Pathological personality traits and criminogenic thinking styles

•Pathological personality traits were associated with criminogenic thinking.•Antagonism was positively associated with the desire to control across two studies.•Negative affect and detachment were positively associated with cognitive immaturity.•Disinhibition was associated with control and cognitive immaturity among prisoners.

The present research investigated associations between pathological personality traits and criminogenic thinking styles. Study 1 examined the associations between pathological personality traits and criminogenic thinking styles among 122 community members, whereas Study 2 examined these associations among 299 incarcerated male offenders. Negative affectivity and detachment each had unique positive associations with cognitive immaturity, and antagonism was positively associated with the desire to control others across both studies. Disinhibition had unique positive associations with control and cognitive immaturity among incarcerated offenders in Study 2, whereas psychoticism was positively associated with cognitive immaturity and egocentrism across both studies. The results of these studies suggest important connections between pathological personality traits and criminogenic thinking styles that may shed light on some of the difficulties that often accompany personality pathology.