Psychopathic personality traits and the association with empathy and emotional contagion

Abstract

Empirical research on psychopathy has emphasized the dimensional model of personality in its understanding, thus enabling studies in the general population. Current literature has identified empathy impairments in individuals with psychopathic traits, seen as a multidimensional construct with affective and cognitive components, and in emotional contagion, a more primitive and phylogenetic process. Nevertheless, research on this subject in the general population is still scarce. This study aims to evaluate the association of psychopathic traits, empathy and emotional contagion in general population. The sample was composed of 284 participants (mean age 24.6 years; SD = 8.37). The instruments used were a self-report instrument to evaluate psychopathic traits, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index to evaluate empathy and the Emotional Contagion Scale to assess emotional contagion. Negative associations were found between empathy and psychopathic traits and between emotional contagion and empathy, such as positive associations between emotional contagion and psychopathic traits. Results show that psychopathic tendencies are associated with lower levels of empathy and emotional contagion, indicating the existence of emotional desensitization characteristics, and that empathy and emotional contagion are strongly associated, suggesting that both are complementary processes.