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International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology
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The Trouble with Psychopathy as a General Theory of Crime

Glenn D. Walters

Psychology Services, Federal Correctional Institution-Schuylkill, P.O. Box 700, Minersville, Pennsylvania 17954, USA, gwalters{at}bop.gov

The concept of psychopathy, as defined by Robert Hare, is reviewed with respect to its status as a general theory of crime. A hybrid of the medical pathology model and personality trait approach, the psychopathy concept proposes that a significant portion of serious crime is committed by psychopathic individuals. Hare’s version of psychopathy, besides demonstrating weak applicability and a propensity for tautology, is subject to labeling effects, over simplicity, reductionism, the fundamental attributional error, inattention to context, and disregard for the dynamic nature of human behavior. It is concluded that the psychopathy concept is substantially limited with respect to its ability to describe and clarify general criminal behavior but that it may still have value as a partial explanation for certain types of noncriminal predatory behavior.

Key Words: psychopathy • PCL-R • medical model • personality trait

International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, Vol. 48, No. 2, 133-148 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/0306624X03259472
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