Comparing the response modulation hypothesis and the integrated emotions system theory: The role of top-down attention in psychopathy

Jaap Munneke*, Sylco S. Hoppenbrouwers, Bethany Little, Karen Kooiman, Erik van der Burg, Jan Theeuwes

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

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Abstract

Objective Two major etiological theories on psychopathy propose different mechanisms as to how emotional facial expressions are processed by individuals with elevated psychopathic traits. The Response Modulation Hypothesis (RMH) proposes that psychopathic individuals show emotional deficits as a consequence of attentional deployment, suggesting that emotional deficits are situation-specific. The Integrated Emotions System theory (IES) suggests that psychopathic individuals have a fundamental amygdala dysfunction which precludes adequate responsiveness to the distress of others. Methods Participants performed a visual search task in which they had to find a male target face among two female distractor faces. Top-down attentional set was manipulated by having participants either respond to the face's orientation, or its emotional expression. Results When emotion was task-relevant, the low-scoring psychopathy group showed attentional capture by happy and fearful distractor faces, whereas the elevated group showed capture by fearful, but not happy distractor faces. Conclusion This study provides evidence for the RMH such that top-down attention influences the way emotional faces attract attention in individuals with elevated psychopathic traits. However, the different response patterns for happy and fearful faces suggest that top-down attention may not determine the processing of all types of emotional facial expressions in psychopathy.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)134-139
Number of pages6
JournalPersonality and Individual Differences
Volume122
Early online date5 Nov 2017
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Feb 2018

Funding

The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Preparation of this manuscript was supported by an ERC advanced grant [ ERC-2012-AdG – 323413 Jan Theeuwes] and a TUBITAK-BIDEB visiting scientist grant [ 2221 – J. Munneke].

FundersFunder number
TUBITAK-BIDEB

    Keywords

    • Attention
    • Emotional capture
    • Fear
    • Psychopathy
    • Response modulation

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