Definitive Determinant Constructs for Psychopathic Behavior

• In Event: Mental Health and Psychopathic Traits

Abstract

Modern conceptualizations of psychopathy are derived from both Cleckey and McCord’s operationalization of psychopathy. Cleckly’s description of psychopathic personalities is shallow, callous, and feckless. Compared to McCord’s 1964 description of psychopathic personalities as hostile, aggressive, callousness, impulsivity, parsitic, exploitative and able to only feign emotions (Skeem et al.). By extension many of these characteristics are similar to Gottfredson and Hirschi’s conceptualization of low self-control as well as empirical tests of the construct (Skeem, Polascheck, Patrick, Lilenfeld, 2011). The purpose of this paper is to integrate psychological, criminological and operational definitions of psychopathy, low self-control, with Raine and colleagues neurological findings illustrated through functional MRIs (Raine, Yang, Colletti, Toga, and Narr, 2010; Yang, Raine, Lencs, Bihrle, Lasse, Colletti, 2005; Yang, Glenn, Raine, Phil; 2008, Raine, Dunkin, 1990; Raine, Meloy, Bihrle, Stoddard, LaCasse, Buchsbaum, 1998; Raine, 2002; Ishikawa, Raine, Lencz, Bihrle, Lacasse, 2001; Moul, Killcross, Dadds, 2012; Saden, Javadani, Verona, 2013). This work conduct an explanatory analysis of a nationally representative data set in an attempt to identify similar constructs of psychopathy and low self-control.

Authors

• Justin J. Joseph, Morehead State University

• Rebecca Sue Katz, Morehead State University

• David Olson, Morehead State University