Biography     

Jason Hall, Ph.D., is a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Mental Health Law and Policy Department.  He received his BA degree at Emory University, where he worked with Dr. Scott Lilienfeld, and completed his graduate studies in clinical psychology at the University of Minnesota, under the supervision of Dr. Christopher Patrick.  Prior to coming to FMHI, Dr. Hall completed his pre-doctoral clinical internship at Hennepin County Medical Center, a large urban hospital in downtown Minneapolis.

Dr. Hall’s program of research is primarily focused on elucidating the neurobiological systems underlying the construct of psychopathy.  This work involves using startle reflex modulation and event-related potential (ERP) methodology to study the affective and cognitive processes that distinguish psychopathy from more common antisocial phenotypes.  The ultimate goal of this work is to inform and hopefully refine existing methods for conceptualizing and assessing this costly and complex disorder.  Toward this end, Dr. Hall’s recent research has focused on evaluating the construct validity (using personality, diagnostic, and physiological measures) of a novel interview-based measure of personality traits related to a fearless temperament, which is thought to be a core element of psychopathy.  In addition to addressing a limitation of existing interview-based psychopathy measures (which do not assess lack of fear or anxiety) this work may also lead to a better understanding of “successful” or non-criminal manifestations of psychopathy.
 
Dr. Hall’s prior research has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as Psychological Science, International Journal of Psychophysiology, and Assessment.  He has also authored book chapters and presented his work at professional conferences throughout the United States and abroad.  Dr. Hall has been the recipient of an NIMH Training Grant award, as well as the Graduate School and Eva O. Miller Fellowship awards at the University of Minnesota.  In 2005 he was the recipient of the Tursky Award for Excellence in Predoctoral Research in Psychophysiology by the Society for Psychophysiological Research.
 

Recent Publications

Peer-reviewed Publications:

Hall, J. R., Bernat, E. M., & Patrick, C. J.  (2007).  Externalizing psychopathology and the error-related negativity.  Psychological Science, 18, 326-333.

Bernat, E. M., Hall, J. R., Steffen, B. V., & Patrick, C. J.  (2007).  Violent offending predicts P300 amplitude: Controlling for age, IQ, and task performance.  International Journal of Psychophysiology, 66, 161-167.

Hall, J. R., Benning, S. D., & Patrick, C. P.  (2004).  Criterion-related validity of the three-factor model of psychopathy: Personality, behavior, and adaptive functioning.  Assessment, 11, 4-16.

Brennan, P. A., Hall, J., Bor, W., Najman, J. M., & Williams, G.  (2003).  Integrating biological and social processes in relation to early-onset persistent aggression in boys and girls.  Developmental Psychology, 39, 309-323.

Book Chapters:

Hall, J. R., & Benning, S. D.  (2006).  The “successful” psychopath: Adaptive and subclinical manifestations of psychopathy in the general population.  In C. J. Patrick (Ed.), A Handbook of Psychopathy.  New York: Guilford.

Patrick, C. J., & Hall, J. R.  (2006).  Individual differences and delinquent behavior.  In: C. Flores-Mendoza & R. Colom (Eds.), Introduction to the psychology of individual differences.  Porto Alegre, Brazil: Artmed.

Selected Conference Presentations:

Hall, J.R.  (2009).  Interview assessment of fearlessness as a measure of psychopathy: How valid?  Symposium presentation at 2009 American Psychology – Law Society Annual Conference, San Antonio, TX.

Hall, J. R., Bernat, E. M., Venables, N. V., Cadwallader, M., & Patrick, C. J.  (2007).  Trait fear, psychopathy, and affective modulation of the startle blink reflex.  Poster presented at the 47th Annual Meeting of the Society for Psychophysiological Research, Savannah, GA.

Hall, J. R., Bernat, E. M., Steffen, B. V., & Patrick, C. J.  (2006).  Psychopathy and emotional modulation of appetitive and defensive reflexes.  Symposium presentation at the 46th Annual Meeting of the Society for Psychophysiological Research, Vancouver, Canada.

Hall, J. R., Bernat, E. M., Venables, N. C., Steffen, B. V., Cadwallader, M., Krueger, R. F., & Patrick, C. J.  (2005).  Externalizing psychopathology and the error-related negativity: Evidence for reduced neural processing of errors in high-externalizing undergraduates.  Poster presented at the 45th Annual Meeting of the Society for Psychophysiological Research, Lisbon, Portugal.

Hall, J. R., Bernat, E. M., Patrick, C. J., & Steffen, B. V.  (2005).  Psychopathy and affective modulation of defensive and appetitive reflexes.  Poster presented at the 1st Biannual Meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Psychopathy, Vancouver, British Columbia.

Hall, J. R, Benning, S. D., & Patrick, C. J. (2003). Three’s company:  Evidence for the validity of a three-factor model of psychopathy.  Poster presented at the Conference on Developmental and Neuroscience Perspectives on Psychopathy, Madison, WI.