Psychopathic traits and emotional coherence across physiological, facial, and self-report responses

This study aimed to investigate emotional coherence across skin conductance (SCL), facial expressions (FE), and self-reported (SR) emotional responses in individuals with heightened psychopathic traits and assess whether coherence measures could be used as a proxy for evaluating the authenticity of emotional responses. Participants (N = 63) completed a series of questionnaires and engaged in an empathic accuracy task. They were instructed to empathize with targets describing positive and negative events while their SCL, FE, and SR were recorded. It was hypothesized that higher psychopathic traits would correlate with weaker coherence measures and that coherence would increase when participants empathized deliberately. Results showed no significant correlations between psychopathic traits and coherence measures, except a positive relationship between psychopathic traits and SCL/FE coherence when viewing negative videos. This finding may partially support a motivational framework, suggesting individuals with heightened psychopathic traits can strategically engage in emotional coherence when it serves their goals.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (MSc)

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Forensic Psychology

Grantor

University of Ontario Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2024

Author dc:creator

• Mortezaei, Ardeshir

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Shane, Matthew

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10155/1900

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:ontariotechu.scholaris.ca:10155/1900