Executive Function in Violent Offenders with Psychopathy

Abstract

Abstract: The aim of the study is to explore the possible dysfunction in decision-making and planning ability of psychopathy offenders. Thirty psychopathic violent offenders and thirty non-psychopathic violent offenders were recruited by PCL-R. The two groups have no difference in age, intelligence and education. IGT and TOH paradigms were used to test the executive function of two groups. Psychopathic violent offenders were more impulsive than non-psychopathic violent offenders. Compared with the non-psychopathic violent offenders, psychopathic violent offenders selected more disadvantaged decks in IGT task, made more errors and spent more time in Tower of Hanoi task. Impulsivity level of psychopathic violent offenders has no effect on their performance during two tasks. Our findings indicated that psychopathic violent offenders have deficits in executive function including decision-making and planning function involving the prefrontal cortex. In addition, impulsivity has no effect on their executive function.

Key words: psychopathy, executive function, decision-making, iowa gambling task, tower of hanoi

摘要： 为了解精神病态罪犯可能存在的执行功能缺陷及其是否受冲动性影响，研究采用精神病态检核表（PCL-R）筛选出30名精神病态组被试和30名非精神病态组被试，通过爱荷华赌博任务（IGT）和河内塔任务（TOH）对两组被试执行功能的特点进行分析，并结合冲动性量表（BIS-11）对其冲动性进行测量。研究发现精神病态组的冲动性显著高于控制组；精神病态组选择高风险的不利牌显著多于对照组，即对惩罚不敏感；精神病态组在河内塔任务中的错误次数及所消耗时间都显著高于控制组；冲动性水平与两任务得分均无显著相关。结果表明，精神病态暴力犯在与前额叶相关的执行功能上存在缺陷，并与个体的高冲动性无关。

关键词: 精神病态, 执行功能, 决策功能, 爱荷华赌博测验, 河内塔任务。

CLC Number:

B849

Zhang Zhuo, Wang Qianglong, Huang Xiu, Yang Bo. Executive Function in Violent Offenders with Psychopathy[J]. Studies of Psychology and Behavior, 2016, 14(2): 256-263.

张卓,王强龙,黄秀,杨波. 精神病态暴力犯执行功能的缺陷^*[J]. 心理与行为研究, 2016, 14(2): 256-263.

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