Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Psychopathic traits and self-conscious emotions: What is the role of perspective taking ability?

  • Published:
Current Psychology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

While it is well established that individuals with psychopathic traits have a marked deficit in affectivity and empathy, the extent to which empathic perspective taking can play a role in psychopathic traits and self-conscious emotions has yet to be studied in detail. Using a community sample (N = 736), the current study investigated the relationship between psychopathic traits, moral-based emotions, and empathic perspective taking ability, by exploring the effect of perspective taking in moderating the link between psychopathic traits and self-conscious emotions. Results revealed that the three components of psychopathy – self-centered impulsivity, fearless dominance, and coldheartedness – yielded different relations with empathic perspective taking and self-conscious emotions. Moreover, perspective taking ability moderated above all the relationship between psychopathic traits (impulsivity and fearless dominance) and guilt, shame and detachment. Summarising, our findings suggest that if psychopathic traits are related to an overall deficit in self-conscious emotions and perspective taking, then promoting perspective taking ability might lead to an enhancement of pro-social moral self-conscious emotions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Due to a system error in data collection, for half of the sample the response b)of the scenario 6 (guilt) and the response d) of the scenario 14 (beta pride) were missing (see supplementary data).

References

  • Ali, F., & Chamorro-Premuzic, T. (2010). Investigating theory of mind deficits in nonclinical psychopathy and Machiavellianism. Personality and Individual Differences, 49(3), 169–174.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bagozzi, R. P., Sekerka, L. E., & Sguera, F. (2018). Understanding the consequences of pride and shame: How self-evaluations guide moral decision making in business. Journal of Business Research, 84, 271–284.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blair, R. J. R. (1995). A cognitive developmental approach to morality: Investigating the psychopath. Cognition, 57(1), 1–29.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Blair, R. J. R. (2005). Responding to the emotions of others: Dissociating forms of empathy through the study of typical and psychiatric populations. Conscious Cognition, 14, 698–718.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blair, R. J. R. (2007). Empathic dysfunction in psychopathic individuals. In T. F. Farrow & P. W. Woodruff (Eds.), Empathy in mental illness (Vol. 1, pp. 3–16). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

  • Blair, R. J. R., Colledge, E., Murray, L., & Mitchell, D. G. V. (2001). A selective impairment in the processing of sad and fearful expressions in children with psychopathic tendencies. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 29(6), 491–498.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Brook, M., & Kosson, D. S. (2013). Impaired cognitive empathy in criminal psychopathy: Evidence from a laboratory measure of empathic accuracy. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 122(1), 156–166.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cleckley, H. (1982). The mask of sanity (5th ed.). St. Louis: Mosby.

    Google Scholar 

  • Costello, T. H., Unterberger, A., Watts, A. L., & Lilienfeld, S. O. (2018). Psychopathy and pride: Testing Lykken’s hypothesis regarding the implications of fearlessness for prosocial and antisocial behavior. Frontiers in Psychology, 9(185), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, M. H. (1980). A multidimensional approach to individual differences in empathy. JSAS Catalog of Selected Documents in Psychology, 10, 85.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, M. H. (1983). Measuring individual differences in empathy: Evidence for a multidimensional approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 44(1), 113–126.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, M. H. (2018). History and definitions. In M. H. Davis (Ed.), Empathy: A social psychological approach (pp. 1–22). London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Decety, J., Chen, C., Harenski, C., & Kiehl, K. A. (2013). An fMRI study of affective perspective taking in individuals with psychopathy: Imagining another in pain does not evoke empathy. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 7(489), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00489.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drayton, L. A., Santos, L. R., & Baskin-Sommers, A. (2018). Psychopaths fail to automatically take the perspective of others. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(13), 3302–3307.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flight, J. I., & Forth, A. E. (2007). Instrumentally violent youths. The roles of psychopathic traits, empathy, and attachment. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 34(6), 739–751.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frick, P. J., Ray, J. V., Thornton, L. C., & Kahn, R. E. (2014). Can callous-unemotional traits enhance the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of serious conduct problems in children and adolescents? A comprehensive review. Psychological Bulletin, 140(1), 1–57. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0033076.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Giammarco, E. A., & Vernon, P. A. (2014). Vengeance and the dark triad: The role of empathy and perspective taking in trait forgivingness. Personality and Individual Differences, 67, 23–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hare, R. D. (1970). Psychopathy: Theory and research. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hare, R. D. (1991). The psychopathy checklist-revised (PCL-R). North Tonawanda: Multi Health Systems.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hare, R. D., & Neumann, C. S. (2008). Psychopathy as a clinical and empirical construct. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 4, 217–246.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hastings, M. E., Tangney, J. P., & Stuewig, J. (2008). Psychopathy and identification of facial expressions of emotion. Personality and Individual Differences, 44(7), 1474–1483.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, A. F. (2013). An introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. New York: Guilford Press.

  • Holmqvist, R. (2008). Psychopathy and affect consciousness in young criminal offenders. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 23(2), 209–224.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Jonason, P. K., & Krause, L. (2013). The emotional deficits associated with the dark triad traits: Cognitive empathy, affective empathy, and alexithymia. Personality and Individual Differences, 55(5), 532–537.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karem, E., Fishman, N., & Josselson, R. (2001). The experience of empathy in everyday relationships: Cognitive and affective elements. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 18, 709–729.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khanjani, Z., MosanezhadJeddi, E., Hekmati, I., Khalilzade, S., Etemadi Nia, M., Andalib, M., & Ashrafian, P. (2015). Comparison of cognitive empathy, emotional empathy, and social functioning in different age groups. AustralianPsychologist, 50(1), 80–85.

    Google Scholar 

  • La Marca, S., Berto, D., & Rovetto, F. (2008). Traduzione ed adattamento italiano del PPI-R: PsychopathicPersonality inventory revised-PPI-R. Firenze: OS.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lanciano, T., Curci, A., & Basile, P. (2018a). Do psychopathic traits impair autobiographical memory for emotional life experiences? Memory. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658211.2018.1551493.

  • Lanciano, T., Curci, A., Guglielmi, F., Soleti, E., & Grattagliano, I. (2018b). Preliminary data on the role of emotional intelligence in moderating the link between psychopathy and aggression in a non-forensic sample. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 63(3), 906–910. https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.13612.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, H. B. (1971). Shame and guilt in neurosis. New York: International Universities Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lilienfeld, S. O., & Andrews, B. P. (1996). Development and preliminary validation of a self-report measure of psychopathic personality traits in noncriminal population. Journal of Personality Assessment, 66(3), 488–524. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa6603_3.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lilienfeld, S. O., & Widows, M. R. (2005). Psychopathic personality inventory-revised: Professional manual. Lutz, Florida: Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lockwood, P. L., Seara-Cardoso, A., & Viding, E. (2014). Emotion regulation moderates the association between empathy and prosocialbehavior. PLoS One, 9(5), e96555 1–6.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Lykken, D. T. (1995). The antisocial personalities. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morrison, D., & Gilbert, P. (2001). Social rank, shame and anger in primary and secondary psychopaths. Journal of Forensic Psychiatry, 12, 330–356.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mullins-Nelson, J. L., Salekin, R. T., & Leistico, A.-M. R. (2006). Psychopathy, empathy, and perspective-taking ability in a community sample: Implications for the successful psychopathy concept. International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 5, 133–149. https://doi.org/10.1080/14999013.2006.10471238.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nathanson, D. L. (1994). Shame and pride: Affect, sex, and the birth of the self. New York: W.W. Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Niedenthal, P. M., Tangney, J. P., & Gavanski, I. (1994). "If only I weren't" versus" If only I hadn't": Distinguishing shame and guilt in conterfactual thinking. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67(4), 585–595.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Niedenthal, P., Krauth-Gruber, S., & Ric, F. (2006). Self-conscious emotions. In P. Niedenthal, S. Krauth-Gruber, & F. Ric (Eds.), Psychology of emotion: Interpersonal, experiential, and cognitive approaches (pp. 77–114). New York: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nyström, M. B. T., & Mikkelsen, F. (2013). Psychopathy-related personality traits and shame management strategies in adolescents. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 28, 519–537.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pajevic, M., Vukosavljevic-Gvozden, T., Stevanovic, N., & Neumann, C. S. (2018). The relationship between the dark tetrad and a two-dimensional view of empathy. Personality and Individual Differences, 123, 125–130.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prado, C. E., Treeby, M. S., Rice, S. M., & Crowe, S. F. (2017). Facial emotion recognition, guilt and sub-clinical psychopathic traits: An exploration of mediation effects. Motivation and Emotion, 41(5), 636–645.

    Google Scholar 

  • Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2008). Asymptotic and resampling strategies for assessing and comparing indirect effects in multiple mediator models. Behavior Research Methods, 40(3), 879–891.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Queirós, A., Fernandes, E., Reniers, R., Sampaio, A., Coutinho, J., & Seara-Cardoso, A. (2018). Psychometric properties of the questionnaire of cognitive and affective empathy in a Portuguese sample. PLoS One, 13(6), e0197755 1–14.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Robins, R. W., Noftle, E. E., & Tracy, J. L. (2007). Assessing self-conscious emotions. A review of self-report and nonverbal measures. In J. L. Tracy, R. W. Robins, & J. P. Tangney (Eds.), The self-conscious emotions: Theory and research (pp. 443–467). New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saltaris, C. (2002). Psychopathy in juvenile offenders: Can temperament and attachment be considered as robust developmental precursors? Clinical Psychology Review, 22(5), 729–752.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schimmenti, A., Jonason, P. K., Passanisi, A., La Marca, L., Di Dio, N., & Gervasi, A. M. (2017). Exploring the dark side of personality: Emotional awareness, empathy, and the dark triad traits in an Italian sample. Current Psychology, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-017-9588.

  • Silfver, M., Helkama, K., Lönnqvist, J. E., & Verkasalo, M. (2008). The relation between value priorities and proneness to guilt, shame, and empathy. Motivation and Emotion, 32(2), 69–80.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steuerwald, B. L., & Kosson, D. S. (2000). Emotional experiences of the psychopath. In C. B. Gacono (Ed.), The LEA series in personality and clinical psychology. The clinical and forensic assessment of psychopathy: A practitioner's guide (pp. 111–135). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tangney, J. P. (1991). Moral affect: The good, the bad, and the ugly. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61(4), 598–607.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tangney, J. P. (1993). Shame and guilt. In C. G. Costello (Ed.), Symptoms of depression (pp. 161–180). Oxford: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tangney, J. P., & Dearing, R. L. (2002). Emotions and social behavior. Shame and guilt. New York: Guilford Press.

  • Tangney, J. P., Wagner, P. E., & Gramzow, R. (1989). Test of self-conscious affect. Fairfax: George Mason University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tangney, J. P., Dearing, R., Wagner, P. E., & Gramzow, R. (2000). The test of self-conscious affect – 3 (TOSCA-3). Fairfax: George Mason University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tangney, J. P., Stuewig, J., Mashek, D., & Hastings, M. (2011). Assessing jail inmates’ proneness to shame and guilt: Feeling bad about the behavior or the self? Criminal Justice and Behavior, 38, 710–734. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093854811405762.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, D. F., Ramos, C. L., & Willett, J. K. (2014). Psychopathy: Clinical features, developmental basis and therapeutic challenges. Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics, 39, 485–495.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tracy, J. L., & Robins, R. W. (2007). The self in self-conscious emotions: A cognitive appraisal approach. In J. L. Tracy, R. W. Robins, & J. P. Tangney (Eds.), The self-conscious emotions: Theory and research (pp. 3–20). New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wai, M., & Tiliopoulos, N. (2012). The affective and cognitive empathic nature of the dark triad of personality. Personality and Individual Differences, 52, 794–799.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker, B. R., & Jackson, C. J. (2017). Moral emotions and corporate psychopathy: A review. Journal of Business Ethics, 141(4), 797–810.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williams, K. M., & Paulhus, D. L. (2004). Factor structure of the self-report psychopathy scale (SRP-II) in non-forensic samples. Personality and Individual Differences, 37, 765–778. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2003.11.004.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the help of Gino Martorelli and ipralab for their collaboration in collecting the data.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Education, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via Crisanzio, 42, 70121, Bari, Italy

    Tiziana Lanciano & Antonietta Curci

Authors
  1. Tiziana Lanciano
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Antonietta Curci
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tiziana Lanciano.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

Tiziana Lanciano declares that she has no conflict of interest. Antonietta Curci declares that she has no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Electronic supplementary material

ESM 1

(XLS 1.11 MB)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Lanciano, T., Curci, A. Psychopathic traits and self-conscious emotions: What is the role of perspective taking ability?. Curr Psychol 40, 2309–2317 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-0162-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-0162-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation