Psychopathy and the Induction of Desire: Formulating and Testing an Evolutionary Hypothesis

Brazil, Kristopher J.; Forth, Adelle E.

doi:10.1007/s40806-019-00213-0

Cited by 13 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…There may be a different effect for men and women, as a speed-date paradigm indicated that women scoring high on psychopathic traits were perceived as selfish, while men scoring high on psychopathic traits were found attractive ( 32 ). Likewise, in other studies, similar patterns for women who preferred a man with high levels of maladaptive (psychopathic) personality traits were found ( 33 , 34 ). Moreover, younger women in particular were found to be more attracted to dark personality traits than older women ( 35 ), which might be problematic given the peak of IPV in young adulthood ( 36 , 37 ).…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 79%

We Don't Choose Whom We Love: Predictors for Romantic Attraction to Villains

et al. 2022

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IntroductionWhy are women (not) romantically attracted to dark personalities or villains, which might be a risk factor for intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization? In the current study, it is opted to investigate how adult attachment, maladaptive personality traits, and acceptance of couple violence in women predict romantic attraction to heroic/villainous characters using structural equation modeling (SEM).MethodFirst, a pilot study was conducted in 122 heterosexual women (aged 16–25) to select male TV characters. This resulted in the selection of six villains and 10 heroes for the main study, in which 194 other heterosexual women (aged 16–25) were asked to rate the pictures of TV characters through an online questionnaire. This was combined with self-report measures of maladaptive personality traits, acceptance of couple violence, and adult attachment. These variables were entered into a SEM model to assess model fit.ResultsOverall, women rated heroes higher on physical appearance (pilot study) and romantic attraction (main study) compared to villains. We found different direct effects of avoidant (negative) and anxious (positive) attachment styles on romantic attraction to heroes. Moreover, maladaptive personality traits fully mediated the positive effect of avoidant attachment style on romantic attraction to villains.DiscussionDespite the limitations of the study design (e.g., low N, low notoriety of the TV characters), this study emphasizes that women are generally more romantically attracted to heroes (vs. villains). Besides, there are different predictors of romantic attraction to heroes and villains, which requires further investigation, especially in the context of IPV.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 79%

We Don't Choose Whom We Love: Predictors for Romantic Attraction to Villains

et al. 2022

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“…More specifically, those women who were willing to offer companionship in return for a free dinner, while having no intention to have a second date with the male partner, showed relatively high levels of socially undesirable traits such as Machiavellianism and subclinical psychopathy. Furthermore, Brazil and Forth (2019) reported that female participants found men with higher levels of psychopathy more attractive than other men. The results showed that the observed men's psychopathic tendencies were positively associated with sociosexuality, with specific factors of social intelligence, and with female participants' desirability ratings when controlling for the men's physical attractiveness.…”

Section: Study 2 Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Providing Sexual Companionship for Resources: Development, Validation, and Personality Correlates of the Acceptance of Sugar Relationships in Young Women and Men Scale (ASR-YWMS)

et al. 2020

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A sugar relationship is a transactional sexual relationship in which a younger partner (sugar baby/boy) offers companionship and sexual services to a much older partner (sugar daddy/mommy) in return for material compensation. One aim of the present study was to develop an attitude scale assessing young women's and men's acceptance of sugar relationships. Another aim was to explore the possible associations of the acceptance of sugar relationships with psychological functioning in an intimate partner relationship and in a sexual relationship and with certain socially undesirable personality traits. Two online studies were conducted with a total number of 2052 participants (1879 women; age = 18-28 years). The results show that the Acceptance of Sugar Relationships in Young Women and Men Scale (ASR-YWMS) is a reliable and valid measure of young people's attitude toward sugar relationships. The studies revealed that young women's and men's accepting attitude toward sugar relationships was positively associated with unrestricted sociosexuality, a game-playing love style (Ludus), selffocused sexual motivation (Study 1; N = 319; 272 women and 47 men), and with socially undesirable traits such as Machiavellianism, subclinical psychopathy, and a borderline personality organization (Study 2; N = 1733; 1607 women and 126 men). These findings suggest that a relatively high level of acceptance of sugar relationships is part of a mating strategy focused on opportunities of maximizing resources. This utilitarian, risktaking and exploitative attitude is characteristic to a fast life history strategy, and it is a fundamental organizing principle of psychological and sexual functioning in intimate partner relationships.

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“…Scoring relatively higher on each of these characteristics results in individuals who more closely resemble prototypical (overall) psychopathy (Neumann et al, 2007). Prototypical psychopathy in particular may facilitate acquiring adaptive outcomes (Brazil & Forth, 2020; Lilienfeld et al, 2019), whereby the multiple and varied features when combined may potentiate each other to result in a unique and adaptive personality profile. Although psychopathic traits tend to be higher in criminal justice-involved compared to community populations (Coid et al, 2009; Hare, 2003) and in men compared to women (Neumann et al, 2012), taxometric analysis of commonly used measures of psychopathy suggest the construct exists on a continuum (Edens et al, 2006; Guay et al, 2007; Walters, 2014).…”

Section: Psychopathic Traitsmentioning

confidence: 99%