University of Massachusetts Medical School Faculty Publications

Title

No sympathy for the devil: attributing psychopathic traits to capital murderers also predicts support for executing them

UMMS Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry

Publication Date

2013-4

Document Type

Article

Subjects

Adult; Antisocial Personality Disorder; *Capital Punishment; Criminals; *Emotions; Female; Homicide; Humans; Male; Public Opinion; Stereotyping; United States

Disciplines

Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms | Criminal Law | Law and Psychology | Medical Jurisprudence | Mental and Social Health | Mental Disorders | Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms | Psychiatry | Psychiatry and Psychology | Psychological Phenomena and Processes

Abstract

Mental health evidence concerning antisocial and psychopathic traits appears to be introduced frequently in capital murder trials in the United States to argue that defendants are a "continuing threat" to society and thus worthy of execution. Using a simulation design, the present research examined how layperson perceptions of the psychopathic traits exhibited by a capital defendant would impact their attitudes about whether he should receive a death sentence. Across three studies (total N = 362), ratings of a defendant's perceived level of psychopathy strongly predicted support for executing him. The vast majority of the predictive utility was attributable to interpersonal and affective traits historically associated with psychopathy rather than traits associated with a criminal and socially deviant lifestyle. A defendant's perceived lack of remorse in particular was influential, although perceptions of grandiose self-worth and a manipulative interpersonal style also contributed incrementally to support for a death sentence. These results highlight how attributions regarding socially undesirable personality traits can have a pronounced negative impact on layperson attitudes toward persons who are perceived to exhibit these characteristics.

Keywords

psychopathy, remorse, death penalty, legal decision-making, stigmatization

DOI of Published Version

10.1037/a0026442

Source

Personal Disord. 2013 Apr;4(2):175-81. doi: 10.1037/a0026442. Epub 2012 Jan 23. Link to article on publisher's site

Related Resources

Link to Article in PubMed

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Personality disorders

PubMed ID

22452773

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