Psychopathy: Coercive and Precocious Sexuality as a Design Feature

2. Characteristics of Psychopaths Glibness/Superficial charm Grandiose sense of self-worth Pathological lying Conning/manipulative Lack of remorse or guilt Shallow affect Callous/Lack of empathy Failure to accept responsibility Criminal versatility

3. More about Psychopathy Life course persistent offending Stable lifetime trajectory Heritable A natural class or type? Cognitive and emotional Neurophysiological Sexual coercion and violence

7. What got us interested in the concept of psychopathy and got us thinking there was something fundamentally different between psychopathic and nonpsychopathic offenders -Interaction between psychopathy and treatmentWhat got us interested in the concept of psychopathy and got us thinking there was something fundamentally different between psychopathic and nonpsychopathic offenders -Interaction between psychopathy and treatment

8. Psychopathy as a Disorder DSM-IV Semantic dementia Defective processing of emotions Punishment, inhibition and arousal Low fear, disinhibition Response modulation, secondary info Absence of clear damage/illness/disease, Theory of mind, Emotional judgments, Laboratory paradigms, Prevalence, Fitness costs? Most past and current conceptualizations of psychopathy have considered it to be a disorder -DSM-IV considers psychopathy as synonymous with APD- ie. a serious PD -Cleckley - Considered psychopaths closer to psychosis than normality.--lifestyle characterized by aimlessness, impulsivity, untruthfulness, lack of remorse or empathy, lack of insight. He hypothesized that the problems stemmed from a failure to process the emotional meanings of language-- �semantic dementia�. In normals, stimuli that have been associated with aversive consequences in the past evoke unpleasant emotional images that in turn inhibit new antisocial behavior. But not in psychopaths. They know the words of emotion, but not the music. Support for this-- Hare et al.-- normals and psychopaths judge pleasantness & unpleasantness of emotional words equally, but psychopaths show much less differentiation between emotional and neutral words in reaction time and electrodermal activity than normals -Hare- Calls psychopathy a ��� defined by many of same characteristics named by Cleckley with some refinements and additions-- egocentricity or selfishness, pathological lying, sexual promiscuity, parasitic lifestyle, glib, superficially charming and persistent antisocial and criminal behavior-- says now that behavioral, electrocortical and neuroimaging research adds weight to the clinical belief that psychopaths fail to appreciate the emotional significance of events. They are �without conscience� -Patrick-- calls it a disorder characterized by defective processing of emotional stimuli. His work on the �startle reflex� and fear imagery supports his view. -Newman- Psychopathology characterized by deficient integration of the Behavioral Activation System and the Behavioral Inhibition System. Once BAS is activated, BIS doesn�t work as it should. -Raine- -Lewis- Most past and current conceptualizations of psychopathy have considered it to be a disorder -DSM-IV considers psychopathy as synonymous with APD- ie. a serious PD -Cleckley - Considered psychopaths closer to psychosis than normality.--lifestyle characterized by aimlessness, impulsivity, untruthfulness, lack of remorse or empathy, lack of insight. He hypothesized that the problems stemmed from a failure to process the emotional meanings of language-- �semantic dementia�. In normals, stimuli that have been associated with aversive consequences in the past evoke unpleasant emotional images that in turn inhibit new antisocial behavior. But not in psychopaths. They know the words of emotion, but not the music. Support for this-- Hare et al.-- normals and psychopaths judge pleasantness & unpleasantness of emotional words equally, but psychopaths show much less differentiation between emotional and neutral words in reaction time and electrodermal activity than normals -Hare- Calls psychopathy a ��� defined by many of same characteristics named by Cleckley with some refinements and additions-- egocentricity or selfishness, pathological lying, sexual promiscuity, parasitic lifestyle, glib, superficially charming and persistent antisocial and criminal behavior-- says now that behavioral, electrocortical and neuroimaging research adds weight to the clinical belief that psychopaths fail to appreciate the emotional significance of events. They are �without conscience� -Patrick-- calls it a disorder characterized by defective processing of emotional stimuli. His work on the �startle reflex� and fear imagery supports his view. -Newman- Psychopathology characterized by deficient integration of the Behavioral Activation System and the Behavioral Inhibition System. Once BAS is activated, BIS doesn�t work as it should. -Raine- -Lewis-

9. What is inherited? A Disorder? A harmful dysfunction Dysfunction: A failure of a mechanism to perform a function for which it was designed by natural selection Harm : to self/others (Wakefield, 1993) An Adaptation? A mechanism that contributed to an individual�s ability to reproduce in the ancestral environment (after Williams, 1966) - Define disorder... Psychopaths don�t seem to suffer form their �disorder�. Other people do. -Maybe it�s not a disorder, but rather an adaptation - Define disorder... Psychopaths don�t seem to suffer form their �disorder�. Other people do. -Maybe it�s not a disorder, but rather an adaptation

10. Psychopathy, Obstetrical Complications & Perinatal Difficulties 140 Psychopaths (PCL-R >24) 58 Psychopaths (PCL-R >29) 292 Nonpsychopaths (PCL-R <10) We decided to try to develop an empirical test of the hypothesis that psychopathy is an adaptation and not a disorder Here�s our idea: Birth complications, obstetrical problems and problems in infancy are often the cause or the result of something wrong in a developing fetus or child. Although it�s often difficult to discern what�s a cause and what�s an effect, disorders (both mental and physical) often go together with � -How we decided to try to test this: Out of a large sample of mentally disordered offenders, we took 2 extreme samples -- Psychopaths and nonpsychopaths using 2 different cutoff scores on the PCL-R to define our 2 groups� So had a way to be quite sure (PCL-R>24) and very sure (PCL-R>29) we had only true psychopaths in 1 group, and also quite sure we had no true psychopaths in the other groupWe decided to try to develop an empirical test of the hypothesis that psychopathy is an adaptation and not a disorder Here�s our idea: Birth complications, obstetrical problems and problems in infancy are often the cause or the result of something wrong in a developing fetus or child. Although it�s often difficult to discern what�s a cause and what�s an effect, disorders (both mental and physical) often go together with � -How we decided to try to test this: Out of a large sample of mentally disordered offenders, we took 2 extreme samples -- Psychopaths and nonpsychopaths using 2 different cutoff scores on the PCL-R to define our 2 groups� So had a way to be quite sure (PCL-R>24) and very sure (PCL-R>29) we had only true psychopaths in 1 group, and also quite sure we had no true psychopaths in the other group

11. How we coded these-- Had been coded long before we had this idea, so coding couldn�t have been influenced by it Coded by researchers reading clinical files of our adult patients Notice that the %�s are low-- That�s because there often wasn�t much information about early history that was known, although the historians at the time always asked Most often, none of these problems were noted as present, and it was rare for a patient to have more than 1 noted as present How we coded these-- Had been coded long before we had this idea, so coding couldn�t have been influenced by it Coded by researchers reading clinical files of our adult patients Notice that the %�s are low-- That�s because there often wasn�t much information about early history that was known, although the historians at the time always asked Most often, none of these problems were noted as present, and it was rare for a patient to have more than 1 noted as present

12. Results Results: Axes & Legend Note that results are even stronger in the 2nd panel: i.e. When �disorder� is more severe, FEWER indications of damage. Funny kind of disorder where other indicators of damage go down as disorder is more severe Results: Axes & Legend Note that results are even stronger in the 2nd panel: i.e. When �disorder� is more severe, FEWER indications of damage. Funny kind of disorder where other indicators of damage go down as disorder is more severe

13. Fluctuating Bilateral Asymmetry Asymmetry Bilateral Fluctuating Index of fidelity of biophysiological program Measurement of morphological traits

14. -Fluctuating Asymmetry- Random fluctuation in the two sides of the body on morphological traits for which the average population mean asymmetry is 0..[and, technically, also for which the population distribution of signed asymmetry values approaches normality]. Psychopaths very close on average FA to staff and lower than patients (not sure if it�s significant, but certainly a trend) -Fluctuating Asymmetry- Random fluctuation in the two sides of the body on morphological traits for which the average population mean asymmetry is 0..[and, technically, also for which the population distribution of signed asymmetry values approaches normality]. Psychopaths very close on average FA to staff and lower than patients (not sure if it�s significant, but certainly a trend)

16. Psychopathy as a Life History Strategy General Distinct Strategies A niche where cheaters can prosper Evolutionarily stable at low prevalence Neurophysiological differences implied High Mating Effort -- Plus: low attachment, childhood aggression, early puberty, sexual activity, low pair bonding, low parental investment Antisociality and sexual coercion [Not unconditional and not sadistic] -.. -a game in which there are 2 players and 2 possible moves on each turn: Cooperate or Defect. Each must select without knowing what the other does. If both cooperate, both get a small reward. If both defect, both lose a little. But if 1 cooperates, and 1 defects, defector wins big, and cooperator loses big. Best joint strategy is for both to cooperate and both end up ahead. But best individual strategy under almost all conditions is to defect-- a defector always beats a cooperating opponent. - a tit-for-tat strategy has been shown to do well against virtually all others under virtually all conditions when games are played over several generations where the winning strategies from one round of games �a generation� are allowed to play in the next generation according to their number of wins in the previous round. - However, �cheaters� i.e. �defectors� can almost always find a niche- so long as there aren�t too many of them, their numbers can remain stable from generation to generation- i.e. cheating is an evolutionary stable strategy - Cheaters prosper under certain conditions- e.g.When the games will be short, & when cheaters don�t have to play the same player more than once. -We and others have proposed that psychopaths are ...-.. -a game in which there are 2 players and 2 possible moves on each turn: Cooperate or Defect. Each must select without knowing what the other does. If both cooperate, both get a small reward. If both defect, both lose a little. But if 1 cooperates, and 1 defects, defector wins big, and cooperator loses big. Best joint strategy is for both to cooperate and both end up ahead. But best individual strategy under almost all conditions is to defect-- a defector always beats a cooperating opponent. - a tit-for-tat strategy has been shown to do well against virtually all others under virtually all conditions when games are played over several generations where the winning strategies from one round of games �a generation� are allowed to play in the next generation according to their number of wins in the previous round. - However, �cheaters� i.e. �defectors� can almost always find a niche- so long as there aren�t too many of them, their numbers can remain stable from generation to generation- i.e. cheating is an evolutionary stable strategy - Cheaters prosper under certain conditions- e.g.When the games will be short, & when cheaters don�t have to play the same player more than once. -We and others have proposed that psychopaths are ...

17. Psychopathy Reconsidered Heritability Psychopathic Characteristics Language Startle Reflex Impulsivity Punishment and Arousal Type of Violence Sexual interests -Consider the characteristics of psychopaths and see if they sound like they �d equip psychopaths to be cheaters-- glib, superficially charming, pathological lying, parasitic lifestyle, conning and manipulative, lacking in remorse and empathy, lack of remorse and empathy, �without conscience�, AND sexual promiscuity -Language-- Maybe the �semantic dementia� is actually adaptive. To thrive by cheating, it�s probably a good thing not to be as affected by stimuli that could represent other people�s emotions -Startle reflex- Maybe psychopaths show less of a startle reaction than other people because they truly feel less emotion to outside stimuli (not necessarily to their own internal stimuli) -Maybe its easier to get in, get what you want and get out if your BIS doesn�t work very well once the BAS is pursuing a goal -Theory fits also with the finding that the violence perpetrated by psychopaths is different from that committed by nonpsychopaths- victims are more likely to be strangers, violence more likely to be instrumental -Consider the characteristics of psychopaths and see if they sound like they �d equip psychopaths to be cheaters-- glib, superficially charming, pathological lying, parasitic lifestyle, conning and manipulative, lacking in remorse and empathy, lack of remorse and empathy, �without conscience�, AND sexual promiscuity -Language-- Maybe the �semantic dementia� is actually adaptive. To thrive by cheating, it�s probably a good thing not to be as affected by stimuli that could represent other people�s emotions -Startle reflex- Maybe psychopaths show less of a startle reaction than other people because they truly feel less emotion to outside stimuli (not necessarily to their own internal stimuli) -Maybe its easier to get in, get what you want and get out if your BIS doesn�t work very well once the BAS is pursuing a goal -Theory fits also with the finding that the violence perpetrated by psychopaths is different from that committed by nonpsychopaths- victims are more likely to be strangers, violence more likely to be instrumental

18. Antisocial Behavior and Sexuality Aggressive bullies : early puberty & dating Childhood aggression : earlier & more sex Childhood antisociality : higher adult ME Antisocial peers : earlier & more sex Delinquency, sub abuse : early puberty/sex Beh. Problems, sub abuse : offspring Antisociality, crime : early reproduction, ME

19. Psychopathic Mating Effort Multiple sexual partners as an adult Uncommitted sexuality Coercion and deception ------------------------------------------ First sex at a young age Multiple sex partners as a juvenile Sexual aggression at a young age Forcible sex at a young age Sex with adults at a young age

20. Coercive, Precocious Sexuality among Sex Offenders 512 sex offenders from 4 sites: Oak Ridge, Community, 2 Federal Institutions 48% child molesters, 41% rapists, 11% both Archival data only, incl. PCL-R Recidivism (n = 396) Analytic strategy

21. Coercive, Precocious Sexuality among Sex Offenders Years of education 9.4 (2.8) Age at index offense 30 (11) IQ 98 (16) Unemployed 53% Total number of victims 2.7 (2.3) Never married 48% Index homicide or attempt 11% Volunteered for treatment 57%

22. Principal Components Promiscuity Many short-term marital Age at first sex (inv) No. of sex partners < 15 Forced person into sex <15 Sex offending score <18 Sex with adult(s) <15

23. Glibness Grandiose self-worth Conning Lacks remorse Shallow affect Prone to boredom Parasitic lifestyle Lacks realistic goals Impulsivity Irresponsibility Age at first sex (inv) No. of sex partners < 15 Forced person into sex <15 Sex offending score <18 Sex with adult(s) <15

26. Psychopathy, Lifecourse Persistent Antisociality, and Testing for Evidence of a Discrete, Natural EntityTaxometric AnalysesofCoercive, Precocious Sexuality We decided to try to develop an empirical test of the hypothesis that psychopathy is an adaptation and not a disorder Here�s our idea: Birth complications, obstetrical problems and problems in infancy are often the cause or the result of something wrong in a developing fetus or child. Although it�s often difficult to discern what�s a cause and what�s an effect, disorders (both mental and physical) often go together with � -How we decided to try to test this: Out of a large sample of mentally disordered offenders, we took 2 extreme samples -- Psychopaths and nonpsychopaths using 2 different cutoff scores on the PCL-R to define our 2 groups� So had a way to be quite sure (PCL-R>24) and very sure (PCL-R>29) we had only true psychopaths in 1 group, and also quite sure we had no true psychopaths in the other groupWe decided to try to develop an empirical test of the hypothesis that psychopathy is an adaptation and not a disorder Here�s our idea: Birth complications, obstetrical problems and problems in infancy are often the cause or the result of something wrong in a developing fetus or child. Although it�s often difficult to discern what�s a cause and what�s an effect, disorders (both mental and physical) often go together with � -How we decided to try to test this: Out of a large sample of mentally disordered offenders, we took 2 extreme samples -- Psychopaths and nonpsychopaths using 2 different cutoff scores on the PCL-R to define our 2 groups� So had a way to be quite sure (PCL-R>24) and very sure (PCL-R>29) we had only true psychopaths in 1 group, and also quite sure we had no true psychopaths in the other group

28. Coercive, Precocious Sexand other study variables Parental rejection Parental neglect Physical abuse by parents Parental alcoholism Parental criminality Separation from parents under 16 Elementary school maladjustment Nonviolent crime score under 18 Violent nonsexual crime score under 18 Age at first arrest

29. Coercive, Precocious Sexand other study variables Admissions to corrections Criminal associates Escapes from corrections Total number of sex offense victims Diagnosis of personality disorder Unfavorable attitude towards convention DSM APD symptom count Nonviolent crime score adult Violent nonsexual crime score adult Alcohol abuse score

30. Coercive, Precocious Sexand other study variables Behavior problems before 3rd grade Aggression under age 8 Aggression under age 15 DSM conduct disorder symptom count VRAG score General recidivism Violent recidivism Sexual (rap sheet) recidivism

31. Coercive, Precocious Sexand other study variables Age at index offense Number of child victims Number of male victims Phallometric pedophilic index -.28 Socially isolated Perinatal and obstetrical problems DSM Schizophrenia IQ Highest grade

32. Conclusions (Tentatively) - Coercive, precocious sexuality not highly prevalent, but diagnostic of psychopathy - Adult mating effort highly prevalent, but less diagnostic - Life course persistent antisociality central to psychopathy - Personality and clinical features�

33. Next Investigations - Measuring CPSex - Offspring � Psychopaths have more (p<.10), control for age and criminal history - Psychopathic sexuality and �sadism� - Psychopathy, lifespan and causes of death - Psychopathy and �attachment� among parents and children - Does the distal basis of psychopathy matter? And how?