Identifying Dysfunction in Persistent Social Deviance: Perspective Taking as a Mediator of the Relationship Between Psychopathy and Social Aggression

Psychopathy has been associated with social aggression in a number of studies. Perspective taking (e.g. theory of mind and empathy) has been inversely associated with both psychopathy and social aggression, suggesting that it may serve as a potential mediator of this relationship. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to assess perspective taking as a potential partial mediator of the relationship between psychopathy and social aggression in a sample of 439 undergraduates. Although bivariate correlations produced the expected negative relationships between perspective taking and psychopathy and social aggression, perspective taking did not function as a mediator in the SEM analysis. Implications for future research and conceptualizations of psychopathic mechanisms of dysfunction are discussed.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D. in Psychology

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Year dc:date.available

2012

Author dc:creator

• Berkout, Olga Vadymovna

Contributors dc:contributor

• Alan M. Gross
• John P. Bentley
• John Young

• Mechanism Of Dysfunction
• Perspective Taking
• Psychopathy
• Social Aggression
• Psychology

Repository record dc:identifier

https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/50

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:egrove.olemiss.edu:etd-1049