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Cited by 157Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual OffendingPersonality Traits and PsychologyDeception detection and forensic psychology

Impaired cognitive empathy in criminal psychopathy: evidence from a laboratory measure of empathic accuracy.

Brook, Michael, Kosson, David S.·2013·Journal of Abnormal Psychology
DOI 10.1037/a0030261
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Abstract

Empathy deficits feature prominently in theoretical accounts of psychopathy, yet studies that have examined various aspects of emotional processing related to empathy have produced a mixed body of findings. We created a laboratory measure of cognitive empathy based on the empathic accuracy paradigm (i.e., the ability to accurately infer others' emotions in a simulated interpersonal interaction) and used it to examine relationships between psychopathy (assessed with the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised) and cognitive empathy in a sample of incarcerated male offenders. Psychopathy was inversely associated with empathic accuracy performance, as well as with the number of responses when rating the emotional states of others. Empathic accuracy performance was most strongly associated with the behavioral/antisocial and lifestyle features of psychopathy. When the emotional content of target vignettes was examined, psychopathy was associated with poorer empathic accuracy for negatively valenced emotions only (fear and sadness), although nonsignificant moderate effect sizes were also observed for joy. Whereas the interpersonal/affective factor of psychopathy was associated with poor empathic accuracy for joy, the behavioral/antisocial factor was associated with poor overall empathic accuracy for negatively valenced emotions. At the psychopathy facet level, the interpersonal and lifestyle features of psychopathy were associated with poor empathic accuracy for positively valenced emotions, whereas the affective and antisocial features of psychopathy were inversely associated with empathic accuracy for negatively valenced emotions. In contrast to its association with poor empathic accuracy performance, psychopathy was not associated with ratings of perceived task difficulty.

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  • People affected by narcissistic personality disorder may have compromised empathic functioning due to deficits in emotional empathy and motivation-based impairment in their cognitive empathic functioning.

    “Despite being able to perceive emotions like psychopaths (1, 32, 33), people affected by NPD may have compromised empathic functioning due to deficits in emotional empathy (e.g., neurobiological evidence) and motivation-based impairment in their cognitive empathic functioning.”

    From The dark side of empathy in narcissistic personality disorder (2023) · cites this paper as [32]

  • According to the Extended Agency Model, higher levels of narcissism are associated with more self-enhancement of qualities like intelligence and extraversion, but not agreeableness or morality.

    “According to the Extended Agency Model (59) higher levels of narcissism are associated with more self-enhancement of qualities like intelligence and extraversion, but not agreeableness or morality (32, 60).”

    From The dark side of empathy in narcissistic personality disorder (2023) · cites this paper as [32]

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Authors
Brook, M., & Kosson, D. S.
Affiliations
  • Northwestern University (US)
  • Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science (US)
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Abnormal Psychology
Publisher
American Psychological Association (APA)
Published
2013-02
Volume
122
Issue
1
Pages
156-166
ISSN
  • 0021-843X (ISSN-L)
  • 1939-1846
DOI
10.1037/a0030261
OpenAlex
W2018006915
Cited by
157
References
76
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 20 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 15 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 12
FWCI
12.67
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Journal of Abnormal Psychology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychopathy, Forensic Psychiatry, Sexual Offending
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Deception detection and forensic psychology
Keywords
psychopathy, cognitive empathy, empathic accuracy, emotion recognition, incarcerated offenders, Psychopathy Checklist-Revised, emotional valence, antisocial behavior, task difficulty
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Antisocial Personality Disorder, Cognition, Empathy, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Young Adult, Checklist, Criminals

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