Relating State Frontal Alpha Asymmetry to Individual Differences in Psychopathy, Emotional Dysregulation and Aggression

In the literature on Psychopathic Personality traits, associations have been identified between functions of Aggression, Emotion Dysregulation, and the factors of Psychopathic Personality. There is evidence that Approach Motivation at a trait level has similar associations to functions of Aggression and Emotion Dysregulation, as the different factors of Psychopathy. Specifically, higher trait levels of Approach Motivation are more associated with the characteristics of Psychopathy related to risk-taking and impulsive behaviour, and lower levels of Trait Approach Motivation with the unemotional and socially potent characteristics of Psychopathy.

This study sought to examine potential latent profiles of Trait Approach Motivation, Psychopathy components, sub-components of Emotion Dysregulation and Aggression with different functions. The further aim of this study was to examine how these factors interact in Vivo when influenced by negative affective states. Specifically, whether any potential profiles predicted the participant’s level of Approach Motivation when anger, loss or neutral affect were induced. A sample of 64 participants completed self-report measures of Psychopathy (PPI-R-40), Emotion Dysregulation (DERS) and Aggression (SRASBM) before being connected to EEG equipment and completing two phases of activity. The first phase was a resting phase in which participants sat for three minutes, alternating eyes open and closed in 30 second intervals. In the second phase, participants viewed nine videos, three of which were intended to evoke feelings of anger, three intended to evoke feelings of loss, and three intended to evoke neutral affect. The alpha band activity in the frontal lobe was recorded during both phases. The activity from two pairs of electrodes (two over the left hemisphere and two over the right) was then used to find the average Frontal Alpha Asymmetry (FAA) score during each phase and in each emotion condition. This FAA score was used as a proxy measure of Approach Motivation. The Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) yielded three profiles named the Controlled Approach Group, Anxious Approach Group and Impulsive Approach Group, the characteristics of which were congruent with previously identified associations between the variables included the LPA. The level of Approach Motivation in anger, loss and neutral affective states did not differ significantly between the groups identified in the LPA.