The influence of gender on the relationship between psychopathy and five moral foundations

Abstract

Previous research has demonstrated that individuals higher in psychopathy are less concerned about preventing harm and preserving fairness than individuals lower in psychopathy, yet it is unclear whether this is true for both genders. Females have been shown to be more concerned about moral issues related to preventing harm, being fair and maintaining purity, and males are more concerned about in-group loyalty and respecting authority. In addition, females on average are more empathic, less willing to cause harm and may be less sensitive to fairness. The goal of this study was to examine gender's influence on the relationship between psychopathy and five moral foundations. In a large online sample, we found that although gender moderated the relationship between psychopathy and harm and fairness, the magnitude of these interactions was small. The main effects of gender and of psychopathy support previous research. Overall, females were more concerned than males about preventing harm. Both males and females scoring higher in psychopathy were less concerned about harm and fairness than those lower in psychopathy. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.