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Psychopathic Traits and the Cheater-Hawk Hypothesis.
Angela Book1, Tabitha Methot-Jones1, Julie Blais2
11 Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.
Journal of Interpersonal Violence
|September 22, 2016
Summary
Psychopathy is linked to cheating and aggression, forming a single "cheater-hawk" strategy. Individuals high in psychopathic traits are more likely to use these exploitative and aggressive behaviors for personal gain.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Evolutionary Psychology
- Criminology
Background:
- The cheater-hawk hypothesis posits psychopathy is associated with adaptive interpersonal strategies.
- These strategies include cheating (exploitation) and aggression (hawk behaviors).
Purpose of the Study:
- To directly test the cheater-hawk hypothesis.
- To examine the relationship between psychopathic traits and cheater/hawk behaviors.
- To investigate the role of these strategies in prosocial and competitive contexts.
Main Methods:
- Maximum-likelihood factor analysis to assess the structure of cheater and hawk behaviors.
- Correlational analyses to examine the association between psychopathic traits and behavioral measures.
- Behavioral assessment in an altruism game to evaluate prosocial tendencies.
Main Results:
- Cheater and hawk behaviors formed a single factor, supporting the hypothesis.
- Psychopathic traits strongly correlated with both cheater (entitlement, exploitiveness, short-term mating) and hawk (vengeance, aggression) behaviors.
- Individuals high in psychopathy used more individualistic/competitive tactics and less prosocial behavior.
Conclusions:
- Findings support the conceptualization of psychopathy as a fast life-history strategy.
- Cheater and hawk behaviors are integrated into a single strategy more prevalent in individuals with higher psychopathic traits.
- The study discusses implications for treatment success in individuals with psychopathy.
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