"Let's get down to business: a validation study of the Psychopathic Personality Inventory among a sample of MBA students.".
While the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI) has gained increasing attention as a measure of noncriminal psychopathy, absent has been research involving samples including business people. This study investigated the validity of the PPI with such a population by examining the association between psychopathic traits and moral decision-making among MBA students. Sixty-six MBA students were assessed using the PPI, the MACH-IV (a measure of Machiavellianism), the Ethical Position Questionnaire (EPQ), and the Defining Issues Test (DIT-2). Only PPI Machiavellian Egocentricity was associated with level of post-conventional moral reasoning. MACH-IV Machiavellianism was a stronger predictor of the Subjectivist ethical position than were PPI subscales. However, a combination of MACH-IV Machiavellianism and four PPI scales accounted for 46% of the variance in Subjectivism. Results suggested that Machiavellian Egocentricity and Machiavellianism are distinct constructs. Benning, Patrick, Hicks, Blonigen, & Krueger (2003)'s two factor model of the PPI was also supported. In general, the findings provided further validation for the PPI as a tool for assessing psychopathic traits among "mainstream" individuals, including business people.
Heinze
Peter
P
Ramapo College of New Jersey, 505 Ramapo Valley Road, Mawah, NJ 07430, USA. pheinze@ramapo.edu
Allen
Rhianon
R
Magai
Carol
C
Ritzler
Barry
B
D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000145:classification*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D009014:Morals; D010551:Personality; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult