Psychopathy

Interpersonally, psychopaths are manipulative, grandiose, egocentric and forceful. Affectively, they are shallow and non-empathetic; they do not experience empathy, guilt or remorse. Behaviorally, they are impulsive, irresponsible and sensation-seeking.

Table of contents

1 Assessing for psychopathy 1.1 Interpersonal dimension 1.2 Affective dimension 1.3 Behavioral dimension 2 See also

Assessing for psychopathy

In contemporary research and clinical practice, psychopathy is most commonly assessed with the Hare Psychopathy Checklist- Revised (PCL-R), which is a clinical rating scale with 20 items. Each of the items in the PCL-R is scored on a three-point scale according to specific criteria through file information and a semi-structured interview. Score 0 if the trait is absent, 1 if it is possibly or partially present and 2 if it is present. The item scores are summed to yield a total score ranging from 0 to 40 which is then considered to reflect the degree to which they resemble the prototypical psychopath. A score > 30 supports a diagnosis of psychopathy.

The items are as follows:

Interpersonal dimension

• Glibness/superficial charm
• Grandiose sense of self-worth
• Pathological lying
• Conning/manipulative
• Lack of remorse or guilt
• Shallow affect
• Callous/lack of empathy
• Failure to accept responsibility for own actions

• Antisocial personality disorder
• Personality disorder