Bargaining with the Devil: The Factors of Psychopathy in Economic Decision-Making Games Öffentlichkeit

Berg, Joanna Margaret (2012)

Permanent URL: https://etd.library.emory.edu/concern/etds/cr56n209d?locale=de
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Abstract


Abstract
Bargaining with the Devil: The Factors of Psychopathy in Economic Decision-Making
Games
Economic decision-making tasks such as the ultimatum game, dictator game, and
prisoner's dilemma have been studied in a number of different contexts, and have
provided informative insights regarding human behavior under conditions of uncertainty.
Increasingly, these games have begun to be used in the context of understanding
personality correlates of behavior. In extending this literature to psychopathy, this study
adopts a factor-focused approach, examining each of the three key factors of the
Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised (PPI-R), Fearless Dominance (FD), Self-
Centered Impulsivity (SCI), and Coldheartedness, to obtain a more comprehensive view
of the implications of psychopathy as a whole for economic decision-making.
Participants were 211 university undergraduates who completed four economic tasks and
five personality instruments, with the aim of ascertaining the correlates and predictive
utility of each factor of the PPI-R. Results indicated that FD, SCI, and Coldheartedness
were associated with different patterns of correlations and responses across the tasks and
personality measures. Coldheartedness and SCI were more predictive of economic
selfishness, whereas FD was largely uncorrelated with the behavioral tasks. Implications
for the conceptualization of psychopathy are discussed; a subtype approach to
psychopathy confluent with DSM-5's dimensional restructuring of the personality
disorders is proposed.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents


General Introduction 1

Conditions of Uncertainty and Risk 5

Hypotheses 19

Method 21

Participants 21

Procedure 22

Measures 22

Data Analysis 24

Results 25


Discussion 37

Predictors of Economic Decision-Making 38

Additional Personality Correlates of the PPI-R Factors 41

The Argument for a Subtype Conceptualization of Psychopathy 43

DSM-5 and the New Psychopathy 46

Limitations 47

Conclusion 49


References 51

Tables 61


Figures 67

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