TY - JOUR
T1 - A selective impairment in the processing of sad and fearful expressions in children with psychopathic tendencies
AU - Blair, R. J.R.
AU - Colledge, E.
AU - Murray, L.
AU - Mitchell, D. G.V.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by a Medical Research Council grant [ref. G9716841] and the Department of Health (VISPED initiative). The authors thank the staff and students at the Batchwood, Boxmoor, Larwood, and Rushden Schools.
PY - 2001
Y1 - 2001
N2 - The processing of emotional expressions is fundamental for normal socialisation and interaction. Reduced responsiveness to the expressions of sadness and fear has been implicated in the development of psychopathy (R. J. R. Blair, 1995). The current study investigates the sensitivity of children with psychopathic tendencies to facial expressions. Children with psychopathic tendencies and a comparison group, as defined by the Psychopathy Screening Device (PSD; P. J. Frick & R. D. Hare, in press), were presented with a cinematic display of a standardised set of facial expressions that depicted sadness, happiness, anger, disgust, fear, and surprise. Participants observed as these facial expressions slowly evolved through 20 successive frames of increasing intensity. The children with psychopathic tendencies presented with selective impairments; they needed significantly more stages before they could successfully recognise the sad expressions and even when the fearful expressions were at full intensity were significantly more likely to mistake them for another expression. These results are interpreted with reference to an amygdala and empathy impairment explanation of psychopathy.
AB - The processing of emotional expressions is fundamental for normal socialisation and interaction. Reduced responsiveness to the expressions of sadness and fear has been implicated in the development of psychopathy (R. J. R. Blair, 1995). The current study investigates the sensitivity of children with psychopathic tendencies to facial expressions. Children with psychopathic tendencies and a comparison group, as defined by the Psychopathy Screening Device (PSD; P. J. Frick & R. D. Hare, in press), were presented with a cinematic display of a standardised set of facial expressions that depicted sadness, happiness, anger, disgust, fear, and surprise. Participants observed as these facial expressions slowly evolved through 20 successive frames of increasing intensity. The children with psychopathic tendencies presented with selective impairments; they needed significantly more stages before they could successfully recognise the sad expressions and even when the fearful expressions were at full intensity were significantly more likely to mistake them for another expression. These results are interpreted with reference to an amygdala and empathy impairment explanation of psychopathy.
KW - Amygdala
KW - Psychopathic tendencies
KW - Psychopathy
KW - Violence inhibition mechanism
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0035656261&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0035656261&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1023/A:1012225108281
DO - 10.1023/A:1012225108281
M3 - Article
C2 - 11761283
AN - SCOPUS:0035656261
SN - 0091-0627
VL - 29
SP - 491
EP - 498
JO - Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology
JF - Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology
IS - 6
ER -