Psychology News
A team of researchers at the University of Tulsa explored the link between psychopathy and emotional awareness. The study is published in PLOS ONE.
The Study
The researchers recruited 177 undergraduate students and conducted several surveys and experiments. In one of the studies, the participants were asked to emotionally describe 10 scenarios involving two people.
In another, they were asked to complete the Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale and the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure. They also completed assessments of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).
The Findings
The results revealed that people with psychopathic tendencies have reduced emotional awareness. It was even found that this negative relationship is particularly stronger in people with a history of childhood abuse and neglect.
The authors elaborated: “The main takeaway is that there is more than one type of psychopathic individual. Some individuals with psychopathic personalities appear to develop these traits in childhood due to early trauma, such as abuse and neglect … In our study, greater psychopathic tendencies in these individuals were linked to lower emotional awareness. These individuals also tended to show the more impulsive, non-reflective components of psychopathy.”
To Know More You May Refer To
Smith, R., Chuning, A. E., Tidwell, C. A., Allen, J. J. B., & Lane, R. D. (2022). Psychopathic tendencies are selectively associated with reduced emotional awareness in the context of early adversity. PloS one, 17(12), e0277475. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0277475
