DECEPTION AND SEXUAL STRATEGY IN PSYCHOPATHY

Clinically, psychopaths are characterized by a number of features, inc luding the habitual use of deception in social exchanges and a history of short-term, unstable sexual relationships. These characteristics c an be understood within an evolutionary framework, in terms of game th eory and sexual strategies theory, respectively. However, the nature a nd extent of this deceptive and sexual behavior in relation to psychop athy have not been well-described. Forty-seven heterosexual men were r ecruited from the community and assessed for psychopathy, their use of deception in sexual and non-sexual contexts, and their sexual histori es. There were significant correlations between psychopathy and the tw o measures of deception, and between the use of sexual deception and s ome indicators of sexual experience and interest. Psychopathy was not related to the relative use of sexually deceptive tactics against fema le vs male targets, or the relative use of tactics judged to be effect ive vs ineffective. This finding, along with the partial correlations involving psychopathy and the two measures of deception, suggests that psychopathy is related to a general tendency to deceive. (C) 1997 Els evier Science Ltd.