Fast & furious: Rejecting the hypothesis that secondary psychopathy improves reaction time-based concealed...

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Forensic Psychology
• Cognitive Neuroscience

Background:

• Deception detection is challenging; memory detection via Reaction-Time based Concealed Information Test (RT-CIT) offers an alternative.
• RT-CIT relies on response conflict and inhibition, potentially impacted by traits like psychopathy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the relationship between secondary psychopathy and the RT-CIT effect.
• To determine if psychopathic traits influence the accuracy and validity of the RT-CIT.

Main Methods:

• A novel RT-CIT paradigm with no-go trials was used to assess response inhibition.
• Participants (n=86, student sample) completed the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy (LSRP) scale and Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11).

Main Results:

• The RT-CIT paradigm demonstrated high detection efficiency.
• No significant correlation was found between the RT-CIT effect and secondary psychopathic traits (BF01 = 6.98).

Conclusions:

• Secondary psychopathic traits neither enhance nor impair the validity of the RT-CIT.
• The findings support the robustness of the RT-CIT paradigm for concealed information detection across different individual differences.