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Psychopathy and Victim Selection: The Use of Gait as a Cue to Vulnerability

NCJ Number
245704
Journal
Journal of Interpersonal Violence Volume: 28 Issue: 11 Dated: July 2013 Pages: 2368-2383
Author(s)
Angela Book Ph.D; Kimberly Costello Ph.D; Joseph A. Camilleri Ph.D
Date Published
July 2013
Length
16 pages
Abstract
Previous research has shown that victims display characteristic body language, specifically in their walking style Grayson & Stein, 1981. Individuals scoring higher on the interpersonal/affective aspects of psychopathy Factor 1 are more accurate at judging victim vulnerability simply from viewing targets walking Wheeler, Book, & Costello, 2009. The present study examines the relation between psychopathy and accuracy in assessing victim vulnerability in a sample of inmates from a maximum security penitentiary in Ontario, Canada. Forty-seven inmates viewed short video clips of targets walking and judged how vulnerable each target was to victimization. Higher Factor 1 psychopathy scores as measured by the PCL-R; Hare 2003 were positively related to accuracy in judging victim vulnerability. Contrary to research with noninstitutional participants Wheeler et al., 2009, inmates higher on Factor 1 of psychopathy were more likely to rationalize their vulnerability judgments by mentioning the victim's gait. Implications of these findings are discussed.