This study examined item and scale functioning in the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised (PPI-R) using an item response theory analysis. PPI-R protocols from 1,052 college student participants (348 male, 704 female) were analyzed. Analyses were conducted on the 131 self-report items comprising the PPI-R's eight content scales, using a graded response model. Scales collected a majority of their information about respondents possessing higher than average levels of the traits being measured. Each scale contained at least some items that evidenced limited ability to differentiate between respondents with differing levels of the trait being measured. Moreover, 80 items (61.1%) yielded significantly different responses between men and women presumably possessing similar levels of the trait being measured. Item performance was also influenced by the scoring format (directly scored vs. reverse-scored) of the items. Overall, the results suggest that the PPI-R, despite identifying psychopathic personality traits in individuals possessing high levels of those traits, may not identify these traits equally well for men and women, and scores are likely influenced by the scoring format of the individual item and scale.

According to the triarchic model, psychopathy encompasses 3 distinct dispositional constructs: boldness, meanness, and disinhibition. Although the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure was designed to assess these 3 constructs, researchers have developed alternative triarchic scales using both omnibus measures of general personality and existing psychopathy scales. The components of the HEXACO model of personality may be especially capable of characterizing the dimensions of the triarchic model of psychopathy. The current study used a consensus-rating approach to create triarchic scales using items from the HEXACO-100. Data from 3 community and college student samples were used to examine the internal consistency, and convergent and discriminant validity of these newly developed HEXACO-Triarchic scales. The scales consistently demonstrated good internal consistency and displayed promising convergent and discriminant validity with theoretically predicted criterion variables. The lone exception was that HEXACO-Meanness and HEXACO-Disinhibition were similarly related to other triarchic measures of meanness. The implications of these findings for the integration of the HEXACO and triarchic models are discussed. Public Significance StatementThis study used items from a standard measure of the HEXACO general personality model to develop scales to assess the 3 dimensions of the triarchic model of psychopathy: boldness, meanness, and disinhibition. Results indicated that the dimensions of the triarchic model of psychopathy can be assessed using items from a measure of the HEXACO model, thereby facilitating future research on psychopathy.

Most conceptualizations of psychopathy emphasize its interpersonal consequences, yet most research on psychopathy has been conducted at the individual level. In small groups, well-acquainted members of sororities and fraternities (N = 111) rated one another and themselves on a variety of externalizing behaviors (e.g., cheating, risky sex), and completed a self-report measure of psychopathy. There was consensus about the extent to which members of the groups engaged in these behaviors. The associations between these target effects and respondents' self-reports suggest that these consensual judgments were reasonably accurate. Individuals who reported higher levels of psychopathic personality traits were seen as more likely to engage in externalizing behaviors, with self-centered impulsivity most strongly associated with these behaviors. Although fearless dominance was unrelated to self-reported externalizing behaviors, it was related to peers' ratings of marijuana use, academic dishonesty, and future legal troubles, suggesting that individuals high in fearless dominance may underreport their problem behaviors.

This study investigated item and scale functioning in the triarchic psychopathy measure (TriPM) using an item response theory (IRT) analysis. TriPM data collected from 937 (410 men and 527 women) college students and community members were analyzed. A graded response model was utilized to analyze the items comprising the TriPM's three scales. Exploratory factor analyses (EFAs) supported the unidimensionality of the Disinhibition and Meanness scales, whereas Boldness was best represented by two domains. Each TriPM scale was found to include some items that had limited ability to differentiate between respondents possessing varying levels of the trait being measured. Across all scales, 34 items (61%) yielded evidence of significantly different responding between men and women possessing similar levels of the underlying trait, or differential item functioning (DIF). The scoring format (i.e., directly scored vs. reverse scored) also influenced item functioning, especially when the given scale included a large majority of one scoring type. Overall, the IRT and DIF results suggest that the TriPM effectively identifies disinhibition and meanness in individuals possessing high levels of those traits, and boldness at lower levels, but does not seem to identify these traits equally well in men and women. Possible revisions to the Boldness scale as well as ideas for addressing female and male DIF were provided. Public Significance StatementThe triarchic psychopathy measure (TriPM) is a self-report instrument that assesses disinhibition, meanness, and boldness. The TriPM most precisely assessed disinhibition and meanness in individuals possessing high levels of those traits, and boldness across a wider range of this trait, but the TriPM does not identify these traits equally well in men and women.

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