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Psychopathy, attention, and oddball target detection: New insights from PCL‐R facet scores
Author(s) -
Anderson Nathaniel E.,
Steele Vaughn R.,
Maurer J. Michael,
Bernat Edward M.,
Kiehl Kent A.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
psychophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.661
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1469-8986
pISSN - 0048-5772
DOI - 10.1111/psyp.12441
Subject(s) - psychopathy , psychology , facet (psychology) , psychopathy checklist , oddball paradigm , cognition , developmental psychology , audiology , categorization , cognitive psychology , event related potential , antisocial personality disorder , neuroscience , personality , big five personality traits , poison control , social psychology , injury prevention , medicine , philosophy , environmental health , epistemology
Psychopathy is a disorder accompanied by cognitive deficits including abnormalities in attention. Prior studies examining cognitive features of psychopaths using ERPs have produced some inconsistent results. We examined psychopathy‐related differences in ERPs during an auditory oddball task in a sample of incarcerated adult males. We extend previous work by deriving ERPs with principal component analysis (PCA) and relate these to the four facets of Hare's Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL‐R). Features of psychopathy were associated with increased target N1 amplitude (facets 1, 4), decreased target P3 amplitude (facet 1), and reduced slow wave amplitude for frequent standard stimuli (facets 1, 3, 4). We conclude that employing PCA and examining PCL‐R facets improve sensitivity and help clarify previously reported associations. Furthermore, attenuated slow wave during standards may be a novel marker for psychopaths' abnormalities in attention.