Dr. Robert D. Hare, a Professor Emeritus of Psychology at the University of British Columbia and an influential researcher on psychopathy for over 25 years, developed one of the most widely used tools for assessing and identifying psychopaths. His checklist, although not without controversy, is often employed to understand individuals and their psychological make-up.
I’ve written that, in my opinion, Casey Anthony is a malignant narcissist. I thought it might be an interesting exercise to look at her personality from a slightly different perspective, by comparing Casey Anthony and her behavior with the twenty points on Hare’s list.
Glib and Superfical Charm: the tendency to be smooth, engaging, charming, slick, and verbally facile. Psychopathic charm is not in the least shy, self-conscious, or afraid to say anything. A psychopath never gets tongue-tied. They have freed themselves from the social conventions about taking turns in talking, for example.
Casey Anthony is clearly a charming individual. She was gregarious and had many friends. You can observe her interpersonal reactions with others in the courtroom when the jury is not present. She smiles frequently and flirts shamelessly.
Grandiose Self Worth: a grossly inflated view of one’s abilities and self-worth, self-assured, opinionated, cocky, a braggart. Psychopaths are arrogant people who believe they are superior human beings.
She appeared to believe she was capable of performing an event planning job at Universal even though she did not have, nor attempt to maintain, the education for that job. She frequently bragged that she had the title of event planner. Most people have babysitters for their children. unemployed Casey insisted she had a nanny.
Need for Stimulation or Proneness to Boredom: an excessive need for novel, thrilling, and exciting stimulation; taking chances and doing things that are risky. Psychopaths often have a low self-discipline in carrying tasks through to completion because they get bored easily. They fail to work at the same job for any length of time, for example, or to finish tasks that they consider dull or routine.
Casey did not complete high school. She did not hold a job for a lengthy period of time. She engaged in risky activities such as surreptitious theft, promiscuous sexual activity and drug and alcohol abuse. Her father said, “My daughter has a tendency to live on the edge.”
Pathological Lying: can be moderate or high; in moderate form, they will be shrewd, crafty, cunning, sly, and clever; in extreme form, they will be deceptive, deceitful, underhanded, unscrupulous, manipulative, and dishonest.
Casey Anthony turned lying into an art form. Even her defense team admitted that she was a liar. She was skilled at grabbing a tidbit of truth and weaving a legend around it. And she always expected to be believed.
Conning and Manipulativeness: the use of deceit and deception to cheat, con, or defraud others for personal gain; distinguished from Item #4 in the degree to which exploitation and callous ruthlessness is present, as reflected in a lack of concern for the feelings and suffering of one’s victims.
How else could you describe a woman who stole money from an account created to provide for a grandparent’s nursing home care? Someone who encouraged others to believe Caylee was alive when Casey knew she was not. A woman who led law enforcement on a wild goose chase after another woman who didn’t exist.
Lack of Remorse or Guilt: a lack of feelings or concern for the losses, pain, and suffering of victims; a tendency to be unconcerned, dispassionate, coldhearted, and unempathic. This item is usually demonstrated by a disdain for one’s victims.
Witness Casey’s behavior in the first thirty-one days after Caylee’s death. She had no trouble partying and wasting days. Nor did she have any difficulty pointing a finger of guilt at the innocent Zenaida Gonzales and Jesse Grund.
Shallow Affect: emotional poverty or a limited range or depth of feelings; interpersonal coldness in spite of signs of open gregariousness.
This is demonstrated clearly in the jail videotapes. Casey jumps from saccharine sweetness when the focus is on her and anger and impatience when her parents wanted to focus on Caylee. You can also see it in the courtroom.
Callousness and Lack of Empathy: a lack of feelings toward people in general; cold, contemptuous, inconsiderate, and tactless.
When her father’s heart was breaking on the stand, she displayed a cold, callous expression. At other times, she was dismissive of the emotional pain of others, turning the attention from their suffering back to herself. A view of the videotapes demonstrates starkly her dismissive manner regarding her mother’s grief and stress.
Parasitic Lifestyle: an intentional, manipulative, selfish, and exploitative financial dependence on others as reflected in a lack of motivation, low self-discipline, and inability to begin or complete responsibilities.
Casey never left her family home to live independently. For more than two years, Casey lied about employment getting her money through thievery rather than work itself.
Poor Behavorial Controls: expressions of irritability, annoyance, impatience, threats, aggression, and verbal abuse; inadequate control of anger and temper; acting hastily.
Once more, this lack of control is clearly demonstrated in the jail video tapes and in her candid moments in the courtroom.
Out of the first ten points in Dr. Hare’s checklist, Casey Anthony appears to be a nice fit for every single one. I’ll post about the final ten points on the list in the next few days. In the meantime, I’ll be waiting for Justice for Caylee.