Schizotypy, defined in terms of commonly occurring personality
traits related to the schizophrenia spectrum, has been
an important construct for understanding the neurodevelopment
and stress-diathesis of schizophrenia. However, as
schizotypy nears its sixth decade of application, it is important
to acknowledge its impressively rich literature accumulating
outside of schizophrenia research. In this article, we
make the case that schizotypy has considerable potential
as a conceptual framework for understanding individual
differences in affective and social functions beyond those
directly involved in schizophrenia spectrum pathology. This
case is predicated on (a) a burgeoning literature noting
anomalies in a wide range of social functioning, affiliative,
positive and negative emotional, expressive, and social cognitive
systems, (b) practical and methodological features
associated with schizotypy research that help facilitate
empirical investigation, and (c) close ties to theoretical
constructs of central importance to affective and social science
(eg, stress diathesis, neural compensation). We highlight
recent schizotypy research, ie providing insight into
the nature of affective and social systems more generally.
This includes current efforts to clarify the neurodevelopmental,
neurobiological, and psychological underpinnings
of affiliative drives, hedonic capacity, social cognition, and
stress responsivity systems. Additionally, we discuss neural
compensatory and resilience factors that may mitigate the
expression of stress-diathesis and functional outcome, and
highlight schizotypy's potential role for understanding cultural
determinants of social and affective functions.