Cognitive Control Difficulties Differentiate Callous-Unemotional Traits from Conduct Problems: A Pre-Registered...

Cognition's role in youth antisocial phenotypes, particularly callous-unemotional (CU) traits (e.g., lack of remorse, guilt, and empathy) and conduct problems (CP; e.g., disruptive and aggressive behaviors), remains debated. Recent findings suggest the need to distinguish inhibitory processes, as selective control (inhibiting a prepotent response for an alternative) rather than passive control (non-response action restraint) has been linked, independent of CP, to affective deficits in CU traits. However, it is not known whether CU traits relate to a general difficulty with cognitive demands or a specific impairment in selective control. The present study tested whether CU traits were differentially related to passive versus selective control, accounting for CP. Using a randomized parallel-arm trial with test and control groups, data from 85 participants (aged 12-14, 47% female) were analyzed with mixed effects models to account for individual variance. Results indicated that CU traits were associated with better passive control but worse selective control, while CP showed no significant effects when CU traits were included. This pattern was consistent across accuracy, reaction times, and contrasts between trial types (e.g., selective > passive). Further analyses suggested that CU traits were linked to a rigid cognitive style specifically during selective control trials. These findings highlight a selective control deficit unique to CU traits, distinguishing them from CP. Moreover, evidence of a rigid cognitive strategy aligns with research on adult psychopathy, suggesting potential difficulties with cognitive resource allocation. Thus, selective control may be an important feature for understanding antisocial etiological pathways.