Book Review: Handbook of Psychopathy. C. J. Patrick (Ed.). New York: Guilford Press, 2005. 651 pp. ISBN 1-59385-212-6

• DOI: 10.1177/0093854806297446
• Published date: 01 May 2007
• Author: Thomas A. Powell
• Date: 01 May 2007
• Subject Matter: Articles

BOOK REVIEW
Handbook of Psychopathy. C. J. Patrick (Ed.). New York: Guilford Press, 2005. 651 pp. ISBN
1-59385-212-6
This volume is a scholarly, exhaustive examination of psychopathy, a construct that rears its head
ever more frequently in our journals, our posters, our assessment practices, and our courts. It is not
intended for the intellectually faint of heart. The authors explicitly eschew any pretense of fulfilling the
needs of those who might rely on popular media or breezier venues, such as Without Conscience (Hare,
1999). Patrick has convened an academic faculty that has spent years splicing together data-driven con-
clusions defining the edges of our understanding of psychopathy from numerous perspectives. It
exposes technical and substantive differences of view with research support.
The first section introduces several theoretical and empirical foundations of psychopathy, including
an introductory chapter by David Lykken that lays the groundwork for several recurrent themes in the
book, including curiosity about the noncriminal psychopath. The notion that there is a population of
uncaught individuals who have faithlessly conned, cheated, and manipulated their ways to the top of
their respective professions, or who have otherwise eluded apprehension, engages our macabre inter-
est in the human dark side, not to mention ensuring advertising revenues for television producers. This
section concludes with chapter 4 by Hare and Neumann, misleadingly named “PCL-R Assessment of
Psychopathy,” detailing the results of item response theory analysis and evidence in support of the four-
factor model of psychopathy. This chapter has little to do with clinical assessment. It is a substantive
description of current research supporting the interpersonal, affective, lifestyle, and antisocial facets
underlying the second edition of the PCL-R and the PCL:YV.
Controversies and issues relevant to the measurement of psychopathy are introduced by Cooke,
Michie, and Hart (ch. 5), who caution...