Impaired decision-making on the basis of both reward and punishment information in individuals with psychopathy

K. S. Blair, J. Morton, A. Leonard, R. J.R. Blair

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

54 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this study, we examined decision-making to rewarding or punishing stimuli in individuals with psychopathy (n = 21) and comparison individuals (n = 19) using the Differential Reward/Punishment Learning Task. In this task, the participant chooses between two objects associated with different levels of reward or punishment. Thus, response choice indexes not only reward/punishment sensitivity but also sensitivity to reward/punishment level according to inter-stimulus reinforcement distance. Individuals with psychopathy showed significant impairment when choosing between objects associated with differential levels of reward but also significantly greater impairment when choosing between objects associated with differential levels of punishment. However, the two groups were comparably affected by inter-stimulus reinforcement distance. The results are discussed with reference to current models of psychopathy.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)155-165
Number of pages11
JournalPersonality and Individual Differences
Volume41
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2006
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Decision-making
  • Psychopathy
  • Punishment
  • Reward

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Psychology(all)

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Impaired decision-making on the basis of both reward and punishment information in individuals with psychopathy'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this