Psychopathy and COVID‐19: Callousness, impulsivity, and motivational reasons for engaging in prevention behavior

Abstract

Two direct replication studies were conducted to investigate the associations of psychopathic traits with engagement in COVID‐19 prevention behavior and motivational reasons for engaging in such behavior. College undergraduate students completed two self‐report measures of psychopathic traits based on the four‐factor conceptualization of psychopathy (callous affect, manipulative tendency, erratic lifestyle, criminal tendency) and the triarchic conceptualization of psychopathy (meanness, disinhibition, boldness). Participants then reported the degree to which they engaged in COVID‐19 prevention behavior currently and in the past, and reported their self‐focused and other‐focused motivational reasons for doing so. Results aggregated across both studies (N = 292) revealed that traits reflecting emotional callousness and impulsivity independently predicted lower levels of other‐focused reasons for engaging in prevention behavior. Moreover, controlling for other‐focused reasons appreciably reduced negative associations of emotional callousness and impulsivity with prevention behavior. The results provide insight into points of convergence in conceptualization and measurement of psychopathy from multiple theoretical perspectives and the importance of considering the impact of divisive personality traits on motivation to protect others during pandemics.

Antisocial personality traits relationship with behaviours and beliefs on COVID‐19 containment measures: Investigation in a large Brazilian sample

“…We also highlight that the significance of these specific ASPD traits has been previously identified as crucial in predicting adherence to COVID-19 containment measures in studies focussing on psychopathy traits. Notably, callousness appears to be the most consistent factor across studies (Carvalho & Machado, 2020;Machado et al, 2023;Tacke et al, 2023), suggesting that the lack of empathy and concern about others' well-being might be the most prominent ASPD feature in comparison with other personality traits associated with this disorder.…”