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Early temperamental and psychophysiological precursors of adult psychopathic personality

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Early temperamental and psychophysiological precursors of adult psychopathic personality

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Content EARLY TEMPERAMENTAL AND PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL
PRECURSORS OF ADULT PSYCHOPATHIC PERSONALITY

by
Andrea L. Glenn

A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF ARTS
(PSYCHOLOGY)

August 2007

Copyright 2007 Andrea L. Glenn

ii
Table of Contents
List of Tables iii
List of Figures iv
Abstract v
Introduction 1
Methods 4
Results 12
Discussion 18
References 29

iii
List of Tables
Table 1: T-test Comparisons between Higher- and Lower-Scoring 13
Psychopathy Groups for Temperament and Psychophysiology
Measures

Table 2: Correlations between SRP-II scores and Measures of 17
Temperament and Psychophysiology

Table 3: Group Differences on Temperament and Psychophysiological 19
Variables after Controlling for Demographic and Cognitive
Factors

Table 4: Test of whether Temperament and Psychophysiological 19
Variables Predict Group Membership

iv
List of Figures
Figure 1: Mean z-scores for measures of fearfulness, stimulation- 14
seeking / sociability, and inhibition at age 3 for the higher-
scoring (n=53) and lower-scoring (n=53) psychopathy groups
at age 28.

Figure 2: Age 3 mean amplitudes to the six orienting stimuli for the 16
higher-scoring (n=53) and lower-scoring (n=53) psychopathy
groups at age 28.

v
Abstract

Emerging research on psychopathy in youth raises the question of whether
indicators exist very early in life in those with a psychopathic-like personality in
adulthood. This study tests the hypothesis that individuals who are more
psychopathic in adulthood would be less fearful and inhibited, and more
stimulation seeking at age 3, and would also show reduced age 3 skin
conductance responsivity. In a sample of 335 3-year olds, behavioral measures of
temperament were taken and electrodermal activity recorded in response to both
orienting and aversive tones. Hare’s Self-Report Psychopathy scale (SRP-II) was
administered at follow-up at age 28. Individuals scoring higher on the measure
were significantly less fearful and inhibited, more sociable, and displayed longer
SC half-recovery times to aversive stimuli compared to controls at age 3.
Contrary to predictions, they also showed increased autonomic arousal and skin
conductance orienting. Findings appear to be the first to suggest that a
prospective link may exist between temperament and psychophysiology in very
young children, and psychopathic personality in adulthood.
1
Introduction
Despite decades of research on adult psychopathy, very little is known about the
early antecedents of this disorder. Recent research has begun to identify
psychopathic personality in children and adolescents (Frick, O'Brien, Wooton, &
McBurnett, 1994; Lynam, 1997), raising the question of whether precursors to
psychopathy may exist very early in life. Adult psychopaths have been hypothesized
as having unique temperaments and psychophysiological characteristics (Frick, 1998;
Hare, 1978). A gap in the psychopathy literature is the lack of prospective,
longitudinal studies examining early childhood factors in individuals who later
demonstrate psychopathic personality in adulthood.
The personality of adult psychopaths is characterized by a lack of fear and
inhibition, and a tendency toward stimulation seeking (Hare, 1998). However, there
are multiple ways in which these characteristics may develop. One possibility is that
a psychopathic way of life leads to the disinhibition, stimulation-seeking / sociability,
and lack of fear observed in adult psychopaths. For example, after experiencing
trauma or continuous psychosocial hardship in adolescence and early adulthood,
these individuals might be less responsive to laboratory stressors. Another possibility
is that individuals characterized as psychopaths in adulthood possess qualities of
disinhibition, stimulation-seeking / sociability, and lack of fear very early in their
lives (and prior to the onset of their antisocial lifestyle) and are thus predisposed to a
psychopathic personality at a young age. A longitudinal study, examining the role of
early temperament on prospective adult psychopathic personality would be necessary
to help clarify whether these risk factors precede adult psychopathic personality. In
2
addition to this hypothesized temperamental style, adult psychopaths have also been
characterized by lower psychophysiological arousal and hyporesponsivity to stimuli.
An extensive meta-analysis by Lorber (2004) found psychopaths to have lower levels
of electrodermal activity at rest. Psychopathy has also been associated with reduced
skin conductance (SC) orienting, reflecting reduced allocation of attentional
resources to external stimuli (Dawson et al., 2000). Both Hare (1968) and Blackburn
(1979) have found reduced responding to orienting stimuli in psychopaths; however,
some studies have failed to replicate this finding (Aniskiewicz, 1979; Raine &
Venables, 1988). It remains unknown whether reduced arousal and orienting in adult
psychopaths is a characteristic developed in adolescence or adulthood, or whether it
may be present and influential in the first few years of life.
Longer SC half-recovery time is another psychophysiological characteristic that
has been associated with psychopathy. Mednick (1977) cited three studies prior to
1977 which suggested longer recovery time in antisocial individuals. One review of
studies conducted since 1977 reported seven studies finding significantly longer SC
half-recovery times in both psychopaths and antisocial individuals, and one failing to
find a significant association (Raine, 1993). Additionally, shorter SC half-recovery
time has been identified as a possible protective factor, as antisocial adolescents who
desisted from adult crime were found to have shorter SC half-recovery times than
both life-course persistent criminals and controls (Raine et al., 1996). Long SC
half-recovery time has been interpreted by Venables (1975) as representing a closed
stance to environmental stimuli, which would include cues of future punishment.
Despite many studies in the adult literature, longer SC half-recovery time does not
3
appear to have been examined as a potential developmental precursor of adult
psychopathy.
In attempts to gain a developmental perspective, recent research has begun to
examine whether the same mechanisms that underlie adult psychopathy may also be
present in children and adolescents with psychopathic-like characteristics. Children
with callous and unemotional traits similar to those seen in primary psychopaths
have been found to demonstrate fearlessness (Frick et al., 1999) and a lack of
behavioral inhibition (Frick et al., 2003). Several studies have found that juveniles
with psychopathic traits demonstrate similar deficits observed in adult psychopaths
including reduced responding to distressing stimuli (Kimonis et al., 2006), difficulty
recognizing sadness and fear (Blair et al., 2001), slower reaction times to negative
words (Loney et al., 2003) and deficits in moral and emotional processing (Blair,
1997). In preschool-aged children, Fowles, Kochanska, & Murray (2000) showed
that those characterized by fearless and uninhibited temperaments had reduced skin
conductance responsivity. To our knowledge, only two studies thus far have
examined the psychophysiological characteristics of specific psychopathic
characteristics in juveniles. Blair (1999) found that 13 year-olds with psychopathic
tendencies showed less skin conductance responding to distress cues and threatening
stimuli. Moreover, Fung et al. (2005) found that 16 year-olds scoring high on the
Child Psychopathy Scale (Lynam, 1997) showed reduced anticipatory skin
conductance responding to white noise bursts. These studies suggest that
psychophysiological differences may be linked to psychopathy in adolescents as well
as adults, but no studies appear to have
4
examined the psychophysiological characteristics of children who later develop a
psychopathic personality.
The present longitudinal study involves a community sample in which
psychophysiology and temperament are first measured at the relatively early age of
three years, and psychopathic personality assessed 25 years later at age 28 years. It
would be predicted that individuals who score higher in psychopathy in adulthood
would be characterized as less fearful and inhibited, but higher on
stimulation-seeking / sociability in early childhood. Furthermore, based on
long-standing theoretical perspectives, these individuals would be predicted to have
lower autonomic arousal, reduced orienting responses, reduced responding to
aversive stimuli, and longer SC half-recovery time. If reduced psychophysiological
activity similar to that found in adolescents and adults can be identified in early
childhood, they would advance our understanding of the early developmental
processes that predispose to adult psychopathy. Conversely, it is possible that the
very early correlates of psychopathy are different to the pattern of findings observed
later in life in adolescent and adult psychopaths, suggesting that our current
understanding of the etiology of adult psychopathy might require some revision.
Method
Participants
The larger population from which the subjects were drawn consisted of 1,795
children from the island of Mauritius (a country lying in the Indian Ocean between
Africa and India). All children born in 1969 in the two towns of Vacoas and Quatre
5
Bornes were recruited into the study when aged 3 years between September 1972
and August 1973. The two towns were chosen to be representative of the ethnic
distribution of the island. Informed consent was obtained from the mothers at age 3
and from the subjects at age 28.
From this birth cohort, a sample of 335 subjects completed a self-report measure
of psychopathic personality at the age of 28. To assess the unbiased selection of this
group, comparisons of the means of those tested and those not tested were conducted
on measures of temperament (inhibition, t = -.761, p = .447, d = -.0228, fearfulness, t
= -.649, p = .517, d = -.0401, stimulation seeking / sociability, t = .375, p = .708, d
= .0226), psychophysiology (non-specific SCRs, t = -1.789, p = .074, d = -.113, heart
rate, t = .479, p = .501, d = .0354, SC level left, t = -.891, p = .374, d = -.000271, SC
level right, t = -.043, p =.966, d = -.0555, average orienting amplitude, t = .112, p
= .911, d =.00652, average SC half-recovery time, t = .909, p = .087, d =.138,
average amplitude to aversive stimuli, t = -.837, p = .300, d = .0466), socioeconomic
status at age 3, t = -2.267, p = .023, d = -.147, social adversity at age 3, t = 1.901, p
= .057, d =.116, and IQ at age 3. Only socioeconomic status was found to be
significantly different (higher in the untested group than the tested group). This
variable was consequently entered as a covariate to determine whether it influenced
results. Details of the social adversity and IQ measures are found in Raine, Reynolds,
Venables, & Mednick (2002).
Comparisons of gender and ethnicity revealed that the sample consisted of more
males (60.6%) than females (39.4%), and consequently gender was included as a
moderator in all analyses. Ethnic distribution was as follows: Indian 68.7%, Creole
6
(African origin) 25.7%, and others (Chinese, English, French, and ethnically
unidentified) 5.1%. Census data for the island as a whole indicated 66% Indian, 29%
Creole, and 5% other, indicating that the study achieved its goal of sampling an
ethnically representative population.
Age 28 Psychopathy Scale
Hare’s (1985) Self-Report Psychopathy scale (SRP-II), administered at age 28,
is a 60-item self-report version of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; Hare,
2003). The SRP-II has the advantage of a close theoretical association with the
PCL-R and is designed to assess the same constructs. In a sample of 100 prison
inmates, Hare (1991) found the SRP-II and the PCL-R correlate .54. Furthermore, it
has been shown to be a valid measure of psychopathy in non-forensic, non-clinical
populations (K. M. Williams & Paulhus, 2004). In a sample of 289 undergraduates,
Williams and Pauhus (2004) found the SRP-II to correlate .77 with the Psychopathic
Personality Inventory (PPI; Lilienfeld & Andrews, 1996), another well-validated
self-report measure of psychopathy. Lilienfeld and Andrews (1996) found a .91
correlation between the PPI and the SRP-II. Zagon and Jackson (1994) found the
SRP-II to correlate positively with narcissism, impulsivity and dishonesty, and
negatively with anxiety and empathy. Williams and Paulhus (2004) reported that the
SRP-II correlates with narcissism and Machiavellianism, and that it captures the
interpersonally dark nature of psychopaths. They also showed that the SRP-II
correlates with delinquency even in non-forensic samples such as undergraduates.
Lilienfeld (1999) also showed that the SRP-II is significantly correlated with the
MMPI-2 psychopathy deviate subscales. Salekin (2001) also showed that the SRP-II
7
has a high discriminant validity from other personality disorders. Based on this
research, the SRP-II appears to be comparable to other self-report measures of
psychopathy.
Each item on the SRP-II is scored from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly
agree). High-scoring (n=56) and low-scoring (n=56) psychopathy groups were
created using a cutoff of 1 SD above and below the mean on the Self-Report
Psychopathy Scale. The mean and standard deviation of each group is as follows:
High (M = 244.65, sd = 10.68), Low (M= 173.61, sd = 8.87). The mean for all 335
individuals was 207.62, sd = 23.71. To provide a reference for the scores, the mean
SRP-II scores for a group of community psychopaths from the United States as
defined by the PCL-R was 223.2, sd = 27.9 (Raine, 2006), which is lower than the
mean for the high-scoring group in this study. The community psychopath grouping
has been used in several previously published studies (Ishikawa et al., 2001; Raine et
al., 2004; Raine et al., 2003). In the present study, the high-scoring group was 68.5%
male and 31.5% female. The low-scoring group was 46.4% male and 53.6% female.
Coefficient L for the SRP-II was .85.
Temperament Measures
Inhibited/disinhibited temperament at age 3. A measure of general
inhibited/disinhibited temperament was developed on this population by Scarpa,
Raine, Venables, and Mednick (1995) and uses ratings based on the criteria described
by Kagan and colleagues (Kagan et al., 1984). Briefly, ratings of the child's behavior
in the laboratory were made by a trained research assistant before and during
psychophysiological testing on crying behavior (1 = no crying to 5 = cries
8
uncontrollably) and sociability (1 = friendly, 2 = unresponsive), and by a trained
psychologist before and during cognitive testing on crying (1 = no crying to 5 = cries
uncontrollably), approach-avoidance (1 = independent exploration to 5 = clings to
mother), verbalizations (1 = many spontaneous comments to 4 = extremely reluctant
to speak), ease of relationship with tester (1 = immediately friendly to 4 = fearful),
and social involvement with other children (1 = cooperative play and exchanges to 5
= solitary, away from others). All variables were scored in the direction of higher
scores reflecting more inhibited behavior. An inhibition score was calculated by
averaging the standard scores (i.e., z-scores) for these variables, which were chosen
to reflect the measures of inhibition used by Kagan, Reznick, Clarke, Snidman, and
Garcia-Coll (1984). Complete data at this age were available for 1,793 subjects.
Item-total correlations ranged from 0.19 to 0.61 (mean = 0.43). Coefficient L for the
scale was .72 (Scarpa et al., 1995). Only one rater was used to observe the behaviors
of the children at age 3, so inter-rater reliability was unable to be assessed. The rater,
however, was naïve with respect to any other variables assessed and to the research
hypotheses, and thus provided an unbiased report of the behaviors.
Stimulation-seeking / sociability and fearfulness / reactivity at age 3. Two
relatively independent factors have been shown to underlie a collection of 8
measures taken from the 3-year-old assessment battery, i.e. stimulation-seeking /
sociability, and fearfulness / reactivity (see Raine, Reynolds, Venables, Mednick, &
Farrington, 1998, for full psychometric details of these two measures). Briefly, four
putative indices of stimulation-seeking / sociability were taken at age 3 years as
follows: (1) The child's exploration away from the mother toward new toys was
9
assessed in a laboratory room by a research assistant. Exploratory behavior was rated
on a 4-point scale as follows: 1 = passive, clings to mother, withdrawn; 2 = shows
interest, examines toys but stays close to mother; 3 = leaves mother, mild
independent exploration, comes and goes to mother; 4 = active independent
exploration. This behavior was rated on 4 occasions during the entire testing session
(soon after arrival, before psychophysiological testing, between tests, after
completion of tests). Scores for the 4 ratings were summed to obtain an overall index
of exploration. (2) Extent of verbalizations to the research assistant during cognitive
testing was rated on a 4-point scale (1 = very reluctant to speak; 4 = many
spontaneous comments). (3) Friendliness with the research assistant during cognitive
testing was rated on a 4-point scale (1 = fearful; 4 = immediately friendly). (4)
Active social play with other children during free play in a sandbox was rated by a
research assistant on a 5-point scale (1 = solitary; 3 = associates with others; 5 =
cooperative relationship with role reciprocity). These four items intercorrelated from
0.25 to 0.68 (mean = 0.43). Item-total correlations for this scale ranged from 0.48 to
0.59 (mean = 0.53). Coefficient L for the scale was .75 (Raine et al., 1998).
Four putative indicators of fearfulness / reactivity were assessed by a research
assistant during psychophysiological testing at age 3 years as follow: (1) crying
behavior was assessed on a 5-point scale (1 = no crying; 5 = uncontrollable crying),
(2) the child's fearful reaction was rated on a 4-point scale (1 = interested; 4 = very
frightened), (3) unresponsiveness to the experimenter was rated on a 2-point scale
(unresponsive versus friendly), (4) tremor (shaking with fear) was rated on a 4-point
scale (1 = little activity; 4 = tremor). These four items intercorrelated from 0.48 to
10
0.72 (mean = 0.56). Item-total correlations ranged from 0.57 to 0.76 (mean = 0.68).
Coefficient L for the scale was .84 (Raine et al., 1998). Scores for stimulation
seeking / sociability and fearfulness / reactivity were calculated by averaging the
standard scores (z-scores) for the respective variables.
Confirmatory factor analysis using LISREL 8 (Joreskog & Sorbom, 1993)
established that stimulation-seeking / sociability and fearfulness / reactivity
constitute relatively independent temperamental factors (see Raine et al., 1998, for
full details). The two factors intercorrelated at a level of 0.04, and thus were largely
orthogonal. Virtually identical findings were obtained for boys and girls and for
Indians and Creoles (Raine et al., 1998).
Autonomic Measures
Resting levels at age 3. The electrocardiogram (ECG) was recorded using
Beckman silver/silver chloride electrodes and Cambridge electrode gel. A Standard
Lead I recording configuration was used, with ECG amplified using a Grass type 79
polygraph and a 7P5 preamplifier. Resting heart rate was recorded during a 1-minute
rest period preceding the orienting paradigm (described in detail by Venables, 1978).
Interbeat intervals were measured for the first artifact-free 10 beats in the rest period,
and heart rate in beats per minute was calculated from the average of these 10
interbeat intervals.
Initial skin conductance levels and number of nonspecific skin conductance
responses were measured for one minute prior to the onset of the first orienting tone
(see below). SC was recorded from bipolar leads on the medial phalanges of the first
and second fingers of the left hand using a constant voltage system (Venables &
11
Christie, 1973). Beckman miniature Ag/AgCl type (4 mm in diameter) electrodes
were filled with 0.5% KCl in 2% agar–agar as the electrolyte. The number of
non-specific SC responses > 0.05 µS occurring during the one-minute rest was taken
as an indicator of electrodermal arousal.
Responsivity to orienting and aversive stimuli. Full details of skin conductance
measures and stimuli are given in Venables (1978). Subjects were presented with
orienting stimuli consisting of six neutral pure tones of 75-dB intensity and
one-second in duration followed by six aversive stimuli of 90-dB intensity and
4.5-seconds in duration. The stimuli were presented to the subject binaurally through
headphones while the child was positioned on the mother’s lap. The amplitude and
SC half-recovery time of each response was recorded. Average SC half-recovery
time to aversive stimuli was computed based on the averaged SC half-recovery times
to the stimuli on which the subject gave a skin conductance response. SC
half-recovery time to orienting stimuli could not be calculated due to the more
substantial number of subjects failing to give orienting responses from which SC
half-recovery could be calculated (Venables, 1978). Inter-stimulus intervals ranged
from 30 to 45 seconds and all stimuli were of one second duration. Responses >0.05
µS occurring within a 1–3-second post-stimulus window were scored.
Statistical Analyses
T-test comparisons were two-tailed in all cases. Effect sizes reported are Cohen’s
d (Cohen, 1988). Effect sizes of 0.20 are deemed as “small,” 0.50 as “medium,” and
0.80 as “large” (Cohen, 1988). A 2 (higher/lower psychopathy group) x 6 (stimulus)
repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance was used to test the group by
12
stimulus interaction for orienting and aversive stimuli. Partial eta squared is the
effect size used in analysis of variance tests and describes the proportion of variance
accounted for. The ability of measures

to independently predict group membership
was assessed using logistic regression

and the Wald S
2
statistic with a classification
cutoff of

0.5, and with the Nagelkerke statistic used for variance estimation.

Temperament and autonomic variables were entered using a stepwise

forward
procedure (Wald S
2
) with an entry probability of .05

and a removal probability of .10.
The relationship between measures of temperament and psychophysiology for
the full sample of 1,795 subjects at age 3 has been published previously (Scarpa et al.,
1997). While some measures correlate to a limited extent, they also may make
independent contributions to psychopathy and thus are evaluated and discussed
independently.

Results
Temperament
Means and standard deviations of temperament and psychophysiology measures
are listed in Table 1. Those scoring higher on the psychopathy measure relative to
those scoring lower on the measure at age 28 were less inhibited at age 3, t = -2.424,
df =109, p =.017, d =.46 (see Figure 1).

13
Table 1
T-test Comparisons between Higher- and Lower-Scoring Psychopathy Groups for Temperament and Psychophysiology
Measures
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
High psychopathy Low psychopathy
M SD n M SD n t df p d
Temperament
Fearful -.089 .765 55 .267 1.00 56 -2.103 109 .038 .40
Inhibition -.106 .643 55 .197 .673 56 -2.424 109 .017 .46
Stim. seek. .077 .584 52 -.116 .638 56 1.633 106 .106 .32
Verbal 2.91 1.83 55 2.30 1.03 56 2.157 109 .033 .28
Social 2.76 2.00 55 2.14 1.05 56 2.052 109 .043 .22
Friendly 3.16 1.87 55 2.54 1.32 56 2.044 109 .043 .39
Explore 1.78 .712 55 1.93 1.02 56 -.875 109 .384 .17
Arousal
nSCR 2.80 2.29 55 1.89 2.12 56 2.167 109 .032 .41
Heart rate 124 16.0 55 126 18.1 51 -.676 104 .501 .12
SC level-L 2.46 1.84 55 2.35 1.85 50 .300 103 .765 .06
SC level-R 2.62 1.80 55 2.54 1.55 48 .237 101 .813 .05
Orienting
Amp-Trial 1 .137 .216 56 .067 .148 56 1.992 110 .049 .38
Avg. amp. .084 .128 56 .056 .084 56 1.335 110 .185 .26
Aversive
Half-rec 4.17 2.51 45 2.96 2.07 34 2.278 77 .025 .53
Avg. amp. .196 .213 47 .133 .182 51 1.556 96 .123 .48
Note. All correlations in boldface are statistically significant at p < .05, two-tailed.
14
-0.15
-0.1
-0.05
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
Fearfulness Stimulation
Seeking /
Sociability
Inhibition
Z Score for Temperament
Higher-scoring
psychopathy group
(age 28)
Lower-scoring
psychopathy group
Figure 1. Mean z-scores for measures of fearfulness, stimulation-seeking /
sociability, and inhibition at age 3 for the higher-scoring (n=53) and lower-scoring
(n=53) psychopathy groups at age 28.

They were also less fearful at age 3, t = -2.103, df =109, p =.038, d =.40. The
higher-scorers were non-significantly higher on stimulation-seeking / sociability, t =
1.633, d f=106, p =.106, d = .32. To explore this latter trend further, analyses were
conducted on each of the four components of stimulation-seeking / sociability. The
group scoring higher in psychopathy was significantly higher on three of the four
components of stimulation-seeking / sociability, with significantly more
verbalizations, t = 2.157, df =109, p =.033, d =.28, social involvement, t = 2.052, p
=.043, df = 109 d =.41, and friendliness toward the experimenter, t =2.044, p =.043,
df = 109, d =.39 , but did not significantly differ on the amount of exploration away
15
from the mother, t =-.875, p =.384, df = 109, d =.17. As the three significant
components seemed to be most closely related to the sociability aspect of the scale,
these components were combined into a single index; the higher-scoring
psychopathy group was found to be significantly more sociable at age 3, t = 2.22, p
= .029, d = .436. It should be noted that this new sociability index has not been tested
as an independent factor.
Autonomic
Arousal. During the rest period, the higher-scoring group gave more non-specific
SCRs than the lower scorers, t = 2.167, df =109, p =.032, d =.41. The higher-scoring
psychopathy group did not differ from the lower-scoring group on mean resting heart
rate, t= -0.676, p=.501, df =104, or skin conductance levels in the left hand, t =.300, p
=.765, df = 103, or right hand, t =.237, p = .813, df = 101.
Orienting stimuli. A repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance revealed a
significant group x stimulus interaction (F = 2.569, p =.045, eta
2
=.029, see Figure 2).
Those scoring higher in psychopathy showed higher amplitudes on the first
orienting trial, t
1
= 1.992, df =109, p =.05, d =.38, but comparisons were
nonsignificant on subsequent trials, p>.207.
Aversive stimuli. The higher-scoring group showed longer average SC
half-recovery time to the 90 db stimuli than the lower-scoring group, t = 2.278, df
=104, p =.025, d =.53. A 2 (higher/lower psychopathy group) x 6 (aversive stimulus)
multivariate repeated measures analyses of amplitudes revealed no main effect of
group (F =.879, p =.475) and no significant interaction between group and stimulus
(F =2.303, p =.133).
16
0
0.02
0.04
0.06
0.08
0.1
0.12
0.14
0.16
12 34 56
Orienting Stimulus
Amplitude
µ
S
Higher-scoring
psychopathy group
Lower-scoring
psychopathy group

Figure 2. Age 3 mean amplitudes to the six orienting stimuli for the higher-scoring
(n=53) and lower-scoring (n=53) psychopathy groups at age 28.

Correlations
Correlations for SRP-II scores and temperament and psychophysiology
measures of the entire sample of 335 participants can be found in Table 2. Significant
positive correlations were found for measures of amplitude to first orienting response,
and half-recovery time to aversive stimuli. Significant negative correlations were
found for measures of inhibition and fearfulness.
17
Table 2
Correlations between SRP-II scores and Measures of Temperament and
Psychophysiology
____________________________________________________________________
SRP-II
n r p
Temperament
Inhibition 333 -.123 .025
Fearful 333 -.125 .023
Stim. seeking / sociable 333 .042 .453
Verbal 333 .106 .054
Social 333 .088 .108
Friendly 333 .102 .063
Explore 333 -.036 .515
Arousal
Non-specific SCR 333 .064 .241
Heart rate 318 -.059 .292
SC level (left) 320 -.007 .895
SC level (right) 312 -.032 .569
Orienting
Average amplitude 334 .084 .125
Amplitude to 1
st
response 334 .128 .019
Aversive
Avgerage SC
half-recovery
334 .150 .021
Average amplitude 332 .047 .387
Note. All correlations in boldface are statistically significant at p < .05, two-tailed.
Potential moderating effects
The comparisons of temperament and autonomic variables were repeated using
gender and ethnicity as moderators. There was no significant interaction effect of
gender with psychopathy grouping for temperament (p>.298) or psychophysiology
(p>.197). There was also no interaction effect of ethnicity for temperament (p>.126)
or psychophysiology (p>.335). Gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, social
adversity, and IQ at age 3 were also entered as covariates but results remained
significant (Table 3).
18
Independent predictors
The above results show that the high-scoring psychopathy group was characterized
by low fearfulness, high sociability, increased non-specific skin conductance
responses, higher amplitude to the first orienting response, and longer half-recovery
time to aversive stimuli. Although inhibition was also significantly lower, it was not
included due to the considerable overlap with fearfulness. To assess which of these
measures independently predicted to group membership, each was entered on the
second step of a logistic regression after entry of all other variables on the first step
(see Table 4). Results indicated that non-specific skin conductance responses and
sociability did not predict group membership over and above all other variables.
Fearfulness and the amplitude of the first orienting response increased the percentage
of variance explained, but were only marginally significant. Half-recovery time to
aversive stimuli was a significant independent predictor of group membership. Taken
together, the predictors accounted for 21% of the variance in group membership.

Discussion
This study aimed to explore the possible existence of very early temperamental
and psychophysiological precursors of adult psychopathic personality. Individuals
with higher psychopathy scores in adulthood were significantly less fearful and
inhibited at age 3 than those with lower psychopathy scores as adults, and scored
higher on the sociability component of the stimulation seeking measure. Similar to
findings in adult psychopaths, the higher-scoring psychopathy group at age 3 had
19
Table 3
Group Differences on Temperament and Psychophysiological Variables after Controlling for Demographic and Cognitive Factors
Covariates Inhibition Fear nSCRs Amp. 1
st
OR Half-recovery
F p F p F p F p F p
Ethnicity 4.092 .046 3.951 .042 4.775 .031 3.967 .049 6.040 .016
Gender 5.752 .018 4.851 .030 4.727 .032 3.561 .042 3.481 .046
SES 6.431 .013 4.526 .036 4.892 .029 4.071 .046 5.516 .021
Adversity 6.646 .011 4.697 .032 4.985 .028 4.080 .046 7.036 .003
IQ total 12.04 .001 5.910 .017 9.007 .004 4.016 .047 3.640 .047
Verbal IQ 11.178 .001 5.483 .022 8.991 .004 3.770 .046 3.700 .044
Spatial IQ 6.896 .010 4.781 .032 10.018 .002 3.652 .049 3.945 .048
Table 4
Test of whether Temperament and Psychophysiological Variables Predict Group Membership
Predictors Wald Chi-Square p % increase in variance Beta weights*
Half-recovery time 5.819 .036 8.7 % .261
Amplitude to 1
st
response 3.428 .064 5.0 % 2.493
Fearful 3.020 .082 4.4 % -.577
Non-specific SCRs .215 .643 0.3 % .057
Sociability .000 .988 0.0 % -.004
*Beta weights for all variables entered on Step 2 of the Logistic Regression
20
significantly longer SC half-recovery times to aversive stimuli. Contrary to
predictions, however, the higher-scoring group demonstrated significantly
increased arousal, as measured by more nonspecific SCRs, and increased
amplitude (a two-fold increase) to orienting stimuli. Effect sizes were small to
moderate in all cases, with values of 0.40 for fearfulness, and 0.46 for
disinhibition, 0.44 for sociability, 0.41 for nonspecific SCRs, 0.38 for SC
orienting, and .53 for SC half-recovery time. To the authors’ knowledge, this is
the first report demonstrating a prospective relationship between characteristics
of preschool children and psychopathic-like personality in adulthood. These
prospective longitudinal findings suggest that at least some biological and
temperamental predispositions to psychopathic personality may be in place at a
young age.
The more psychopathic adults were characterized as being noticeably less
fearful and inhibited at age 3. Kochanska (1993) suggested that children’s
fearfulness contributes to the development of moral emotions such as guilt,
shame, and empathy; children who are more fearful tend to feel remorse after
wrongdoing, are concerned with consequences related to their actions, and are
generally deterred from future wrongdoings by feelings of discomfort compared
to non-fearful children. This study provides initial prospective, longitudinal
evidence that young children with low levels of fearfulness and inhibition are at
risk for the subsequent development of a psychopathic personality in adulthood.
21
Stimulation-seeking / sociability, which is often thought to be linked to the
antisocial behavior features of psychopathy, was nonsignificantly higher at age 3
in the higher-scoring psychopathy group at age 28 (p =.11, d =.32).
Statistically-significant results were found for three of the four components of the
measure: verbalizations, friendliness, and active social play. These three
components seem to be most related to the sociability aspect of the measure,
suggesting that being particularly sociable at an early age may be one component
of developing a psychopathic-like personality later in life. Sociability in
childhood may translate into traits such as glibness, superficial charm, conning,
and manipulation observed in adult psychopaths. What remains unresolved is
what other process morphs such positive early sociability into the deviant
psychopathic features of glibness and conning.
Consistent with prior studies of psychopaths (Lorber, 2004; Raine, 1993), no
differences were detected in heart rate or SCLs between the higher- and
lower-scoring psychopathy groups. Contrary to predictions however, the
higher-scoring group at age 28 demonstrated significantly higher arousal, as
measured by nonspecific SCRs, and higher orienting amplitudes at age 3, two
measures that tend to be closely associated (Crider, 1993). These findings are
discrepant with the literature on antisocial and psychopathic behavior in adults.
As these findings contradict the hypotheses, the authors can only speculate about
possible interpretations and replication in future research is recommended. One
22
potential explanation for these findings is that increased arousal and orienting
may be a factor that distinguishes individuals in this community sample who
have relatively higher levels of psychopathic traits from caught and convicted
psychopaths. This sample may be similar to “successful” psychopaths (Ishikawa
et al., 2001) who have been found to demonstrate heightened autonomic stress
reactivity versus “unsuccessful” psychopaths who show reduced reactivity in
comparison to controls (Ishikawa et al., 2001). High levels of arousal and
orienting are thought to be indicative of more proficient attentional processing.
Individuals at high risk for an antisocial outcome may be protected from adult
antisocial behavior by increased arousal and orienting, or are better able to avoid
detection (Raine et al., 1995). It should be noted that no data are available to
classify individuals in the higher-scoring group as truly “successful” psychopaths;
the suggestion that these individuals may be similar to prior work on “successful”
psychopaths as defined by Ishikawa et al. (2001) is based on the fact that they
were living in the community and were not incarcerated, at the time of testing at
age 28.
Increased SC orienting may also reflect better functioning of the prefrontal
cortex, in contrast to deficits in prefrontal functioning sometimes seen in
incarcerated psychopaths (LaPierre et al., 1995; Mitchell et al., 2002). Prior
structural and functional brain imaging research has shown that SC orienting is
related to both prefrontal structure (Raine et al., 1991) and frontal functioning
23
(Hazlett et al., 1993; L. M. Williams et al., 2000). Good prefrontal functioning
may contribute to some of the more adaptive features of psychopathy, such as
glibness, superficial charm, lying / conning, and the ability to manipulate others
(Hare, 2003). Yang et al. (2005) found that “successful” psychopaths do not show
the reduction in prefrontal gray volume that “unsuccessful” psychopaths show.
Furthermore, Ishikawa et al. (2001) showed that “successful” psychopaths have
significantly better executive functioning than both “unsuccessful” psychopaths
and controls. Increased orienting in the group scoring higher in psychopathy
could potentially mean that these individuals lack the impairments in prefrontal
functioning frequently observed in “unsuccessful,” incarcerated psychopaths, and
thus may be more skilled at deceiving and manipulating others to avoid negative
consequences and detection. Further, the same pattern of orienting observed in
this study (increased amplitude on the first but not subsequent orienting stimuli)
has also been found in high sensation-seekers (Feij et al., 1985; Neary &
Zuckerman, 1976; Robinson & Zahn, 1983), who have been found to be
significantly more attentive to novel stimuli (Zuckerman, 1994). This heightened
awareness of environmental cues may be beneficial, especially in situations
involving impending punishment. However, additional research is needed to
explore the possible causes and implications of increased arousal and orienting.
The finding of longer SC half-recovery time in children who score higher in
psychopathy as adults is consistent with the hypothesized association between
24
long SC half-recovery time and antisocial behavior (Venables, 1975). In animal
studies, long SC half-recovery time has been associated with lesions in the
amygdala (Pribram & McGuiness, 1975) a region thought to be compromised in
psychopathic individuals (Blair, 2004; Patrick, 1994). The amygdala is important
in processing cues of threat or harm, (LeDoux, 1995; Morris et al., 1996) and in
fear conditioning (Davis, 2000; Knight et al., 2005; Maren, 2001). Long
half-recovery time has also recently been associated with low levels of harm
avoidance (Mardaga et al., 2006), which is conceptualized as reflecting
fearfulness of physical danger (Tellegen, 1982) and has been shown to be
negatively correlated with psychopathy (Benning et al., 2003; Levenson et al.,
1995). In addition, individuals with low levels of harm avoidance demonstrated
relatively little amygdala activity in response to irrelevant emotional distractors
(Most et al., 2006). The finding of long SC half-recovery time at age 3 in adults
scoring higher in psychopathy could therefore be an indicator of amygdala
dysfunction at an early age resulting in a failure to learn to avoid harm or
punishment. Future prospective longitudinal imaging studies could test this initial
hypothesis.
An alternative position that should be considered is that SC half-recovery
time is an artifact. Fowles (1993) has argued that long SC half-recovery time
simply reflects reduced prior electrodermal activity, although Dawson, Schell,
and Filion (2000) and Raine, et al. (1996) have argued that this issue remains
25
unsettled. Venables and Fletcher (1981) argue that it is still worthwhile to
measure SC half-recovery time as an independent variable as there is insufficient
evidence to consider it redundant. If long-recovery time to aversive stimuli was a
function of reduced prior electrodermal activity, one would predict reduced
amplitudes to aversive stimuli in the higher-scorers. No such effects were
observed, and indeed the higher-scoring psychopathy group demonstrated
nonsignificantly higher amplitudes to the aversive stimuli. The correlation
between the amplitude to aversive stimuli and half-recovery time was 0.162, p
= .013. As such, while the counter-explanation of Fowles (1993) may ultimately
be correct and would help resolve discrepant results in the current study, it cannot
easily be invoked in the context of these specific findings.
The logistic regression indicated that 21% of the variance in psychopathy
grouping could be explained by temperament and autonomic variables.
Conversely, 79% of the variance remains unaccounted for. This clearly illustrates
that temperament and autonomic functioning represent only two of the likely
multiple early processes that shape psychopathic personality. In conjunction with
other constructs, however, measures of temperament and psychophysiology may
ultimately help elucidate the etiological basis to psychopathic personality.
Half-recovery time was found to predict psychopathy group membership
independent of all other predictors, suggesting that it is not confounded by other
temperament and psychophysiological variables. A relationship between long
26
half-recovery time and psychopathy has been found in all but one prior study and
is surprisingly robust (Raine, 1993). There was also more limited evidence that
fearfulness and amplitude of the first orienting response also independently
contribute to the prediction of group membership, suggesting that they too may
be factors in the development of psychopathy and are worthy of further
investigation in longitudinal studies.
An alternative interpretation of the overall results of this study which should
also be considered is that the expected precursors of adult psychopathy do not
clearly exist as early as age 3. The strongest predictor of adult psychopathic traits
is skin conductance half-recovery time; while this is a characteristic of adult
psychopathic individuals (Hare et al., 1978), some have expressed reservations
about the interpretation of this correlate (Fowles, 1993). The significant findings
on orienting and arousal contradict some of the most consistent findings in adult
psychopathy, while findings on SC levels were non-significant. In addition,
temperament findings can be taken to indicate that the lower-scoring group was
inhibited and fearful, rather than the higher-scoring group being fearless and
disinhibited (see Figure 1). Budding psychopaths instead may simply be
gregarious as children, inconsistent with the characterization of adult psychopaths
as unfriendly. Alternatively, we believe from clinical experience (Cleckley, 1941)
that psychopaths frequently present as superficially friendly and gregarious, not
as unfriendly. The contradictory findings of high arousal and orienting would be
27
consistent with prior findings on successful psychopaths (see above), or
alternatively could be specific to the self-report outcome measure of psychopathy
which has limitations; findings more theoretically consistent with the adult
literature could have emerged using an interview-based measure of psychopathy.
Despite these alternative perspectives, results are the first of their kind and may
truly represent important processes in the development of psychopathy; future
prospective longitudinal research is required to replicate and extend these
preliminary findings before firm conclusions can be drawn.
Several limitations of this study should be recognized. Findings do not
inform us of the early antecedents of psychopathy in caught and convicted
offenders; conclusions can only be applied at this point in time to community
samples with psychopathic personality. While the self-report measure of
psychopathy used correlates quite highly with the “gold standard” (PCL-R)
measure of institutionalized psychopathy (Hare, 2003), those scoring higher on
the psychopathy measure are not necessarily psychopaths but instead constitute
individuals with a psychopathic personality. Results should be extended in future
studies with a more objective measure of psychopathy. However, Hare’s SRP-II
appears to be a reasonably good correlate of psychopathy in noninstitutionalized
populations (Forth et al., 1996; Hare, 1991; Paulhus & Williams, 2002; Zagon &
Jackson, 1994). A more stringent study with appropriate corrections for Type I
error would also render several of the significant effects non-significant, but at
28
the same time would run the risk of Type II errors and misleading null
conclusions which are particularly serious in initial, preliminary studies. Finally,
no other psychobiological or behavioral measures were taken at age 28, so we
could not determine whether participants scoring high on the SRP-II display other
factors often observed in psychopathy.
The prospective longitudinal design is thought to be a strength of the study in
that it helps to begin the process of establishing the early developmental
precursors of psychopathy, as opposed to the more common examination of the
cross-sectional correlates of this condition. Furthermore, this study eliminates the
problems associated with retrospective data and provides relatively unique
psychophysiological knowledge of early autonomic functioning which can never
be determined retrospectively.
In conclusion, the present study suggests that some indicators of adult
psychopathic personality may originate and be observable very early in life.
Individuals who were higher in psychopathy at age 28 were characterized by a
less fearful and inhibited temperament at age 3, and were also more sociable.
Psychophysiologically, they showed longer SC half-recovery times, similar to
findings in adult psychopaths. However, contrary to previous SC findings in adult
psychopaths, this group of community individuals showed increased autonomic
arousal and electrodermal orienting. This raises the possibility that (1) high
arousal and orienting may reflect increased attentional processing, which may
29
serve to protect them from being caught and convicted, despite their psychopathic
personality, and (2) increased arousal and orienting may reflect good prefrontal
functioning which allows for the more adaptive features of psychopathy such as
the ability to be smooth, engaging, and manipulative. Findings of this study must
be treated as initial and provisional, but nevertheless could have implications for
furthering our understanding of the development of psychopathy, a first step
towards intervention and prevention.

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Abstract (if available)

Abstract Emerging research on psychopathy in youth raises the question of whether indicators exist very early in life in those with a psychopathic-like personality in adulthood. This study tests the hypothesis that individuals who are more psychopathic in adulthood would be less fearful and inhibited, and more stimulation seeking at age 3, and would also show reduced age 3 skin conductance responsivity. In a sample of 335 3-year olds, behavioral measures of temperament were taken and electrodermal activity recorded in response to both orienting and aversive tones. Hare's Self-Report Psychopathy scale (SRP-II) was administered at follow-up at age 28. Individuals scoring higher on the measure were significantly less fearful and inhibited, more sociable, and displayed longer SC half-recovery times to aversive stimuli compared to controls at age 3. Contrary to predictions, they also showed increased autonomic arousal and skin conductance orienting. Findings appear to be the first to suggest that a prospective link may exist between temperament and psychophysiology in very young children, and psychopathic personality in adulthood.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Glenn, Andrea L. (author)

Core Title Early temperamental and psychophysiological precursors of adult psychopathic personality

School College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Degree Master of Arts

Degree Program Psychology

Publication Date 08/07/2007

Defense Date 07/15/2007

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Child,OAI-PMH Harvest,psychopathy,psychophysiology,temperament

Language English

Advisor Raine, Adrian (committee chair), Baker, Laura A. (committee member), Dawson, Michael E. (committee member)

Creator Email aglenn@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-m769

Unique identifier UC179053

Identifier etd-Glenn-20070807 (filename),usctheses-m40 (legacy collection record id),usctheses-c127-536015 (legacy record id),usctheses-m769 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-Glenn-20070807.pdf

Dmrecord 536015

Document Type Thesis

Rights Glenn, Andrea L.

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Repository Name Libraries, University of Southern California

Repository Location Los Angeles, California

Repository Email cisadmin@lib.usc.edu