Estimating facets of psychopathy from normal personality traits: a step toward community epidemiological investigations

In three samples consisting of community and undergraduate men and women and incarcerated men, we examined the criterion validity of two distinct factors of psychopathy embodied in the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI) as indexed by primary trait scales from the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ). Consistent with the PPI factors themselves, MPQ-estimated PPI-I related negatively with internalizing disorder symptoms and fearfulness and positively with thrill and adventure seeking, sociability, activity, and narcissism. MPQ-estimated PPI-II was associated negatively with socialization and positively with externalizing disorder symptoms, impulsivity, disinhibition and boredom susceptibility, and trait anxiety and negative emotionality. Additionally, PPI-I was selectively related to the interpersonal facet of Factor 1 of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), whereas PPI-II was related preferentially to Factor 2 of the PCL-R.     

Further evidence of the divergent correlates of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory factors: prediction of institutional misconduct among male prisoners

Recent evidence suggests that 2 largely orthogonal dimensions underpin the latent construct assessed by the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI; Lilienfeld & Andrews, 1996): Fearless Dominance (PPI-I) and Impulsive Antisociality (PPI-II). Relatively few data exist on the correlates of these 2 dimensions in offender samples, however. The present study examines the criterion-related validity of these 2 dimensions among male prison inmates (N = 131) in relation to the prediction of 3 categories of institutional maladjustment: aggressive misconduct, nonaggressive misconduct, and any misconduct. PPI-II significantly predicted each criterion type, with effect sizes of moderate magnitude, whereas PPI-I was essentially unrelated to these outcome measures.     

The Relation Between the Two Factors of Psychopathy and Intimate Partner Aggression

Psychopathy is a personality disorder that has emerged as a correlate of antisocial, impulsive, and violent behavior, including intimate partner violence (IPV). In the current study, we sought to explore the complex relationship between two factors of psychopathy and IPV perpetration. The Fearlessness-Dominance Factor I (PPI-I) assesses the affective-interpersonal traits of psychopathy, whereas the Impulsive-Antisociality Factor II (PPI-II) assesses the behavioral-lifestyle traits of psychopathy. Data from 114 couples was utilized in the current study. When using male self-report of IPV, all forms of violence were significantly correlated with PPI-I. No male self-report or female-report of any of the forms of violence were significantly correlated with PPI-II. Hierarchical regression was utilized to study the impact of psychopathy factors in predicting physical violence while controlling for demographic variables. In predicting women’s report of men’s violence, the addition of psychopathy factors to the model explained significantly more of the variance (F = 2.71; p < .05) above and beyond demographic variables. The addition of psychopathy factors to the model predicting men’s self-reported physical violence was also significant (F = 4.78, p < .001). These results suggest that individuals high in PPI-I may be at higher risk of IPV perpetration compared to those high in PPI-II.     

Assessing the external correlates of alternative factor models of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-short form across three samples

This study investigated various theoretically relevant correlates of a short form of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI; Lilienfeld & Andrews, 1996) using archival data from large undergraduate, foster care, and juvenile offender samples. External correlates of the 2 primary scales (PPI-I and PPI-II) and the Coldheartedness subscale were for the most part consistent with prior findings. Analyses for an alternate factor model in which the Fearlessness subscale loaded onto PPI-II (rather than PPI-I) resulted in relatively few substantial changes to the pattern of correlations with criterion measures, but a third factor that included the Coldheartedness and Carefree Nonplanfulness subscales functioned differently than Coldheartedness alone in these data.     

Demystification of the Relationship Between Psychopathy and Happiness

Recent findings have provided evidence for a negative correlation between psychopathy and happiness. In order to determine if this correlation is generalizable to all subtypes of psychopathy, participants from the community (N = 572) were recruited to examine happiness-related features among males and females by psychopathic subtypes. Examination of the Fearless-Dominance (PPI-I) and Impulsive-Antisociality (PPI-II) subscales of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Short Form provided evidence for two distinct patterns when comparing psychopathic personality traits to happiness-related features. PPI-I was positively correlated with higher durable happiness, presence of a meaning in life, personal growth and hope, and correlated negatively with fluctuating happiness. PPI-II was negatively correlated with durable happiness, presence of a meaning in life, personal growth and hope, and correlated positively with fluctuating happiness and searching for a meaning in life. Despite a few differences, both genders displayed an overall similar pattern between measures of well-being and psychopathic subtypes. Implications for psychopathy regarding the importance of performing analyses by gender and subtypes are discussed.     

Positive impression management and its influence on the Revised NEO Personality Inventory: a comparison of analog and differential prevalence group designs

Participants (n = 22) completed the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI-R) as part of an authentic job application. Protocols produced by this group were compared with "analog" participants (n = 23) who completed the NEO PI-R under standard instructions and again under instructions designed to mimic the test-taking scenario of the job applicants (the "fake-good" condition). Participants completing the NEO PI-R under fake-good instructions and the job applicants scored lower on the Neuroticism and higher on the Extraversion scales than did the participants responding under standard instructions. Analog participants in the fake-good condition scored higher on the Extraversion and lower on the Agreeableness scales than did the job applicants. These results suggest that outcomes from analog designs are generalizable to real-world samples where response dissimulation is probable.     

Impact and Detection of Response Distortions on Parenting Measures Used to Assess Risk for Child Physical Abuse

This study investigates the impact of instructional conditions (fake good, be honest, fake bad, and respond randomly) on the scores of 3 parenting measures: the Adult/Adolescent Parenting Inventory (AAPI; Bavolek, 1984), the Child Abuse Potential (CAP) Inventory (Milner, 1986), and the Parenting Stress Index (PSI; Abidin, 1995) in general-population parents and at-risk parents. In addition, the study explores the ability of the PSI Defensiveness Scale and the CAP Inventory validity indexes to detect response distortions. As expected, most parenting-measure scores changed significantly as a result of parents' attempts to distort their responses. Across the response-distortion conditions, the PSI Defensiveness Scale only detected protocols in the fake-good condition with detection rates below 50%, whereas the CAP Inventory validity indexes correctly detected as invalid 94.7% and 91.1% of the protocols generated by general-population parents and at-risk parents, respectively. With regard to correct detection and labeling rates, except for the labeling of faking-bad behavior in the at-risk group (57.9% correct), the labeling rates of the CAP validity indexes for each of the response-distortion conditions in the general population and at-risk groups were acceptable, ranging from 82.4% to 100% correct.     

Special Abilities Assessment in Children

The faking-detection validity and incremental validity of response latencies to Minnesota Multiphasic Personality inventory (MMPI) items was investigated using an analog research design. One hundred undergraduates were assigned at random to five groups: each group received different faking instructions (standard, fake good, fake bad, fake good with incentive, fake bad with incentive). All subjects completed a computer-administered version of the MMPI. Content-determined response deviance scores and latencies of responses to Subtle and Obvious scale items were determined for each subject. The principal findings suggest that response latencies may have greater faking good detection ability than responses deviance scores, and that response latencies have statistically significant incremental validity for both the detection of faking good and faking bad, when latencies are used with response deviance scores obtained from Subtle and Obvious scales.     

The good,the bad and the mad: Response bias in self-report measures

This study set out to examine the susceptibility of five extensively used, self-report measures to response set bias. Subjects were requested either to fake good, (give a good impression), fake bad, (give a bad impression), fake mad, (give an impression of mental instability) or respond honestly. Subjects who faked good had significantly higher Extraversion, Lie and Social Desirability scores but lowest Neuroticism, Psychoticism and Social Anxiety scores. Subjects who faked bad had significantly lower Extraversion and higher Psychoticism and Social Anxiety scores. Fake mad subjects scored higher on Self-Monitoring and Locus of Control. Four of the eight scales showed significant differences between subjects faking bad and those faking mad. The results are discussed in terms of questionnaire design and respondent's motivation.     

The impact of modified instructions on ego-level scores: a psychometric hazard or indication of optimal ego level?

Various modified instructions have different effects on the Washington University Sentence Completion Test for Ego Development (Loevinger, 1985). These effects were reviewed and 2 alternative explanations were explored: The "measurement unreliability explanation" versus the "optimal level explanation." Both explanations were systematically studied in 2 test-retest experiments with the Sentence Completion Test for Children and Youths (Westenberg, Treffers, & Drewes, 1998). The modified instructions were to make a favorable impression on the tester ("fake good" condition) or to complete the sentences in as adult and mature a manner as one can ("be mature" condition). Both experiments were conducted with 9- to 15-year-old children and adolescents (N = 127, 128). As was anticipated, neither the fake good nor the be mature condition yielded higher (or lower) reliability indexes as compared to the standard instructions, hence discounting the measurement unreliability explanation. Also as expected, the fake good condition did not yield significantly higher ego-level scores, whereas the be mature condition did yield significantly higher ego-level scores. The former instructions did not convey information relevant to the construct or measure of ego development, whereas the latter instructions did convey information relevant for raising ego-level scores. It is argued that the higher scores under the be mature instructions might reflect the respondents' "optimal" ego level (best functioning), whereas the ego-level score under the standard instructions might reflect their "functional" level (normal functioning).     

Association of fake-good MMPI-2 profiles with low Beck Depression Inventory scores

Seventy-nine adolescent mothers (mean age = 18.1 years) were administered the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and three validity scales (L, F, and K) of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory 2 (MMPI-2). The aim was to determine whether low-BDI mothers were "faking good," or denying their depression. The adolescent mothers were assigned to a low-BDI group (scores = 0, 1, 2), a nondepressed group (scores = 3-9), or a depressed group (scores > or = 13). The depressed group had higher F (Symptom) scale scores than did the nondepressed group, which in turn had higher scores than did the low-BDI group. The low-BDI group, in contrast, had more fake-good profiles than did the two other groups. Discriminant analyses indicated that 90% of the fake-good profiles could be classified correctly based on BDI and K (Defensiveness) scale scores. These data suggest the need for further assessment when individuals have extremely low BDI scores.     

Detection of dissimulation with the new generation of objective personality measures

This study investigated the effectiveness of two recently developed measures of psychopathology—the Basic Personality Inventory (BPI) and the Millon Clinical Multiaxial (Inventory-II) (MCMI-II) in detecting dissimulation (i.e., faking good and faking bad). Both personality measures have developed special ‘validity scales’ to discern dissimulating responses. Ninety-one undergraduate students completed the two personality scales under one of three instructional sets: fake good, fake bad, and honest. In general, the results indicated that both scales were effective in distinguishing the groups from one another. The MCMI-II was better at detecting fake bad responding, while the BPI appeared to be more effective in detecting fake good responding. These differences in identifying fake good and fake bad response styles can be attributed to the method in which the scales were constructed.     

Perfectionism and social desirability: Students report increased perfectionism to create a positive impression

Because previous studies examining correlations between perfectionism and social desirability produced inconclusive findings, this study used an experimental approach examining the perceived social desirability of perfectionism. 117 university students were randomly assigned to three conditions (fake-good, standard, and fake-bad instructions) and then completed measures of self-oriented, other-oriented, and socially prescribed perfectionism. Results showed that all three forms of perfectionism were perceived as socially desirable. Self-oriented perfectionism showed a strong linear trend across the conditions: Students reported significantly higher self-oriented perfectionism in the fake-good condition, and significantly lower self-oriented perfectionism in the fake-bad condition compared to standard instructions. Other-oriented perfectionism showed the same linear trend, albeit weaker, and only fake-good and fake-bad conditions differed significantly. Socially prescribed perfectionism too showed a significant linear trend: Students reported higher levels in the fake-good condition compared to standard instructions and fake-bad condition, with no significant difference between the latter conditions. The findings indicate that, in educational settings, students perceive perfectionism—including maladaptive forms such as socially prescribed perfectionism—as socially desirable.     

A Meta‐Analytic Investigation of Job Applicant Faking on Personality Measures

This study investigates the extent to which job applicants fake their responses on personality tests. Thirty‐three studies that compared job applicant and non‐applicant personality scale scores were meta‐analyzed. Across all job types, applicants scored significantly higher than non‐applicants on extraversion (d=.11), emotional stability (d=.44), conscientiousness (d=.45), and openness (d=.13). For certain jobs (e.g., sales), however, the rank ordering of mean differences changed substantially suggesting that job applicants distort responses on personality dimensions that are viewed as particularly job relevant. Smaller mean differences were found in this study than those reported by Viswesvaran and Ones (Educational and Psychological Measurement, 59 (2), 197–210), who compared scores for induced “fake‐good” vs. honest response conditions. Also, direct Big Five measures produced substantially larger differences than did indirect Big Five measures.     

MCMI-II Report Style and Bias: Profile and Validity Scales Analyses

This study examines the behavior of the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-II (MCMI-II) in the face of various response styles and biases. The profiles and validity configurations of eight different test-taking styles were analyzed. Four hundred MCMI-II inventories (50 for each of the following categories) were administered or generated to produce the following: (a) normal endorsement by subjects, (b) fake good for administrative reasons, (c) fake good for clinical reasons, (d) fake bad administratively, (e) fake bad clinically, (f) 50% true/50% false computer generated, (g) 95% true computer generated, and (h) 95% false computer generated. Good statistical and clinically relevant separation of the profiles was found for normal, fake good, fake bad, and the randomly generated profiles with 44% of the variance predicted. The percentage of profiles identified by validity scales, however, was modest.     

MCMI-II report style and bias: profile and validity scales analyses

This study examines the behavior of the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-II (MCMI-II) in the face of various response styles and biases. The profiles and validity configurations of eight different test-taking styles were analyzed. Four hundred MCMI-II inventories (50 for each of the following categories) were administered or generated to produce the following: (a) normal endorsement by subjects, (b) fake good for administrative reasons, (c) fake good for clinical reasons, (d) fake bad administratively, (e) fake bad clinically, (f) 50% true/50% false computer generated, (g) 95% true computer generated, and (h) 95% false computer generated. Good statistical and clinically relevant separation of the profiles was found for normal, fake good, fake bad, and the randomly generated profiles with 44% of the variance predicted. The percentage of profiles identified by validity scales, however, was modest.     

Individual Differences in the Ability to Fake on Personality Measures

This study provides a partial test of the model of faking proposed by McFarland and Ryan (2000) McFarland, L. A. and Ryan, A. M. 2000. Variance in faking across noncognitive measures.. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(5): 812–821. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] by examining the degree to which self-monitoring, knowledge of the constructs being measured, job familiarity, and openness to ideas account for variance in ability to fake on a personality measure. Undergraduates (N = 342) completed a modified version of the NEO Personality Inventory–Revised under both honest and faking instructions. In addition, some participants were asked to “fake good” and others were asked to fake toward the requirements of a specific job (i.e., accountant). Consistent with prior research, the fake good manipulation was found to increase scores on 8 of the 9 personality variables. In contrast, the fake accountant manipulation resulted in a personality profile consistent with a priori hypotheses in which some personality scores were significantly increased whereas others were significantly decreased. Results also revealed that the individual difference variables explained a significant portion of the variance in the ability to fake and that the two faking conditions produced different relations with these individual difference variables. As hypothesized, the participants' openness to ideas was a significant predictor of the ability to fake like an accountant (β = .22) but not the ability to fake good. In contrast, the participants' knowledge of the constructs being measured was a significant predictor of the ability to fake good (β = .18) but not the ability to fake like an accountant. We conclude by elaborating on the importance of using a hypothesis testing approach in the assessment of the relations between personality variables and job performance.     

Deceptiveness on the PAI: a study of naïve faking with psychiatric inpatients

In this study, we sought to explore the diagnostic accuracy of the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; Morey, 1991) Validity scales (Negative Impression Management [NIM] and Positive Impression Management [PIM]) and indexes (Malingering index, Defensiveness index [DEF]; Morey, 1993, 1996; Cashel Discriminant Function; Cashel, Rogers, Sewell, & Martin-Cannici, 1995; and Rogers Discriminant Function [RDF]; Rogers, Sewell, Morey, & Ustad, 1996) to identify differences in profiles completed by psychiatric inpatients under standardized instructions (Time 1) and after random assignment (Time 2) to a fake good (n=21), fake bad (n=20), or retest (n=21) scenario. Repeated measures analysis of variance revealed a significant interaction effect. Whereas the retest group did not show any significant changes on the PAI variables from Time 1 to Time 2, both faking groups showed changes in expected directions. Discriminant function analyses revealed that NIM, RDF, and lower scores on DEF best differentiated between the faking bad and retest groups. PIM was the only nonredundant significant score discriminating the faking good and retest groups. Cutoffs for these scales and indexes established in prior research were supported using diagnostic efficiency statistics. Results suggest that NIM and RDF in faking bad scenarios and PIM in faking good scenarios are most sensitive to unsophisticated attempts to dissimulate by inpatient psychiatric patients.     

A prospective comparison of two measures of psychopathy in the prediction of institutional misconduct

This study examined the predictive validity of two widely used measures of psychopathic traits, the Psychopathy Checklist--Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 2003) and the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI; Lilienfeld & Andrews, 1996). Records of institutional infractions were obtained for a young adult sample of prison inmates (N = 46), who were followed for approximately two years following administration of these two scales. The PPI total and two factor scores predicted the total number of infractions committed (r ranging from .28 to .36). PPI Factor I showed some evidence of stronger associations with non-aggressive infractions (r = .36), whereas PPI Factor II was the strongest correlate of aggressive misconduct (r = .24). The total and facet scores of the PCL-R were not significantly predictive of any form of institutional misconduct, with effect sizes ranging from negligible to small (median r = .14, r ranging from -.01 to .21).     

MMPI response-set characteristics among adolescents

This study examined the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MPPI) profile characteristics for five different response sets in adolescent populations employing adolescent MMPI norms. In general, findings for "all-true" and "all-false" adolescent profiles were highly similar in shape and elevation to those reported in the adult literature (Graham, 1977; Lachar, 1974), whereas random profiles on adolescent norms differed substantially from adult-norm random profiles in shape but not elevation. The characteristics of "fake good" or "fake bad" response sets were investigated by the use of adolescent subjects in two settings. Ninety-four public high-school students were administered the MMPI with standard and "fake bad" instructions, and 24 adolescents in inpatient psychiatric treatment were administered the MMPI under standard and "fake good" instructions. The MMPI profiles generated by special instructional sets were analyzed in relation to the subject's age, sex, race, and actual MMPI profile features. Findings indicated that although sex and race effects were evident in normal adolescents' attempts to simulate psychopathology on the MMPI, teenagers generally produce profiles containing grossly exaggerated symptom patterns that are relatively easy to detect as invalid. In contrast, it was found that a substantial number of psychiatrically disturbed adolescents may effectively simulate normal profiles and that effectiveness in these attempts was related to greater age and lower actual MMPI T-score values on the Hs and Hy scales.