Date of Award

Fall 12-1-2004

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Michael J. Murphy

Second Advisor

June Sprock

Third Advisor

Jennifer Boothby

Abstract

Measures of psychopathy and the Adlerian construct of social interest have both been found to predict recidivism of convicted offenders. While the two constructs seem to identify related but opposite traits, the relationship between the traits has not been systematically examined. This study examined the relationship between social interest, lll as assessed by the Sulliman Scale of Social Interest (SSSI), and psychopathy, as assessed by the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI) in order to clarify their relationship. It was hypothesized that the two constructs are inversely related. The study was also designed to address the psychometric characteristics of the two scales. Specifically, the reliability of the scales, the intercorrelations, and the factor structure of the instruments' subscales were examined. Differences between men and women on the SSSI and PPI were also assessed. Finally, the relationship between the PPI and a proposed short version of the measure were examined to determine the extent to which the short version could be used in place of the longer version. A total of 135 male and female college students were administered the SSSI and PPI in counterbalanced order. As hypothesized, the SSSI was strongly and negatively correlated with the PPI and predictions about the relationship between the SSSI and PPI subscales were largely supported, as were predicted gender differences. Internal consistency of the scales was good. Principal component factor analysis of the SSSI and the PPI produced a three-factor solution. The SSSI scales and four of the PPI subscales loaded on the first factor. Findings suggest that the SSSI is highly related to the PPL Results also indicate that the PPI total and subscale scores on the long version were strongly correlated with the short version. Finally, the findings suggest social interest and psychopathy share common features and the psychometric characteristics of the scales are adequate.

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