Psychopathy and instrumental aggression: Evolutionary, neurobiological, and legal perspectives
Introduction
Psychopathy is a disorder involving a pronounced lack of guilt, remorse, and empathy (Hare, 2003). Psychopaths are said to be impervious to the distress of others. They also lack fear of negative consequences of risky or criminal behavior and demonstrate insensitivity to punishment (Patrick, 1994). In addition, psychopaths are often described as superficially charming, glib, manipulative, conning, and grandiose (Cleckley, 1941); they are often able to take advantage of others because they first present as likeable and well-meaning. However, these individuals often display severe aggression and high rates of criminal recidivism (Hare, 2003), making the study of psychopathy an especially important issue for the criminal justice system.
Section snippets
Psychopathy and instrumental aggression
A unique feature of psychopathy is that it is associated with an increased risk for instrumental aggression (Blair, 2007b). Instrumental aggression, also referred to as proactive or predatory aggression, is controlled, purposeful, and used to achieve a desired external goal (e.g., to obtain money or drugs). Injury to others is typically secondary to the acquisition of some other goal. Instrumental aggression tends to be premeditated and is not preceded by a strong emotional reaction. In other
Psychopathy as an evolutionary strategy
Several researchers have explored the idea that psychopathy represents an alternative evolutionary strategy consisting primarily of “cheating” behaviors (Barr and Quinsey, 2004, Crawford and Salmon, 2002, Mealey, 1995, Raine, 1993). In this view, the emotional, cognitive, and behavioral features of psychopaths are seen as specified, organized mechanisms which facilitated a viable reproductive social strategy during human evolutionary history (Crawford & Salmon, 2002). Instrumentally aggressive
The neurobiology of psychopathy
The evolution of moral behavior has shaped the functioning of several neural structures (Moll, de Oliveira-Souza, & Eslinger, 2003). Recent brain imaging studies have begun to explore the neural correlates of moral decision-making (e.g., Greene et al., 2004, Harenski and Hamann, 2006, Moll et al., 2003, Robertson et al., 2007). Many of the structures identified appear to also be associated with psychopathy (Raine & Yang, 2006a). One such area is the prefrontal cortex, specifically the
Implications
Taken together, neurobiological evidence suggests that there are differences in the brains of psychopaths compared to normal individuals, particularly in regions that are important in guiding moral behavior. Reduced functioning in regions important in generating emotions such as fear, guilt, and empathy may mean that psychopaths are undeterred from harming others to gain advantage. At the same time, increased functioning in regions associated with reward may lead psychopaths to take pleasure in
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