Psychopathy
Psychopathy from a historical perspective
History
• ‘old’ concept
• Pinel (1801/1806): “Manie sans délire”:
• “... who at no period gave evidence of any lesion of theunderstanding but who were under
the domination of instinctive and abstract fury, as if the faculties of affect alone had
sustained injury”
• destructive nature of psychopathy
• Other names: e.g. “Moral Insanity” (Prichard, 1835)
Hervey Cleckley
• chaos need for well-defined traits
• The Mask of Sanity (1941, 1988)
o clinical & forensic case
studies
o contradiction:
reliable, charming,
and mentally sane
severe pathology
• - 16 criteria (characteristic
personality traits)
1
, PSYCHOPATHY HARE –CRIMINAL VIEW
• focus on antisocial behavior and criminality
• Psychopathy Checklist (– Revised) / PCL(-R)
o forensic context, prison population
o lack of anxiety ≠ diagnostic criterion
o Factor 1: interpersonal and affective characteristics
o Factor 2: impulsive and antisocial lifestyle
o most frequently used in clinical practice - good reliability and validity
• recent discussions on role antisocial behavior and criminality
TRIARCHIC MODEL
o Disinhibition: lack of behavioral and emotional restraint, difficulties in planning behavior,
immediate need for gratification, focus on short-time goals.
o Boldness: fearlessness in social emotional and behavioral domains
o The hero and the psychopath are twigs on the same genetic branch
o 3Meanness: aggressive resource-seeking without regard for others = central concept
Assessment of psychopathic traits
See ppt for casus Tim vs. Sven
2
Psychopathy from a historical perspective
History
• ‘old’ concept
• Pinel (1801/1806): “Manie sans délire”:
• “... who at no period gave evidence of any lesion of theunderstanding but who were under
the domination of instinctive and abstract fury, as if the faculties of affect alone had
sustained injury”
• destructive nature of psychopathy
• Other names: e.g. “Moral Insanity” (Prichard, 1835)
Hervey Cleckley
• chaos need for well-defined traits
• The Mask of Sanity (1941, 1988)
o clinical & forensic case
studies
o contradiction:
reliable, charming,
and mentally sane
severe pathology
• - 16 criteria (characteristic
personality traits)
1
, PSYCHOPATHY HARE –CRIMINAL VIEW
• focus on antisocial behavior and criminality
• Psychopathy Checklist (– Revised) / PCL(-R)
o forensic context, prison population
o lack of anxiety ≠ diagnostic criterion
o Factor 1: interpersonal and affective characteristics
o Factor 2: impulsive and antisocial lifestyle
o most frequently used in clinical practice - good reliability and validity
• recent discussions on role antisocial behavior and criminality
TRIARCHIC MODEL
o Disinhibition: lack of behavioral and emotional restraint, difficulties in planning behavior,
immediate need for gratification, focus on short-time goals.
o Boldness: fearlessness in social emotional and behavioral domains
o The hero and the psychopath are twigs on the same genetic branch
o 3Meanness: aggressive resource-seeking without regard for others = central concept
Assessment of psychopathic traits
See ppt for casus Tim vs. Sven
2
