People with psychopathic personality traits have been shown to have low rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Contemporary theoretical models of PTSD and psychopathy converge to suggest that a bias in the type of information that is encoded into memory is a core component of both disorders. We tested the hypothesis that people with psychopathic personality traits have a reduced susceptibility to developing intrusion-related symptoms.
Method
Participants completed self-report measures before watching a short video depicting the aftermath of a motor vehicle accident. The participants recorded their intrusive memories for seven days before returning for a follow-up assessment.
Results
Psychopathic personality score was found to be a significant negative predictor of intrusion-related experiences at follow-up. This relationship was mediated by the vividness of intrusions.
Conclusion
The results support the hypothesis that the balance between the encoding of perceptual versus conceptual properties is a core feature both in the aetiology of PTSD and in people with psychopathic personality traits.
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