Psych 526 exam one studies

Vitale women study in Taycheedah female facility.

• Found an average psychopathy score of 19 in this sample

pairing high psychopathy with schizophrenic patients in a mentoring approach.

This was not good, and high psychopathy individuals did get worse

•  used 561 families that had a history of severe antisocial behavior in biological mothers

• The amount of positive reinforcement used by adoptive parents on children with biologically callous mothers by 18 months (age of child) predicted child callous/unemotional behaviors 

• Therefore, severe maternal antisocial behavior increases risk for early unemotional behaviors in offspring via genetic pathways, but positive reinforcement from adoptive mothers buffers against this heritable risk

Affective perspective taking study

Psychopathy is related to deficits in affective empathy and cognitive empathy

• Psychopathy was found to be related to reduced fear perspective taking activity in the left anterior insula and the precuneus 

striatum

• associated with reward sensitivity and sensation seeking 

• So heightened activity means increase in these  activities, uniquely related to impulsive and antisocial traits