Abstract

This study aimed to examine whether individuals with secondary callous-unemotional traits effectively regulate emotional reactivity using adaptive emotion regulation strategies. The secondary callous-unemotional traits group was randomly assigned to either the cognitive reappraisal group or the control group. The cognitive reappraisal group was asked to regulate their emotion by taking an objective, third-person point of view of the fear-inducing video. Self-report and psychophysiological measures were obtained before and after the manipulation, with skin conductance also measured during video viewing. Emotional and cognitive empathy were measured after video viewing. There were significant group differences in physiological measures. Therefore, individuals in the secondary callous-unemotional traits group can effectively regulate emotional reactivity at the physiological level through adaptive strategies. Finally, the implications and limitations of this study were discussed, and further studies were suggested.