Psychopathic Personality Traits Research Articles

Psychopathic Personality as a Moderator of the Relationship Between Atypical Sexuality and Sexual Coercion Proclivity in the General Population.

Being sexually coerced can have long-lasting psychological impacts on victims; with perpetration strongly predicted by elevated psychopathic traits. Owing to recent legislative developments in the United Kingdom that criminalize coercive control under the Domestic Abuse Act (2021), this study offers a timely investigation into the mechanisms of sexual coercion in domestic abuse across sexual abuse and coercive control. We used moderation analysis (n = 405) to investigate whether sexual coercion proclivity was predicted by facets of atypical sexuality (non-clinical elevated levels of sex drive, sexual sadism, and sexual masochism), and whether this relationship was moderated by psychopathic personality traits specifically the factor one components, which encompasses interpersonal and affective characteristics. Psychopathic personality traits significantly moderated the positive association between sex drive and sexual coercion proclivity, and between sexual sadism and sexual coercion proclivity in males (but not females), but psychopathic personality traits had no such moderating effect in the sexual masochism model. Results are discussed in terms of identifying risk factors of sexual coercion within a general population sample and international application. Open data and a preprint of this paper are available at [https://osf.io/xkcah/?view_only=134ff9c93ad24ba286515b348ce79c0c].

Cool under fire: Psychopathic personality traits and decision making in law-enforcement-oriented populations.

Compared with other jobs, the law enforcement profession is a high-stakes occupation that has the potential to greatly impact public safety, and officers must face daily dangers not experienced in other professions. Previous research indicates that many law enforcement officers exhibit varying degrees of psychopathic traits, which suggests that it may be useful to examine police officer performance, specifically proxies of excessive use of force, through the lens of the triarchic psychopathy domains. We predicted that high boldness and high meanness would be associated with greater justification of excessive use of force, whereas low boldness, high meanness, and high disinhibition would relate to greater errors in high-stakes decision making ("trigger bias"). We employed criterion profile analysis to elucidate optimal profile configurations in both law enforcement and undergraduate samples in relation to justification of use-of-force scenarios and decision making in high-pressure situations (i.e., police officer's dilemma shooter task). In general, combinations of triarchic psychopathy traits accounted for similar variance in performance criteria as individual psychopathy trait domains. In particular, trait elevations in meanness were associated with ratings of unjustified-use-of-force vignettes, and disinhibition was associated with commission errors on the shooter task (although effect sizes were small for the latter). The findings of this study support the conceptual validity of the separate dimensions of the triarchic psychopathy model and substantiate the moderate utility of personality indicators (e.g., antagonism, difficulties with impulse control) in relation to career-related performance in law enforcement. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

ENVIRONMENTS OF IMMEDIATE STRATEGIES, LACK OF CONFIDENCE, AND THE RELATIONSHIP WITH DARK TRIAD PERSONALITY TRAITS

This narrative review deals with the correlation between personal, professional, and institutional lack of confidence, based on the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) study. This correlation is associated with hostile environments that require immediate strategies, studied in the life course theory. The main replicating agents of these effects are based on social relationships involving individuals or groups exhibiting narcissistic, Machiavellian, and psychopathic personality traits, described in numerous scientific articles as Dark Triad personality traits. Such a condition indicates the uncertainty that the laws and justice will be fulfilled equally for all if there is any attempt of deceit or non-compliance with regulations. Under these circumstances, development is compromised, opportunities become scarce, education, health, housing, security, and the entire personal and professional environment becomes unstable, insecure, and unfair. The permanent effects of a continuum of immediate responses result in the absence of punishment and lessening actions of reprimand for justice, turning this environment fertile for individuals with dishonest, selfish, manipulative, and low empathy personalities, forming a cycle of permanent cause and effect.

The impact of empathy priming on the Rape Myth Acceptance Scale for those with antisocial/psychopathic traits

ABSTRACT Rape Myth Acceptance (RMA) remains a persistent problem in rape and sexual assault cases. Several scholars (e.g. Mouilso, E. R., & Calhoun, K. S. (2013). The role of rape myth acceptance and psychopathy in sexual assault perpetration. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment, and Trauma, 22(2), 159–174. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926771.2013.743937) discussed RMA as a cognitive distortion that constitutes a crucial link between psychopathy and rape perpetration. Research has indicated that empathy can help counteract bias and promote understanding and support for individuals who have experienced sexual violence (Batson, C. D., Polycarpou, M. P., Harmon-Jones, E., Imhoff, H. J., Mitchener, E. C., Bednar, L. L., Klein, T. R., & Highberger, L. (1997). Empathy and attitudes: Can feeling for a member of a stigmatized group improve feelings toward the group? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72(1), 105–118. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.72.1.105). The overall goal of this study was to experimentally assess the relationship between empathy priming, psychopathy, and RMA. Specifically, it aimed to examine whether psychopathic traits influence the relationship between empathy priming and RMA. The study included 518 participants from Ontario Tech University and the community. Results indicated that the amount of effort invested in the empathy priming task significantly reduced rape-supportive attitudes, but only when the participants had high levels of psychopathic personality traits. Limitations of the study and potential directions for future research are discussed. PRACTICE IMPACT STATEMENT The present research offers a unique perspective in understanding the efficiency of empathy priming on rape-supportive attitudes in individuals with high- and low-trait psychopathy. Additionally, it highlights the significance of active involvement and engagement in empathy-based sexual assault prevention programmes, particularly when targeting individuals with high psychopathic traits.

A neurocognitive model of early onset persistent and desistant antisocial behavior in early adulthood.

It remains unclear which functional and neurobiological mechanisms are associated with persistent and desistant antisocial behavior in early adulthood. We reviewed the empirical literature and propose a neurocognitive social information processing model for early onset persistent and desistant antisocial behavior in early adulthood, focusing on how young adults evaluate, act upon, monitor, and learn about their goals and self traits. Based on the reviewed literature, we propose that persistent antisocial behavior is characterized by domain-general impairments in self-relevant and goal-related information processing, regulation, and learning, which is accompanied by altered activity in fronto-limbic brain areas. We propose that desistant antisocial development is associated with more effortful information processing, regulation and learning, that possibly balances self-relevant goals and specific situational characteristics. The proposed framework advances insights by considering individual differences such as psychopathic personality traits, and specific emotional characteristics (e.g., valence of social cues), to further illuminate functional and neural mechanisms underlying heterogenous developmental pathways. Finally, we address important open questions and offer suggestions for future research to improve scientific knowledge on general and context-specific expression and development of antisocial behavior in early adulthood.

The Mediating Role of Dark Triad Personality Traits in the Relationship Between Childhood Traumas and Obsessive Beliefs

This study aims to investigate the relationship between childhood traumas, dark triad personality traits, and obsessive beliefs. Personal Information Form, Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Short Dark Triad Scale, and Obsessive Beliefs Questionnaire were used to collect data in the study. A total of 480 volunteers, of which 306 were female and 174 were male, participated in the study. Pearson Correlation Analysis, independent samples t-test, and Parallel Multiple Mediator Variable analysis were used for the analysis of the obtained data. The correlation analysis results showed that childhood traumas were significantly and positively associated with both dark triad personality traits and obsessive beliefs. Male participants' psychopathic personality traits mean scores were found to be significantly higher than those of females. Mediation analysis results show that the psychopathic personality traits had a mediating effect on the relationship between the physical and emotional neglect and abuse sub-dimensions of childhood traumas and obsessive beliefs. The findings were discussed vis-à-vis the available relevant literature and suggestions were presented.

PSYCHOPATHY AND CYBERBULLYING: THE ROLE OF SELF-CONTROL AS MODERATOR AMONG PROBLEMATIC SMARTPHONE USERS

The widespread ownership of smartphones among youth has led to an increase in cyberbullying. Studies have shown that smartphone addiction is linked to psychopathic personality traits as well as significantly predicts cyberbullying. However, self-control is considered a protective factor that can promote responsible smartphone use. Research aimed to investigate role of self-control in association of psychopathy & cyberbullying among problematic smartphone users in Pakistan. The data was collected using a multi-stage sampling technique. Screening criteria was modified from 4-hours of the smartphone usage to 6-hours daily to screen the problematic smartphone usage. 1055 young individuals were approached, and 254 were not screened as problematic users of smartphones. In second stage, 801 problematic smartphone users, 383 were male (47.9%), 418 were females (52.1%) between ages of 18-23. Data was collected using three assessment measures: (i) subscale psychopathy of short dark triad test, (ii) revised self-control scale, and (iii) subscale cyberbullying of the forms of bullying. Study reveals positive relationship amid psychopathic personality traits and cyberbullying. Study sheds light on link between psychopathy and cyberbullying and emphasizes the need for interventions that target individuals with such personality traits to prevent or stop cyberbullying in particular context.

Using the HEXACO to explain the structure of borderline and psychopathic personality traits.

Research has examined the use of basic personality traits in describing problematic personality traits, such as borderline and psychopathic traits. Specifically, the Honesty-Humility factor of the HEXACO model of personality appears to account for a large proportion of the variance in these traits. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether the HEXACO model would similarly predict borderline traits. As found in previous research, psychopathic traits were predicted by low Honesty-Humility, Emotionality, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness, whereas borderline traits were found to be negatively related to eXtraversion and Conscientiousness but had a significantly positive relationship with Emotionality. As Emotionality appeared to be a differential predictor in this study, future research should further examine how Emotionality distinguishes between the various problematic personality traits, which may aid potential treatments/therapies.

Psychopathic personality traits stress immunity and social potency moderate the relationship between emotional competence and cognitive functions in depression.

Psychopathic personality traits (PPT) and depression have both been shown to worsen emotional and cognitive functions. Moreover, PPT and depression share similar underlying neuronal circuits tapping into the emotional and cognitive domains. However, little is known about the influence of PPT on emotion and cognition in individuals with depression. This study aimed to examine the correlative relationships and moderating role of PPT in the association between emotional competence and cognitive functions in individuals with depression. Data from 373 individuals diagnosed with depression (158 males, 215 females) were examined within a cohort study. Subjects filled out validated questionnaires surveying PPT and emotional competences. Furthermore, a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery was administered. Correlation analyses revealed a significant positive association between emotional competence and cognitive functions. Further, negative associations between emotional competence and the PPT "Blame Externalisation" and "Careless Nonplanfulness," as well as positive associations with psychopathic "Social Potency" and "Stress Immunity" were found. Moderation analyses indicated a significant positive influence of psychopathic "Stress Immunity" and "Social Influence" on the relationship between emotional competence and cognitive functions. The findings highlight the importance of integrating PPT in depression research. Considering PPT in depression treatment could also facilitate the therapeutic process by identifying individual traits as resilience-strengthening or potentially harmful factors for depressive symptomatology. This study represents a stepping stone for further research regarding the role of personality traits in psychiatric disorders and their treatment.

Impact of personality dysfunction on interdisciplinary treatment team working alliance in an inpatient psychiatric population.

Cluster B personality disorders (PDs) share specific traits that can result in interpersonal conflict. As therapeutic working alliance has a strong relationship with improved outcomes, there is interest in understanding the relationship between PDs, working alliance, and clinical outcomes. This is especially compelling in inpatient populations, where symptoms are severe, and patients are working with a treatment team. The aims of this study were to (a) assess whether higher team working alliance is associated with lower depressive symptoms, (b) assess whether patients with Cluster B PD traits have worse working alliance with their team than patients without those Cluster B PD traits, and (c) assess whether higher team working alliance is associated with lower depressive symptoms when Cluster B PD traits are present. Team working alliance was measured at baseline and at discharge for 3,406 inpatients at a psychiatric hospital. Improved team working alliance was associated with lower depression scores at discharge. Patients with borderline personality disorder traits had worse team working alliance, whereas patients with narcissistic personality disorder and antisocial personality disorder traits had similar working alliance scores as other patients. Borderline personality disorder and antisocial personality disorder traits moderated the association between team working alliance and depressive symptoms differently. Findings suggest that team working alliance works similarly to therapist working alliance. Of clinical importance is the finding that team working alliance and its relationship with depression symptoms differ based on Cluster B PD traits, and the importance of strong working alliance regardless of interpersonal challenges due to personality pathology. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

The Correlation Between Psychopathy and ASPD: Factors, Development and Treatment

This review article attempts to find the relationship between psychopathy and ASPD and their symptoms, causes, continuity of development from childhood to adulthood, and treatments. The available study findings have not comprehensively covered the subject, especially how the behaviours in ASPD and psychopathy relate to violence and crime. Psychopathy has a close relationship with ASPD. People suffering from ASPD cannot easily co-exist with others due to amoral behaviour. On the other, Psychopathy differs from Psychosis in various ways because the former is a trait while the latter is a condition. The research also indicates that not all ASPD patients can test positive for psychopathy. In addition, criminals should not necessarily have psychopathic personality traits. The available studies have addressed psychopaths in adolescents and adulthood. The studies provided empirical evidence as researchers have conducted investigations using different samples and sampling techniques. For example, a study in 1999 involved 463 children alongside their parents. They observed the results when trying to link alcoholism to psychopathy.

Defendant psychopathic traits, but not defendant gender, predict death penalty verdicts in mock-juror decision making

Perceptions of a defendant’s psychopathic personality traits can impact mock jurors’ decision making, yet findings on the relationship of jurors’ and defendants’ gender on legal decision making have been inconsistent. This study investigates the relationship between defendant prototypical gender-congruent or -incongruent psychopathic traits and mock jurors’ perception and sentencing recommendations. In a between-subject design, participants (N = 1,721) rendered a verdict and rated the extent to which they perceived the defendant as legally responsible, morally responsible, and their recidivism risk. Participants prescribed harsher punishments and held more negative perceptions of a defendant with psychopathic traits than a defendant without these traits. However, the defendant received similar punishment and was judged equally negatively in both gender-congruent and -incongruent conditions. Finally, while men were more likely to choose the death verdict, women held more negative views of the defendant. Thus, portrayal of psychopathic traits seems related to harsher sentencing independent of gender-specific trait variations.

Juror characteristics on trial: Investigating how psychopathic traits, rape attitudes, victimization experiences, and juror demographics influence decision-making in an intimate partner rape trial.

Trial by jury is a longstanding legal tradition used in common law jurisdictions to try the most serious of criminal cases. Yet, despite hearing the same trial evidence, individual jurors often arrive at different verdict decisions, indicating that they may be impacted by more than the evidence presented at trial. This study therefore sought to investigate the role of jurors' psychopathology, attitudinal, experiential, and demographic characteristics upon individual verdict decisions. Adopting an improved mock trial paradigm, 108 jury-eligible participants took part in one of nine identical 12-person mock trial simulations depicting a videotaped recreation of an intimate partner rape trial. Pre-trial, mock-jurors completed a psychosocial survey capturing their psychopathic personality traits (affective and cognitive responsiveness, interpersonal manipulation; egocentricity), rape myth beliefs, victimization experiences and demographics. Post-trial, jurors deliberated to reach a collective group decision and individual verdict decisions were recorded pre- and post-deliberation. Binary logistic regression analyses revealed rape myth beliefs and juror ethnicity were significantly related to verdict decisions both pre- and post-deliberation. Post-deliberation, decreased affective responsiveness (empathy) and experience of sexual victimization were also found to be significant predictors of guilty verdict selections. These findings indicate for the first time that within an intimate-partner rape trial, certain psychosocial traits, crime-specific attitudes, and experiences of sexual victimization appear to predispose juror judgments and decision-making even after group-deliberation. This study therefore has important implications for understanding how individual differences among jurors may impact rape trial verdict outcomes and the need for targeted juror reforms.

Anabolic-androgenic steroids: Considerations for forensic psychiatry, sports psychiatry, and the law

Anabolic-androgenic steroids: Considerations for forensic psychiatry, sports psychiatry, and the law

Young's early maladaptive schemas versus psychopathic traits in a non-clinical population.

There is now evidence that certain psychopathic personality components have their roots in a dysfunctional family of origin. Looking at this phenomenon from the perspective of Jeffrey E. Young's theory, we can surmise that the early negative experiences of people with psychopathic personality traits may have influenced the formation of specific maladaptive schemas. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between Young's early maladaptive schemas and psychopathic personality traits in a non-clinical population. The study involved 150 individuals aged 18 to 45. Eighty-six percent of the study group were women. The Psychopathic Personality Traits Scale - Revised (PPTS-R) and the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (TriPM), designed to test the intensity of psychopathic traits in the study group, were used. Young's Schema Questionnaire (YSQ-S3-PL) was applied to measure Young's early maladaptive schemas. Statistical analyses revealed significant positive correlations between the severity of psychopathy as measured by the TriPM and the following schemas: Emotional Deprivation, Mistrust/Abuse, Entitlement/Grandiosity, Insufficient Self-Control/Self-Discipline, and Approval Seeking/Recognition Seeking. For the PPTS-R scale, positive correlations were found for thirteen of the eighteen schemas. The strongest correlations across questionnaires were found for the Entitlement/Grandiosity schema. The domain of early maladaptive schemas most strongly associated with psychopathy was Impaired Limits. The Entitlement/Grandiosity, Insufficient Self-Control/Self-Discipline, Mistrust/Abuse, and Emotional Deprivation schemas are all associated with psychopathic personality traits. The strongest correlations are in the Entitlement/Grandiosity schema. The domain of early maladaptive schemas most strongly associated with psychopathy is the Impaired Limits domain.

Supplemental Material for Cool Under Fire: Psychopathic Personality Traits and Decision Making in Law-Enforcement-Oriented Populations

Supplemental Material for Cool Under Fire: Psychopathic Personality Traits and Decision Making in Law-Enforcement-Oriented Populations

The relationship between psychopathic personality, well-being, and adaptive traits in undergraduates

Although psychopathy is commonly considered exclusively maladaptive, there is growing literature on the benefits and positive outcomes observed in a subset of individuals displaying high levels of psychopathic traits. The aim of the present study was to explore the relationship between adaptive traits known to correlate with the psychopathic personality and psychopathic traits on measures of well-being. Participants were N = 2209 (84 % females) Canadian university students who completed self-report measures of adaptive traits, psychopathic traits, and well-being. A cluster analysis based on adaptive and psychopathic traits resulted in four groups: individuals above-average on both traits (HT), individuals with under-average psychopathic traits and above-average adaptive traits (AP), individuals with above-average psychopathic traits and under-average adaptive traits (NP), and those under-average on both traits (LT). Our findings suggest that individuals with high levels of adaptive traits display higher levels of well-being (i.e., durable happiness, satisfaction with life, and self-esteem). These high levels of well-being were observed in both HT and AP groups, suggesting that individuals with high levels of psychopathic traits may not display lower well-being, so long as they also possess sufficient levels of adaptive traits. Our results are discussed through the different models of successful psychopathy.

Spatial Attention to Emotional Images and Psychopathic Personality Traits

Psychopathy has often been thought to be associated with a deficit in processing of the affective content of stimuli. This hypothesis was tested by examining if stimuli that depicted a threat to the viewer, or stimuli that depicted distressing scenes, would produce an automatic shift in spatial attention, and whether this effect would be modified by individual differences in trait psychopathy as conceptualised by the triarchic model of psychopathy. Using a large mixed gender community sample (N = 286) it was found that spatial attention was averted away from threat stimuli for both short (200 ms) and long (500 ms) periods from cue to target, while the distress cues did not produce any spatial attention shifts. The trait of Meanness was found to be associated with a reduction in the effect of threat stimuli, while the trait of Disinhibition was found to be associated with an increase in this threat effect. However, the dot-probe task showed poor reliability. We conclude that the callous unemotional aspects of psychopathy, as captured by the Meanness scale, are underpinned by a lack of response to affective information, whereas impulsive/irresponsible traits of psychopathy, as captured by the Disinhibition scale, are underpinned by an exaggerated response to such affective information.

Psychopathic personality traits are linked to reduced false memories for negative events.

Individuals scoring high on psychopathic personality traits process emotional material to a different extent than individuals with few psychopathic traits. Evidence exists that these individuals have impaired emotional memory. The question arises whether this emotional memory impairment has ramifications for the production of emotional false memories. In the present study, we investigated the production of false and true memories for emotional events in a community sample (N=120) of individuals varying in psychopathic traits (evaluated with the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised [PPI-R] questionnaire). The fearless dominance (FD) component of psychopathy interacted with the emotional impact of to-be-remembered events in the production of false memories, showing fewer negative false memories with increasing levels of FD. At the subjective level, negative false memories were not perceived as vivid memory experiences in high FD individuals. Concerning true memories, higher scores in cold-heartedness were related to fewer true memories for neutral and negative (but not positive) events. These results show that individuals with high psychopathy traits - in particular, FD - do not have a general emotional memory impairment but they process negative material in a different way than individuals with low psychopathic traits and thus are less susceptible to producing false memories for negative events.

On Determination of Behavioural Characteristics Responsible for Psychopathic Personality Traits

Abnormal and irrational behaviour called psychopathic traits has eroded our society; it increases daily, thus leading to increased crime. The study focuses on determining behavioural characteristics that may be responsible for psychopathic traits in human beings that have purportedly led to increased crime in our society. A survey was conducted in five selected towns in Osun State, Nigeria, based on seventeen identified behavioural characteristics using a developed structured questionnaire to collect data on identified behavioural characteristics that could trigger psychopathy personality traits. Two personality traits considered in this study are aggressiveness and goal setting, while the considered behavioural characteristics are family upbringing, confidence in government, society values, industrialization, civilization, unemployment rate, technology advancement, socio-political class, impunity, environmental impact, embracing foreign culture based on materialism, religion believes, peer group influence, academic attainment, high wealth procession, family believes, and power intoxication. The data harvested from the questionnaire on behavioural characteristics from the five hundred and eight respondents were subjected to principal component analysis to determine the significant behavioural characteristics that are likely responsible for psychopathic traits in humans. Results from the principal component analysis reduced the seventeen characteristics to family upbringing, confidence in government, society values, industrialization, and civilization.
 Further analysis was carried out with binary logistic regression analysis using goal setting and aggressiveness as dependent variables. The results from the binary logistic regression reflected that technological advancement, foreign culture, religious beliefs, high wealth possession, and power intoxication have a significant effect on goal setting, while confidence in government, environmental impact, impunity, and power intoxication have a significant effect on aggressiveness personality trait. Based on the results obtained, it can be concluded that civilization and confidence in government are the main significant behavioural characteristics that trigger personality traits in the region covered in this study.