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An Empirical Classification of Psychopathic Personality

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

R. Blackburn
R. Blackburn*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB9 2UB
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Summary

Personality profiles of 79 non-psychotic male offenders admitted to a security hospital were subjected to a cluster analysis. Four profile types were generated, classifying four-fifths of the sample, and differences were found between the types in previous antisocial behaviour. Two of the types were identifiable as primary and secondary psychopaths, while the remaining two showed little resemblance to the concept of the psychopathic personality. The primary psychopaths were extraverted but not neurotic, while the secondary psychopaths were neurotic, but not extraverted. Both were highly impulsive but distinguished by a dimension of sociability-withdrawal.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 127 , Issue 5 , November 1975 , pp. 456 - 460
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1975 

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