Role-Taking Ability and Gough'S Theory of Psychopathy

Abstract

Thirty prisoners and 30 university students were administered the socialization scale of the California Personality Inventory under "honest" and `"fake good" conditions as a means of testing Gough's claim that the scale is immune to any significant degree of `faking good. " While the scale succeeded in differentiating the two groups, both groups-but especially the prisoners—were able to make significant gains in measured socialization under the "fake good" condition. Three prisoners who were classifiable as "psychopaths, " according to their "honest" results on the scale, were able to fake a "best citizen" profile. If it is granted that the scale is a valid measure of socialization, these results cast doubt on Gough's theory that socialization is strictly dependent on role-taking ability.