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Psychopathy and Personality Disorder: Implications of Interpersonal Theory

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Psychopathy: Theory, Research and Implications for Society

Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((ASID,volume 88))

Abstract

The concept of a personality type distinguished by a callous disregard for the feelings of others, egocentricity, and impulsive social rule-breaking has been elaborated by clinicians and behavioral scientists for over fifty years (e.g., Cleckley, 1976; Gough, 1948; McCord & McCord, 1964). Yet despite a surge of theory-driven research during the 1960s and 1970s, progress in understanding psychopathy has been slow. Not only have most of the earlier theories proved to be limited in illuminating the concept, the field has also been hampered by lack of agreement as to which attributes are the most prototypical indicators of psychopathy (Hare & Cox, 1978; Hare, Hart & Harpur, 1991).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Liverpool, UK

    Ronald Blackburn

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  1. Ronald Blackburn
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  1. Douglas Inch Centre, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow, UK

    David J. Cooke

  2. Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada

    Adelle E. Forth

  3. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

    Robert D. Hare

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Blackburn, R. (1998). Psychopathy and Personality Disorder: Implications of Interpersonal Theory. In: Cooke, D.J., Forth, A.E., Hare, R.D. (eds) Psychopathy: Theory, Research and Implications for Society. NATO ASI Series, vol 88. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-3965-6_13

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