Social cognition in psychopaths: Recent scientific findings

Authors

  • Silvio José Lemos VASCONCELLOS Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Departamento de Psicologia, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia da Saúde.
  • Roberta SALVADOR-SILVA Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Faculdade de Psicologia, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia.
  • Fernanda de VARGAS Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Departamento de Psicologia, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia da Saúde.
  • Fernanda Xavier HOFFMEISTER Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Departamento de Psicologia, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia da Saúde.
  • Priscila Flores PRATES Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Departamento de Psicologia, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia da Saúde.
  • Renan Meirelles da SILVA Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Departamento de Psicologia, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia da Saúde.

Keywords:

Social cognition, Emotions, Personality, Antisocial personality, Interpersonal relations

Abstract

Psychopaths have personality traits related to the failure to feel remorse and greater social dominance, which are often expressed in their manipulation of others. Current studies have suggested that psychopaths may have deficiencies in processing emotional stimuli in situations of social interaction. The objective of this study is to conduct a literature review and discuss recent research on this topic. Based on the studies reviewed, it can be said that new considerations are important since the type of social cognition impairment in psychopaths is not commonly addressed in the literature. It is suggested the use of different methods to evaluate the ability of psychopaths to identify emotions that can be investigated in addition to identifying the measure of interpersonal strategies. Overall, the present study proposes a reflection upon a disorder whose etiology should be understood from a biopsychosocial perspective, contributing to new directions in research on social cognition in psychopaths.

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Published

2023-03-07

How to Cite

VASCONCELLOS, S. J. L., SALVADOR-SILVA, R., VARGAS, F. de, HOFFMEISTER, F. X., PRATES, P. F., & SILVA, R. M. da. (2023). Social cognition in psychopaths: Recent scientific findings. Psychological Studies (Campinas), 34(1). Retrieved from https://periodicos.puc-campinas.edu.br/estpsi/article/view/7552