Observing psychopathy promptly, reliably, and validly: Development and validation of the Short Psychopathy Rating Scale (SPRS)

Abstract

The goal of the present research was to develop a short, valid, and reliable rating measure of psychopathy: the Short Psychopathy Rating Scale (SPRS). To achieve this, we conducted three studies. In Study 1 (N = 485), the participants from a community sample rated persons they know well on items that assess psychopathy. By conducting the Factor Analysis, we selected the items that depict three psychopathy characteristics: Deceitfulness, Emotional coldness, and Recklessness. In Study 2, the raters provided estimates of these three psychopathy measures on the target individuals (N = 429). Furthermore, we collected self-report measures from the target persons, which were used to establish the validity of the new psychopathy scales: Psychopathic Personality Traits Scale (PPTS), short version of the Triarchic Personality Measure (TriPM), impulsiveness, physical aggression, Positive self-view, short-term mating, moral disgust, and substance use. Expected latent structure was obtained from this data as well; furthermore, psychopathy scales had high reliabilities. Finally, the correlations with self-report measures provided evidence for convergent and divergent validity of SPRS scales. In study 3 we obtained positive associations between SPRS scales, aggression, and risk assessment regarding criminal behavior in a sample of prisoners (N = 290) thus confirming the validity of the scales in a forensic context. In sum, the results of the present research showed evidence that SPRS is a valid and reliable measure of psychopathy which can be easily administered and informants can be both professionals and laymen as well; hence, it is an important addition to the psychopathy assessment, both in research and practical contexts.