A methodology for studying noninstitutionalized psychopaths

Studies of psychopaths have been limited primarily to institutionalized populations. This article describes a methodological approach to studying noninstitutionalized psychopaths and presents data on various criteria frequently associated with the diagnosis of psychopathy. The procedure involved incorporating the characteristics of psychopathy, in a nonpejorative way, into a major Boston counterculture newspaper ad recruiting Ss for an experiment. Ss were 23 males and 5 females aged 19-47 yrs. They were assessed in several ways using the MMPI, a biographical interview, the Porteus Maze Test, a questionnaire battery (including some Eysenck Personality Inventory scales and measures of empathy, socialization, and Machiavellianism), and a delay of gratification task. Ss fulfilled the criteria for psychopathy, and the recruitment method used appears to be a fruitful one. With the present methodology, it should be possible to determine the extent to which previous results from research can be generalized to nonincarcerated psychopaths and particularly to the more successful ones. (32 ref)