Deck 13: Psychopathy: History, Assessment, Etiology, and Its Association With Violence

Question 1

What theory suggests that psychopathic traits have been selected into our gene pool because they offer a fitness (survival/reproduction)advantage in certain environments?

A) balancing selection
B) natural selection
C) survival of the fittest
D) deleterious mutations

Answer 1

balancing selection

Question 2

What are the most important psychopathic traits identified in children and youth that predict adult psychopathy?

A) antisocial behaviour
B) superficial charm
C) callous-unemotional
D) lack of affect

Answer 2

callous-unemotional

Question 3

What did a study find about treatment of psychopathic offenders compared to untreated psychopathic offenders?

A) It was associated with a lower rate of violent recidivism.
B) It was associated with a higher rate of violent recidivism.
C) It was associated with an equal rate of violent recidivism.
D) It was associated with a triple rate of violent recidivism.

Answer 3

It was associated with a higher rate of violent recidivism.

Question 4

What personality meets many of the criteria for psychopathy,but not enough to warrant a full diagnosis of psychopathy (i.e. ,is under the 25 or 30 point cut-off)?

A) partial psychopathy
B) normative personality disorder
C) subclinical psychopathy
D) antisocial personality disorder

Question 5

Pinel described manie sans délire.What does it translate to?

A) lack of morals
B) mania with dreams
C) moral insanity
D) manic delirium

Question 6

Conning and manipulation is part of what factor of psychopathy?

A) interpersonal/emotional
B) antisocial/behavioural
C) lack of remorse
D) narcissism

Question 7

What are psychopaths more likely to experience before offending (relative to nonpsychopaths)?

A) positive affect
B) negative affect
C) remorse
D) high blood pressure

Question 8

How does antisocial personality disorder differ from psychopathy?

A) It is based purely on emotional/interpersonal traits.
B) It is treatable.
C) It is significantly less common in prisons.
D) It is based mostly on behaviour.

Question 9

Which brain structure plays an important role in mediating psychopathic behaviours?

A) hippocampus
B) medulla
C) prefrontal cortex
D) cerebellum

Question 10

What factor of the PCL-R is most predictive of antisocial conduct?

A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 4

Question 11

Higher levels of psychopathy are found among which group of university students?

A) arts
B) science
C) engineering
D) business

Question 12

What is the famous book that first conceptualized psychopathy (1941)?

A) The Mask of Sanity
B) The Mask of Morality
C) Without a Conscience
D) Snakes in Suits

Question 13

Even for extreme acts of violence such as murder,psychopathic individuals are more likely to kill for a personal gain rather than due to provocation.

Question 14

What is the reoffence rate of female psychopaths compared to male psychopaths?

A) Female psychopaths are less likely to reoffend.
B) Female psychopaths are more likely to reoffend.
C) Female psychopaths are equally likely to reoffend.
D) Female psychopaths reoffend at double the rate.

Question 15

What is the highest score one can possibly receive on the psychopathy assessment that is most commonly used?

A) 100
B) 50
C) 40
D) 30

Question 16

Sexual psychopaths commit very similar crimes with little to no variation.

Question 17

What is the current and most popular assessment tool for psychopathy?

A) the Psychopathic Personality Scale
B) the Psychopathy Checklist
C) the Psychopathy Clinical Evaluation
D) the Psychopathy Review Test

Question 18

Abnormalities in what enzyme cause Brunner syndrome?

A) MAOA
B) DNA
C) protease
D) ligase

Question 19

How much more likely are Canadian psychopathic offenders than other offenders to be successful in their applications for parole?

A) 2.5 times
B) 4.2 times
C) 5 times
D) 6.5 times

Question 20

How do homicides committed by psychopaths compare to those committed by nonpsychopaths?

A) They are more reactive.
B) They are more instrumental.
C) They are more gruesome.
D) They are more difficult to solve.

Question 21

Describe the controversy in opinions regarding treating psychopaths.

Question 22

Describe the differences between antisocial personality disorder and psychopathy.

Question 23

Identify the implications of biological factors,such as genetics and neuroanatomy,in psychopathy.

Question 24

List one famous criminal psychopath.

Question 25

What is a sexual psychopath? What are the defining features of a sexual psychopath?

Question 26

Explain some language patterns exhibited by psychopaths.

Question 27

What three personality constructs make up the Dark Triad? Describe traits of each.

Question 28

Compare and contrast factors 1 and 2.

Question 29

What does the term "snakes in suits" refer to? What is subclinical psychopathy?

Question 30

Explain the factor structure of the psychopathy assessment tool from question 3.

Question 31

What are callous-unemotional traits? What age group are these traits found in?

Question 32

Contrast static and dynamic risk factors.

Question 33

Define psychopathy.List characteristics used to describe psychopaths.

Question 34

What is the assessment tool for measuring psychopathy? How is it used? How is it scored?

Question 35

Explain the evolutionary perspectives on psychopathy.