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Abstract
Although psychopaths represent one percent of society, they are responsible for nearly fifty percent of all crime and are five times more likely to commit future violent offenses. Moreover, these proportions include only diagnosed psychopaths and exclude those who have succeeded to evade the legal system. The present investigation examined the relationship between the two factors of psychopathy (i.e., emotional detachment and antisocial behavior), as measured by the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy scale, and two forms of aggression (i.e., instrumental vs. hostile/reactive). One hundred twenty-seven undergraduate males participated in a competitive reaction-time task, during which, they were afforded the opportunity to shock or refrain from shocking an ostensible opponent. Participants were assigned to one of two aggression conditions (monetary incentive, no incentive). Analyses revealed significant interaction between Factor 2 and condition on aggressive behavior. Additionally, hierarchical regression analyses revealed that Factor 1 proved to be a superior predictor of aggressive behavior.