ABSTRACT
In an influential article from 1996, Dr. Robert Hare presented a history of the psychopathy construct, and defined it in terms of a “constellation of affective, interpersonal, and behavioral characteristics, including egocentricity; impulsivity; irresponsibility; shallow emotions; lack of empathy, guilt, or remorse; lying; manipulativeness; and the persistent violation of social norms and expectations” (Hare, 1996, p. 25). He also highlighted a psychopathy’s important connections to criminality and in violence risk assessments, and suggested that future research should focus on the integration of practical and theoretical aspects of the disorder (Hare, 1996). Without question, the 10 years following the publication of this seminal article has seen an unprecedented rise in the scientific study of psychopathy, demonstrated by the number of journal articles covering theoretical and applied issues devoted to psychopathy, the increasing number of young scientists who have chosen psychopathy as a construct worthy of study, and most recently, the formation of a professional society exclusively devoted to the study of psychopathy (i.e., the Society for the Scientific Study of Psychopathy [SSSP]).
