We describe research conducted under the guidance of Dr. Robert D. Hare at the University of British Columbia from the late 1960s until the late 1990s. This was a fascinating, intellectually creative, and prolific time for research on psychopathy which continues to shape and influence research today. The construction of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist (PCL; Hare, Personality and Individual Differences, 1(2), 111–119, 1980; 1991; 2003) provided researchers with a reliable and generally accepted measure of psychopathy based on historical conceptualizations of the disorder. Research became increasingly sophisticated and shifted from that being done primarily on male offenders to include other relevant clinical and research groups and settings. Early researchers studied statistical and psychometric techniques, assessment issues, theoretically relevant patterns of criminal behavior, developmental issues, personality and psychopathology, attention, and the processing of language and emotional material. We discuss the different areas of research that Dr. Hare’s students and colleagues were involved in, and the influence that Dr. Hare and the PCL has had on research and practice.
