Psychopathy

Lore & Background

Psychopathy has multiple conceptualizations, including Cleckleyan psychopathy, which entails bold, disinhibited behavior and feckless disregard, and criminal psychopathy, a meaner, more aggressive conception involving persistent criminal behavior. The latter is typically used as the modern clinical concept and assessed by the Psychopathy Checklist (PCL-R), developed by Canadian psychologist Robert D. Hare. The triarchic model suggests that different conceptions emphasize three characteristics: boldness (low fear, high confidence), disinhibition (poor impulse control), and meanness (lack of empathy, exploitative tendencies).

Reader's Guide

Psychopathy has been re-popularized in criminology through Hare's Psychopathy Checklist, which is widely used in criminal justice settings in some nations and may have important consequences for individuals, such as decisions about punishment severity. However, the construct has been criticized for being poorly conceptualized, highly subjective, and encompassing a wide variety of underlying disorders. Some researchers argue that psychopathy may best be conceptualized as having a dimensional latent structure, like depression, rather than a discrete category. The term is also used by the general public, popular press, and in fictional portrayals, though there is a categorical difference between psychosis and psychopathy.

Did You Know?

• No psychiatric or psychological organization has sanctioned a diagnosis titled 'psychopathy'.
• The Psychopathy Checklist (PCL-R) was developed for research, not clinical forensic diagnosis.
• The triarchic model of psychopathy emphasizes three characteristics: boldness, disinhibition, and meanness.
• Psychopathy is part of the 'dark triad' of personality traits, along with narcissism and Machiavellianism.