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Traditional conceptualizations of psychopathy highlight the importance of affective features of the syndrome in perpetuating social deviance. However, little research has directly investigated the callousness that psychopathic offenders display toward society and their victims. The current study investigated the roles of empathy and alexithymia in psychopathy among male and female incarcerated offenders, particularly in distinguishing psychopathy from antisocial personality disorder. Gender differences were also investigated. Regarding empathy, as predicted, group differences were largest between psychopathic and non-psychopathic offenders; no reliable differences emerged between psychopathic and APD-only offenders. In contrast, alexithymia robustly distinguished between offenders with prominent psychopathic traits, those with only APD, and those with neither condition. Psychopathic females unexpectedly exhibited slightly higher levels of alexithymia than their male counterparts, while empathic deficits were relatively consistent across genders. These findings are discussed in terms of improving assessment methods for the accurate identification and treatment of offenders with prominent psychopathic features.

The objective of this study was to explore the attitudes toward antisocial personality disorder among clinicians. The researcher created a 15 question survey to interview clinicians in hopes of eliciting information about their attitudes toward this population. The survey consisted of seven open ended questions and eight Likert scale questions. The researcher analyzed the data by transcribing the interviews and looking for common themes among the responses. Likert scale questions were tallied and compared in SPSS to determine the spread of the answers. The results of the study showed there are negative attitudes among clinicians currently in direct treatment settings; attitudes were more neutral among clinicians who are currently not involved in direct practice. In applying the theory of reasoned action it is suggested clinicians in direct practice who hold negative views display behaviors that affect the treatment process and outcome. The researcher’s recommendation for future study is to explore the attitudes of other helping professionals in comparison to social work practitioners.

Thesis (M.A.) - Simon Fraser University, 2005. / Theses (Dept. of Psychology) / Simon Fraser University. Also issued in digital format and available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 151-177). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI/Dissertation Abstracts International.

The study was designed to examine the hypothesis that psychopathy is associated with an affective deficit. Subjects were 42 incarcerated offenders divided into nonpsychopathic and psychopathic groups based on their scores on the Hare Revised Psychopathy Checklist (Hare, 1991). Facial expressions, central and peripheral physiological activity, and subjective ratings of affective valence and arousal were measured during exposure to a series of slides and film clips designed to elicit either positive or negative affective states. The results indicate that psychopaths do not differ from criminal controls in their affective self-report, autonomic nervous system response, or observed facial expressions to emotional stimuli. However, with respect to cerebral asymmetry, psychopaths failed to show relative right frontal activation during exposure to the disgust film. This result is discussed in relation to recent attempts to explain psychopathy in terms of lateralized cerebral dysfunction.

Thesis (M.A.) - Carleton University, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 95-103). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (M.S.) -- Central Connecticut State University, 2008. / Thesis advisor: Raymond Chip Tafrate. "... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Criminal Justice." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 24-26). Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Texas at El Paso, 2009. / Title from title screen. Vita. CD-ROM. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.