Investigating Criminality: The Relationship between Criminal Thinking and Psychopathy

Buckwalter, Renea Michelle (2008) Investigating Criminality: The Relationship between Criminal Thinking and Psychopathy . Masters, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Central Connecticut State Universtiy.

Abstract

Methods of understanding criminality include assessment instruments that probe the thinking and psychological disorders of offenders. Topics of these instruments include criminal thinking patterns and psychopathy. While research has been conducted on criminal thinking and psychopathy, little has been conducted that investigates the relationship between the two. The present study examined criminal thinking patterns and psychopathy in a sample of adult probationers. Probationers were administered the Criminogenic Thinking Profile (CTP; Mitchell & Tafrate, 2008) and the Levenson Self Report Psychopathy Scale (LSRP; Levenson, 1995) in the waiting room of a probation office. All of the CTP subscales were positively correlated with psychopathy, except for the Grandiosity subscale. A group of probationers who scored high on the LSRP were compared with a group of probationers who scored low on the LSRP. Statistically significant differences were found between the two groups, with more criminal thinking evident in the high LSRP group. The results suggest that criminal thinking is related to psychopathy in probationers. Future research with incarcerated offenders and non offenders should be conducted to more fully explore the relationship between these variables.