The Hare Psychopathy Rating Scale

When thinking about the concept of "psychopath", the image of a murderer comes to mind for most people, someone who kills for pleasure and whose actions obey only his own interests, without a trace of empathy and despising the needs, feelings and desires of those around him (whom he also uses as objects to achieve his purposes). This image looks very clear… but detecting these features is not so easy in real life.

Until relatively recent times, tools that can accurately measure this alteration, distinguishing it from mental and medical pathologies, have not been developed. In this sense, one of the main contributions in the detection and evaluation of psychopathic characteristics is that made by Hare, who created the Hare Psychopathy Rating Scale or PCL (Psychopathy Checklist).

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Psychopathy: what are we talking about?

To understand Hare's psychopathy assessment scale, it will first be necessary to establish a definition of what we mean by psychopathy.

The concept of psychopathy refers to a personality disorder in which there is a more or less absence full of empathy and concern for the other and a deep focus on oneself and one's own needs. It is not considered a clinical entity, that is, it is not a mental disorder. And it is that the definition that is made of this construct can vary greatly depending on the authors who express it and the type of psychopathy we are talking about (in fact, very different types of psychopaths could be found, with some authors even proposing nine).

Although the image that most people have of them is the one mentioned in the introduction, the truth is that not all are criminals or commit crimes: There are psychopaths integrated into society and in fact in many cases they become political leaders (some of whom have come to commit great abuses) or big businessmen.

Nevertheless, there are a number of characteristics common to most psychopaths: the most defining and decisive is the inability to develop affective relationships, lack of empathy and indifference towards the feelings of others. In addition to this, the use of others to achieve their goals, the absence of guilt and a sense of responsibility is frequent. about their own actions, the low intensity of most of their emotions, arrogance and self-centeredness, the ability to seduction and superficial relationships and in which the other is not valued and manipulation are usually some of the characteristics more common.

There are also** problems planning or assessing the future or the consequences of one's own actions**, the need sensation-seeking, impulsiveness, language-behavior mismatch, and need for gratification immediate.

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What are your causes?

It is important to note that technically psychopathy is not considered a mental disorder. It is a condition of unknown cause but in which strong genetic components have been detected (for example, it is common in the study of twins to observe that both have psychopathic features), although at least half of the variance in whether or not they suffer from this disorder is linked to factors environmental.

Some differences have been observed at a biological and temperamental level that complicate the processes of socialization during growth, not integrating the primary experiences of socialization in a adaptive. These are people who are fully aware of their actions, presenting no alterations in the volitional capacity and in which there is no affectation of the basic cognitive functions (beyond the emotional sphere).

PCL: The Hare Psychopathy Rating Scale

The Psychopathy Checklist, PCL or Hare's psychopathy assessment scale is one of the most widely used assessment instruments to assess the existence of psychopathy.

Originated and based on the grouping of factors and criteria previously proposed by Cleckley, it is a scale created by Hare that evaluates through 20 items (although originally there were 22), the main personality traits and characteristics of subjects with psychopathy.

It is a scale that must be filled in based on the information obtained during the semi-structured interview with the subject, the observation and analysis of his behavior, interviews with his environment and knowledge obtained from his file. The interview itself can take around two hours, although it depends on each case. Each item is scored with a 0, a 1 or a 2 depending on whether the item in question cannot be applied to the subject (0), it can be applied in a certain sense (1) or it can be applied to the subject as something consistent in its behavior (2). The maximum score is 40 and the existence of psychopathy is considered to be those cases that exceed 30 points (if well, it should be contrasted with interviews to the environment of him and checking other possible interviews and records referring to the subject. Scores greater than 25 are considered predictors of antisocial and violent behavior.

It is important to bear in mind that this is an instrument created based on the prison population, in clinical and forensic practice. It has been shown to be useful for predicting the probability of recidivism, assessing possible violations of sentences and predicting antisocial behavior.

What is valued? Scale Items

As we have seen, within the PCL (in its revised version) or psychopathy assessment scale created by Hare, we We found a total of 20 items that try to assess the existence of different characteristics of the psychopathy. Specifically, the following items or elements are evaluated.

1. Superficial charm/loquacity

One of the most common characteristics of psychopaths is their ease of treatment and superficial attractiveness, being often very seductive. They are considered fun and entertaining, and seem to master many subjects and topics of conversation.

2. Self-centeredness and feelings of grandiosity

The psychopath tends to have an overvalued view of himself, with great self-confidence and with an egocentric attitude. In addition, he tends to see only his own vision of things and focus on his own needs. You can feel admired and envied.

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3. sensation seeking

Another common trait of people with psychopathy is the tendency to get bored easily and look for activities that stimulate them, looking for action, competition and opportunities.

4. pathological lying

Lying and cheating are frequent elements in the conduct of the psychopath. You can easily craft believable stories and don't usually worry about being found out. It's not hard for him to break his promises.

5. Handling

Psychopaths generally have a tendency to be manipulative, using their skills and ability to seduce others to make it easier for them to obtain and achieve their goals, frequently without worrying about the effects on the manipulated person.

6. Absence of feeling guilty

Aspect linked to the lack of empathy, the psychopath tends not to feel guilty for what happens around him, as well as for the consequences of his actions.

7. emotional shallowness

Many psychopaths are known to show a flat emotional spectrum, without manifesting great reactions and resulting in their often shallow and even acted emotional expression. Yes, they can experience emotions, but they are generally considered to be low intensity and superficial.

8. Lack of empathy

One of the most fundamental characteristics of psychopaths is their lack of empathy. The psychopathic subject is usually unable to put himself in the place of others, or not valuing what others may be feeling or wanting. Combined with the high capacity for manipulation that they usually have, they often use others only to achieve their ends.

9. parasitic lifestyle

This criterion assumes that many psychopaths use their relatives and environment in a utilitarian way to subsist without have to make efforts, unless said work supposes a motivation that allows him to stand out and be the number one.

10. lack of self-control

People with a psychopathic personality may not have deep emotionality, but your immediate behavioral reactions may be extreme. The use of violence can be one of them, briefly and generally without causing a subsequent reaction.

11. Promiscuity

The high level of talkativeness and superficial attractiveness of many psychopaths makes it easy for them to have casual sexual relationships. Likewise, the absence of empathy and responsibility together with the search for sensations make it difficult to maintain more stable relationships.

12. Previous behavior problems

It is not strange that the psychopathic subject has already manifested behavioral problems in childhood. In this sense often associated with conduct disorder, being able, for example, to exercise sadistic behavior and torturing animals.

13. Long-range planning issues

Another common element in psychopathy is the fact that they tend to focus on the short term and obtaining immediate gratification. They do not usually consider the future (something that also affects the lack of consideration for the consequences of his actions), or he may have some kind of goal on which he has not considered how to carry out.

14. Impulsiveness

Refers to unintentional behavior acting immediately depending on the opportunity and own desire without considering alternatives or possible consequences.

15. Irresponsibility

This item refers to the lack of commitment to others. You may have a certain level of loyalty to your family and close social circle, but generally do not pay much attention to obligations and duties to others.

16. Non-acceptance of responsibility for conduct

Linked to irresponsibility, the subject with psychopathy does not usually take responsibility for his own actions. Though he doesn't feel guilty about them, usually justify them and use different excuses.

17. brief relationship

The couple relationships of a subject with psychopathy are not usually stable. Although they may have a partner, as we have said before, there is usually no lasting commitment. They may have a marriage or even children, but they are generally neglected and often engage in infidelity and other activities.

18. Juvenile delinquency

We have mentioned before that already from childhood the subject with psychopathy manifests a large number of features of this condition. It is not uncommon for crimes of greater or lesser severity to occur in adolescence that can have different repercussions for himself or for others, being able to commit serious crimes and even blood.

19. Parole Revocation

This is an item reserved only for those subjects who have been incarcerated and may have been eligible for parole.

20. criminal versatility

This last item tells us about the existence of various types of crime committed by the subject, which can range from robbery, drug trafficking, murder, assault, sexual offense, kidnapping or reckless driving, among others.

General aspects to take into account

In the PCL or Hare's psychopathy assessment scale, as we have seen, the personality and behavior of the people analyzed through it in search of traits of psychopathy. The items in question can be grouped into different facets for analysis. Specifically, the existence of two main factors is proposed, with four factors to be taken into account within them.

Factor 1: Interpersonal/Affective

This first factor refers mainly to the most properly internal aspects of the subject, such as his personality, the way of dealing with interpersonal relationships, affectivity and cognition. It is related to narcissistic traits. Within it we can find two basic dimensions, interpersonal and affective.

interpersonal dimension

This dimension evaluates the type of relationship that the subject maintains with his environment and how he relates to others. It mainly includes the items of superficial charm, feelings of greatness, lies, manipulation, lack of feelings of guilt, superficial emotionality, lack of empathy and lack of recognition of one's own responsibility.

affective dimension

This second dimension refers to the management and the experience of emotions by the subject. Sensation seeking, lack of self-control and empathy, superficial emotionality, lack of sensitivity and empathy would enter it.

Factor 2: Social deviance

This second factor refers mainly to elements that inform us of how the subject relates to the world around him and how he behaves in it. It is more linked to factors related to the commission of antisocial behaviors. Within this we can find the lifestyle and the antisocial aspect of his personality.

Lifestyle

It refers to the type of life that the subject usually leads on a daily basis. Items such as promiscuity, brief relationships, lack of commitment or criminal versatility are included. The need for stimulation or the absence of long-term goals may also be included., sensation seeking and self-centeredness.

Antisocial

This section includes the behaviors that the subject has had throughout his life, such as the presence of crimes during youth, if he has been incarcerated and if his probation has been revoked or lack of responsibility for his own acts.

Bibliographic references

• Folino, J. O. and Castillo, J.L. (2006). The facets of psychopathy according to the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-revised and its reliability. Argentine Journal of Psychiatry, Vol. XVII: 325-330.
• Lykken, D. (1994) Antisocial personalities. Barcelona: Herder.