Open AccessClarifying Fearlessness in Psychopathy: an Examination of Thrill-Seeking and Physical Risk-Taking
Author(s) -
Nathaniel E. Anderson,
Matthew Widdows,
J. Michael Maurer,
Kent A. Kiehl
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of psychopathology and behavioral assessment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.122
H-Index - 71
eISSN - 1573-3505
pISSN - 0882-2689
DOI - 10.1007/s10862-020-09847-y
Subject(s) - psychopathy , sensation seeking , psychology , psychopathy checklist , clinical psychology , antisocial personality disorder , operationalization , dominance (genetics) , developmental psychology , personality , social psychology , poison control , injury prevention , philosophy , biochemistry , chemistry , environmental health , epistemology , gene , medicine
Fearlessness has been described among the traits associated with psychopathy; however, disparities in conceptualizations of fear and how related elements are operationalized among different measures of psychopathic traits have led to some enduring controversy. Here we address a subset of elements characterizing fearlessness represented in thrill-seeking and physical risk-taking among a large sample of incarcerated individuals (n = 688). We examine these relationships utilizing Hare's Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R), the Psychopathy Personality Inventory-Short Form (PPI-SF), and the Zuckerman Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS). Among males, the Thrill and Adventure Seeking (TAS) scale of the SSS was not related to features of the PCL-R, but was highly correlated with Fearless Dominance (FD) of the PPI-SF. Among females, TAS was only modestly correlated with PCL-R total score, but neither of the two PCL-R factors. PPI-SF FD remained a strong predictor of TAS among females. We argue for a careful consideration of the boundaries of the term "fearlessness" as it relates to diverse manifestations of behavior and varied conceptualizations of psychopathy. We also reiterate apparent differences between males and females in the presentation of psychopathic traits.