The Construct of Psychopathy

As a psychological construct, psychopathy has undergone recent change, and there is still disagreement as to its fundamental character. Nevertheless, it can be reliably and validly measured with such behaviors as callousness, impulsivity, sensation seeking, dishonesty, emotional detachment, extreme selfishness, antisociality, belligerence, juvenile delinquency, and sexual promiscuity. Hare's Psychopathy Checklist-Revised is the best available assessment. Psychopathy exists in women, men, children, and in all racial and ethnic groups examined. No one knows whether some psychopaths function successfully without committing serious offenses. Among institutionalized offender samples, psychopathy is the strongest predictor of violent recidivism and differential response to treatment yet discovered. Although psychopaths can exhibit subtle neurological, physiological, and cognitive differences compared with other people, it is unclear whether these differences constitute defective brain function or the execution of a viable life strategy.