The Mediating Role of Emotional Intelligence on ANS-Psychopathy Relationship

• In Event: The Interplay of Biological, Physiological, and Developmental Factors in Understanding Psychopathy and Antisocial Behavior

Abstract

Psychopathy is associated with deficits in emotional processing and social cognition, yet the role of emotional intelligence (EI) in psychopathy remains debated. Prior research has examined this relationship using both self-report and performance-based EI measures, with inconsistent findings—performance-based measures typically reveal a negative association with psychopathy, whereas self-report measures yield mixed results. With a performance-based EI model, EI was identified as a mediator between autonomic stress activation and psychopathy. The present study investigates the EI-psychopathy relationship across three independent samples to clarify (a) whether performance-based EI models consistently yield an inverse relationship with psychopathy, further substantiating the emotional deficits as a key characteristic of psychopathy; (b) the physiological mechanisms underlying these deficits by further exploring the role of EI in autonomic-psychopathy relationship; and (c) the cognitive mechanisms of emotional processing in psychopathy. While emotional processing of faces is central to human social cognition, no study has systematically examined attentional bias toward emotional faces in psychopathy as an indicator of intentional engagement with different emotional stimuli. Using eye-tracking data, this study further explores attentional allocation in psychopathy. By addressing these gaps, the study provides a more comprehensive picture of the multidimensional differences in emotional processing associated with psychopathy.

Authors

• Qiwen (Thomas) Tong, CUNY Graduate Center

• Yu Gao, Brooklyn College, CUNY

• Liat Kofler, CUNY Graduate Center

• Amanda Murphy, Brooklyn College, CUNY

• Wei Wang, Baruch College, CUNY