Full Length Article Facial affect recognition in college students with psychopathic traits: A comparison using tests matched in discriminating power David S. Kosson a,⇑ , Terry Chi b , Nastassia R.E. Riser c , Zach Walsh d , Courtney N. Beussink a , Vanessa Pera-Guardiola e,g , Amaia Jamijyan Briz f a Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, Department of Psychology, 3333 Green Bay Road, North Chicago, IL 60064, United States b Bethel College, Departments of Psychology and Adult & Graduate Studies, 1001 Bethel Circle, Mishawaka, IN 46545, United States c Private Practice, San Diego, CA, United States d University of British Columbia, 3333 University Way, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7, Canada e University of Lleida, Plaça de Víctor Siurana, 1, 25003 Lleida, Spain f Bellvitge University Hospital – Barcelona, Carrer de la Feixa Llarga, s/n, 08907 L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain g Sant Joan de Deu Terres de Lleida Hospital, Lleida, Spain article info Article history: Received 25 December 2017 Revised 7 November 2018 Accepted 9 November 2018 Available online 10 November 2018 Keywords: Psychopathy Psychopathic Personality Inventory Facial affect recognition Discriminating power Coldheartedness College students abstract Research has provided inconsistent evidence for the relationship between psychopathy and facial affect recognition. We examined whether some of the previous findings could reflect a psychometric artifact in which deficits are more easily detected with very discriminating measures than with less discriminating measures, an issue not addressed in prior psychopathy studies. We developed measures of facial affect recognition matched in discriminating power and administered these measures to 194 college students who had also completed the Psychopathic Personality Inventory. Results indicate that high levels of Coldheartedness were associated with poorer recognition of the specific emotion of disgust. These find- ings demonstrate that some affective processing deficits associated with psychopathic traits cannot be attributed to psychometric artifacts. Ó 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction 1,2 Theories explaining the antisocial behavior of psychopathic offenders in terms of a reduced capacity for emotional experiences have been influential for decades, and many studies have docu- mented associations between psychopathic traits and emotional processing deficits (e.g., Dawel, O’Kearney, McKone, & Palermo, 2012; Wilson, Juodis, & Porter, 2011). However, as discussed below, findings regarding the nature of the emotional deficits have been inconsistent across studies. The present study examined the possibility that some of the inconsistencies in the empirical litera- ture reflect a methodological confound in prior studies: the failure to match conditions on their discriminating power. There have been several hypotheses attempting to explain the nature of the emotional deficits found in psychopathic individuals. One of the most consistently influential theories of psychopathy is Cleckley’s (1941) hypothesis that psychopathic individuals are characterized by a general lack of emotional experiences. More specific perspectives include Lykken’s (1957) low fear hypothesis, which posits that psychopathic individuals are characterized by a specific incapacity for fear, and Blair’s (1995) violence inhibition mechanism (VIM) hypothesis, which posits a specific difficulty in processing cues for sadness and fear. Although some differences between the latter two hypotheses can be identified, Blair (2005) has argued that the two hypotheses are similar enough that they can be combined in an integrated emotions system model of psy- chopathy, suggesting that psychopathic individuals are character- ized by hypoactivity in the brain systems that mediate fear and some other emotions, but they possess a generally adequate capacity for anger and other emotions. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2018.11.002 0092-6566/Ó 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. ⇑ Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: david.kosson@rosalindfranklin.edu (D.S. Kosson), terry.chi@- bethelcollege.edu (T. Chi), zachary.walsh@ubc.ca (Z. Walsh), courtney.beussink@- my.rfums.org (C.N. Beussink), vanessa.pera@sjd-lleida.org (V. Pera-Guardiola). 1 This study was not preregistered in an independent, institutional registry. Data for this study can be retrieved from Kosson, D. (2018, August 30). Kosson and Chi Facial Affect Recognition and Psychopathic Personality Traits in College Students. Retrieved from osf.io/rmbwp. 2 Author responsibilities: David S. Kosson – study conceptualization, data analysis, and report writing; Terry Chi – study conceptualization, data collection, data preparation, and report writing; Nastassia R. E. Riser – study conceptualization and data analysis; Zachary Walsh – study conceptualization and data analysis; Courtney N. Beussink – data analysis and report writing; Vanessa Pera-Guardiola – data analysis and report writing; Amaia Jamijyan Briz – study conceptualization and data analysis. Journal of Research in Personality 78 (2019) 52–60 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Research in Personality journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jrp