Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-p9bg8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T20:22:55.842Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Psychopathy and moral development: A comparative study of delinquent and nondelinquent youth

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 October 2008

Michael Chandler  and
Thomas Moran
Michael Chandler*
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia
Thomas Moran
Affiliation:
Morrison Center, Portland, OR
*
Address correspondence to: Michael Chandler, Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, 2136 West Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Y7, Canada.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Sixty male adjudicated juvenile delinquents between the ages 14–17, and 20 nondelinquent controls were administered measures of moral reasoning, social convention understanding, interpersonal awareness, socialization, empathy, autonomy, and psychopathy in an effort to explore the relations between moral reasoning, moral sentiment, and antisocial behavior. Not only did the delinquent group evidence developmental delays on all of these direct and indirect tests of morality functioning, but their performance on certain of these measures also differentiated those offenders who were more or less psychopathic. By demonstrating the special contribution of measures of moral will or sentiment to the study of antisocial behavior, these findings serve to underscore the multidimensional character of moral development, and the complexity of the relations between thought and action.

Type
Research Article
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 2 , Issue 3 , July 1990 , pp. 227 - 246
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bartz, W. R., & Lot, D. L. (1970). The Shipley-Hartford as a brief I.Q. screening device. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 26, 74–75.3.0.CO;2-K>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blasi, A. (1980). Bridging moral cognition and moral action: A critical review of the literature. Psychological Bulletin, 88, 1–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blasi, A. (1983). Moral cognition and moral action: A theoretical perspective. Developmental Review, 3, 178–210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, R. (1956). Social psychology. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Campagna, H. F., & Harter, S. (1975). Moral judgment in sociopathic and normal children. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 31, 199–205.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Campbell, D. T., & Fiske, D. W. (1959). Convergent and discriminate validation by multi-trait-multi-method matrix. Psychological Bulletin, 56, 81–105.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chandler, M. J. (1972). Egocentrism in normal and pathological childhood development. In Monks, F., Hartup, W., & DeWitt, J. (Eds.), Determinants of behavioral development. New York: Academic.Google Scholar
Chandler, M. J. (1973). Egocentrism and antisocial behavior: The assessment and training of social perspective-taking skills. Developmental Psychology, 9, 326–332.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cleckley, H. (1976). The mask of sanity (5th ed.). St. Louis: Mosby.Google Scholar
Colby, A., & Kohlberg, L. (1987). The measurement of moral judgment (Vols. 1–2). New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Colby, A., Kohlberg, L., Gibbs, J., & Lieberman, M. (1983). A longitudinal study of moral development. Monographs of the Society for the Research in Child Development, 48(200).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fodor, E. M. (1973). Moral development and parent behavior antecedents in adolescent psychopaths. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 122, 37–43.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Forguson, L., & Gopnik, A. (1988). The ontogeny of common sense. In Astington, J., Harris, P., & Olson, D. (Eds.), Developing theories of mind (226–243). New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Forth, A. E., Hart, S. D., & Hare, R. D. (1987). Diagnosis of psychopathy in a population of young offenders. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Psychological and Law Society, Miami, FL.Google Scholar
Gottreid, A. W. (1985). Measures of socioeconomic status in child development research: Data and recommendations. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 31, 85–92.Google Scholar
Gough, H. G. (1948). A sociological theory of psychopathy. American Journal of Sociology, 53, 359–366.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gough, H. G. (1957). Manual for the California Personality Inventory. Palo Alto: Consulting Psychologists Press.Google Scholar
Greiger, K. M., & Turiel, E. (1983). Disruptive school behavior and concepts of social convention in early adolescence. Journal of Educational Psychology, 75, 667–685.Google Scholar
Haines, A. A., & Ryan, E. B. (1983). The development of social cognitive processes among juvenile delinquents and nondelinquent peers. Child Development, 54, 1536–1544.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hare, R. (1985). Comparison of procedures for the assessment of psychopathy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 53, 7–16.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hare, R., & Harper, T. (1987). Assessment of psychopathy. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Canadian Psychological Association, Vancouver, BC.Google Scholar
Harpur, T. J., Hare, R. D., & Hakstian, A. R. (1989). Two-factor conceptualization of psychopathy: Construct validity and assessment implications. Psychological Assessment: A Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1, 6–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harré, R. (1983). Personal being: A theory for individual psychology. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Hart, S. (1987). Diagnosis of psychopaths in a forensic psychiatric setting. Unpublished masters thesis, University of British Columbia.Google Scholar
Hartshorne, H., & May, M. A. (1928–1932). Studies in the nature of character (3 vols.): Vol. 1, Studies in deceit; Vol. 2, Studies in self-control; Vol. 3, Studies in organization of character. New York: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Hayes, S. C., & Walker, W. L. (1986). Intellectual and moral development in offenders: A review. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 19, 53–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heider, F. (1958). The psychology of interpersonal relations. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hogan, R. (1969). Development of an empathy scale. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 33, 307–316.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hogan, R. (1970). A dimension of moral judgment. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 35, 205–212.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hogan, R. (1982). A socioanalytic theory of personality. In Page, M. M. (Ed.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation (Vol. 25). New York: Praeger.Google Scholar
Hogan, R., & Busch, C. (1984). Moral action as autointerpretation. In Kurtines, W. M. & Gewirtz, J. L. (Eds.), Morality, moral behavior, and moral development. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Hollingshead, A. B. (1975). Four-factor index of social status. Unpublished manuscript. Yale University, Department of Sociology, New Haven, CT.Google Scholar
Jurkovic, G. J. (1980). The juvenile delinquent as moral philosopher: A structural-developmental perspective. Psychological Bulletin, 88, 709–727.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jurkovic, G. J., & Prentice, N. M. (1977). Relation of moral and cognitive development to dimensions of juvenile delinquency. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 86, 414–420.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kegan, R. G. (1986). The child behind the mask: Sociopathy as a developmental delay. In Reid, W. H., Dorr, D., Walker, J. I., & Bonner, J. W. (Eds.), Unmasking the psychopath: Antisocial personality and related syndromes (pp. 45–77). New York: Norton.Google Scholar
Kohlberg, L. (1958). The development of modes of moral thinking and choice in years 10 to 16. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Chicago.Google Scholar
Kohlberg, L. (1976). Moral stages and moralization: The cognitive-developmental approach. In Lickona, T. (Ed.), Moral development and behavior: Theory, research, and social issues. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston.Google Scholar
Kohlberg, L. (1978). The cognitive-developmental approach to behavior disorders: A study of the development of moral reasoning in delinquents. In Serban, G. (Ed.), Cognitive defects in the development of mental illness (pp. 207–219). New York: Brunner/Mazel.Google Scholar
Kohlberg, L., & Candee, D. (1984). The relationship of moral reasoning to moral action. In Kurtines, W. M. & Gewirtz, J. L. (Eds.), Morality, moral behavior, and moral development (pp. 52–73). New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Link, N. F., Scherer, S. E., & Byrne, P. N. (1977). Moral judgment and moral conduct in the psychopath. Canadian Psychiatric Association Journal, 22, 341–346.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McCord, W., & McCord, J. (1956). Psychopathy and delinquency. New York: Grune & Stratton.Google Scholar
Megargee, E. I. (1972). The California Personality Inventory Handbook. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Nucci, L. (1981). Conceptions of personal issues: A domain distinct from moral and societal concepts. Child Development, 52, 114–121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Petronio, R. J. (1980). The moral maturity of repeater delinquents. Youth and Society, 12, 51–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rutter, M. (1984). Juvenile delinquency: Trends and perspectives. New York: Guilford.Google Scholar
Schroeder, M. L., Schroeder, K. G., & Hare, R. D. (1983). Generalizability of checklist for assessment of psychopathy. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 51, 511–516.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Selman, R. (1980). The growth of interpersonal understanding: Developmental and clinical analysis. New York: Academic.Google Scholar
Selman, R. (1981). The development of interpersonal competence: The role of understanding in conduct. Developmental Review, 1, 401–422.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thorton, D., & Reid, R. L. (1982). Moral reasoning and type of criminal offense. British Journal of Social Psychology, 21, 231–238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trevethan, S. D., & Walker, L. J. (1989). Hypothetical versus real-life moral reasoning among psychopathic and delinquent youth. Development and Psychopathology, 1, 91–103.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Turiel, E. (1977). Conflict and transition in adolescent moral development II: The resolution of disequilibrium through structural reorganization. Child Development, 48, 634–637.Google Scholar
Turiel, E. (1978). The development of concepts of social structure: Social convention. In Glick, J. & Clarke-Stewart, A. (Eds.), The development of social understanding. New York: Gardner Press.Google Scholar
Turiel, E. (1983). The development of social knowledge. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Turiel, E., & Smetana, J. G. (1984). Social knowledge and action: The coordination of domains. In Kurtines, W. M. & Gewirtz, J. L. (Eds.), Morality, moral behavior, and moral development. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Walker, L. J. (1980). Cognitive and perspective-taking prerequisites for moral development. Child Development, 51, 131–139.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walker, L. J. (1986). Cognitive process in moral development. In Sapp, G. L. (Ed.), Handbook of moral development: Models, processes, techniques, and research (pp. 109–145). Birmingham, AL: Religious Education Press.Google Scholar
Zachary, R. A. (1986). Shipley Institute of Living Scale: Revised manual. Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services.Google Scholar