Psychopathy and Self-Monitoring : Additive and Interactive Effects On
^.^?^y % \ " •. V .' A_ i \m ^ *f'>fI,*! >l Jd Psychopathy and Self-Monitoring: Additive and Interactive Effects on Self-Presentation Tactics by Namia Worth A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts Department of Psychology BROCK UNIVERSITY St. Catharines, Ontario October 2007 Namia Worth, 2007 Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine the relative contributions of psychopathy and self-monitoring to the prediction of self-presentation tactics (behaviours that individuals use to manipulate their self-image). Psychopathy is composed of two main factors: Factor 1, which includes manipulativeness and shallow affect, and Factor 2, which includes irresponsibility and anti-social behaviours. Self-monitoring is a personality trait that distinguishes between those who adapt their behaviour to fit different social situations (high self-monitors) and those who behave as they feel regardless of social expectations (low self- monitors). It was hypothesized that self-monitoring would moderate the relationship between psychopathy and self-presentation tactics. One hundred and forty-nine university students completed the Self-Monitoring Scale (Snyder, 1974), the Self-Report Psychopathy Scale - Version III (Paulhus et al., in press), the Self-Presentation Tactics scale (Lee, S., et al., 1999), the HEXACO-PI (a measure of the six major factors of personality; Lee, K., & Ashton, 2004), and six scenarios that were created as a supplementary measure of the self- presentation tactics. Results of the hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that self-monitoring did moderate the relationship between psychopathy and three of the self- presentation tactics: apologies, disclaimers, and exemplification. Further, significant interactions were observed between Factor 1 and self-monitoring on apologies and the defensive tactics subscale, between Factor 2 and self-monitoring on self-handicapping, and between Factor 1 and Factor 2 on exemplification.
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