From controversy to confusion: A commentary on how Marcus et al.'s (2025) Psychopathic Boldness Scale further muddies the boldness construct.

Abstract

The Psychopathic Boldness Scale (see record 2025-96918-001) is a newly developed 21-item self-report measure intended to assess boldness as it manifests within psychopathy. In this commentary, we raise concerns about the PBS's construct validity, particularly its conceptual and empirical overlap with antagonism-related traits. Drawing on theoretical analysis and results from Marcus et al., we evaluated how PBS items function relative to the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure. Intraclass correlations of overall correlational profiles revealed that the nomological network of the PBS more closely aligns with Triarchic Psychopathy Measure meanness than with boldness. Rather than clarifying the role of boldness within psychopathy, the PBS repackages maladaptive content typically captured by meanness/antagonism under the boldness label and results in a case of the jingle fallacy. We argue that this conflation undermines theoretical precision and sets the stage for a more difficult-to-integrate literature. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).