An Exploration of Psychopathy as a Neuroscience Construct

Abstract

Hare’s psychopathy construct as defined by the Psychopathy Checklist- Revised has been utilized internationally as a risk assessment instrument for quite some time. Despite this, since its inception it has and continues to raise criticism from the academic community. There is ongoing debate over what the construct entails and how it should be used. Most recent developments in the construct revolve around it being defined as a neurological manifestation. To explore the psychopathy construct’s connection with neuroscience, this thesis focusses on one foundational experiment by the most prominent team of researchers in the field. The exploration borrows from Science and Technology Studies, more specifically Actor-Network Theory and the semiotic of scientific texts. The goal of this analysis is not to criticize nor defend the psychopathy construct, but rather explore the facticity of psychopathy as a neuroscientific fact. Considering the widespread use of the construct across criminal justice systems and mental health practices, understanding the facticity of psychopathy is imperative. Our contention is that psychopathy as defined by neuroscience was not merely a pre-discovered fact of nature, but rather it is a fact that is hybrid; it is both built by researchers and a part of our natural world, social and real. Our findings reveal that the facticity of psychopathy as a neuroscience construct is reliant on it being a Boundary Object: a scientific object that is able to intersect multiple social worlds through its adaptability (Star & Griesemer, 1989). We show how the construct is a boundary object by detailing the many translations it undergoes while it connects with a variety of heterogeneous actors. For each translation, the construct is rendered qualitatively different, yet it proves to be robust enough to maintain the identity of psychopathy and transform it into a neuroscientific fact.