Sociopathy vs. Psychopathy

Post Reply New Topic

What's the difference between sociopathy and psychopathy, and which similarities do they share? I'm interested in knowing how they compare to neurotypical individuals and which kinds of difficulties they face in modern society.

Have you really never heard of "Google"?

Try this link: "Psychopath vs. Sociopath: What’s the Difference?".

PSYCHOPATHY

According to the Society for the Study of Psychopathy, psychopath traits include:

• Dishonesty
• Lack of deep emotional attachments
• Lack of empathy
• Lack of guilt/remorse
• Manipulativeness
• Narcissism
• Reckless risk-taking
• Superficial charm

Moreover, approximately 93% of psychopaths are in the criminal justice system.

SOCIOPATHY

A sociopath is actually a person with antisocial personality disorder. Antisocial personality disorder is defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (the book which contains the diagnostic criteria for mental illnesses) as a cluster B personality disorder (those that are dramatic or emotional).

While sociopathy can only be diagnosed at the age of 18 or above, the following must be present before the age of 15 for the diagnosis:

• Consistent irresponsibility in work and family environments
• Lack of remorse
• Pervasive lying and deception
• Physical aggressiveness
• Reckless disregard for the safety of self or others
• Repeated violations of the law

DIFFERENCES

The psychopath is callous, yet charming. He or she will con and manipulate others with charisma and intimidation and can effectively mimic feelings to present as "normal" to society. The psychopath is organized in their criminal thinking and behavior, and can maintain good emotional and physical control, displaying little to no emotional or autonomic arousal, even under situations that most would find threatening or horrifying. The psychopath is keenly aware that what he or she is doing is wrong, but does not care.

Conversely, the sociopath is less organized in his or her demeanor; he or she might be nervous, easily agitated, and quick to display anger. A sociopath is more likely to spontaneously act out in inappropriate ways without thinking through the consequences. Compared to the psychopath, the sociopath will not be able to move through society committing callous crimes as easily, as they can form attachments and often have "normal temperaments".

I have heard of a link between sociopaths and ADHD. It doesn't surprise me anymore because of similar symptoms. This doesn't mean that every child with ADHD is going to grow up to be a sociopath of course but studies have found that sociopaths had a history of ADHD. I have heard the same about ODD too. ODD leading to conduct disorder and some with it also meet the criteria for ASPD in adulthood.

Things that ADHD and sociopaths have in common:

Impulsive
Losing their temper
Boredom
Lack of impulse control

I apologize if I came off as lazy. I was just interested in hearing a more in-depth description of the conditions in relation to society as a whole. Seeing as this forum is mainly for neurally atypical people, I was hoping for more personal recollections of events. I'll be sure to do better next time.

i was under the impression that narcissism, sociopathy [ASPD and Dissocial subset] and psychopathy were on a sort of spectrum of severity, with narcissists primarily selfish prima donnas, sociopathy adding scheming and lying to that, and psychopathy adding predation, with considerable overlap among all three conditions. i have noted in my military/uncivil service experience, that there is a marked different between the latter two, sociopaths are hot-headed bullies whereas psychopaths are ice-blooded, stone-cold killers.

It’s amazing what people will assume when they don’t bother to learn the facts.