A cognitive developmental approach to mortality: investigating the psychopath

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology

Background:

• Social animals inhibit aggression when submission cues are displayed.
• Blair (1993) proposed a similar human mechanism suppressing aggression due to distress cues.
• This mechanism is hypothesized as essential for developing the moral/conventional distinction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if psychopaths lack the aggression-inhibiting mechanism.
• To test if this deficit explains psychopathic behavioral symptoms.
• To determine if psychopaths fail to differentiate moral and conventional transgressions.

Main Methods:

• Development of a causal model linking the lack of the aggression inhibitor to psychopathic traits.
• Empirical testing of the model's prediction regarding moral/conventional distinction in psychopaths.

Main Results:

• The causal model successfully explained core psychopathic behavioral symptoms.
• Psychopaths demonstrated a failure to make the moral/conventional distinction as predicted.
• Findings support the proposed role of the aggression-inhibiting mechanism in moral development.

Conclusions:

• The study provides evidence for a violence-inhibiting mechanism crucial for moral judgment.
• A deficit in this mechanism may underlie psychopathy.
• The findings have implications for understanding the development of morality and psychopathic disorders.