The psychopathic individual: A lack of responsiveness to distress cues?

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the psychophysiological responsiveness of psychopathic individuals to distress cues and to threatening and neutral stimuli. Eighteen psychopathic individuals and 18 incarcerated control individuals, identified using the Revised Psychopathy Checklist (Hare, 1991, The Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised, Toronto: Multi-Health Systems), were shown slides of these three types of stimuli, and their electrodermal responses were recorded. The psychopathic individuals showed (relative to the controls) reduced electrodermal responses to the distress cues. In contrast, the two groups did not differ in their electrodermal responses to the threatening stimuli and to the neutral stimuli. The results are interpreted within the Violence Inhibition Mechanism model (Blair, 1995, Cognition, 57, 1-29) of the psychopathic individual.

Examining the influence of psychopathy, hostility biases, and automatic processing on criminal offenders' Theory of Mind

“…Research has shown psychopathic individuals to present with notable emotional empathic deficiencies, like a reduced physiological responsiveness to others' distress (Blair, Jones, Clark, & Smith, 1997). Results of studies on cognitive empathy and psychopathy have been a lot more equivocal.…”

El maltratador psicópata en la pareja: un perfil no psicopatológico

“…Psychopaths seem to have low skin conductivity when faced with distressing stimuli, which is possibly indicative of reduced or more controlled physiological reactions (Blair, Jones, Clark & Smith, 1997). In a study on domestic violence, Gottman et al (1995) registered the psychophysical responses of the batterers during heated arguments with their partners; the expectation being that the batterers would show higher responses.…”

The Psychopath Next Door: How Similar Are They to Those Behind Bars? Criminality, Executive Functioning, and Emotion Processing in 'Noncriminal' Psychopathy

“…They found that psychopathic individuals compared to controls displayed hyporesponsivity to the distress cues, but intact responsivity to the threat cues and neutral stimuli (R. J. R Blair et al, 1997). Further research suggests that this emotional impairment may be specific to fearful or negative emotions.…”

“…For example, Blair and colleagues examined skin conductance responses to visual distress cues, threat cues, and neutral stimuli in a sample of male, psychopathic criminals and nonpsychopathic criminals and found that psychopathic individuals compared to controls displayed hyporesponsivity to the distress cues but intact responsivity to the threat cues and neutral stimuli (R. J. R Blair, Jones, Clark, & Smith, 1997). Further support for the emotional impairment of psychopathic individuals is provided by research that demonstrates that psychopathic individuals are selectively impaired in recognizing the fearful facial expressions of others (R. J.…”

“…However, Mitchell, Colledge, Leonard and Blair suggest that the Somatic Marker Hypothesis cannot adequately explain the selective impairment for sad and fearful stimuli, but intact processing of threat cues found in previous research (e.g., R. J. R Blair et al, 1997;Patrick, Bradley, & Lang, 1993). Instead, R J R Blair and colleagues propose a more specific model of neurobiological dysfunction in psychopathic individuals, the Integrated Emotions System Model (R J R. Blair et al, 2005).…”