Electrodermal Hyporeactivity and Antisocial Behavior

Abstract

Electrodermal hyporeactivity has been widely reported for individuals variously described as psychopathic, sociopathic, antisocial, delinquent, hyperactive, or aggressive. The present chapter will attempt to provide an overview of this hyporeactivity and its association with undersocialized behavior and to consider one of the major theoretical interpretations of these findings. Although the bulk of this literature is based on adult and late-adolescent (delinquent) populations, the continuity of antisocial behavior from childhood to adulthood and the assumption that electrodermal hyporeactivity reflects stable effects of temperament point to direct implications for childhood disorders involving antisocial behavior. In view of these implications, the paucity of electrodermal research with children is a deficiency that needs correcting. To that end, paradigms that have proved successful with children will be reviewed at the end of the chapter.