The differences between sociopathy and psychopathy They are sometimes difficult to understand by non-experts on the subject, however certain characteristics of behavior can be delimited.
Not knowing how to differentiate them clearly is normal, because even psychologists, psychiatrists or criminologists sometimes do not agree on what characterizes one or the other. In fact, I have read quite a few articles that use both terms as if they were the same thing..
I am going to refer to the DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), which came out in 2013, although I increasingly doubt its validity and reliability, due to the clear interests of pharmaceutical companies.
It is the manual used by psychiatrists and psychologists to diagnose mental illnesses and disorders. According to this manual, sociopathy and psychopathy fall under the "Antisocial Personality" disorders. These disorders are made up of many common behaviors, so it can be difficult to tell them apart.
First, I will refer to the statistics, then I will explain the differences and finally I will give you examples of known psychopaths from real life and fiction.
Do you know any psychopath or sociopath? You can comment at the end of the article. I am interested in your opinion. Thanks!
Article index
Before starting with the shared and different traits, I would like to tell you the real statistics of these "disorders".
According to Wikipedia, "a disorder is a clinically significant behavioral or psychological pattern that, whatever its cause, is an individual manifestation of a behavioral, psychological or biological dysfunction."
You may think that these disorders are extremely rare, however look at some statistics that indicate that 1-3% of men and 1% of women are psychopaths.
So, it is very likely that we meet people who have these behavioral traits on a daily basis. At least 400,000 people throughout Spain are psychopaths, many more in countries with more populations such as Mexico or Argentina.
In fact, great political and business leaders are believed to be psychopaths, which can be dangerous when they have a lot of power, as their decisions influence millions of people..
Who will be psychopath among the people you know?
The key behaviors and traits shared by sociopathy and psychopathy are:
A definition of sociopath can be: person with difficulties to adapt to society and to establish personal relationships, with contempt for laws and social norms and emotionally unstable.
1-Sociopaths are usually nervous and easily agitated.
2-They have outbursts of rage and are somewhat emotionally unstable.
3-It is difficult for them to maintain a stable job and they can live on the margins of society.
4-For them it is difficult to establish personal ties with others.
5-Although they can establish a bond with someone or a group, they do not respect social norms.
6-For others, they are "rare" and if they commit crimes they will be violent, fortuitous, impulsive and without planning.
A definition of psychopath can be: person with a lack of empathy, with contempt for laws and social norms, manipulative and usually well adapted socially.
7-They do not feel empathy for people, and in general, for living beings.
8-Although they are often "charming", they are unable to establish emotional ties with other people.
9-They tend to be manipulative and know how to gain the trust of others.
10-Although it is difficult for them to feel emotions, they learn to show them.
11-Therefore, they seem normal, they are not "rare".
12-Normally they lead a normal life, have good jobs and are well educated.
13-It is difficult to know if someone is a psychopath or not because they are very good at manipulating and pretending.
14-When they commit crimes (only a very small minority of psychopaths commit them), they do it planned.
15-They are calm, meticulous and some are very charismatic.
16-They are usually leaders.
17-According to the specialist Robert Hare: “They seem intelligent, but in reality they are not especially bright. Some yes, of course. And when they are intelligent they are more dangerous ".
In an interview, Robert Hare answers the question, can you be friends with psychopaths??
"Yes but not that much. There are people who love psychopaths. Because they are fun. They will fool you and suck the essence, but they are attractive, even at the cost of such a high price. In the end, when you no longer serve them, they leave you. Psychopaths are emotional sponges and they absorb everything we have. But if you squeeze a sponge, it drops everything it caught. They do not. If you squeeze them, only dust will come out ".
It is believed that psychopathy is largely influenced by genetics, while sociopathy would be the cause of the environment..
Psychopathy is related to a physiological defect that results in a lack of development of a brain region responsible for controlling emotions and impulses. Sociopathy can be the cause of childhood trauma, physical or emotional abuse.
When it comes to committing crimes, psychopaths are undoubtedly much more fearsome and dangerous, because of how they separate their actions and their emotional repercussions. That is, despite the seriousness of the crimes, they will not feel guilt or grief..
In my opinion, these are not "all or nothing" disorders. I mean, you're either psycho or not. Therefore, I think it is much more difficult to see pure psychopaths.
There will be people who have some features and others do not, and some features more accentuated than others. There will also be others who are 100% psychopaths.
On the other hand, only the minority of psychopaths or sociopaths commit crimes.
Those who commit violent crimes (the kind in movies like Hannibal) may be psychopaths, but not all psychopaths commit crimes.
And in reality, many business and political leaders are thought to be psychopaths (an estimated 4% of them are). This does not mean that they do things wrong, although if they do they could have disastrous consequences.
Robert Hare answers the question, how does the 1% of psychopaths influence society ?:
“That 1% can have an impact on millions of people. Take, for example, the great financial scandals, with losses for thousands of people. Behind it is a psychopathic mind. In big business, psychopathy is no exception. What kind of person do you think is capable of robbing thousands of investors, ruining them even if they later commit suicide? They will say they are sorry, but they will never return the money. It is even worse than what many murderers do. "
I am convinced that it will help you better understand the differences with examples of people you may already know.
As you can see, none of them was precisely a "short-minded". They are all smart and plan their crimes pretty well.
The first film in which this character appears is "The Silence of the Lambs" and the second is titled "Hannibal".
And what psychopaths or sociopaths do you know? What traits do you think they have? I am interested in your opinion! Thanks.
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