Psychopathy and Empathy: A Correlational Study

Authors

Camille CastilloFollow
Annika Simpson, Belmont UniversityFollow
Lauren Peterson, Belmont UniversityFollow
Bailey Harvey, Belmont UniversityFollow
Grace Griffin, Belmont UniversityFollow

Publication Date

Spring 4-21-2022

College

Sciences and Mathematics, College of

Department

Psychological Science, Department of

BURS Faculty Advisor

Dr. Anna Kathleen Garr

Presentation Type

Oral Presentation

Abstract

Cognitive and affective empathy have long been thought to play an important role in moral decision making. While most individuals have intact capabilities, certain populations are believed to have deficits in empathy , especially individuals high in psychopathy. Specifically, psychopathic individuals are known to have the capacity for cognitive empathy but not affective empathy. The present study further examined the relationship between psychopathy, cognitive empathy, and affective empathy using undergraduates from Belmont University. Participants were recruited from introduction to psychology courses and completed the 4th edition of the Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (SRP 4) ) as well as the Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy (QCAE) . We expect that psychopathy will be positively correlated with cognitive empathy and negatively correlated with affective empathy.

Recommended Citation

Castillo, C., Griffin, G., Harvey, B., Peterson, L., Simpson, A., & Garr, A.K., Ph.D.