Carl B. GaconoConsultant/author/artist
Carl B. Gacono
Doctor of Psychology
See additional work on Linkedin, carlgacono.art, carlgaconoart (Instagram) & fineartamerica Maverickpsychology.com
About
143
Publications
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Introduction
Carl B. Gacono currently works at Private Practice. Carl does research in Legal Psychology (Psychology and Law), Forensic Psychology and Clinical Psychology. See maverickpsychology.com #psychopathy, #assessment, #Rorschach, #antisocial personality, #comprehensive system, #R-PAS, #forensic psychology, #psychology,
Also see carlgacono.art and instagram carlgaconoart
Publications
Publications (143)
The Rorschach Performance Assessment System (R-PAS) was introduced
in 2011 as an alternative to Exner’s Comprehensive System
(CS). This article critically evaluates the contemporary use of
the R-PAS in forensic contexts. The standing of the R-PAS in
relation to relevant legal standards, professional guidelines, and
published professional models is...
The article discusses several key issues to consider prior to using the R-PAS in a forensic context.
Erratum--please note on page 116, the total score of 34 should be 37. Also, the text should read "might receive" instead of receive, accounting for the potential individual items scoring.
In this in press commentary we discuss 10 frequently asked questions concerning the R-PAS and CS/CS-R. We clarify misinformation and provide the reader with original sources to analyze the issues for themselves.
There has been a drastic decline in the quality of psychological research. In large part this is due to a failed review process. Too frequently, journal reviews are controlled by academic psychologists with little, insufficient, or no experience with the populations studied. They are also not prepared related to a knowledge of the subject matter re...
Female psychopathy As evidenced by recent internet stories\postings, there has been a renewed interest in female psychopathy. For example, in a recent study, Dr. Clive Boddy suggested that female psychopathy is more common than previously thought and is expressed with subtle gender differences. Our own work has indicated that female psychopaths are...
Rorschach emphasized the importance of color in his earliest discussions (Rorschach, 1942). Its crucial role for understanding one's inner life was made clear by its inclusion in the experience balance (EB), and the many nuanced interpretations attributed to its various manifestations. While the construct validity between color and emotion has been...
Murder is antithetical to any traditional conceptualization of femininity or the nurturer role. Women do, however, commit murder, as well as a plethora of other heinous offenses. Understanding the personality of women who murder is of both clinical and scientific interest. In this study, we present the PCL-R, PAI, and Rorschach data of 24 incarcera...
In this piece we answer frequently asked question regarding the R-PAS and CS. We present the facts supported by data. A must read for proponents and/or critics of the Rorschach.
Determining a patient's aggressivity is a function of assessing multiple factors, including personality vulnerabilities, past behaviors, and potential future circumstances. Evaluating the nature and predominance of aggressive drive, impulse control, affect lability, inhibitory mechanisms, cognitive deficits, and conscious and unconscious attitudes...
As always the field of psychology is threatened from within. This chapter discusses disturbing trends in the profession and their impact on research and practice. The integrity of the "science" has been sacrificed on the alter of PC and advocacy..
Whether conducting a diagnostic interview or attempting to understand an existential experience, success depends on asking the right questions. In a similar manner, speculation about the motivation of the abstract artist or what they were attempting to achieve are the wrong questions and will not reveal why the painting speaks to you. In part, why...
In Part I of "When A Painting Speaks To You", we explored how one can be drawn into an abstract expressionistic painting. By allowing oneself to feel the energy of the painting, the viewer often connects to the artists' process of creation, resulting in feelings of completeness, wholeness and peacefulness-of things being "right." In this way, abstr...
This commentary represents a summary of an article by myself and Jason Smith. We briefly list the most common questions that colleagues are asking about the use of the R-PAS in comparison to the Exner's Comprehensive System. References are added to guide the reader in further exploration of the topic.
Psychopathy is an essential construct for research and applied usage (Gacono, 2016). The Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 2003) is the only valid method for assessing the Cleckley psychopath. In this chapter, we discuss theoretical and empirical roots of psychopathy and provide clinical and forensic guidelines for use of the PCL-R. We re...
PCL-R & Rorschach assessment/Purchase consultation and PCL-R/SV interview schedule
Managing the incarcerated population is the primary task within correctional settings. Using psychological assessment to predict institutional behavior, the psychologist has a unique set of skills essential to the management of prisoners. PCL-R, PAI, and Rorschach data were compared with institutional infractions (total, physical, verbal, non-aggre...
In a previous article we discussed the use of comparative group data in Rorschach Interpretation. In this article we discuss basic principles for interpreting variables and indices within the individual protocol.
Recently in Psychoanalytic Psychology, Gullhaugen et al. (2021) proposed a Dynamic Model of Psychopathy (DMP) to better understand psychopathic traits. Several issues with the authors' methodology, including the use of the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL: SV) as an independent measure and a small sample size (N = 16) relative to their...
I want to draw attention to the updates for the Rorschach Comprehensive System. Patrick Fontain and his colleagues with the Rorschach Institute have collaborated with Rorschach Workshops insuring that the CS remains current and vital. This is a must "follow" for those who use the Rorschach in clinical/forensic practice. Carl Gacono
The psychopathic personality is organized at a borderline level of personality. Additionally, while male psychopaths are considered to manifest pathological narcissism, female psychopaths are best understood in terms of malignant hysteria. Using Kernberg's three components of borderline personality functioning (identity diffusion, reliance on primi...
Due to its altered administration procedures, the R-PAS system (Rorschach) should not be considered equivalent to Exner's Comprehensive System. Consequently, the validity of the CS does not necessarily transfer to the R-PAS. This article discussed essential issues that need to be considered before using the R-PAS in any applied context.
Between 1980 and 2018, the number of incarcerated women increased by more than 750%, rising from a total of 26,378 to 225,345. Managing and treating these women can be challenging. Understanding Female Offenders: Psychopathy, Criminal Behavior, Assessment, and Treatment provides a guide for meeting these challenges. In addition to providing a sound...
In this chapter, we provide a theoretical and empirically based understanding of antisocial and psychopathic women. We begin by clarifying the differences between psychopathy, sociopathy, and ASPD, and then provide a historical perspective of hysteria. While the underlying personality of the female psychopath is paranoid, malignant hysteria is thei...
Historically, the cornerstone of the psychologist’s identity rested on providing competent in-depth psychological assessment (Rapaport, Gill, & Schafer, 1946). The ability to utilize a battery of assessment methods to elucidate complex issues makes the psychologist unique among other mental health professionals. Recent trends, however, have tarnish...
Despite the perception that women do not commit sexual offenses, female offenders engage in sexual homicide, sexually assault their students or their own children, and, at times, work with co-perpetrators to sexually aggress against their victims. Few studies have used psychological tests to psychometrically map the personality of female sexual off...
The treatment and management of female offenders provide unique challenges to even the most experienced clinicians. Incarcerated women, in addition to exhibiting multiple mental health issues, trauma histories, and chronic substance use, provoke strong countertransference reactions that if not managed, threaten the integrity of any treatment endeav...
Long before psychology, bias has existed in science. From the beginning, concerns have been raised about the reliability, validity, and accuracy of social science research (Meehl, 1954). In this chapter, we define and discuss the origins of bias and how it can erode the scientific method. We focus specifically on bias in psychological research, the...
This article is part I of a two part series. It discusses the interpretative importance of anchoring Rorschach data within a larger body of comparative (both nonpatient and clinical) group data.
It is essential to understand that CS validity research does not translated directly to the R-PAS. In this article we dicuss essential issues to consider prior to using the R-PAS in an applied context.
The histories of incarcerated women exhibit a multitude of personality issues including psychopathy, trauma, and interpersonal dependency. Two studies were undertaken to better understand these issues with psychopathic (PCL-R ≥ 30; N = 115) and non-psychopathic (PCL-R ≤ 24; N = 53) women incarcerated for drug, theft, fraud, violence, and sex offens...
DeMatteo et al. (2020b) published a Statement in this journal declaring that the Psychopathy Checklist—Revised (PCL–R) “cannot and should not [emphasis added]” (p. 134) be used in U.S. capital-sentencing cases to assess risk for serious institutional violence. Their stated concerns were the “imperfect interrater reliability” (p. 137), the “variabil...
A group of 13 authors (GA) shared a statement of concern (SoC) warning against the use of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 1991, 2003) to assess risk for serious institutional violence in U.S. capital sentencing cases (DeMatteo et al., 2020). Notably, the SoC was not confined to capital sentencing issues, but included institutio...
Mihura’s (2019) recent commentary on Smith et al.’s (2018) article, “A Scientific Critique of Rorschach Research: Revisiting Exner’s Issues and Methods in Rorschach Research (1995)” raised several issues surrounding our internal validity criteria and our approach to validating Rorschach research. Mihura also conducted additional statistical analyse...
In several articles, my colleagues and I have addressed concerns regarding methodological issues with the recent RIM research (see Cunliffe et al., 2012; Gacono, Loving, &Bodholdt, 2001; Smith et. al., 2018). In many studies, the impact of these issues is frequently hidden, masked in a description of statistical procedures and shrouded by the umbre...
Comprehensive reply to DeMatteo et al. 2020 in Psychology, Public Policy & Law provides evidence for the reliability and validity of the PCL-R in the assessment of risk for institutional violence.
Psychopathy is an essential construct in forensic mental health. While male psychopathy and aggression has been thoroughly studied, less is known about this relationship with female psychopathy. In this article, the relationship between female psychopathy (Psychopathy Checklist-Revised [PCL-R] total, factor, and facet scores) and the Rorschach Aggr...
In this study, PCL-R scores were used in correlational analyses with PAI scales in a sample of incarcerated women (N = 133). The total PCL-R score was significantly correlated with many PAI scales including ANT, DRG, and AGG. Categorical analyses were also used where the psychopathic women (N = 71; PCL-R ≥ 30) were significantly higher on the PAI s...
Based on findings from prior research studies, trauma histories have been found to be ubiquitous in psychopathic women. In this study, the Rorschach Trauma Content Index (TCI) was used to better understand the trauma histories of incarcerated women (N = 180). The TCI was significantly correlated with total reported trauma events, reported sexual ab...
The Rorschach Comprehensive System Egocentricity Index (EGOI) and its component variables have been useful in understanding antisocial and psychopathic individuals (Gacono & Meloy, 1994; Gacono, Meloy, & Heaven, 1990). In this study, the EGOI, Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) scales and the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) were used with...
In several articles, my colleagues and I have addressed concerns regarding methodological issues with the recent RIM research (see Cunliffe et al., 2012; Gacono, Loving, &Bodholdt, 2001; Smith et. al., 2018). In many studies, the impact of these issues is frequently hidden, masked in a description of statistical procedures and shrouded by the umbre...
In this study, the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), the Rorschach, and the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) were used to elucidate the personality functioning of incarcerated females with sex offenses against minors (FSOAM; N = 31). There was significant convergence among the PCL-R, PAI, and Rorschach data. Both the PAI and Rorschach su...
Psychopathy is considered an essential construct in forensic work (Gacono, 2016). Most methodologically sound studies have involved males rather than females (Smith et al., 2014). Gender differences have been found to be, and continue to be considered important in the assessment and management of forensic populations (Cunliffe et al., 2016). Male p...
Exner’s (1995a) Issues and Methods in Rorschach Research provided a standard of care for conducting Rorschach research; however, the extent to which studies have followed these guidelines has not been examined. Similarly, meta-analytic approaches have been used to comment on the validity of Exner’s Comprehensive System (CS) variables without an eva...
In the present chapter, we discuss the role of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) and Rorschach in forensic psychological assessment. We stress the importance of using a multi-method over a mono-method assessment approach and advocate for the incremental validity of psychological testing over interviews alone as an essential aspect of a...
Psychopathy Assessment
Female psychopathy has been conceived as a malignant form of hysteria organized at the borderline level of personality function. In this study, the PCL-R was used to assess psychopathy, and the Rorschach Comprehensive System, Extended Aggression Scores, Rorschach Defense Scales, Rorschach Oral Dependency, Trauma Content Index, and Primitive Modes o...
This study provides Rorschach Inkblot Method (RIM) and Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL: YV) descriptive data for a sample (N = 63) of conduct-disordered (CD) male adolescents in an alternative education school setting. The research is based upon the doctoral dissertation completed by Talkington in 2009. Results indicate that, while the Ro...
The assessment of antisocial and psychopathic personalities presents special challenges for the forensic evaluator. This chapter emphasizes use of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), Rorschach, and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) for a comprehensive evaluation of these patients. These measures lend incremental validit...
Wood et al. (2010) published a meta-analysis in which the authors challenged the utility of the Rorschach Inkblot Test in delineating key differences between psychopathic and non-psychopathic individuals identified by the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; Hare, 1991/2003). In this article, Gacono et al.’s (2001) five conceptual and four methodo...
The objective was to examine early adolescent projective risk indicators for the development of antisocial behaviour as related to adult personality traits, psychopathy, and violent behaviour over the life span. Assessment data included Rorschach (Rr) ratings (at age 11-14 years), personality inventories (EPQ-I and KSP scales), and a shortened Psyc...
In this article we examine the current status of Rorschach assessment. School psychologists are provided with an introduction to the Rorschach Inkblot Method (RIM), the types of information that the test provides, and guidelines for evaluating the RIM. We also address criticisms that have served to discourage the use of the RIM. When administered,...
Although male psychopathy has been linked to histrionic, narcissistic, and antisocial personality disorders (ASPD), less is known about female psychopathy. The Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) and the Rorschach were used to explore the personality functioning of 45 incarcerated female offenders with ASPD delineated by their psychopathy level....
The Extended Aggression Scores were developed to quantify the aggressive Rorschach imagery produced by violent Antisocial Personality Disordered (ASPD; American Psychiatric Association, 1980 ) offenders. Despite their histories of real world violence, these subjects produced few Aggressive Movement (AG; Exner, 1993 ) responses. Why didn’t violent c...
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (1997) requires identification of emotional disturbance by special education criteria. It also requires that emotional disturbance be distinguished from social maladjustment. In some cases, a thorough evaluation of the child's character pathology can aid in this determination. While methods such as th...
Rorschach Oral Dependency scores (Masling, Rabie, & Blondheim, 1967) were compared among nonsexually offending psychopaths (NSOPs, n = 32), sexual homicide perpetrators (SHPs, n = 38), and non-violent pedophiles (NVPs, n = 39) as initially reported by Gacono, Meloy, and Bridges (2000). The aggressive special scores of Gacono and Meloy (1994; Gacono...
The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), and now the MMPI-2, are the most widely researched personality assessment tools in correctional and related forensic settings (MMPI; Hathaway & McKinley, 1940; MMPI-2; Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellegen, & Kaemmer, 1989). Using the original MMPI, Megargee (1977a) and colleagues (Megargee & B...
Forensic psychiatric patients exhibit complex clinical issues that are neither readily understood by staff nor necessarily responsive to traditional psychotherapy or treatment milieu approaches. Individualized treatment planning identifies treatment needs and matches them to treatment services, thereby increasing the opportunity for a positive ther...
Questions
Questions (3)
What error is being made when one studies psychopathy by examining the range of scores on the PCL-R, rather than comparing psychopaths (>29) with low scorers (<25)? While this would be very appropriate for determining cut offs for decision making or understanding elements of the instrument, this design is then used to make inferences about psychopathy (as a category). Frequently within this design inferences are made about psychopathy (category) from samples where there are no psychopaths (>29) The extension of this thinking has lead to study "psychopathy" in samples, such as college students, where psychopathy does not exist.
How do you describe the error in logic made when assigning equivalency to correlations? E.G. The screening version of the PCL:SV is meant for screening. The full PCL-R (Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised) is useful in forming categories (> 29 total score). total scores on the SV correlate with total scores on the PCL-R (as does other things such as number of ASPD (antisocial PD) criteria. However, this does not mean the number of ASPD criteria or the SV total measure the same thing. Why are these assumptions flawed?
My colleagues and I have raised many issues related to the misuse of statistics. We have examined two meta-analytic studies and found the majority of the individual studies failed to be fraught with internal validity issues making them inappropriate for the study. This is a growing trend in academic research that stems from throwing statistics at an issue without having actually worked with the population studied. My question today is how does one articulate in simple terms the problems with assuming that correlation means two things are equivalent? This is a problem in the psychopathy literature where various instruments other than the PCL-R are used to create categorical groups of "psychopaths." Even to the ridiculous extent of studying psychopathy in samples such as college populations where there are no psychopaths. A related issue is the mixing of dimensional research designs and then authors making inferences about psychopathy as a category. If this is an area of interest please e-mail me so that I might send you some articles and then pick your brain. Thanks.