Three articles on various aspects of human personality have been studied during the preparation for this research. These articles focus on the following subjects: cognitive dissonance and how it affects the decision-making process, the evaluation of antisocial tendencies, and the traits connected to criminal personality. They also have a common theme of using the data gathered from the test groups for behavioral evaluation or the creation of new measuring instruments.
The Neural Basis of Rationalization: Cognitive Dissonance Reduction During Decision-making
Everyone faces a necessity to make decisions in life, and sometimes these decisions force to choose between equally attractive alternatives. However, after making such a decision, people often try to reduce related cognitive dissonance by adjusting their attitudes to support their decision (Jarcho et al., 2011). Jarcho et al. (2011) hired a test group of 21 subjects who took part in a choice-based questionnaire. The researchers also recorded the activity of their brain parts during decision making via the fMRI method and demonstrated that the attitude change happens even when numerous decisions are made in a short time.
The Antisocial Personality Questionnaire: An Inventory for Assessing Personality Deviation in Offender Populations
Various researchers tried to establish a link between personality and crime via tests and questionnaires. Blackburn and Fawcett (1999) argued that the need for multitrait and multimethod strategies had arisen since the offenders are not homogenous in personality. They have obtained SHAPS (Special Hospitals Assessment of Personality and Socialization) questionnaire data on 499 male mentally disordered offenders and 238 non-offender male volunteers. Based on that data, they have created a new APQ — Antisocial Personality Questionnaire, which consisted of eight scales: Self-Control, Self-Esteem, Avoidance, Paranoid Suspicion, Resentment, Aggression, Deviance, and Extraversion (Blackburn & Fawcett, 1999). Therefore, the researchers created a new instrument, which provided comprehensive coverage of traits implicated in antisocial behavior.
Personality Correlates of Criminals: A Comparative Study Between Normal Controls and Criminals
Since personality affects many types of behavior, it is logical to connect it to criminal behavior. Sinha (2016) used Cattel’s 16 PFs scale to define personality traits prevalent among criminals. As a result, 37 male criminals have received higher scores on intelligence, suspicion, spontaneity, and impulsiveness in comparison to 36 non-criminal participants (Sinha, 2016). This research additionally proved that criminals tend to have different mindsets and personalities from ordinary people.
References
Blackburn, R., & Fawcett, D. (1999). The antisocial personality questionnaire: An inventory for assessing personality deviation in offender populations. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 15(1), 14-24. Web.
Jarcho, J. M., Berkman, E. T., & Lieberman, M. D. (2011). The neural basis of rationalization: Cognitive dissonance reduction during decision-making. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 6(4), 460-467. Web.
Sinha, S. (2016). Personality correlates of criminals: A comparative study between normal controls and criminals. Industrial Psychiatry Journal, 25(1), 41-46. Web.