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A Bayesian Account of Psychopathy: A Model of Lacks Remorse and Self-Aggrandizing

Prosser, A; Friston, KJ; Bakker, N; Parr, T; (2018) A Bayesian Account of Psychopathy: A Model of Lacks Remorse and Self-Aggrandizing. Computational Psychiatry , 2 pp. 92-140. 10.1162/cpsy_a_00016. Green open access

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Abstract

This article proposes a formal model that integrates cognitive and psychodynamic psychotherapeutic models of psychopathy to show how two major psychopathic traits called lacks remorse and self-aggrandizing can be understood as a form of abnormal Bayesian inference about the self. This model draws on the predictive coding (i.e., active inference) framework, a neurobiologically plausible explanatory framework for message passing in the brain that is formalized in terms of hierarchical Bayesian inference. In summary, this model proposes that these two cardinal psychopathic traits reflect entrenched maladaptive Bayesian inferences about the self, which defend against the experience of deep-seated, self-related negative emotions, specifically shame and worthlessness. Support for the model in extant research on the neurobiology of psychopathy and quantitative simulations are provided. Finally, we offer a preliminary overview of a novel treatment for psychopathy that rests on our Bayesian formulation.

Type: Article
Title: A Bayesian Account of Psychopathy: A Model of Lacks Remorse and Self-Aggrandizing
Location: United States
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1162/cpsy_a_00016
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1162/cpsy_a_00016
Language: English
Additional information: This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For a full description of the license, please visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.
Keywords: Bayesian brain, active inference, antisocial personality disorder, free-energy, personality disorders, predictive coding, psychopathic personality disorder, psychopathy
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology > Imaging Neuroscience
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10064185
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