Refining the link between psychopathy, antisocial behavior, and empathy: a meta-analytical approach across different conceptual frameworks

Abstract

The current meta-analysis included 431 records (N= 123,414) to comprehensively explore the complex interaction between psychopathy, antisocial behavior, and empathy. First, empathy domains (cognitive and affective) were used to provide critical insights for distinguishing antisocial behavior from psychopathy. Cognitive empathy was more impaired in antisocial groups (gcognitive= -.40; gaffective= -.11), while high psychopathy samples displayed larger deficits in affective empathy (gaffective= -.44; gcognitive= -.23), although this dissociation was not clear in correlational analyses. Secondly, the specific associations between empathy domains and psychopathy dimensions were evaluated. Psychopathy traits closely related to antisocial behavior were mildly associated with both empathy domains (r= -.07 to -.14). Callous-affective traits were largely associated with affective empathy (r= -.32 to -.35) and moderately correlated to cognitive empathy (r= -.26). Diverging results were found for the interpersonal dimension, as boldness-adaptive manifestations were unrelated to cognitive empathy (r= .05), while non-adaptive interpersonal traits were negatively associated with both empathy domains (rcognitive= -.14; raffective= -.25). Overall, these findings suggest that: (1) psychopathy and antisocial behavior display distinct empathic profiles; (2) psychopathy dimensions are differentially associated with cognitive and affective empathy; (3) the interaction between interpersonal traits and empathic processes is different across the conceptual models of psychopathy.

Sex and age differences in “theory of mind” across 57 countries using the English version of the “Reading the Mind in the Eyes” Test

“…'Theory of mind' (ToM) is the ability to attribute mental states to oneself and others, in order to make sense of human behaviour and to predict it (1). Since the 1980s, ToM has become central to the study of human development, particularly the development of social perception and social cognition, and to understanding clinical conditions such as autism, conduct disorder, personality disorders, anorexia, and schizophrenia (2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8). ToM is also a central focus of research in comparative psychology, addressing the question of whether ToM is unique to humans (9), to research in neuropsychology, addressing how brain lesions affect ToM (10)(11)(12), and to social neuroscience, testing the biological and social factors that influence ToM (11,12).…”

Empathy, impulsiveness, and sensation seeking as mediators between primary psychopathic traits and driving behaviors in French driving offenders

“…These traits were also found to be positive predictors of impulsiveness and sensation seeking in some studies (van Dongen et al, 2021; Sellbom & Phillips, 2013; Weidacker et al, 2017) but not in others (Anderson et al, 2021; Gray et al, 2019). A possible explanation for these inconsistencies could be the lack of convergence between theoretical conceptualizations of psychopathic traits, measures (self‐reported scales or clinician‐rated measures), and research populations (students, community samples, offenders, etc.,) across studies (Burghart & Mier, 2022; Campos et al, 2022; Sellbom & Drislane, 2020). Indeed, in the present study, we adopted a two‐factor conceptualization of psychopathic traits and focused on the primary component which refers to the affective and interpersonal style of individuals and is often considered the core representation of these personality traits (Salekin et al, 2014; Savard et al, 2014).…”

“…Some traits are often associated with individuals who have high primary psychopathic traits. First, empathy is a multidimensional construct and a fundamental process underpinning human interactions and is considered the hallmark of psychopathy (Campos et al, 2022; Eklund & Meranius, 2020). Numerous definitions of empathy exist to date (Hall & Schwartz, 2019).…”

“…Numerous definitions of empathy exist to date (Hall & Schwartz, 2019). There is a consensus in the field that empathy is composed of two major components: cognitive empathy which refers to the ability to infer the mental states of others and emotional empathy as an individual's capacity to share others' emotions (Batson, 2011; Campos et al, 2022; Decety & Ickes, 2011; Spreng et al, 2009). Most researchers agree that individuals with high primary psychopathic traits tend to display interpersonal and affective deficits, especially in the form of reduced emotional and cognitive empathy (Maheux‐Caron et al, 2018; Sellbom & Phillips, 2013; Turner et al, 2019; White, 2014).…”

“…Most researchers agree that individuals with high primary psychopathic traits tend to display interpersonal and affective deficits, especially in the form of reduced emotional and cognitive empathy (Maheux‐Caron et al, 2018; Sellbom & Phillips, 2013; Turner et al, 2019; White, 2014). However, recent meta‐analytical systematic reviews reveal that the magnitude of effect size vary extensively across studies (Burghart & Mier, 2022; Campos et al, 2022). Moreover, Kajonius and Björkman (2020) argue that empathy is not inherently absent in those with high psychopathic traits but rather that they seem to have a low inclination to use this ability.…”