An investigation of the psychopathy construct and its (novel) correlates in non-clinical samples

A substantial research literature exists regarding the psychopathy construct in forensic 
\npopulations, but more recently, the construct has been extended to non-clinical 
\npopulations. The purpose of the present dissertation was to investigate the content and the 
\ncorrelates of the psychopathy construct, with a particular focus on addressing gaps and 
\ncontroversies in the literature. In Study 1, the role of low anxiety in psychopathy was 
\ninvestigated, as some authors have proposed that low anxiety is integral to the 
\npsychopathy construct. Participants (n = 346) responded to two self-report psychopathy 
\nscales, the SRP-III and the PPI-R, as well as measures of temperament, personality, and 
\nantisociality. Of particular interest was the PPI-R Stress Immunity sub scale, which 
\nrepresents low anxiety content. I t was found that Stress Immunity was not correlated with 
\nSRP-III psychopathy, nor did it share common personality or temperament correlates or 
\ncontribute to the prediction of anti sociality. From Study 1, it was concluded that it was 
\nunlikely that low anxiety is a central feature of the psychopathy construct. In Study 2, the 
\nrelationship between SRP-III psychopathy and Ability Emotional Intelligence (Le., 
\nEmotional Intelligence measured as an ability, rather than as a self-report personality 
\ntrait-like characteristic) was investigated, to determine whether psychopathy is be s t seen 
\nas a syndrome characterized by emotional deficits or by the ability to skillfully 
\nmanipulate and prey upon the others' emotions. A negative correlation between the two 
\nconstructs was found, suggesting that psychopathy is best characterized by deficits in 
\nperceiving, facilitating, managing, and understanding emotions. In Study 3, sex 
\ndifferences in the sexual behavior (i.e., promiscuity, age of first sexual behaviors, 
\nextradyadic sexual relations) and appearance-related esteem (i.e., body shame,appearance anxiety, self-esteem) correlates of SRP-III psychopathy were investigated. 
\nThe sexual behavior correlates of psychopathy were quite similar for men and women, 
\nbut the esteem correlates were very different, such that high psychopathy in men was 
\nrelated to high esteem, whereas high psychopathy in women was generally related to low 
\nesteem. This sex difference was difficult to interpret in that it was not mediated by sexual 
\nbehavior, suggesting that further exploration of this topic is warranted. Together, these 
\nthree studies contribute to our understanding of non-clinical psychopathy, indicating that 
\nlow anxiety is likely not part of the construct, that psychopathy is related to low levels of 
\nability in Emotional Intelligence, and that psychopathy is an important predictor of 
\nbehavior, ability, and beliefs and feelings about the self

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