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Most of us think that psychopaths have no emotions, but a recent meta-analysis showed that they do. However, regulating these feelings is a big challenge. Understanding how psychopaths regulate their emotions is very important for clinicians, families, and the criminal justice system .
Psychopathy is a type of personality disorder where an individual exhibits a lack of remorse; they are impulsive and manipulative. There are roughly 1% of the general population and up to about 25 % of the incarcerated population who exhibit psychopathic traits, as research suggests.
Earlier research showed that individuals with psychopathic traits are emotionally cold, which contributed to widespread misunderstanding and fear, but recent findings show that they feel emotions , but they struggle to express and regulate them, especially when their focus or attention is disrupted.
The meta-analysis conducted by Velotti and his team tested 25 studies comprising nearly 30,000 participants. The finding was surprising: psychopath shows emotional responses, but how they regulate and integrate these emotions is often limited. This is in line with the previous research that shows attention plays a big role in emotional cues influencing behaviour.
"Psychopaths are not devoid of emotions. They struggle to regulate and integrate them, which opens new possibilities for treatment.” - Patrizia Velotti, lead author.
The therapist reported observations about the psychopaths that when they are guided to focus on specific situations, they are able to respond emotionally, even if they are initially indifferent. This observation supports the research that shows attention and focusing on a situation can unlock emotional responses.
Therefore , awareness of the emotional capacity can be a good guide for therapeutic engagement and self-reflection. Training on improving emotion regulation and attention management could be integrated into the rehabilitation program and potentially reduce harmful behaviours.
Reference:
Velotti, P. et al. Psychopathy and impairments in emotion regulation: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S027273582400103X