# In the I of the beholder: an attempt to capture the implicit self-concept regarding psychopathy

## TL;DR

This study investigates how people with psychopathic traits view themselves, finding that their self-concept varies depending on the social context.

## Contribution

The study introduces new insights into the implicit self-concept of individuals with psychopathy and its variability in different contexts.

## Key findings

- Study 1 linked psychopathy to an implicit self-concept marked by low empathy.
- Study 3a found higher PCL-R scores related to an implicit self-concept of being less antisocial.
- Study 3b showed no temporal stability or convergent validity in the implicit self-concept.

## Abstract

This article explores the implicit self-concept pertaining to psychopathy. Two online studies showed inconsistent results, with Study 1 (n = 243) suggesting that psychopathy is linked to an implicit self-concept marked by low empathy and Study 2 (n = 230) implying no such relationship. In a sample of offenders and community controls (Study 3a, n = 166), higher scores on the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) were related to an implicit self-concept of being less rather than more antisocial, and the implicit self-concept showed incremental validity compared to the explicit self-concept. The retesting of an offender subsample (Study 3b, n = 47) yielded no evidence for temporal stability or convergent validity. The implicit self-concept of highly psychopathic individuals thus appears to vary, depending on the social context. Future studies should replicate these results in different samples, using additional external correlates.