psychoticism are related in some fundamental way. A canonical analysis indicated that some interesting relations may exist between the EPQ variables and the psychopathy factors.     

Higher Levels of Psychopathy Predict Poorer Motor Control: Implications for Understanding the Psychopathy Construct

A review of the literature suggests that higher levels of psychopathy may be linked to less effective behavioral control. However, several commentators have urged caution in making statements of this type in the absence of direct evidence. In two studies (total N?=?142), moment-to-moment accuracy in a motor control task was examined as a function of dimensional variations in psychopathy in an undergraduate population. As hypothesized, motor control was distinctively worse at higher levels of psychopathy relative to lower levels, both as a function of primary and secondary psychopathy and particularly their shared variance. These novel findings provide support for the idea that motor control systematically varies by psychopathy, in a basic manner, consistent with views of psychopathy emphasizing lesser control.     

Who cares when nobody is watching? Psychopathic traits and empathy in prosocial behaviors

Prosocial behaviors are voluntary acts intended to benefit others. Lack of empathy is a core feature of psychopathy, a constellation of personality traits that includes callousness, egocentricity, and antisociality. While psychopathy is often associated with antisocial behavior, its relation to prosociality may depend upon the class of prosocial behavior and facet of psychopathy considered. Public prosocial behavior may be more motivated by extrinsic social rewards than anonymous prosociality, which may be more motivated by empathy and altruistic motives. It was hypothesized that primary psychopathy, especially affective callousness, would be positively and uniquely associated with public prosociality, and inversely associated with anonymous and altruistic prosociality, and that these associations would be mediated by empathy. In contrast, secondary psychopathy was expected to be weakly and inversely associated with all three types of prosocial behavior and with empathy. In an undergraduate student sample (n = 539), unique and interaction effects were tested in hierarchical regression. Predictions were supported for primary psychopathy. Gender did not moderate associations. Theoretical and practical implications are considered.     

The Multidimensional Nature of Psychopathy: Five Recommendations for Research

The seven articles in this Special Section of the Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment underscore the point that, at least in the psychopathy domain, parsimony is frequently an inaccurate scientific heuristic. These articles highlight the multidimensionality of youth psychopathy, suggesting that (a) the full constellation of psychopathy tends to outperform callous-unemotional traits alone in statistically predicting external criteria, (b) psychopathy subdimensions often interact statistically in predicting such criteria, and (c) psychopathy subdimensions often bear markedly different external correlates, including criminal offending, trait anxiety, and emotion processing. I offer five recommendations for future research on psychopathy and argue that that a full comprehension of this condition will require a better understanding of its subdimensions, and their interrelations, placement within the general personality domain, physiological correlates, and genetic and environmental underpinnings.     

Reversal Learning Deficits in Criminal Offenders: Effects of Psychopathy,Substance use,and Childhood Maltreatment History

Deficits in reinforcement learning are presumed to underlie the impulsive and incorrigible behavior exhibited by psychopathic criminals. However, previous studies documenting reversal learning impairments in psychopathic individuals have not investigated this relationship across a continuous range of psychopathy severity, nor have they examined how reversal learning impairments relate to different psychopathic traits, such as the interpersonal-affective and lifestyle-antisocial dimensions. Furthermore, previous studies have not considered the role that childhood maltreatment and substance use may have in this specific cognitive deficit. Using a standard reversal learning task in a sample of N = 114 incarcerated male offenders, we demonstrate a significant relationship between psychopathy severity and reversal learning errors. Furthermore, we show a significant interaction between psychopathy and childhood maltreatment, but not substance use, such that individuals high in psychopathy with an extensive history of maltreatment committed the greatest number of reversal learning errors. These findings extend the current understanding of reversal learning performance among psychopathic individuals, and highlight the importance of considering childhood maltreatment when studying psychopathy.     

The P-psychopathy continuum: Facets of Psychoticism and their associations with psychopathic tendencies

Eysenck proposed that psychopathy is at the extreme end of the Psychoticism (P) personality dimension (Eysenck & Eysenck, 1976). This study examined (i) whether psychopathy-relevant P items of the EPQ-R can form psychometrically valid facets that map onto the conceptualization of the two-, three- or four-factor models of psychopathy using confirmatory factor analysis (N = 577) in a normal population; and (ii) whether those P-facets have criteria-related validity in associations with self-reported primary and secondary psychopathy, impulsivity (subsample N = 306), and measures of trait empathy and aggression (subsample N = 212). The four-factor model incorporating affective, interpersonal, impulsive, and antisocial facets of P was superior to the two-factor model; however, the three-factor conceptualization excluding the antisocial P-facet was the best fit. The facets show predicted divergent associations with primary and secondary self-reported psychopathy and trait measures. Findings are discussed in light of Eysenck’s P-psychopathy continuity hypothesis and the applicability of facet approaches to the prediction of psychopathic and antisocial tendencies.     

Remember me? Psychopathic traits and emotional memory in an undergraduate sample

We investigated the effects of psychopathy on emotional memory among a predominantly female undergraduate sample. Undergraduates (N = 153, mean age = 20.1; 80.1% female; 57.1% Caucasian) completed a facial memory task. Participants were presented with a series of faces (sad, scared, angry, happy, neutral), completed a self-report measure of psychopathy, and were presented with another series of faces (with some from the first phase, and some new). Participants were asked whether they recognized each face from the first set, and reaction time (RT) was measured. Although memory for emotional faces did not differ from neutral faces, there were main effects of emotion, gender and psychopathy on RT. A significant 3-way interaction revealed that males who were higher in psychopathy had slower RTs; they were slow to remember sad, angry and neutral faces. In conclusion, psychopathy may affect emotional memory differently across gender. Specifically, undergraduate men, but not women, with higher psychopathy levels may show impaired memory for emotional faces. Implications for future studies of emotional memory and psychopathy are discussed.     

Direct and indirect relationships between Factor 2 psychopathy,behavioral activation,positive alcohol expectancies,and alcohol use

There is a well-established relationship between Factor 2 psychopathy and heavy alcohol use. Very few studies, however, have examined potential mediators of this relationship. As a result, it is difficult to develop intervention strategies that target early steps in the psychopathy/alcohol use pathway. The present study tested two structural equation models linking Factor 2 psychopathy to alcohol use through the influence of both behavioral activation and positive alcohol expectancies in a sample of college undergraduates (N = 196). The study was also one of the first to utilize both self-report and laboratory measures of behavioral activation. Findings indicate that both behavioral activation (as assessed by self-report but not laboratory measures) and positive alcohol expectancies fully account for the relationship between Factor 2 psychopathy and alcohol use.     

Throwing more light on the dark side of psychopathy: An extension of previous findings for the revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory

Despite previous studies of psychopathy and the motivational systems of the Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST) of personality, few have examined psychopathy in light of the revised RST model. In a large sample (N = 779) of young adults, we expand on Hughes, Moore, Morris, and Corr’s (2012) preliminary findings relating primary/secondary psychopathy to revised RST’s three systems: Flight-Flight-Freeze System (FFFS), Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS), and Behavioral Approach System (BAS). Converging results between Hughes et al. and the current study emphasize three major findings: (1) primary psychopathy is negatively related to the BIS as well as the FFFS; (2) primary psychopathy is positively related to goal-driven behavior of the BAS; and, (3) secondary psychopathy is positively related to impulsivity reflected in the BAS. The FFFS was incrementally predictive of primary but not secondary psychopathy. No evidence for a BAS × BIS interaction in psychopathy was found. Results are discussed in terms of future research directions.     

Secondary psychopathy,but not primary psychopathy,is associated with risky decision-making in noninstitutionalized young adults

Although risky decision-making has been posited to contribute to the maladaptive behavior of individuals with psychopathic tendencies, the performance of psychopathic groups on a common task of risky decision-making, the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT; Bechara, Damasio, Damasio, & Anderson, 1994), has been equivocal. Different aspects of psychopathy (personality traits, antisocial deviance) and/or moderating variables may help to explain these inconsistent findings. In a sample of college students (N = 129, age 18–27), we examined the relationship between primary and secondary psychopathic features and IGT performance. A measure of impulsivity was included to investigate its potential as a moderator. In a joint model including main effects and interactions between primary psychopathy, secondary psychopathy and impulsivity, only secondary psychopathy was significantly related to risky IGT performance, and this effect was not moderated by the other variables. This finding supports the growing literature suggesting that secondary psychopathy is a better predictor of decision-making problems than the primary psychopathic personality traits of lack of empathy and remorselessness.     

Predicting counterproductive work behaviors with sub-clinical psychopathy: Beyond the Five Factor Model of personality

Organizational psychologists examining personality’s relation to work behavior have focused largely on the “normal” traits comprising the Five Factor Model (FFM). However, given the aversive nature of sub-clinical psychopathy (e.g., callous affect, impulsivity), we posit that this toxic personality profile will enhance the prediction of negative work outcomes, namely forms of counterproductive workplace behavior (CWB). Study 1 (N = 193) examined the value of sub-clinical psychopathy and the FFM in predicting intentions to engage in CWB; results support prior research indicating that both agreeableness and conscientiousness significantly correlated with CWB. In addition, sub-clinical psychopathy predicted CWB above and beyond the FFM. Study 2 (N = 360) extended the findings of Study 1 by examining interpersonally deviant behavior in a team context. While agreeableness was significantly related to interpersonal deviance in Study 2, conscientiousness was not. Results from Study 2 replicate Study 1, suggesting that sub-clinical psychopathy accounted for the majority of the explained variance in interpersonal deviance. Overall, the results support the value of using sub-clinical psychopathy to predict CWB.     

It takes one to know one: Relationship between lie detection and psychopathy

We investigated primary and secondary psychopathy and the ability to detect high-stakes, real-life emotional lies in an on-line experiment (N = 150). Using signal detection analysis, we found that lie detection ability was overall above chance level, there was a tendency towards responding liberally to the test stimuli, and women were more accurate than men. Further, sex moderated the relationship between psychopathy and lie detection ability; in men, primary psychopathy had a significant positive correlation with the ability to detect lies, whereas in women there was a significant negative correlation with deception detection. The results are discussed with reference to evolutionary theory and sex differences in processing socio-emotional information.     

Testing Measurement Invariance of the Dark Triad Dirty Dozen in a Belgian Adult Sample

The Dirty Dozen (Jonason & Webster, 2010) is a frequently used concise version of the Dark Triad to measure three socially aversive personality traits: Machiavellianism, psychopathy and, narcissism. The present study has examined measurement invariance in a sample of Belgian adults. The present study aims to assess measurement invariance of the Dutch version of the Dirty Dozen measure across gender in a large city-based representative adult sample in Belgium (N = 1587). Multi-group first-order confirmatory factor analysis for categorical indicators was utilized. In addition, unique associations between Dirty Dozen traits, trait self-control and, acceptance of illegitimate norms were examined in a series of structural equation models. Results indicated that the internal consistency of the Dirty Dozen subscales was good for Machiavellianism (α = 0.80) and narcissism (α = 0.80), but modest for psychopathy (α = 0.64). The hypothesized three correlated factors model with separate factors for Machiavellianism, psychopathy and, narcissism provided a poor fit for men and women. Invariance testing across gender showed evidence for weak invariance only, indicating that the underlying latent factors are measured the same way with the same metric in the two populations. However, we were not able to establish strong measurement invariance. Observed group differences should be interpreted with caution. Furthermore, Machiavellianism and psychopathy were strongly associated with trait self-control in both men and women. Strong correlations were found between acceptance of illegitimate norms and Dirty Dozen traits, Machiavellianism and, psychopathy, but not with narcissism.     

Academic entitlement and socially aversive personalities: Does the Dark Triad predict academic entitlement?

Academic entitlement is a well-established problem; however its causes are not well understood. This study (n = 169) investigated the role of the Dark Triad as a predictor of academic entitlement. The Dark Triad, comprised of Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy, was measured with Jonason and Webster’s (2010) concise measure, and academic entitlement was assessed with Chowning and Campbell’s (2009) academic entitlement construct (comprised of externalized responsibility and entitled expectations). Gender and psychopathy predicted externalized responsibility and narcissism predicted entitled expectations. Findings are discussed regarding the contribution of psychopathy and narcissism to academic entitlement. Also discussed is the potential learned aspect of entitlement, due to narcissism being a cause of both entitled behavior and resultant uncivil behavior that occurs when entitled behaviors fail to achieve the desired outcome.     

Birds of a “bad” feather flock together: The Dark Triad and mate choice

Previous research on the Dark Triad traits (i.e., Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism) has focused solely on the role the Dark Triad traits played in mate choice of actors. The current study (N = 336) extends this by manipulating the apparent levels of Dark Triad traits in targets and correlating mate choice in these targets with individual differences in the Dark Triad traits in actors. As expected, both sexes preferred partners low in the Dark Triad traits for long-term mating, while those high in these traits were preferred for one-night stands. However, women high in psychopathy considered the Dark Triad traits in potential male partners more physically attractive and desirable for an one-night stand, as well as a potential husband. Men who were high on psychopathy were likewise attracted to psychopathy in potential mothers. Our findings are discussed from an evolutionary personality paradigm.     

Psychopathy and looming cognitive style: Moderation by attentional control

Psychopathy has long been associated with lower anxiety. This study examined the relationship between self-reported psychopathy and one of the anxiety-related cognitions, looming cognitive style (LCS; Riskind, Williams, Gessner, Chrosniak, & Cortina, 2000), among students. LCS reflects the tendency to perceive danger as rapidly increasing, as opposed to making a static risk assessment. This study focused on LCS not only because it has a strong association with anxiety, but also because studies employing the Card Playing Task have shown that psychopathy predicts difficulty in detecting changing contingencies. Attentional control was included as a possible moderator of a psychopathy-LCS link. Two questionnaire studies (n = 157 and 312) revealed an inverse relation between psychopathy and LCS in low-attention participants. This suggests that reduced cognitive resources inhibited those with psychopathic tendencies from imagining rapidly developing threats. The results are discussed in terms of the resource requirements of risk cognitions, the multi-dimensional nature of attention, and a defective behavioral inhibition system in (secondary) psychopathy. This study suggests the importance of considering attention when analyzing the psychopathy-anxiety link. Future studies should use multi-dimensional analysis of attentional control and multiple measures of psychopathy.     

The relationship between psychopathy and impulsivity: A multi-impulsivity measurement approach

Psychopathy is a serious personality disorder of which impulsivity is a key component. However, impulsivity is a multidimensional construct, with multiple approaches to measurement, and different measures may be differentially implicated in psychopathy. This study investigated the relationship between psychopathy as assessed by the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised (PPI-R; Lilienfeld & Widows, 2005), a personality measure of impulsivity (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11), and four behavioural measures of impulsivity (GoStop Impulsivity Paradigm, Two Choice Impulsivity Paradigm, Delay Discounting Task, Iowa Gambling Task). A nonclinical sample (N = 80) was recruited from the local community to advance understanding of psychopathy in non-incarcerated samples. The results indicated that the personality measure of impulsivity was strongly correlated with the PPI-R, while the behavioural measures were either not correlated or only weakly correlated with the PPI-R. The results are discussed in terms of the multifaceted nature of impulsivity and the need for the further development of behavioural measures of impulsivity, given their importance in clinical assessment and intervention.     

Why employee psychopathy leads to counterproductive workplace behaviours : an analysis of the underlying mechanisms

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to examine possible explanatory mechanisms linking employee secondary psychopathy to counterproductive workplace behaviour (CWB). Based on the emotion-centred model of voluntary work behaviour we argue that secondary psychopathy is characterized by unfavourable cognitive appraisal tendencies, which in turn positively relate to negative affectivity. We further assume that this cognitive-affective process enhances CWB. We also include primary psychopathy into our research model to test if the presumed mechanism applies to both psychopathy dimensions. We collected daily-survey data from 470 employees (1670 days) and analysed these data using multilevel structured equation modelling. We found strong support for the hypothesized serial mediation model, indicating that secondary psychopathy triggers dysfunctional cognitive-affective tendencies and consequently increases the likelihood of CWB. The proposed model did not hold up for primary psychopathy. Our study outlines the presence of distorted cognition-affective patterns in employee secondary psychopathy only. These patterns seem to play a key role in explaining the link between employee secondary psychopathy and deviant workplace behaviour. Based on this procedural knowledge relevant implications for theory and practice are provided.     

The Importance of Child and Adolescent Psychopathy

In commenting on the five articles in this special issue, this paper discusses (1) the concept of child and adolescent psychopathy, and whether adolescent psychopaths are qualitatively distinct from other young people; (2) the measurement of adolescent psychopathy; (3) the relationship between psychopathy and other personality dimensions; (4) childhood risk factors for psychopathy; (5) psychopathy in the context of risk factors for delinquency; and (6) the prevention and treatment of adolescent psychopathy. It is argued that the three dimensions of an arrogant, deceitful interpersonal style, deficient affective experience, and an impulsive or irresponsible behavioral style are most important at present in the definition of psychopathy. An ambitious research agenda is recommended, investigating the concept of adolescent psychopathy, developing new measures, conducting new longitudinal studies on development and risk factors, and mounting new randomized experiments on prevention and treatment.