Direct and indirect effects of interpersonal callousness on aggression through empathy and moral disengagement

Interpersonal and callous traits in psychopathy have long been recognised as a precursor of antisocial and aggressive behaviour. While these traits commonly describe behaviours attributed to deficient empathy, research has not yet investigated to which extent different facets of empathy mediate the associations between interpersonal callousness and aggression. In the present paper, we seek to address this gap across two studies. In Study 1, we predicted and found that deficiencies in affective empathy, rather than cognitive empathy, were more strongly correlated with interpersonal callousness, and mediated the association of interpersonal callousness with proactive aggression and social deviance. Study 2 replicated these results and further revealed that the mediating effect of affective empathy on proactive aggression was amplified in participants with more tendencies to rationalise and morally disengage from immoral actions. These findings suggest that deficits in affective empathy and moral sensitivity play a more crucial role than cognitive empathy for the association of interpersonal callousness with proactive aggression and social deviance, indicating a critical avenue for targeted interventions aimed at mitigating these effects. • Affective rather than cognitive deficits mediate the link between interpersonal callousness and proactive aggression. • Cognitive empathy deficits, specifically in perspective-taking, influence reactive aggression among callous individuals. • Moral disengagement amplifies the mediating effect of empathy on proactive aggression.