Figure 5 - uploaded by Devon L L Polaschek
Content may be subject to copyright.
A summary of Karpman’s depiction of primary and secondary psychopathy, depicting distinct and overlapping charcteristics. Adapted from Daly and Polaschek (2014).
Source publication
What is psychopathy? It is a term that is used casually, to refer to everyone from improbably skilled super-criminals to businessmen who succeed in making astronomical profits by staying more-or-less on the right side of the law, but on the wrong side of morality or ethics. It is a construct both complex and prosaic, about which there is significan...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... older approach to this same issue and its possible implications for understanding and working with psychopathic people is the distinction between primary and secondary psychopathy, which originated in the work of a contemporary of Cleckley, Benjamin Karp- man. According to Karpman (1941Karpman ( , 1948 primary and secondary psychopaths share a number of characteristics: they lie, cheat, swindle and so on, as displayed in the central, overlapping portion of Figure 5. However, whereas primary psychopaths are "hard to the core" (Herv e, 2007, p. 433), and essentially untreatable, secondary psychopaths are more like toasted marshmallows: "tough on the outside but soft on the inside" (Alexander & Healy, in Karpman, 1948) and thus are expected to be more responsive to treatment. ...
Context 2
... Figure 5, among the list of characteris- tics seen only in secondary psychopaths (i.e. those on the extreme right) are some that con- tradict characteristics shared with primary psychopathy (those in the middle of the figure). ...
Context 3
... second- ary psychopaths are not stress-resilient. On the face of it, the simple solution to the con- tradictory heterogeneity depicted in Figure 5 is to reserve diagnosis for those who show only the characteristics of primary psychopathy. ...
Context 4
... Figure 5 also shows that Karpman thought secondary psychopaths had the potential to respond to treatment. Unfor- tunately in Karpman's day, there were no proven treatments for reducing antisocial behaviour. ...
Context 5
... is no evidence that people with high psychopathy levels are more challenging to treat than other high-risk offenders, nor in any distinc- tive, psychopathic way. But recall Figure 5. According to Karpman's view, secondary psychopathy should be associated with greater treatability than primary psychopa- thy. ...
Citations
... In line with findings so far on the (mal)adaptive effects of the triarchic traits, we hypothesise distinct effects for boldness compared to meanness and disinhibition. Perceived boldness in managers, as the only psychopathic trait with the potential to be adaptive [50], is expected to have positive effects on employee outcomes (improving authenticity and thereby increasing engagement and decreasing burnout). In contrast, perceived meanness and disinhibition in managers are expected to represent the negative effects of psychopathy on employee outcomes (reducing authenticity and thereby decreasing engagement and increasing burnout). ...
... The results also provide further evidence that boldness should not be excluded when psychopathic personality is evaluated in the work context. Psychopathy is a complex construct that is associated with certain successes in life as well as distinct negative outcomes [50]. Using measures which include boldness, such as the TriPM(Work), ensures that we do not focus exclusively on the maladaptive traits associated with psychopathy and thereby miss what may help those with psychopathic traits succeed despite the potentially damaging consequences for others. ...
... The use of the triarchic model also encourages the view of psychopathy as 'treatable' [50] as it emphasises observable behaviours rather than immutable internal attributes. Therefore, training aimed at so-called psychopathic managers is plausible. ...
Background
Psychopathy in managers is often measured on global scales and associated with detrimental outcomes for subordinates, such as bullying and reduced well-being. Yet some features of psychopathy, like boldness, appear to have beneficial outcomes. Using the triarchic model of psychopathy, we differentiate between adaptive and maladaptive traits in managers and model their effects on employee engagement and burnout. In addition, we test the extent to which authenticity, known to ameliorate the effect of some negative experiences on well-being, might mediate the influence of managers’ perceived psychopathic traits on employee well-being.
Methods
In a two-wave study, full-time employees (N = 246) reported on their manager’s psychopathic traits (boldness, meanness, disinhibition), their own authenticity and, six weeks later, their engagement and burnout.
Results
In support of our hypotheses, manager boldness enhanced engagement and reduced burnout while meanness and disinhibition reduced engagement and increased burnout. Additionally, employee authenticity was a partial mediator of the effect of managerial psychopathy on engagement and burnout.
Conclusions
Perceived psychopathic traits in managers have the potential to influence whether employees feel able to be their authentic selves at work, which consequently affects their well-being. A work culture that values authenticity can directly improve well-being and help employees to deal with managerial behaviour that stems from maladaptive psychopathic traits. We also highlight the importance of discriminating between constituent psychopathic traits to identify the potentially adaptive nature of the boldness element of psychopathy.
... "Psychopath" is a term used by the layperson to relate to a large variety of people, from criminals to businessmen who privileges profits over ethics, but the fundamental principle is that psychopaths cause damage to everyone [31]. Psychopathy has been also defined as a "pathological condition consisting of enduring deviant behavior in combination with emotional detachment" [32]. ...
How many kinds of malevolent characters are out there? In line with Paulhus and Williams (2002) the answer is three, namely the Dark Triad of Machiavellianism, Narcissism, and Psychopathy. Dark traits (DT) are associated with emotional deficits, exploitation, immoral strategic thinking, and risky behaviors. All three traits have been largely investigated mainly during the last decades. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview about the available literature regarding the characteristics of personality traits associated with the DT, by focusing on the main consequences of the DT from a psychopathological and psychiatric perspective. Studies found a strong association between DT traits and several types of negative psychosocial outcomes such as substance use, sexual promiscuity, aggression, and crime. Nevertheless, there is specific literature showing the advantages of scoring high DT traits, for example the assumption of positions of authority over other people, and the expression of low levels of social anxiety. Although the literature mainly focuses on the consequences that DT traits may have for society in general, there is a lack of studies investigating the personal repercussions, in the psychopathological and/or psychiatric dimensions in those individuals scoring high DT traits. Therefore, further research is needed to clarify how the different personality dark traits may interact with each other and modulate not only the individual’s life choices but also how and whether DT traits may predispose or not to the onset of a specific psychiatric disorder.
... For the modern standpoints, especially those derived from the PCL-R (Hare, 2003), the concept tends to have two general clusters of characteristics: emotional distancing and impulsive/antisocial behavior. Thus, the psychopathic personality is typically characterized by a range of interpersonal (e.g., selfcenteredness and manipulation), affective (e.g., superficial charm, lack of remorse, and lack of empathy), and behavioral manifestations, such as irresponsibility, sensation seeking, and impulsiveness (e.g., Cooke & Michie, 2001;Polaschek, 2015;Skeem et al., 2011). ...
Objective: Psychopathy has a considerable societal cost, which motivates research on the mechanisms that cause individuals to engage and persist in antisocial behaviors. It is known that individuals with marked psychopathic traits or callous-unemotional traits typically engage in higher rates of aggressive behaviors. These traits seem to have roots both in biological and environmental factors. This article aims to clarify, through a comprehensive review of the literature, what kind of traumas experienced in childhood may contribute to the development of a psychopathic personality structure. Method: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first review to organize such evidence. Results: Childhood maltreatment has been associated with a wide range of maladaptive outcomes, ranging from internalizing to externalizing symptoms. Some have suggested that this range of symptoms is largely attributable to a disruption in the usual parent–child attachment bond, which may occur in parent–child relationships characterized by emotional maltreatment. Many studies now suggest that key features of temperament, such as anger, self-regulation/self-control, and negative emotionality, can be positively influenced through prevention and treatment programs. Conclusions: This comprehensive review provides information for improving our ability to treat problematic personalities and reduce the risk of future antisocial behavior.
... Psychopathic personality disorder (PPD) is a severe personality disorder characterized by functional impairments in interpersonal (e.g., manipulative, grandiosity), affective (e.g., callousness, lack of remorse), and behavioral (e.g., impulsivity, risk taking) domains (Hare, 1996). The construct of psychopathy has been extensively researched, but despite this, there are ongoing debates surrounding its fundamental definition Polaschek, 2015). PPD has been highly incorporated into clinical and forensic applications, particularly for use in criminal populations in risk assessment of violent recidivism Edens, 2006). ...
... Therefore, a substantive proportion of PPD research has been investigating how to accurately operationalize the construct, rather than explicating the basic definition . As such, numerous measures have been developed, often emphasizing differing core components of psychopathy (Polaschek, 2015;Skeem et al., 2003). Applications of diverging definitions is a substantial problem as it can lead to vastly different clinical formulations and forensic applications. ...
Psychopathic personality disorder (PPD) is a widely researched construct characterized by severe dysfunction in affective, interpersonal and behavioral domains. Inconsistencies across different theoretical formulations and operationalizations have major implications for research and practice. Two separate personality-based perspectives of psychopathy have been proposed, one anchored within the influential five factor model (FFM) of personality and the comprehensive assessment of psychopathic personality (CAPP) model, which was specifically designed as an inclusive concept map of PPD. The current study evaluated the empirical overlap between the CAPP and the FFM-based models of psychopathy to determine the convergences and divergences in providing a personality-based perspective on psychopathy. Participants were undergraduate students (n = 924) who completed the CAPP-Self-Report (CAPP-SR) and the Elemental Psychopathy Assessment-Short Form (EPA-SF). Results indicated significant convergent validity associations between CAPP-SR scales and conceptually relevant EPA-SF scales (range = .30-.74; median discriminant associations range = .10-.36). Furthermore, an exploratory factor analysis supported the conceptual overlap between the CAPP-SR and EPA-SF scales as representing personality-based models of psychopathy, yielding a 4-factor structure that reflected antagonism, disinhibition, emotional stability, and narcissism. Overall, the findings support the convergence of the CAPP and FFM-based PPD models, at both a basic trait and higher order level. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
... "Psychopath" is a term used by the layperson to refer to a wide range of people, from intractable criminals to businesspeople who prioritise profits over morality, but the underlying concern is that psychopaths cause harm to others [1]. It is this concern that psychopaths are harming workers, their organisations and even the economy and the planet that is behind the recent upsurge in interest in the so-called "corporate psychopath", who displays many of the traits of psychopathy but not the level of antisocial or law-breaking behaviour that would result in a criminal record [2]. ...
... The most commonly used measure of psychopathy is the Psychopathy Checklist (PCL) and its various revisions and adaptations [1], which assess psychopathy on interpersonal, affective, lifestyle and antisocial dimensions. The most significant of these adaptations in workplace settings is the B-Scan 360 [18], which assesses the conceptually similar dimensions of Manipulative/Unethical, Callous/Insensitive, Unreliable/Unfocused and Intimidating/Aggressive. ...
Psychopathy may have both adaptive and maladaptive effects at work but research into workplace psychopathy is constrained by the lack of short, work-relevant measures that can be used for both self- and other-report. We adapt the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (TriPM) for this purpose and distinguish the (mal)adaptive effects of psychopathy at work in two time-lagged survey samples. Sample 1 consisted of managers reporting their psychopathic traits and work outcomes (well-being, engagement, burnout and job performance). Sample 2 reported on their managers’ psychopathic traits and leadership styles (servant and abusive supervision) and their own work outcomes. The TriPM (Work) is a reliable, valid, 21-item measure of triarchic psychopathy at work with self- and other-report forms. Using this measure, we demonstrate that the triarchic model’s boldness trait is related to servant leadership and predicts improved well-being and performance while meanness and disinhibition are related to abusive supervision and predict increased burnout.
... Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised (Lilienfeld & Widows, 2005) was used to assess psychopathy and has been cited as one of the leading assessment tools (Skeem et al., 2011) in examining criminal and noncriminal psychopathy. The PPI-R has also been found to share empirical overlap with the PCL-R and the triarchic theory of psychopathy (Lilienfeld & Widows, 2005;Polaschek, 2015;Skeem et al., 2011). ...
Much contention and speculation exists regarding the emotional and social skills associated with psychopathic personality, including the idea of a predatory perception. Perpetrators such as Theodore Bundy have made claims to determining victim vulnerability by simple body cues, however, support for these assertions has been limited. The current study examined the relationship between psychopathic personality and social and emotional processing. The study utilised a quasi-experimental design along with self-report measures to examine psychopathy in a community sample (N = 115) of males and females. To examine psychopathy and social information processing, a series of Mixed Design ANOVA’s were conducted to examine the effect of psychopathy on character recall. Psychopathy was found to significantly predict recall of the unsuccessful character, however, did not predict recall of character gender or emotion. Two hierarchical regressions analyses were conducted to examine emotional intelligence and empathy. Psychopathy was found to be a significant negative predictor of empathy, however, did not significantly predict emotional intelligence. Implications for the current study lie within advancing the empirical understanding on psychopathic personality and victim vulnerability.
... As such, psychopathy can have a tremendous effect on society as a whole. Indeed, individuals with high levels of psychopathy have been shown to be prone to violence, deception, and dangerous or reckless behaviors (Polaschek, 2015;Skeem et al., 2011). The link between psychopathy and juvenile serious conduct problems, delinquency, behavior maladjustment, and various forms of aggressive behavior, including relational aggression, reactive aggression, and proactive aggression is out of questioning (e.g., Forth & Book, 2010;L opez-Romero & Romero, 2019). ...
The triarchic conceptualization of psychopathy encompasses three distinct dispositional components: boldness, meanness, and disinhibition. The current study aimed to validate triarchic construct scales composed of items from the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI) in a sample of Chinese male juvenile offenders (N = 613, mean age = 17.14 years, SD = 1.09 years). Although the CFA and ESEM models failed to support the three-factor structure for YPI-based triarchic scores, the convergent and criteria validity of the YPI-Tri and YPI-Tri-S were supported as they demonstrated the expected relation with other psychopathic traits or component measures and aggressive behavior measures. The internal consistency of the YPI-Tri and YPI-Tri-S scores ranged from marginal to good. The findings provide preliminary evidence for the YPI-based triarchic scores and support for the utility of the YPI-Tri and YPI-Tri-S in assessing psychopathy in Chinese male juvenile offenders.
... The triarchic model provides a conceptual overview of psychopathic personality and a theoretical basis to contrast varied findings across studies that have investigated psychopathy (Hall et al., 2014;Polaschek, 2015;Skeem et al., 2011). Similar to the CAPP, the triarchic model was initially developed as a conceptual framework for psychopathic personality, however, the overarching factors (boldness, meanness, and disinhibition) have formed the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (TriPM; Patrick, 2010). ...
... The PPI-R (Lilienfeld & Widows, 2005) was one of the earlier assessment tools to propose an alternative conceptualisation and method of psychopathy assessment, suggesting that three factors captured psychopathy, with criminal behaviour not considered to be a defining feature. The self-report measure has had wide use as both a clinical instrument and a research tool (Polaschek, 2015;Skeem et al., 2011). The body of empirical literature on the PPI-R has supported the instrument as valid measure of psychopathy and has demonstrated application in both criminal and noncriminal settings (Brooks, 2016;Patrick & Zempolich, 1998;Skeem et al., 2003Skeem et al., , 2011. ...
The Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; Hare in The Hare Psychopathy Checklist—Revised. Mutli-Health Systems, Toronto, ON, 2003) has for many years been the gold standard psychopathy assessment, shaping the understanding of psychopathic personality. While the PCL-R remains a leading measure of psychopathy, some concerns have been raised that the instrument has become the sole representation of psychopathy. Recently, a number of measures and conceptual theories have emerged to both expand upon and counterbalance the large body of literature related to the PCL-R, this has included, self-report tools, clinical instruments, and research protocols. The PPI-R (Lilienfeld and Widows in Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised (PPI-R) Professional Manual. Psychological Assessment Resources, Florida, 2005) is one of the modern assessment tools of psychopathy, focused on personality, rather than encompassing criminal behaviour in the assessment of psychopathy. Other emerging instruments with promising application in criminal and noncriminal settings include, the Comprehensive Assessment of Psychopathic Personality (CAPP; Cooke et al., in International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 11, 242–252, 2012) and Elemental Psychopathy Assessment (Lynam et al., in Psychological Assessment, 2010), while in research, the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (TRiPM; Patrick, 2009) is a developing assessment tool with potential for clinical use. In the corporate setting, the Business-Scan (B-Scan; Mathieu et al., 2013) and the Corporate Personality Inventory-Revised (Fritzon et al., 2016) have been specifically developed, with the B-Scan 360 solely measuring psychopathy, and CPI-R examining problematic personality traits, including psychopathic characteristics. The chapter will review the body of assessment instruments examining psychopathic personality, explore strengths and weakness, and discuss the measures most suitable for use in the workplace.
... between psychopathy and criminality, this does not suggest that crime or 69 violence is a core characteristic of psychopathy, but rather one of many 70 secondary consequences related to the personality construct (Lilienfeld & 71 Widows, 2005; Polaschek, 2015). 72 One of the most commonly observed associations in regard to psychopa- were two and half times more likely to be granted conditional release than It is an unusual phenomenon that a personality type found to be associated The results of the study revealed that 7.3% of the sample were found to 348 score two standard deviations above the normative mean score for the PPI- Hall & Benning, 2006), as well as the depiction of primary psychopathy as 471 described by Lykken (1995) and Cleckley (1941Cleckley ( , 1976. ...
Psychopathy is prevalent and problematic in criminal populations, but is also found to be present in noncriminal populations. In 1992, Robert Hare declared that psychopaths may also “be found in the boardroom”, which has since been followed by an interest in the issue of noncriminal, or even successful, psychopathy. In this chapter, the paradox of criminal and noncriminal psychopathy is discussed with specific attention given to the similarities and differences that account for psychopathic personality across contexts. That psychopathy is a condition typified by a constellation of traits and behaviours requires wider research across diverse populations, and thus the streams of research related to criminal and noncriminal psychopathy are presented and the implications of these contrasting streams are explored.
... Using a sample of 81 Canadian offenders, Serin (1996) reported that the PCL-R Factor 1 (Interpersonal/Affective) was a better predictor of violent recidivism than Factor 2 (lifestyle/antisocial), but a growing body of evidence reveals that the PCL-R's predictive efficiency for crime is largely affected by Factor 2 rather than Factor 1 scores (Olver & Wong, 2015;Salekin et al., 1996;Skeem & Mulvey, 2001). In considering that Factor 2 embeds criminal behavior, this is unsurprising and indicates that the usefulness of the PCL-R in criminal justice settings may be attributable almost entirely to criminal history items (Polaschek, 2015). Yang, Wong, and Coid (2010), in a meta-analysis of predictive accuracy of the PCL-R, found that Factor 2 (effect size = 0.61) outperformed Factor 1 (effect size = 0.22) in predicting violent outcomes. ...
