Callous-unemotional traits have been associated with difficulties in identifying and responding to others’ emotions. To inform this line of research, the current study investigated the eye gaze behavior of children (n = 59; mean-age = 6.35) with varying levels of callous-unemotional (CU) traits with the use of eye-tracker methodology, as well as their ability to accurately identify emotional expressions. Participating children were selected from a large screening sample (N = 1283). Main findings supported a reduced fixation rate to the eye-region and an increased fixation in the mouth area of emotional faces among children high on callous-unemotional traits (HCU), irrespective of emotion expressed (i.e., fear, sad, angry and happy) and age of individuals portrayed in images (adult versus child faces). Further, findings suggested that HCU children were less likely to accurately identify facial emotional expressions, which might be due to the identified attentional neglect to the eye region of emotional faces. Current findings support the importance of early prevention and intervention programs that can enhance the emotional development and social adjustment of HCU children.

冷酷无情的特质与识别和回应他人情绪的困难有关。为了为这一系列研究提供信息，本研究还使用眼动仪方法调查了具有不同程度冷酷无情 (CU) 特征的儿童 ( n = 59；平均年龄 = 6.35)的注视行为，以及作为他们准确识别情绪表达的能力。参与的儿童是从一个大的筛选样本中挑选出来的（N= 1283)。主要研究结果表明，无论表达何种情绪（即恐惧、悲伤、愤怒和快乐），高冷酷无情特质 (HCU) 的儿童对眼部区域的注视率降低，而对情绪面孔的嘴部区域注视率增加和图像中描绘的个人的年龄（成人与儿童面孔）。此外，研究结果表明，HCU 儿童不太可能准确识别面部情绪表情，这可能是由于已识别出对情绪面部眼部区域的注意力忽视。目前的研究结果支持早期预防和干预计划的重要性，这些计划可以促进 HCU 儿童的情绪发展和社会适应。