Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T14:19:16.142Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Forming, switching, and maintaining mental sets among psychopathic offenders during verbal and nonverbal tasks: Another look at the left-hemisphere activation hypothesis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 June 2006

YANA SUCHY  and
DAVID S. KOSSON
YANA SUCHY
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
DAVID S. KOSSON
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, Illinois, USA
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Three hypotheses for cognitive deficits among psychopaths were tested: executive dysfunction, left hemisphere activation, and an interaction between the two. Twenty-one psychopathic and 23 nonpsychopathic criminal offenders identified with the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised participated in verbal and visual-spatial tasks during which the level of executive processing demands was manipulated. Consistent with prior research, psychopathic offenders made more errors than controls, but only during the verbal task and only on trials with high executive demand. Within those trials, most errors occurred when set-maintenance demands were the highest. No response latency differences between groups were found. (JINS, 2006, 12, 538–548.)This article is a replication and extension of our previous study that was published in the JINS, volume 11, 2005. The article appeared as “State-dependent Executive Deficits Among Psychopathic Offenders,” by Suchy & Kosson, 2005, JINS, 11:3, pp. 311–321. There was no overlap in participants between the two studies.

Keywords

Response modulationLateralityReaction timeExecutive functionsPsychopathic personalitySwitching taskVisual-spatialAttention deficit disorderCognition
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 12 , Issue 4 , July 2006 , pp. 538 - 548
Copyright
© 2006 The International Neuropsychological Society

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Allport, D.A., Styles, E.A., & Hsieh, S. (1994). Shifting intentional set: exploring the dynamic control of tasks. Attention and performance 15: Conscious and nonconscious information processing (pp. 421–452). Cambridge, MA, US: The MIT Press.
Basile, L.F.H., Brunder, D.G., Tarkka, I.M., & Papanicolaou, A.C. (1997). Magnetic fields from human prefrontal cortex differ during two recognition tasks. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 27, 29–41.Google Scholar
Bearden, T.S., Cassisi, J.E., & White, J.N. (2004). Electrophysiological correlates of vigilance during a continuous performance test in healthy adults. Applied Psychophysiology & Biofeedback, 29, 175–188.Google Scholar
Bernstein, A., Newman, J.P., Wallace, J.F., & Luh, K.E. (2000). Left-hemisphere activation and deficient response modulation in psychopaths. Psychological Science, 11, 414–418.Google Scholar
Binder, J.R., Westbury, C.F., McKiernan, K.A., Possing, E.T., & Medler, D.A. (2005). Distinct Brain Systems for Processing Concrete and Abstract Concepts. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 17, 905–917.Google Scholar
Casey, B.J., Castellanos, F.X., Giedd, J.N., & Marsh, W.L. (1997). Implication of right frontostriatal circuitry in response inhibition and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 36, 374–383.Google Scholar
Cepeda, N.J., Kramer, A.F., & Gonzalez de Sather, J.C.M. (2001). Changes in executive control across the life span: Examination of task-switching performance. Developmental Psychology, Vol. 37 (pp. 715–730). US: American Psychological Assn, US, http://www.apa.org.Google Scholar
Chapman, L.J. & Chapman, J.P. (1987). The measurement of handedness. Brain and Cognition, 6, 175–183.Google Scholar
Cleckley, H. (1976). The mask of sanity (5th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Mosby.
Connors, C.K. (2000). Continuous Performance Test II. Toronto: Multi-Health System.
Cooke, D.J., Kosson, D.S., & Michie, C. (2001). Psychopathy and ethnicity: structural, item, and test generalizability of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) in Caucasian and African American participants. Psychological Assessment, 13, 531–542.Google Scholar
Corbett, B. & Glidden, H. (2000). Processing affective stimuli in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Child Neuropsychology, 6, 144–155.Google Scholar
Erickson, K.I., Ringo Ho, M.-H., Colcombe, S.J., & Kramer, A.F. (2005). A structural equation modeling analysis of attentional control: An event-related fMRI study. Cognitive Brain Research, 22, 349–357.Google Scholar
Fiebach, C.J. & Friederici, A.D. (2004). Processing concrete words: FMRI evidence against a specific right-hemisphere involvement. Neuropsychologia, 42, 62–70.Google Scholar
Fisher, L. & Blair, R.J.R. (1998). Cognitive impairment and its relationship to psychopathic tendencies in children with emotional and behavioral difficulties. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 26, 511–519.Google Scholar
Garcia-Sanchez, C., Estevez-Gonzalez, A., Suarez-Romero, E., & Junque, C. (1997). Right hemisphere dysfunction in subjects with attention-deficit disorder with and without hyperactivity. Journal of Child Neurology, 12, 107–115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gopher, D., Armony, L., & Greenshpan, Y. (2000). Switching tasks and attention policies. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, Vol. 129 (pp. 308–339). US: American Psychological Assn, US, http://www.apa.org.Google Scholar
Gorenstein, E.E. (1982). Frontal lobe functions in psychopaths. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 91, 368–379.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hale, L.R., Goldstein, D.S., Abramowitz, C.S., Calamari, J.E., & Kosson, D.S. (2004). Psychopathy is related to negative affectivity but not to anxiety sensitivity. Behaviour Research & Therapy, 42, 697–710.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hare, R.D. (1984). Performance of psychopaths on cognitive tasks related to frontal lobe function. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 93, 133–140.Google Scholar
Hare, R.D., Hart, S.D., & Harpur, T.J. (1991). Psychopathy and the DSM-IV criteria for antisocial personality disorder. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 100, 391–398.Google Scholar
Hare, R.D. & Jutai, J.W. (1988). Psychopathy and cerebral asymmetry in semantic processing. Personality & Individual Differences, 9, 329–337.Google Scholar
Hart, S.D., Forth, A.E., & Hare, R.D. (1990). Performance of criminal psychopaths on selected neuropsychological tests. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 99, 374–379.Google Scholar
Heaton, R.K., Chelune, G.J., Talley, J.L., Kay, G.G., & Curtiss, G. (1993). Wisconsin Card Sorting Test Manual: Revised and Expanded, Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc.
Jersild, A.T. (1927). Mental set and shift. Archives of Psychology, 89 (Entire issue).Google Scholar
Jutai, J.W. & Hare, R.D. (1983). Psychopathy and selective attention during performance of a complex perceptual-motor task. Psychophysiology, 20, 146–151.Google Scholar
Kato, T., Knopman, D., & Liu, H. (2001). Dissociation of regional activation in mild AD during visual encoding: A functional MRI study. Neurology, 57, 812–816.Google Scholar
Khateb, A., Michel, C.M., Pegna, A.J., O'Dochartaigh, S.D., Landis, T., & Annoni, J.-M. (2003). Processing of semantic categorical and associative relations: An ERP mapping study. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 49, 41–55.Google Scholar
Kiehl, K.A., Liddle, P.F., Smith, A.M., Mendrek, A., Forster, B.B., & Hare, R.D. (1999). Neural pathways involved in the processing of concrete and abstract words. Human Brain Mapping, 7, 225–233.Google Scholar
Kosson, D.S. (1996). Psychopathy and dual-task performance under focusing conditions. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 105, 391–400.Google Scholar
Kosson, D.S. (1998). Divided visual attention in psychopathic and nonpsychopathic offenders. Personality & Individual Differences, 24, 373–391.Google Scholar
Kosson, D.S. & Newman, J.P. (1986). Psychopathy and the allocation of attentional capacity in a divided-attention situation. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 95, 257–263.Google Scholar
Kosson, D.S. & Newman, J.P. (1989). Socialization and attentional deficits under focusing and divided attention conditions. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 57, 87–99.Google Scholar
Kramer, A.F., Hahn, S., & Gopher, D. (1999). Task coordination and aging: Explorations of executive control processes in the task switching paradigm. Acta Psychologica, Vol. 101 (pp. 339–378). United Kingdom: Elsevier Science, United Kingdom, http://www.elsevier.com.Google Scholar
Kray, J., Li, K.Z.H., & Lindenberger, U. (2002). Age-related changes in task-switching components: The role of task uncertainty. Brain & Cognition, Vol. 49 (pp. 363–381). United Kingdom: Elsevier Science, United Kingdom, http://www.elsevier.com.Google Scholar
Kray, J. & Lindenberger, U. (2000). Adult age differences in task switching. Psychology & Aging, Vol. 15 (pp. 126–147). US: American Psychological Assn, US, http://www.apa.org.Google Scholar
Lapierre, D., Braun, C.M.J., & Hodgins, S. (1995). Ventral frontal deficits in psychopathy: Neuropsychological test findings. Neuropsychologia, 33, 139–151.Google Scholar
Lezak, M.D. (1995). Neuropsychological Assessment (3rd ed.). London: Oxford University Press, London.
Lorenz, A.R. & Newman, J.P. (2002). Do emotion and information processing deficiencies found in Caucasian psychopaths generalize to African-American psychopaths? Personality and Individual Differences, 32, 1077–1086.Google Scholar
Lorist, M.M., Klein, M., Nieuwenhuis, S., De Jong, R., Mulder, G., & Meijman, T.F. (2000). Mental fatigue and task control: Planning and preparation. Psychophysiology, Vol. 37 (pp. 614–625). United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing, United Kingdom, http://www.blackwellpublishing.com.Google Scholar
Mecklinger, A., von Cramon, D.Y., Springer, A., & Matthes-von Cramon, G. (1999). Executive control functions in task switching: Evidence from brain injured patients. Journal of Clinical & Experimental Neuropsychology, Vol. 21 (pp. 606–619). Netherlands: Swets & Zeitlinger, Netherlands, http://www.szp.swets.nl.Google Scholar
Miller, G.M. & Chapman, J.P. (2001). Misunderstanding analysis of covariance. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 110, 40–48.Google Scholar
Monsell, S., Yeung, N., & Azuma, R. (2000). Reconfiguration of task-set: Is it easier to switch to the weaker task? Psychological Research/Psychologische Forschung, Vol. 63 (pp. 250–264). Germany: Springer Verlag, Germany, http://www.springer.de.Google Scholar
Morgan, A.B. & Lilienfeld, S.O. (2000). A meta-analytic review of the relation between antisocial behavior and neuropsychological measures of executive function. Clinical Psychology Review, 20, 113–156.Google Scholar
Newman, J.P., Patterson, C.M., & Kosson, D.S. (1987). Response perseveration in psychopaths. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 96, 145–148.Google Scholar
Newman, J.P. & Schmitt, W.A. (1998). Passive avoidance in psychopathic offenders: A replication and extension. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 107, 527–532.Google Scholar
Osmon, D.C. (1999). Complexities in the evaluation of executive functions. In Forensic neuropsychology: Fundamentals and practice (pp. 185–226). Lisse, Netherlands: Swets & Zeitlinger Publishers.
Osmon, D.C. & Suchy, Y. (1996). Fractionating frontal lobe functions: Factors of the Milwaukee Card Sorting Test. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 11, 541–552.Google Scholar
Overmeyer, S., Bullmore, E.T., Suckling, J., Simmons, A., Williams, S.C.R., Santosh, P.J., & Taylor, E. (2001). Distributed grey and white matter deficits in hyperkinetic disorder: MRI evidence for anatomical abnormality in an attentional network. Psychological Medicine, 31, 1425–1435.Google Scholar
Rogers, R.D., Sahakian, B.J., Hodges, J.R., Polkey, C.E., Kennard, C., & Robbins, T.W. (1998). Dissociating executive mechanisms of task control following frontal lobe damage and Parkinson's disease. Brain (Vol. 121, pp. 815–842). United Kingdom: Oxford Univ Press, United Kingdom, http://www.oup.com.Google Scholar
Saletu, B., Anderer, P., Saletu-Zyhlarz, G.M., Gruber, D., Metka, M., & Huber, J. (2005). Identifying target regions for vigilance improvement under hormone replacement therapy in postmenopausal syndrome patients by means of electroencephalographic tomography (LORETA). Psychopharmacology, 178, 389–399.Google Scholar
Salthouse, T.A., Fristoe, N., McGuthry, K.E., & Hambrick, D.Z. (1998). Relation of task switching to speed, age, and fluid intelligence. Psychology & Aging, 13, 445–461.Google Scholar
Schmitt, W.A. & Newman, J.P. (1999). Are all psychopathic individuals low-anxious? Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 108, 353–358.Google Scholar
Smith, S.S., Arnett, P.A., & Newman, J.P. (1992). Neuropsychological differentiation of psychopathic and nonpsychopathic criminal offenders. Personality & Individual Differences, 13, 1233–1243.Google Scholar
Suchy, Y., Gold, A., Biechler, R., & Osmon, D.C. (2003). Set maintenance and switching differences in college students with inattentive and impulsive features. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 18, 765–766.Google Scholar
Suchy, Y. & Kosson, D.S. (2005). State-dependent executive deficits among psychopathic offenders. Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 11, 311–321.Google Scholar
Sutton, S.K. & Davidson, R.J. (1997). Prefrontal brain asymmetry: A biological substrate of the behavioral approach and inhibition systems. Psychological Science, Vol. 8 (pp. 204–210). United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing, United Kingdom, http://www.blackwellpublishing.com.Google Scholar
Taylor, K.I., Brugger, P., Weniger, D., & Regard, M. (1999). Qualitative hemispheric differences in semantic category matching. Brain & Language, 70, 119–131.Google Scholar
Thut, G., Schultz, W., Roelcke, U., Nienhusmeier, M., Missimer, J., Maguire, R.P., & Leenders, K.L. (1997). Activation of the human brain by monetary reward. Neuroreport, 8, 1225–1228.Google Scholar
Toldson, I.A. (2002). The relationship between race and psychopathy: An evaluation of selected psychometric properties of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) for incarcerated African American men. Univ Microfilms International.
Vitale, J.E., Newman, J.P., Bates, J.E., Goodnight, J., Dodge, K.A., & Pettit, G.S. (2005). Deficient Behavioral Inhibition and Anomalous Selective Attention in a Community Sample of Adolescents with Psychopathic Traits and Low-Anxiety Traits. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 33, 461–470.Google Scholar
Warrington, E.K., McKenna, P., & Orpwood, L. (1998). Single word comprehension: A concrete and abstract word synonym test. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 8, 143–154.Google Scholar
Watson, D. & Clark, L.A. (1984). Negative affectivity: The disposition to experience aversive emotional states. Psychological Bulletin, 96, 465–490.Google Scholar
Welsh, G. (1956). Factor dimensions A and R. In G.S. Welsh & W.G. Dahlstrom (Eds.), Basic readings on the MMPI in psychology and medicine (pp. 264–281). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
Yano, T., Inagaki, M., & Kaga, M. (2000). Time course of semantic categorization of visual and auditory words. Tohoku Psychologica Folia, 59, 34–45.Google Scholar
Zachary, R.A. (1986). Shipley Institute of Living Scale: Revised Manual. Los Angeles: Eastern Psychological Services.