2005, Vol. 73, No. 3, 466 – 476
Copyright 2005 by the American Psychological Association
0022-006X/05/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/0022-006X.73.3.466
Testing a Four-Factor Model of Psychopathy and Its Association With
Ethnicity, Gender, Intelligence, and Violence
Michael J. Vitacco
Craig S. Neumann and Rebecca L. Jackson
Mendota Mental Health Institute
University of North Texas
Although a 2-factor model has advanced research on the psychopathy construct, a 3-factor model was recently developed that emphasized pathological personality and eliminated antisocial behavior.
However, dropping antisocial behavior from the psychopathy construct may not be advantageous.
Using a large sample …show more content…
Individuals manifesting psychopathic traits evidence predatory violence (Cornell et al., 1996) and are more disruptive in institutional settings (Buffington-Vollum, Edens, Johnson, &
Johnson, 2002; Hicks, Rogers, & Cashel, 2000; Hill, Neumann,
& Rogers, 2004). Emotionally, individuals with psychopathy have deficits in processing emotional stimuli (Blair et al., 2002;
Lorenz & Newman, 2002), which may be linked to limbic system dysfunction (Kiehl et al., 2001). Nonetheless, despite extensive research on the correlates of psychopathy, clinicians and researchers have continued to debate the nature of psychopathy for the past 200 years (Berrios, 1996).
Michael J. Vitacco, Mendota Mental Health Institute, Madison, Wisconsin; Craig S. Neumann and Rebecca L. Jackson, Department of Psychology, University of North Texas.
Rebecca L. Jackson is now at the Forensic Psychology Certification
Program, Pacific Graduate School of