Testing for Sex Differences in the Nomological Network of the Triarchic Model of Psychopathy in Incarcerated Individuals

The triarchic model of psychopathy conceptualizes variants of this clinical condition as expressions of three distinct biobehavioral dispositions, termed boldness, meanness, and disinhibition. As a trait-oriented model, the triarchic model situates psychopathy within a broader nomological network of personality and psychopathology, and has proven useful for characterizing how psychopathy relates to variables in these domains as well as to biological and behavioral variables. The current study was the first to examine sex differences in the external correlates of psychopathic traits as described by the triarchic model in a prison sample. Results were generally consistent with hypotheses: The triarchic traits related to measures of personality and psychopathology in patterns that were largely consistent across sex, but with some notable differences between males and females, in the correlates of disinhibition in particular. These included stronger associations for disinhibition with substance use problems, self-harm, and staff ratings of prison misbehavior among females compared to males. Findings from this study support the value of the triarchic model for understanding similarities and differences in the nomological network of psychopathy in incarcerated males and females.

High levels of psychopathic traits increase the risk of transferring reactive aggression to innocent people after provocation: Evidence from an ERP study

This study investigated the neuropsychological underpinnings of reactive aggression toward innocent people in a student population with different levels of psychopathic traits. While recording event-related potentials, participants (divided into high/low psychopathic [HP/LP] traits groups) competed against two fictitious opponents in a modified Taylor Aggression Paradigm. We found that the HP group compared to the LP group selected more often high-intensity punishment for the second innocent opponent after being provoked by the first opponent. Further, a more negative N2 and a smaller P3 was found in the HP group while punishing the innocents-reflecting a tendency on antisocial-aggressive behavior. Finally, both groups showed a more negative FRN for losing than winning trials when seeing the outcome of the game. Our results suggest that high psychopathic traits increase the risk of transferring provoked aggression to innocent people-offering a psychophysiological perspective for explaining and predicting aggression against the innocents in social interactions.