Clarifying the Relationship between Psychopathy and Intelligence using Four Dimensions of the WASI-II

Empirical evidence concerning the relationship between psychopathy and intelligence remains equivocal. The aim of the current study was to clarify the nature of the relationship by examining the association between four facets of the Psychopathic Personality Traits Scale (PPTS) and the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence – Second Edition (WASI-II). Based on a non-institutionalised sample (N = 253), Affective Responsiveness demonstrated a significant negative association with Similarities, whereas Interpersonal Manipulation demonstrated a significant positive association with Vocabulary. Egocentricity demonstrated a significant negative relationship with both Vocabulary and Matrix Reasoning. Implications of these findings for the assessment of psychopathy and intelligence are discussed.