Week 9 Flashcards
(18 cards)
The literal Greek roots of the word psychopathy translate most closely to:
A. “Mad aggression”
B. “Disease of the mind”
C. “Fearless soul”
D. “Broken behaviour”
B. “Disease of the mind” ✅
✅ Justification: Psych- (mind) + -pathy (disease) yields “disease of the mind.”
📚 Week 9 – 9.1 Historical Perspectives
Hervey Cleckley’s Mask of Sanity identified superficial charm and lack of anxiety as key clinical traits of:
A. Sociopathy
B. Psychopathy
C. Borderline personality disorder
D. Antisocial personality disorder
B. Psychopathy ✅
✅ Justification: Cleckley’s 16-trait list crystallised modern psychopathy.
📚 Week 9 – 9.1 Cleckley Traits
DSM-III’s shift from “psychopathy” to Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) marked a move toward diagnostic criteria focused on:
A. Internal affective traits
B. Observable overt behaviours
C. Neurobiological markers only
D. Moral philosophy
B. Observable overt behaviours ✅
✅ Justification: DSM-III required behavioural examples (e.g., fights, theft) rather than inner traits.
📚 Week 9 – 9.1 DSM Evolution
The Psychopathy Checklist–Revised (PCL-R) is administered primarily to:
A. General community volunteers
B. Forensic (offender) populations
C. Child clinical patients
D. Business executives
B. Forensic (offender) populations ✅
✅ Justification: The PCL-R is validated for assessing psychopathy in prisons and secure hospitals.
📚 Week 9 – 9.2 Assessing Psychopathy
Which set lists only Factor 1 (Interpersonal/Affective) items of the PCL-R?
A. Impulsivity, irresponsibility, juvenile delinquency
B. Superficial charm, grandiose self-worth, lack of remorse
C. Early behavioural problems, criminal versatility, parasitic lifestyle
D. Need for stimulation, poor behavioural control, revocation of conditional release
B. Superficial charm, grandiose self-worth, lack of remorse ✅
✅ Justification: Factor 1 captures interpersonal charm and shallow affect.
📚 Week 9 – 9.2 PCL-R Factor Structure
About what percentage of the general population meets the PCL-R threshold for psychopathy?
A. < 1 %
B. 10 %
C. 25 %
D. 40 %
A. < 1 % ✅
✅ Justification: High-score psychopathy is rare—roughly one person in a hundred.
📚 Week 9 – 9.2 Prevalence Data
Which statement best summarises the relationship between psychopathy and ASPD in offender samples?
A. Most with psychopathy do not meet ASPD criteria
B. Most with ASPD also meet psychopathy criteria
C. Most with psychopathy meet ASPD criteria, but not vice-versa
D. The two diagnoses always overlap perfectly
C. Most with psychopathy meet ASPD criteria, but not vice-versa ✅
✅ Justification: Psychopathy is narrower; many ASPD offenders lack Factor 1 traits.
📚 Week 9 – 9.2 Psychopathy ≠ ASPD
Criminal versatility on the PCL-R refers to:
A. Engaging in a wide variety of offences
B. Being skilled at one specific crime
C. Shifting blame for crimes
D. Avoiding detection despite crime
A. Engaging in a wide variety of offences ✅
✅ Justification: Diverse offending distinguishes psychopaths from specialist criminals.
📚 Week 9 – 9.2 PCL Facet 4
A CEO with high scores on manipulativeness and lack of empathy but no criminal record exemplifies the concept of a:
A. Secondary psychopath
B. Non-criminal (successful) psychopath
C. Sociopath
D. Paranoid strategist
B. Non-criminal (successful) psychopath ✅
✅ Justification: High psychopathic traits can manifest in corporate success absent convictions.
📚 Week 9 – 9.2 Non-Criminal Psychopaths
The historically proposed Macdonald Triad linked future violent offending to fire-setting, enuresis, and:
A. Animal cruelty
B. Substance abuse
C. Truancy
D. Bed-sharing
A. Animal cruelty ✅
✅ Justification: Cruelty to animals formed the triad’s third predictor.
📚 Week 9 – 9.2 Macdonald Triad
The Dark Triad of socially aversive traits comprises psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and:
A. Sadism
B. Narcissism
C. Neuroticism
D. Ego-resilience
B. Narcissism ✅
✅ Justification: All three share callous–manipulative tendencies.
📚 Week 9 – 9.2 Dark Triad Section
Low behavioural inhibition system (BIS) sensitivity combined with high behavioural activation system (BAS) activity characterises:
A. Sociopathy
B. Psychopathy
C. Generalised anxiety
D. Secure attachment
B. Psychopathy ✅
✅ Justification: Psychopaths show weak avoidance (BIS) and strong reward-seeking (BAS).
📚 Week 9 – 9.2 BAS/BIS Differences
Unlike psychopaths, sociopaths are generally capable of:
A. Superficial charm
B. Instrumental violence
C. Experiencing guilt and remorse
D. Low emotional reactivity
C. Experiencing guilt and remorse ✅
✅ Justification: Sociopathy entails deviant but existent conscience and heightened reactivity.
📚 Week 9 – 9.3 Sociopathy Overview
Which instrument is commonly used to measure non-criminal psychopathic traits in community samples?
A. PCL-R interviews
B. Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (LSRP)
C. MMPI Psychopathic Deviate scale only
D. DSM-5 Checklists
B. Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (LSRP) ✅
✅ Justification: LSRP and SRP-III capture trait psychopathy via self-report outside forensic settings.
📚 Week 9 – 9.2 Non-Forensic Measures
The threshold total score (out of 40) generally used to classify someone as a clinical psychopath on the PCL-R is:
A. ≥ 15
B. ≥ 20
C. ≥ 30
D. ≥ 35
C. ≥ 30 ✅
✅ Justification: A cut-off of 30 is standard in North-American research.
📚 Week 9 – 9.2 PCL-R Scoring
Which etiological account emphasises amygdala hyporesponsivity and low fear conditioning in psychopathy?
A. Adaptation for hostile ecologies
B. Cognitive-affective dysfunction (brain deficit)
C. Learning-based moral development
D. Frontal-lobe emotional dysregulation seen in sociopathy
B. Cognitive-affective dysfunction (brain deficit) ✅
✅ Justification: Neurobiological theories link dampened threat processing to psychopathic traits.
📚 Week 9 – 9.2 Brain Dysfunction Theory
The beta press concept—highlighting subjective perception—reminds clinicians that psychopathy assessment must consider:
A. Solely objective records
B. The individual’s interpretive filter on events
C. Only physiological data
D. Public stereotypes exclusively
B. The individual’s interpretive filter on events ✅
✅ Justification: Beta press = personal construal of environmental press (subjective).
📚 Week 9 – 9.2 Press Concepts (review)
High scores on psychopathy correlate most strongly with which motivational pattern in mating strategies research?
A. Long-term monogamy
B. Opportunistic short-term mating
C. Complete abstinence
D. Arranged marriage preference
B. Opportunistic short-term mating ✅
✅ Justification: Impulsivity, callousness, and low empathy facilitate short-term exploitation.
📚 Week 9 – 9.2 Psychopathy & Mating
