Deck 4: Psychopathy

Question 1

Which of the following statements about psychopathic violence is true?

A) Non-psychopaths are less likely than psychopaths to commit murder.
B) Psychopaths only commit violence while consuming illicit substances.
C) Psychopaths are more likely to perpetrate reactive violence than non psychopaths.
D) Psychopaths are more likely to perpetrate instrumental violence than non-psychopaths.

Answer 1

Psychopaths are more likely to perpetrate instrumental violence than non-psychopaths.

Question 2

In regard to assessing psychopathy in children and adolescents, ______________.

A) early research suggests stability for the construct into adulthood.
B) children with psychopathic features have little difficulty with automatic processing.
C) there is no relationship between violence and psychopathy or more severe violence and psychopathy.
D) there are no reservations about use of the label and the overall appropriateness of assessing psychopathy in youth

Answer 2

early research suggests stability for the construct into adulthood.

Question 3

Treated psychopaths may be more likely to become violent after receiving insight oriented therapy because ________________.

A) their motivations for violence are reactive
B) they are more likely to be substance dependent
C) they are more motivated to succeed once released
D) they learn to be better psychopaths by increasing their understanding of human emotions

Answer 3

they learn to be better psychopaths by increasing their understanding of human emotions

Question 4

Which of the following is not a valid criticism of the cross-cultural extension of the PCL-R?

A) Psychopathy is an invalid construct outside of North America.
B) Mean scores appear to be significantly higher in North America than Europe.
C) Research has been largely based on samples in the United States and Canada.
D) Research using European samples has been largely confined to British inmates.

Question 5

All of the following terms are frequently used interchangeably with "psychopath," except the term "_______________".

A) sociopath
B)pathological liar
C) dyssocial personality disorder
D) antisocial personality disorder

Question 6

_____________________ violence is purposeful and planned.

A) Reactive
B) Affective
C) Instrumental
D) Behaviorally-controlled

Question 7

Which statement is true regarding psychopathy?

A) About 20% of criminal offenders are psychopaths.
B) All psychopaths also have antisocial personality disorder.
C) It is a relatively recent term that was first used in the United States.
D) It is an officially recognized diagnosis and identified by name in the DSM-5.

Question 8

Which of the following characteristics of psychopathy falls in Factor 2 i.e., the socially deviant/antisocial factor) of the PCL-R?

A) Pathological lying
B) Callous/lack of empathy
C) Poor behavioral controls
D) Glibness/superficial charm

Question 9

Brinkley, Berstein, and Newman 1999) asked psychopaths and non-psychopaths to generate stories with specific plots. Which of the following is true in regard to the psychopaths' stories?

A) Psychopaths were more likely to use incorrect grammar.
B) Psychopaths used more hand gestures when telling their stories.
C) Psychopaths made fewer connections between different elements of their stories.
D) Psychopaths were more likely to make disparaging comments about the main characters.

Question 10

In which group is evidence for a clear association between psychopathy and violence less clear?

A) Adult offenders
B) Sexual offenders
C) Civil psychiatric patients
D)Domestic violence perpetrators

Question 11

Lilienfeld and colleagues suggest that ______________ may be the expression of psychopathy in women.

A) schizophrenia
B) posttraumatic stress disorder
C) antisocial personality disorder
D) borderline personality disorder

Question 12

Skeem and colleagues 2004) found that ____________.

A) Hispanic inmates exhibit heightened levels of psychopathy
B) African-American inmates scored lower on the PCL-R than Caucasians
C) PCL-R scores are unreliable and invalid outside of Caucasian inmates
D) There are no differences in total PCL-R scores between Caucasians and African- Americans

Question 13

Which statement is true of psychopathy in regard to women?

A) Psychopathy is not a valid construct.
B) The factor structure is identical to men.
C) Their scores in the PCL-R are related to rapid recidivism.
D) Psychopathic women are more likely to have been sexually traumatized.

Question 14

_______________ psychopaths are generally characterized by a lack of anxiety.

A) Primary
B) Factor 1
C) Secondary
D) Successful

Question 15

Which of the following is an example of psychopathic deficits in interpersonal/affective behaviors?

A) Genuine use of language
B) La ck of affective cognitions
C) Inability to con and manipulate people
D) Increased depth of empathetic responses

Question 16

Which of following statements most accurately describes psychopaths' ability to learn from their past mistakes?

A) Psychopaths always fail to learn from punishment.
B) There is no difference in the ability to learn between psychopaths and non-psychopaths.
C) Psychopaths are generally cognitively impulsive and have a hypersensitivity to rewards.
D) Psychopaths learn at the same rate as non-psychopaths but they fail to demonstrate the knowledge they have internalized.

Question 17

_____________ was one of the first scholars to provide a comprehensive description of the psychopath in the book, Mask of Sanity.

A) Robert Hare
B) Paul Babiak
C) Cathy Widom
D)Hervey Cleckley

Question 18

Which of the following is true about the biological basis of psychopathy?

A) Psychopaths exhibit global neuropsychological deficits.
B) Psychopaths produce elevated heart rates in anticipation of painful stimuli.
C) The cerebral cortexes of psychopaths are less active compared to non-psychopaths.
D) Psychopaths appear to over utilize areas of the brain that process emotions e.g., amygdala)

Question 19

What is problematic about experts testifying on the importance of psychopathy in death penalty cases?

A) Labeling an offender as psychopathic does not alter juror verdicts.
B) Psychopathy is not an aggravating factor for the death penalty.
C) The research supporting the link between violence and psychopathy focuses on community violence.
D) There is an extremely strong relationship between institutional violence and psychopathy.

Question 20

The PCL:YV ___________.

A) is used to assess psychopathy in adolescents.
B) is used to assess delinquency and violence propensity in women.
C) should not be used outside of North American inmate samples.
D) only generates a single score.

Question 21

One criticism of antisocial personality disorder is that _______________.

A) it is not a reliable construct
B) it is not a widely recognized construct
C) the diagnosis characterizes too many offenders
D) all of those diagnosed with APD actually suffer from psychopathy

Question 22

The major difference between primary psychopathy and secondary psychopathy is the level of ___________.

A) anxiety
B) empathy
C) intelligence
D) responsibility

Question 23

According to the literature, _______ score higher in psychopathy than _______.

A) rapists; child molesters
B) child molesters; rapists
C) child molesters; mixed offenders
D) child molesters; violent offenders

Question 24

According to the text, the single biggest factor in future violence may be ______________.

A) malingering
B) psychopathy
C) mental illness
D) antisocial personality disorder

Question 25

Why is there so much controversy over diagnosing children with psychopathy?

Question 26

The PCL-R can be best described as a ________________.

A) projective test
B) diagnostic tool
C) risk assessment tool
D) structured interview

Question 27

Which section of the PCL-R most closely matches Hervey Cleckley's conceptualization of psychopathy discussed in his book, Mask of Sanity?

A) Factor 1
B) Factor 2
C) Both a & b
D) None of the above

Question 28

Which of the following careers is most likely to be held by a psychopath?

A) an accountant
B) used-car salesman
C) A construction worker
D) A long distance truck driver

Question 29

Compare and contrast antisocial personality disorder and Psychopathy.

Question 30

Explain the difference between instrumental violence and reactive violence.

Question 31

What is the difference between functional biological deficits and structural biological deficits? Which type of biological deficit do psychopaths exhibit?

Question 32

Explain the legal and ethical implications of a psychopathy diagnosis.

Question 33

Which type of psychopathy may be most likely biologically based?

A) Factor 1 Psychopathy
B) Factor 2 Psychopathy
C) Primary Psychopathy
D) Secondary Psychopathy

Question 34

To score a PCL-R, a clinician must _______________.

A) conduct a clinical interview
B) review collateral information
C) first build good rapport with the client
D) administer both an oral and a written questionnaire