The triarchic model of psychopathy and its association with fearless temperament and empathy (The TriFE-project)

In recent years, the notion of psychopathy has been changing in the research field (Skeem, Polaschek, Patrick, & Lilienfeld, 2011). Novel models emphasize various personality traits in different combinations (i.e., dimensional models) rather than a clear-cut diagnosis heavily relying on previous overt criminal behavior (i.e., categorical model). These conceptualizations create unique possibilities entailing a detailed understanding of the underlying deficiencies and phenotypical expressions of psychopathy in different populations. On the one hand, these characterizations could serve as templates for tailoring treatment but, on the other hand, provoke an unnecessarily disarrayed assessment that lacks the fundamental requirements to solidify a proper diagnosis. The triarchic model of psychopathy (Patrick & Drislane, 2015) is an alternative conceptualization that is operationalized through the self-report of the "Triarchic Psychopathy Measure" (i.e., TriPM; Patrick, 2010). It is an integrative model that unifies previous psychopathy theories. It does so by tapping into psychopathic traits measured by already established assessments and mapping those traits onto neurobiological circuits (Patrick, Fowles & Krueger, 2009). There is a prevailing consensus among researchers regarding psychopathy's basic traits (i.e., a personality disorder with interpersonal dysfunction and behavioral deviancy) and etiological factors (i.e., impaired inhibitory control and affective reactivity; Patrick et al., 2009; Patrick & Drislane, 2015). Within the triarchic model, three phenotypical elements generated by "fearless" and "difficult" temperaments constitute the foundation of the psychopathic persona. The proposed studies aim to investigate the relations between the mentioned phenotypes and their underlying temperaments by exploring the correlation between the TriPM and self-measures indicating levels of empathy, alexithymia, self-compassion, and biocognitive examinations regarding emotion recognition assessment and resting heart rate.