By Natalie Kelly Psychopaths Sociopaths vs Psychopaths The
By Natalie Kelly Psychopaths
Sociopaths vs. Psychopaths � The term sociopath is sometimes used synonymously with the term psychopath. However, these are two very different forms of mental illness. They are often used interchangeably due to some traits shared by both psychopaths and sociopaths. These traits are: disregard for laws and social mores, disregard for rights of others, failure to feel remorse or guilt, and a tendency to display violent behaviour. � Despite these shared traits, sociopaths differ from psychopaths. Sociopaths tend to be nervous and easily agitated, as well as being volatile and prone to emotional outbursts most notably fits of rage. Sociopaths are also likely uneducated and live on the fringes of society. They are unable to hold a job or stay in one place for very long. Sociopaths also have no regard for society or its rules and will appear very disturbed to most people.
Sociopaths vs. Psychopaths Continued � Sociopathic tendencies are thought to be caused by the upbringing of the individual, or “nurture over nature”. Psychopathy differs in that it is largely caused by genetics or “nature over nurture”. In terms of crimes committed, sociopaths tend to commit crimes in a haphazard, disorganized, and spontaneous fashion. Basically, sociopaths tend to commit violent crimes like murder on a spur of the moment decision and tend to leave a lot of evidence behind because of this. The biggest way that sociopaths differ from psychopaths is that it is difficult, but not impossible for them to form emotional attachments. This is something that psychopaths cannot do because of their inability to feel emotions deeply.
What makes someone a psychopath? � There a lot of factors that determine whether or not someone is a psychopath. One of these factors is whether or not they have antisocial personality disorder. Every psychopath has APD, and 1 in 5 people that are diagnosed with APD are psychopaths. Psychopaths also have high tolerances for both pain and disgust. Psychopaths are also very impulsive and need constant stimulation as they very easily become bored. They often have very charming and charismatic personalities which makes them very manipulative as well as making it easy for them to gain people’s trust. Psychopaths also live a very parasitic lifestyle, and tend to have behavioural problems early on in their life. They are also very narcissistic, overconfident, and tend to be sexually promiscuous. But the biggest trait that makes someone a psychopath is their inability to feel emotions. They lack empathy as well as remorse, guilt, or fear. However, they learn to mimic emotions and personality traits from other people despite not having a personality of their own. This is caused by dysfunctions in the prefrontal cortex and amygdala of the brain.
Psychopaths and Crime � People often associate the term “psychopath” with serial killers like Clifford Olson or Ted Bundy. They are a few examples of famous psychopaths. Others include Adolf Hitler, John Wayne Gacy, and Jeffrey Dahmer. Psychopaths lack of empathy and inability to feel guilt often lead to them committing crimes. 25% of the prison population in the USA are psychopaths. Psychopathic convicts are 2. 5 times more likely to be released from prison than their non-psychopathic inmates. This is likely due to their charismatic personality. However, they are more likely to reoffend once released from prison. They are also more likely to commit more violent crimes like murder. Unlike sociopaths, psychopaths tend to plan out the crimes they’re going to commit beforehand as opposed to committing them spontaneously. So does that mean that every psychopath is a criminal? No. Just like any mental illness, there are different types of psychopaths. Criminal psychopaths are the ones society is most familiar with due to serial killers like Ted Bundy.
Diagnosing Psychopathy was first diagnosed in the 1940’s by Harvey M. Cleckley. He developed the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders, which outlines the criteria for antisocial personality disorder. This criteria was later revised by Canadian psychologist Robert Hare, who developed the psychopathy checklist. � The psychopathy checklist is a 20 item inventory of personality traits used in diagnosing psychopathy as well as to predict the risk of criminal re-offense and the probability of rehabilitation. The 20 items are divided into 2 factors. Factor one correlates with narcissism, and factor two correlates with antisocial personality disorder and borderline personality disorder. The 20 personality traits that are assesed are: Glibness/superficial charm, Grandiose sense of self-worth, Pathological lying, Cunning/manipulative, Lack of remorse or guilt, Emotionally shallow, Callous/lack of empathy, Failure to accept responsibility for own actions, Need for stimulation/proneness to boredom, Parasitic lifestyle, Lack of realistic, long-term goals, Impulsivity, Irresponsibility, Poor behavioral controls, Early behavioral problems, Juvenile delinquency, Revocation of conditional release, Criminal versatility, Many short-term marital relationships, and Promiscuous sexual behavior. �
Bibliography � � � � Bonn, Scott. "How to Tell a Sociopath from a Psychopath. " Psychology Today. N. p. , n. d. Web. <https: //www. psychologytoday. com/blog/wickeddeeds/201401/how-tell-sociopath-psychopath>. Cohen, Lisa J. "What Do We Know About Psychopathy? " Psychology Today. N. p. , n. d. <https: //www. psychologytoday. com/blog/handy-psychologyanswers/201103/what-do-we-know-about-psychopathy>. D. "Psychopathy and Its Relationship to Criminal Behaviour. " Psychopathy and Its Relationship to Criminal Behaviour (n. d. ): n. pag. Web. <http: //sasspace. sas. ac. uk/5241/1/1705 -2277 -1 -PB. pdf>. Hirstein, William. "What Is a Psychopath? " Psychology Today. N. p. , n. d. Web. <https: //www. psychologytoday. com/blog/mindmelding/201301/what-ispsychopath-0>. "Psychopathy Checklist. " Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n. d. Web. <http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Psychopathy_Checklist>. "Psychopathy. " Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n. d. Web. <http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Psychopathy>. Psychologia. "Infographic: Psychopath Vs. Sociopath. " Psychologia. N. p. , n. d. Web. <http: //psychologia. co/psychopath-vs-sociopath/>. "Welcome to the Psychopathy Society. " Welcome to SSSP. N. p. , n. d. Web. <http: //www. psychopathysociety. org/en/>.
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