There are two distinct combinations of psychopathic traits (primary and secondary) that have been proposed to be a function of unique cognitive-affective deficits. This study sought to use theories of psychopathy to understand the factors that exacerbate (i.e., provocation) and attenuate (i.e., distraction) aggression in individuals high in psychopathic traits in a controlled laboratory task. Male undergraduates, who scored across the range of primary and secondary psychopathic traits, completed the Taylor Aggression Paradigm (TAP; Taylor, 1967) under conditions of low and high provocation. Participants were also randomly assigned to either a distraction condition, in which they completed a distracting concurrent task, or a control condition, in which no such task was completed. Inconsistent with our prediction, results showed that regardless of condition, primary psychopathic traits were positively related to laboratory aggression. Consistent with our hypothesis, a positive association between secondary psychopathic traits and laboratory physical aggression was observed following high provocation among nondistracted participants; this association was significantly reduced among distracted participants. These results clarify the factors that contribute to aggression for individuals high in psychopathic traits and may provide directions for future intervention development.

有两种不同的精神病特征（原发性和继发性）组合被认为是独特的认知情感缺陷的功能。本研究试图使用精神病学理论来了解在受控实验室任务中加剧（即挑衅）和减弱（即分心）具有高精神病态特征的个体的攻击性的因素。在初级和次级精神病特征范围内得分的男性本科生在低和高挑衅条件下完成了泰勒攻击范式（TAP；泰勒，1967）。参与者也被随机分配到一个分心条件，其中他们完成了一个分心的并发任务，或一个控制条件，其中没有完成这样的任务。与我们的预测不符，结果表明，无论条件如何，原发性精神病特征都与实验室攻击性呈正相关。与我们的假设一致，继发性精神病特征与实验室身体攻击之间存在正相关关系，在注意力不集中的参与者中受到高度挑衅；这种关联在分心的参与者中显着减少。这些结果阐明了导致精神变态特征高的个体的攻击性的因素，并可能为未来的干预发展提供方向。这种关联在分心的参与者中显着减少。这些结果阐明了导致精神变态特征高的个体的攻击性的因素，并可能为未来的干预发展提供方向。这种关联在分心的参与者中显着减少。这些结果阐明了导致精神变态特征高的个体的攻击性的因素，并可能为未来的干预发展提供方向。