Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1997. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 189-224). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 1997. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 189-224). Also available on the Internet.

Natural speech contains a wealth of information relevant to understanding cognitive and affective psychological processes, which are reflected in both prosodic and semantic channels of communication. While differences in semantic channels have been demonstrated among psychopathic versus non-psychopathic individuals, research on the role of prosody in psychopathy is scant. The Computerized Assessment of Natural Speech protocol provides adetailed assessment of macroscopic-level prosody variables related to underlying psychological processes that have been linked to psychopathological conditions. Psychopathy is a condition that involves a number of disruptions in cognitive and affective processes, which theoretically can be tied to various aspects of speech. The present study provides a novel contribution by examining natural speech output in an offender sample in the context of a clinical interview (Psychopathy Checklist – Revised). More specifically, the present study examined variance in prosody across segments of the PCL-R interview designed to elicit both positively and negatively valenced emotional content, across high and low levels of subjective arousal, in psychopathic (n = 49) and non-psychopathic (n = 44) male offenders who were similar in terms of age, education, race/ethnicity, and IQ. Three-factor mixed MANOVAs (Group x Valence x Arousal) were conducted to evaluate differences in prosodic speech displayed by the offenders. Results indicated significant interactions between psychopathic and non-psychopathic offenders across valence and arousal conditions in terms of percentage of silence, average pause length, longest pause length, average within-utterance variation in subjectively defined pitch and articulation variables, and average rate of change in articulation across speech sample. Implications and future directions for research are discussed.

The series You (2018) challenges the traditional characteristics of a protagonist and introducesthe audience to a psychopathic protagonist with traits which are typically recognised in thetraditional villain. This study investigates the portrayal of the fictional character JoeGoldberg’s psychopathic characteristics by analysing the language used in his external andinternal dialogues. More specifically, drawing on the tools of transitivity analysis (Halliday1985), the study focuses on the process types and corresponding semantic roles assigned tothe pronouns I and you used by the protagonist over the course of three strategically selectedepisodes of the series. The results of the qualitative and quantitative transitivity analysis ofinternal and external dialogues throughout three chosen episodes shows that in the internaldialogues Joe appears analytical and assigns attributes and actions to you which correspond tothe mental representation of the object of his desire, Beck. While Joe’s internal dialoguesascribe some appealing attributes to Beck, the transitivity analysis also shows that he identifiestraits of vulnerability, such as lack of confidence and being indolent in reaching her goals. Incontrast, Joe’s approach in the external dialogues continuously appears to project him as ahumble person who puts the needs of others before his own, expressing deep considerationand understanding of the needs and emotions of others. The audience is introduced to hismanipulative behaviour by this contrast between his external and internal dialogues, which ishighlighted by the transitivity analysis in the present study.

Psychopaths have long been characterized as having a remarkable disregard for the truth, to the extent that deceit is often regarded as a defining characteristic of the syndrome. Scholars described heightened concerns about how psychopaths’ deceitful and manipulative nature could significantly obstruct evaluations of psychopathy. The accurate evaluation of psychopathy is very important in forensic and correctional settings, and in such issues as risk assessment or dangerousness. Although the PCL-R is considered the quasi-gold standard when it comes to evaluating psychopathy, self-report measures have become more widely available and researched. Very few studies specifically evaluated response styles and self-report psychopathy measures despite the significant concerns regarding psychopathy and deception. The current study evaluated the ability of inmates with different levels of psychopathy to successfully engage in positive impression management on the SRP-4, LSRP, and PPI-R. Utilizing a repeated-measures, within-subjects design, 78 male inmates completed the study under genuine and simulation conditions. Overall, inmates were able to significantly lower their scores on all three self-report measures and achieved scores equivalent to and even lower than college and community samples. Inmates with higher levels of psychopathy were able to achieve larger decreases in scores on the PPI-R and on several scales for each measure. Another key finding was the identification of promising PPI-R Virtuous Responding Scale cut scores that can be utilized within forensic populations. Results indicate self-report measures should not be used to replace the PCL-R or comprehensive assessment of psychopathy in forensic evaluations; however, they do provide additional useful information and may be beneficial in other clinical settings.

Philosophical zombies are beings that look exactly like humans and behave in the same way as humans do. The only difference between humans and philosophical zombies is that philosophical zombies lack consciousness. This means that they can complain, cry, laugh and say that they are in pain. However, emotionally, they will never experience these feelings. Philosophical zombies have no desires, no values, and no empathy. Despite philosophical zombies lacking all these qualities, the question can be raised whether, if they were to exist in our world, would they have any moral responsibility? This question becomes pressing because even though philosophical zombies feel nothing and lack consciousness, they are still capable of doing harm and able to act immorally. By using David Shoemaker's (2015) 'Tripartite Theory of Responsibility', I will in this essay analyse whether philosophical zombies are eligible for moral responsibility, and if so what type of moral responsibility they would be eligible for, i.e., whether it would be attributability, answerability or accountability. Furthermore, this essay will discuss if philosophical zombies and psychopaths are similar, and whether they are meant to be qualified for the same moral responsibility types, and if so, which type that would be. Additionally, this essay will discuss the dilemma that might arise if philosophical zombies are not suitable of being moral agents and bring up the debate of the moral agency of AI's. Thereby coming to the point if philosophical zombies are not fit to be held morally responsible.

No description available.

Psychopathy, as conceptualized by Cleckley (1941), describes a constellation of psychological and behavioral correlates including superficial charm, untruthfulness, lack of remorse or shame, poor judgment, and failure to learn from experience. Based on Cleckley's initial work, Hare (1991) developed a two-factor model of psychopathy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the roles that sensation seeking, impulsivity, ADHD, conduct disorder, and oppositional defiant disorder have on adolescents classified as psychopaths. The participants consisted of 79 adjudicated male adolescents in a maximum-security facility. As hypothesized, adolescent male psychopaths had higher levels of sensation seeking, impulsivity, conduct disorder and oppositional defiant disorder. A discriminant function analysis found that sensation seeking, impulsivity, ADHD, Conduct Disorder, and Oppositional Defiant Disorder was moderately useful in classifying adolescent psychopathy. The results suggest that behavioral dysregulation is an important aspect of adolescent psychopathy. The relationship of these data to theories of adolescent psychopathy is discussed.

This study is part of a larger research project examining family attachment processes. The current study tests a family process model that postulates the mediating role of parent-child attachment and sibling relationship quality in the associations of parent psychopathology or marital adjustment to children's psychological dysfunction. A community sample of 86 families with at least one school-aged (8-12 years) child was recruited from area schools and organizations. Families came to the UNT Family Attachment Lab, where they participated in research tasks, including interviews, self-report instruments, and videotaped interaction tasks. Specific questionnaires used in this study included the Sibling Relationship Questionnaire, the Security Scale, the Behavior Assessment System for Children, the Symptom Assessment-45 Questionnaire, and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Using a single indicator for each variable, path analyses tested three paternal models, three maternal models, and three systemic models using different informants' (i.e., father, mother, child) reports of child functioning as the outcome variable. Results of this study highlight the positive relationship between parent marital adjustment and parent-child attachment security, as well as the inverse relationship between maternal psychopathology and mother-child attachment security. In addition, the inverse relationship between parent-child attachment security and child psychological dysfunction was significant across nearly all paternal and maternal models. Particularly noteworthy was the consistent mediating influence of attachment security in the association between marital adjustment and child psychological dysfunction across paternal and maternal models.

"The Response of African Religion to Poverty with specific reference to the Umzimkhulu Municipality" is a particular effort of the wider world that researches the ways and means for combating the scourge of poverty in society aiming at securing a better future for the future generations. In as much as African traditional religion is part of the culture, tradition and custom of its tenants, and as such aims at the wellbeing of its tenants, it is able to offer a response to poverty. It teaches about the importance of the values of community, meaningful and life-affirming relationships and the value of ubuntu. All these clamour for extended sharing and extended participation which are essential if society will continue to exist. African traditional religion maintains an ethic that says: `Real poverty results from the blockage of the vital links'. Celebrating economic achievements in food must be preceded by the celebration of people. `Batho pele': is the contemporary Democratic South Africa's slogan that suggests putting people in the center of life. It does not only call us to serve the poor, but also to allow them to champion the courses of the kind of service they desire. African traditional religion teaches that, together with the other institutions that govern the lives of people, religion and politics should have among other things a concern about production and distribution of the resources, hence the claim: `Food is also politics'. In their dealing with the problem of poverty, religion, politics and other social institutions ought to dedicate a special place to instilling positive attitudes towards the concept of work among their tenants. In this way the slogan `Batho pele' or people first, does not merely mean waiting to be served, but it also means that every body to the best of their ability ought to be doing something towards the production of the items of service. The inclusiveness of African religion in terms of what it calls `community' cautions society about the importance of the other beings in its consideration of poverty alleviation. Our economic wellbeing depends mostly on our attitude towards the other non-personal neighbours, prominent among which is our common abode, the earth, the land. / Religious Studies & Arabic / D.Th. (Religious Studies)