Psychopathy and retaliation: The moderating role of psychophysiology

• In Event: Psychopathic Personality, Antisocial Behavior, and Crime: The Role of Psychophysiology

Abstract

Ostracism or social rejection poses distressing challenges for many individuals as it threatens our fundamental need for social belonging. While the existing research has explored the various reactions to ostracism, including aggression as a retaliation, further investigation is required to understand how individual differences in personality and psychophysiological profiles may influence retaliative behavior after being ostracized. It was hypothesized that psychopathic traits would be positively associated with retaliative behavior, and that this relationship may be enhanced in those demonstrating emotion dysregulation, reflected by less parasympathetic withdrawal. In the current study, male and female adults played a virtual ball-tossing game designed to simulate ostracism while their psychophysiological responses were recorded. Participants then played a Dictator Game in which they were given opportunity to retaliate by distributing less money to the ostracizer. Personality traits, including psychopathy, were assessed via self-report. We examined the moderating effect of personality and psychophysiological profiles in post-ostracism retaliatory behaviors. Our findings would elucidate the nuanced influence of parasympathetic reactivity on punitive actions of individuals with psychopathic traits. Implications and limitations of this study will be discussed.

Authors

• Qiwen Tong, The Graduate Center, City University of New York

• Liat Kofler, The Graduate Center, City University of New York

• Yu Gao, Brooklyn College, CUNY