Autonomic responsivity in psychopaths: A critical review and theoretical proposal

The literature on autonomic responsivity in psychopaths is reviewed and critically evaluated with Fowlesʹ (1980) psychophysiological adaptation of Grayʹs two-factor learning theory used as an organizing framework. It is concluded that, although much recent research has focused on assessing psychopathsʹ response to punishment in familiar paradigms, several intriguing new paradigms for assessing psychopathsʹ autonomic responsivity have been developed. A new conceptualization of the existing data is considered involving a motivational imbalance theory based on the Gray/Fowles model. This theory connects autonomic psychophysiological research on psychopaths to literatures on cognition, emotion, and behavior. Research directions for evaluating the validity of the theory are proposed.