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Unemotional traits predict early processing deficit for fearful expressions in young violent offenders: an investigation using continuous flash suppression

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 June 2014

A. Jusyte ,
S. V. Mayer ,
E. Künzel ,
M. Hautzinger  and
M. Schönenberg
A. Jusyte*
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany LEAD Graduate School, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
S. V. Mayer
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
E. Künzel
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
M. Hautzinger
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
M. Schönenberg
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
*
*Address for correspondence: Dr A. Jusyte, University of Tübingen, LEAD Graduate School, Europastr. 6, D-72072 Tübingen, Germany. (Email: [email protected])
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Abstract

Background

Research evidence suggests that cognitive and neural mechanisms involved in social information processing may underlie the key aspects associated with the emergence of aggression and psychopathy. Despite extensive research in this field, it is unclear whether this deficit relates to general attentional problems or affects early stages of information processing. Therefore, the aim was to explore the link between aggression, psychopathic traits, and the early processing deficits in young antisocial violent offenders (YAVOs) and healthy controls (CTLs).

Method

Participants were presented with rapidly changing Mondrian-like images in one eye, while a neutral or emotional (happy, angry, fearful, disgusted, surprised, sad) face was slowly introduced to the other eye. Participants indicated the location in which the face had appeared on the screen, reflecting the time when they became aware of the stimulus. The relative processing advantage was obtained by subtracting mean reaction times for emotional from neutral faces.

Results

The results indicated that individuals with higher levels of unemotional traits tended to exhibit an extensive early processing disadvantage for fearful facial expressions; this relationship was only evident in the YAVO as opposed to the CTL sample.

Conclusions

These findings indicate that an emotion processing deficit in antisocial individuals is present even at the most basic levels of processing and closely related to certain psychopathic traits. Furthermore, this early processing deficit appears to be highly specific to fearful expressions, which is consistent with predictions made by influential models of psychopathy. The clinical significance and potential implications of the results are discussed.

Keywords

Aggressioncallous-unemotional traitsearly processingemotion recognitionpsychopathy
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 45 , Issue 2 , January 2015 , pp. 285 - 297
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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