Fearlessness has been described among the traits associated with psychopathy; however, disparities in conceptualizations of fear and how related elements are operationalized among different measures of psychopathic traits have led to some enduring controversy. Here we address a subset of elements characterizing fearlessness represented in thrill-seeking and physical risk-taking among a large sample of incarcerated individuals (n = 688). We examine these relationships utilizing Hare’s Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R), the Psychopathy Personality Inventory-Short Form (PPI-SF), and the Zuckerman Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS). Among males, the Thrill and Adventure Seeking (TAS) scale of the SSS was not related to features of the PCL-R, but was highly correlated with Fearless Dominance (FD) of the PPI-SF. Among females, TAS was only modestly correlated with PCL-R total score, but neither of the two PCL-R factors. PPI-SF FD remained a strong predictor of TAS among females. We argue for a careful consideration of the boundaries of the term “fearlessness” as it relates to diverse manifestations of behavior and varied conceptualizations of psychopathy. We also reiterate apparent differences between males and females in the presentation of psychopathic traits.

无所畏惧被描述为与精神病相关的特征之一。然而，恐惧概念化的差异以及不同心理变态特征测量中相关要素如何运作的差异导致了一些持久的争议。在这里，我们讨论了在大量被监禁个体样本中寻求刺激和身体冒险所表现出的无所畏惧特征的子集（ n = 688）。我们利用 Hare 的精神病态检查表修订版 (PCL-R)、精神病态人格简表 (PPI-SF) 和祖克曼感觉寻求量表 (SSS) 来检查这些关系。在男性中，SSS 的刺激和冒险寻求（TAS）量表与 PCL-R 的特征无关，但与 PPI-SF 的无畏统治（FD）高度相关。在女性中，TAS 仅与 PCL-R 总分适度相关，但两个 PCL-R 因素均无关。 PPI-SF FD 仍然是女性 TAS 的强有力预测因子。我们主张仔细考虑“无所畏惧”一词的界限，因为它与行为的不同表现形式和精神病态的不同概念有关。我们还重申男性和女性在精神病态特征表现方面的明显差异。