ABSTRACT

The variable-centered method involves study of the correlations among the columns in a spreadsheet that contains information on a large group of individuals, whereas the person-centered approach involves an understanding of the relations among the rows of the data measured in terms of various traits. Variable-centered approaches such as structural equation modelling (SEM) involve explication of the covariance of a set of variables collected across large groups of individuals. With respect to the former, the underlying structure of psychopathic features has been examined using SEM in large, diverse populations with good success. The latent profile analysis (LPA) approach allows identifying variants of psychopathic and pseudo-psychopathic individuals. Prior to the emergence of the more sophisticated LPA, various forms of cluster analysis have been applied in order to find out whether homogeneous psychopathic subtypes can be identified. Instead, the subtotals on the four Psychopathy Checklist-Revised factors themselves can be conceived of as the determinants for psychopathic variants or subtypes.