Response perseveration in psychopaths: Interpersonal/affective or social deviance traits?

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Forensic Psychology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Psychopathy is characterized by interpersonal/affective and social deviance.
• Maladaptive response perseveration is a cognitive deficit observed in psychopathy.
• The role of reflection in perseveration deficits requires further clarification.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the specific components of psychopathy contributing to maladaptive response perseveration.
• To examine the influence of reflection following feedback on perseverative behavior.
• To determine if perseveration deficits are specific to psychopathy or indicative of broader psychopathology.

Main Methods:

• Administered a card perseveration task to 47 Spanish male inmates.
• Assessed participants using the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R).
• Employed hierarchical regression analyses to identify predictors of perseveration.

Main Results:

• Social deviance (PCL-R Factor 2), particularly impulsive lifestyle (Facet 3), uniquely predicted maladaptive perseveration.
• Interpersonal/affective features (PCL-R Factor 1) did not predict perseveration.
• Perseveration was associated with reduced reflection after both punishment and reward feedback.

Conclusions:

• Maladaptive response perseveration in psychopathy is primarily linked to social deviance, not interpersonal/affective traits.
• Lack of reflection contributes to perseverative deficits.
• Response perseveration may be a general feature of externalizing psychopathology, not exclusive to psychopathy.