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Abstract
Psychopathy in the severely disordered appears to change over time, with each of its component traits following a unique life course, mirroring the research with other personality disorders. It remains uncertain whether the life course of the component traits are unique to disordered individuals or represents age-related declines that also occur in non-clinical populations. The present study advances the hypothesis that the life course of psychopathic traits is due to changes associated with aging that are experienced even by those who are not severely disordered. Results indicated that psychopathy in a non-clinical population was found to only partially replicate the life course reported amongst the more severely disordered. The findings are discussed in terms of the theoretical genesis of psychopathy and the broader implications that they hold for the field of personality disorders.