A layperson’s conception of psychopathic personality might involve psychosis, mental illness, and violent behavior, but none of these things is actually equivalent to psychopathy. While psychopathy is one risk factor for aggression, psychopaths are usually rational people, and they can be found throughout society.
Members of the Society for the Scientific Study of Psychopathy (SSSP) are working against common misconceptions in an effort to “better understand the characteristics and causes of psychopathy, as well as better ways of detecting it, treating it, and ultimately preventing its destructive manifestations.”
Scott O. Lilienfeld, an APS James McKeen Cattell Fellow and the President of SSSP, was co-author of the 2011 Psychological Science in the Public Interest (PSPI) report “Psychopathic Personality: Bridging the Gap Between Scientific Evidence and Public Policy.” Lilienfeld hopes psychological scientists — as well as students, clinicians, educators, journalists, attorneys, and other concerned parties — consider joining the society for benefits such as access to the latest information on psychopathy research and membership to a community that includes the field’s top experts.
More information is available on the SSSP website.
Skeem, J. L., Polaschek, D. L. L., Patrick, C. J., & Lilienfeld, S. O. (2011). Psychopathic personality: Bridging the gap between scientific evidence and public policy. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 12 (3), 95-162 DOI: 10.1177/1529100611426706