Psychopathic personality traits and cognitive dissonance: Individual differences in attitude change

Journal of Research in Personality

Volumn 46, Issue 5, 2012, Pages 525-536

  Murray, Ashley A ^a   Wood, James M ^a   Lilienfeld, Scott O ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT EL PASO   (United States)

^b EMORY UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

Attitude change; Cognitive dissonance; Machiavellianism; Psychopathy

Indexed keywords

EID: 84865771155     PISSN: 00926566     EISSN: 10957251     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.jrp.2012.05.011     Document Type: Article

References (93)

1. Ali F., Amorim I.S., Chamorro-Premuzic T. Empathy deficits and trait emotional intelligence in psychopathy and machiavellianism. Personality and Individual Differences 2009, 47:758-762.
2. Austin E.J., Farrelly D., Black C., Moore H. Emotional intelligence, machiavellianism and emotional manipulation: Does EI have a dark side?. Personality and Individual Differences 2007, 43:179-189.
3. Axsom D., Cooper J. Cognitive dissonance and psychotherapy: The role of effort justification in inducing weight loss. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 1985, 21:149-160.
4. Batson A., Gudjonsson G., Gray J. Attribution of blame for criminal acts and its relationship with psychopathy as measured by the hare psychopathic checklist (PCL-SV). Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology 2010, 21:91-101.
5. Benning S., Patrick C., Blonigen D., Hicks B., Iacono W. Estimating facets of psychopathy from normal personality traits. Assessment 2005, 12:3-18.
6. Benning S., Patrick C., Hicks B., Blonigen D., Krueger R. Factor structure of the psychopathic personality inventory: Validity and implications for clinical assessment. Psychological Assessment 2003, 15:340-350.
7. Benning S., Patrick C., Salekin R., Leistico A. Convergent and discriminant validity of psychopathy factors assessed via self-report: A comparison of three instruments. Assessment 2005, 12:270-289.
8. Blair R.J.R. A cognitive developmental approach to morality: Investigating the psychopath. Cognition 1995, 57(1):1-29.
9. Blair R.J.R. The emergence of psychopathy: Implications for the neurological approach to developmental disorders. Cognition 2006, 101:414-442.
10. Blair R.J.R., Blair K.S. Empathy, morality, and social convention: Evidence from the study of psychopathy and other psychiatric disorders. The social neuroscience of empathy 2009, 139-152. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA. J. Decety, W. Ickes (Eds.).
11. Blair J., Frith U. Neurocognitive explanations of the antisocial personality disorders. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health 2000, 10:S66-S81.
12. Blair R.J.R., Mitchell D.G.V., Peschardt K.S., Colledge E., Leonard R.A., Shine J.H., et al. Reduced sensitivity to others' fearful expressions in psychopathic individuals. Personality and Individual Differences 2004, 37(6):1111-1122.
13. Blair R.J.R., Peschardt K.S., Budhani S., Mitchell D.G.V., Pine D.S. The development of psychopathy. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 2006, 47:262-275.
14. Bogart K. Machiavellianism and individual differences in response to cognitive inconsistency. Journal of Social Psychology 1971, 85:111-119.
15. Bogart K., Geis F., Levy M., Zimbardo P. No dissonance for machiavellians?. The cognitive control of motivation: The consequences of choice and motivation 1970, 251-263. Scott, Foresman and Company, Glenview, Illinois. P.G. Zimbardo (Ed.).
16. Burgoon M., Miller G.R., Tubbs S.L. Machiavellianism, justification, and attitude change following counterattitudinal advocacy. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1972, 22:366-371.
17. Cacioppo J.T., Claiborn C.D., Petty R.E., Heesacker M. A general framework for the study of attitude change in psychotherapy. Handbook of social and clinical psychology: The health perspective 1991, 523-539. Pergamon Press, Inc., New York. C.R. Snyder, D.R. Forsyth (Eds.).
18. Christie R., Geis F.L. Studies in machiavellianism 1970, Academic Press, New York.
19. Cima M., Tonnaer F., Lobbestael J. Moral emotions in predatory and impulsive offenders using implicit measures. Netherlands Journal of Psychology 2007, 63(4):144-155.
20. Cleckley H. The mask of sanity 1976, C. V. Mosby, St. Louis, (Originally published 1941). 5th ed.
21. Cohen J., Cohen P., West S.G., Aiken L.S. Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences 2003, Erlbaum, Mahway, New Jersey. 3rd ed.
22. Cooke D.J., Michie C. Refining the construct of psychopathy: Towards a hierarchical model. Psychological Assessment 2001, 13:171-188.
23. Cooper J. Unwanted consequences and the self: In search of the motivation for dissonance reduction. Cognitive dissonance. Progress on a pivotal theory in social psychology 1999, 149-173. American Psychological Association, Washington, DC. E. Harmon-Jones, J. Mills (Eds.).
24. Cooper J. Cognitive dissonance. Fifty years of a classic theory 2007, Sage, Los Angeles.
25. Cooper J., Axsom D. Cognitive dissonance and psychotherapy. Emerging integrations of clinical and social psychology 1982, 214-230. Oxford University Press, New York. G. Weary, H. Mirels (Eds.).
26. Cooper J., Fazio R.H. A new look at dissonance theory. Advances in experimental psychology 1984, Vol. 17:229-262. Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ.
27. Cooper J., Worchel S. Role of undesired consequences in arousing cognitive dissonance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1970, 16(2):199-206.
28. Day R., Wong S. Anomalous perceptual asymmetries for negative emotional stimuli in the psychopath. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 1996, 105(4):648-652.
29. Dickerson C.A., Thibodeau R., Aronson E., Miller D. Using cognitive dissonance to encourage water conservation. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 1992, 22:841-854.
30. Dolan M., Fullam R. Face affect recognition deficits in personality-disordered offenders: Association with psychopathy. Psychological Medicine: A Journal of Research in Psychiatry and the Allied Sciences 2006, 36(11):1563-1569.
31. Edens J.F., McDermott B.E. Examining the construct validity of the psychopathic personality inventory-revised: Preferential correlates of fearless dominance and self-centered impulsivity. Psychological Assessment 2010, 22:32-42.
32. Edens J.F., Poythress N.G., Lilienfeld S.O. Identifying inmates at risk for disciplinary infractions: A comparison of two measures of psychopathy. Behavioral Sciences and the Law 1999, 17:435-443.
33. Edens J.F., Poythress N.G., Watkins M.M. Further validation of the psychopathic personality inventory among offenders: Personality and behavioral correlates. Journal of Personality Disorders 2001, 15(5):403-415.
34. Epstein G.F. Machiavelli and the devil's advocate. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1969, 11(1):38-41.
35. Fehr B., Samsom D., Paulhus D.L. The construct of machiavellianism: Twenty years later. Advances in personality assessment 1992, 77-116. Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ. C.D. Spielberger, J.N. Butcher (Eds.).
36. Festinger L. A theory of cognitive dissonance 1957, Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA.
37. Festinger L., Carlsmith J.M. Cognitive consequences of forced compliance. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology 1959, 58:203-210.
38. Fowles D.C. The three arousal model: Implications of Gray's two-factor learning theory for heart rate, electrodermal activity, and psychopathy. Psychophysiology 1980, 17:87-104.
39. Frank J.D. Persuasion and healing: A comparative analysis of psychotherapy 1963, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD.
40. Goethals G.R., Cooper J. Role of intention and postbehavioral consequence in the arousal of cognitive dissonance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1972, 23:293-301.
41. Gordon H.L., Baird A.A., End A. Functional differences among those high and low on a trait measure of psychopathy. Biological Psychiatry 2004, 56(7):516-521.
42. Hare R.D. Without conscience. The disturbing world of the psychopaths among us 1993, Simon & Schuster, New York.
43. Hare R.D. The Hare Psychopathy Checklist Revised 2003, Multi-Health Systems, Toronto, ON. 2nd ed.
44. Hare R.D., Neumann C.S. The PCL-R assessment of psychopathy: Development, structural properties, and new directions. Handbook of psychopathy 2006, 58-88. The Guilford Press, New York. C.J. Patrick (Ed.).
45. Hare R.D., Neumann C.S. Psychopathy as a clinical and empirical construct. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology 2008, 4:217-246.
46. Harmon-Jones E., Brehm J.W., Greenberg J., Simon L., Nelson D.E. Evidence that the production of aversive consequences is not necessary to create cognitive dissonance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1996, 70:5-16.
47. Harmon-Jones E., Mills J. An introduction to cognitive dissonance theory and an overview of current perspectives on the theory. Cognitive dissonance. Progress on a pivotal theory in social psychology 1999, 3-21. American Psychological Association, Washington, DC. E. Harmon-Jones, J. Mills (Eds.).
48. Harpur T.J., Hare R.D., Hakstian R. A two-factor conceptualization of psychopathy: Construct validity and implications for assessment. Psychological Assessment: A Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 1989, 1:6-17.
49. Hart S.D., Cox D.N., Hare R.D. The hare psychopathy checklist: Screening version 1995, Multi-Health Systems, Toronto, ON, Canada. 1st ed.
50. Hart S.D., Hare R.D. Psychopathy: Assessment and association with criminal conduct. Handbook of antisocial behavior 1997, 22-35. John Wiley and Sons, NY. D.M. Stoff, J. Breiling, J.D. Master (Eds.).
51. Hastings M.E., Tangney J.P., Stuewig J. Psychopathy and identification of facial expressions of emotion. Personality and Individual Differences 2008, 44(7):1474-1483.
52. Herpertz S.C., Sass H. Emotional deficiency and psychopathy. Behavioral Sciences & the Law 2000, 18(5):567-580.
53. Hobden K.L., Olson J.M. From jest to antipathy: Disparagement humor as a source of dissonance-motivated attitude change. Basic and Applied Social Psychology 1994, 15:239-249.
54. Hoff H., Beneventi H., Galta K., Wik G. Evidence of deviant emotional processing in psychopathy: A fMRI case study. International Journal of Neuroscience 2009, 119(6):857-878.
55. Jones D.N., Paulhus D.L. Machiavellianism. Handbook of individual differences in social behavior 2009, 93-108. Guilford Press, New York, NY, USA. M.R. Leary, R.H. Hoyle (Eds.).
56. Kiehl K.A., Hare R.D., McDonald J.J., Brink J. Semantic and affective processing in psychopaths: An event-related potential study. Psychophysiology 1999, 36(6):765-774.
57. Kosson D.S., Suchy Y., Mayer A.R., Libby J. Facial affect recognition in criminal psychopaths. Emotion 2002, 2(4):398-411.
58. Levenson M., Kiehl K., Fitzpatrick C. Assessing psychopathic attributes in a noninstitutionalized population. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1995, 65(1):151-158.
59. Lilienfeld S.O., Andrews B.P. Development and preliminary validation of a self report measure of psychopathic personality traits in noncriminal populations. Journal of Personality Assessment 1996, 66:488-524.
60. Lilienfeld S.O., Fowler K.A. The self-report assessment of psychopathy: Problems, pitfalls, and promises. Handbook of psychopathy 2006, 107-132. Guilford Press, New York. C.J. Patrick (Ed.).
61. Lilienfeld S.O., Widows M.R. PPI-R professional manual 2005, Psychological Assessment Resources, Lutz, FL.
62. Linder D.E., Cooper J., Jones E.E. Decision freedom as a determinant of the role of incentive magnitude in attitude change. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1967, 6:245-254.
63. Lykken D.T. A study of anxiety in the sociopathic personality. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology 1957, 55:6-10.
64. Lykken D.T. The antisocial personalities 1995, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ.
65. Lynam D.R., Whiteside S., Jones S. Self-reported psychopathy: A validation study. Journal of Personality Assessment 1999, 73(1):110-132.
66. Marcus D.K., Fulton J.J., Edens J.F. The two-factor model of psychopathic personality: Evidence from the Psychopathic Personality Inventory. Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment 2012, 3(2):140-154.
67. McHoskey J.W., Worzel W., Szyarto C. Machiavellianism and psychopathy. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1998, 74:192-210.
68. Myers D.G. Social psychology 2010, McGraw-Hill, New York. 10th ed.
69. Miller, J. D., & Lynam, D. R. (2011). An examination of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory's Nomological network: A meta-analytic review. Personality Disorders: Theory, Research, and Treatment, in press.
70. Montagne B., van Honk J., Kessels R.P.C., Frigerio E., Burt M., van Zandvoort M.J.E., et al. Reduced efficiency in recognising fear in subjects scoring high on psychopathic personality characteristics. Personality and Individual Differences 2005, 38(1):5-11.
71. Newman J.P., Patterson C.M., Kosson D.S. Response perseveration in psychopaths. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 1987, 96:145-148.
72. Newman J.P., Wallace J.F., Schmitt W.A., Arnett P.A. Behavioral inhibition system functioning in anxious, impulsive and psychopathic individuals. Personality and Individual Differences 1997, 23(4):583-592.
73. Patrick C.J., Cuthbert B.N., Lang P.J. Emotion in the criminal psychopath: Fear image processing. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 1994, 103(3):523-534.
74. Patrick C.J., Fowles D.C., Krueger R.F. Triarchic conceptualization of psychopathy: Developmental origins of disinhibition, boldness, and meanness. Development and Psychopathology 2009, 21:913-938.
75. Paulhus, D.L., Neumann, C.S., & Hare, R.D. Manual for the Self-Report Psychopathy Scale-III (SRP-III). Toronto, CA: Multi-Health systems, in press.
76. Paulhus D.L., Williams K.M. The dark triad of personality: Narcissism, machiavellianism, and psychopathy. Journal of Research in Personality 2002, 36:556-563.
77. Salekin R.T. Psychopathy and therapeutic pessimism: Clinical lore or clinical reality?. Clinical Psychology Review 2002, 22:79-112.
78. Saruk, S. (1975). A comparison of Machiavellianism, values and locus of control in psychopathic groups. (Doctoral Dissertation, Unites States International University, 1975). Dissertation Abstracts International, 36, 458-B.
79. Shadish W.R., Cook T.D., Campbell D.T. Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for generalized causal inference 2002, Houghton Mifflin, Boston.
80. Shaffer D.R., Hendrick C. Dogmatism and tolerance for ambiguity as determinants of differential reactions to cognitive inconsistency. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1974, 29:601-608.
81. Skeem J.L., Monahan J., Mulvey E.P. Psychopathy, treatment involvement, and subsequent violence among civil psychiatric patients. Law and Human Behavior 2002, 26:577-603.
82. Skeem J., Polaschek D., Patrick C., Lilienfeld S.O. Psychopathic personality: Bridging the gap between scientific evidence and public policy. Psychological Science in the Public Interest 2011, 12:95-162.
83. Skinner N.F. Personality correlates of machiavellianism: VI. Machiavellianism and the psychopath. Social Behavior and Personality 1988, 16:33-37.
84. Stalder D.R., Baron R.S. Attributional complexity as a moderator of dissonance-produced attitude change. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1998, 75:449-455.
85. Sylvers P., Brennan P.A., Lilienfeld S.O. Psychopathic traits and preattentive threat processing in children: A novel test of the fearlessness hypothesis. Psychological Science 2011.
86. Tavris C., Aronson E. Mistakes were made (but not by me) 2007, Harcourt, Inc., FL.
87. Thibodeau R., Aronson E. Taking a closer look: reasserting the role of the self-concept in dissonance theory. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 1992, 18:591-602.
88. Uzieblo K., Verschuere B., Van den Bussche E., Crombez G. The validity of the psychopathic personality inventory-revised in a community sample. Assessment 2010, 17:334-346.
89. Visser B.A., Ashton M.C., Pozzebon J.A. Is anxiety part of the psychopathy construct?. Journal of Personality 2012, 80:725-747.
90. Walsh A., Wu H.-H. Differentiating antisocial personality disorder, psychopathy, and sociopathy: Evolutionary, genetic, neurological, and sociological considerations. Criminal Justice Studies: A Critical Journal of Crime, Law & Society 2008, 21(2):135-152.
91. Weir, J. M. (2007). Subtyping psychopathy: Exploring the roles of degree of punishment, cognitive dissonance and optimism. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and, Engineering, 68(4-B), 2694.
92. Wilson L., Miller J.D., Zeichner A., Lynam D.R., Widiger T.A. An examination of the validity of the elemental psychopathy assessment: relations with other psychopathy measures, aggression, and externalizing behaviors. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment 2011, 33:315-322.
93. Zanna M.P., Cooper J. Dissonance and the pill: An attribution approach to studying the arousal properties of dissonance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1974, 29:703-709.