Psychopathy from the Perspective of Social and Cognitive Neuroscience

Abstract

This chapter focuses on psychopathy, paying particular attention to some of the social aspects of the disorder. It first considers the nature of psychopathy and what is understood regarding the pathophysiology of this disorder from a cognitive neuroscience perspective. Following this, it considers whether psychopathy might be caused by social/environmental factors before concluding with a brief description of the implications of findings with patients with psychopathy for social cognitive neuroscience, particularly regarding the development of morality.