Psychopathy, reactive aggression, and precarious proclamations: A review of behavioral, cognitive, and biological research

Psychopathic personality (psychopathy) is associated with a heightened risk for physical aggression, although the nature of this link remains unclear. Despite widespread claims that psychopathy is associated with reactive aggression, the evidence for this assertion is mixed. We provide a comprehensive review of behavioral, cognitive, and biological research on the relation between psychopathy and aggression, and conclude that although psychopathy is clearly associated with instrumental aggression, its association with reactive aggression is not robust. In fact, at least some research points to a potential protective role of psychopathy against reactive aggression. We conclude that future research must clarify the differential implications of the separable components of the broad psychopathy construct before the relations between psychopathy and physical aggression can be adequately understood.

► There are widespread claims that psychopathy is associated with reactive violence.
► However evidence for this assertion is mixed at best.
► We provide a comprehensive review of behavioral, cognitive, and biological data.
► We find that data suggest a clear risk for instrumental violence.
► However they indicate protective role of psychopathy for reactive violence.