Psychopath and Sociopath: What's the difference?

People with antisocial personality disorder are called psychopaths and sociopaths. The difference between such people is not big, but it still exists. We’ll talk further about how to identify a sociopath and a psychopath, how to communicate with them, and what is the difference between them.

1.General signs
2.How to spot a sociopath
3. How to spot a psychopath
4.Types of psychopathic disorders
5.What is the difference between a psychopath and a sociopath?
6.Can these disorders be cured?
7. Summarizing

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General signs

Either a psychopath or a sociopath can outwardly look like a normal person.
They are not always openly aggressive and may well exist in society. At the same time, there are a number of signs that characterize these people most clearly:

a person neglects moral norms and laws;
he easily deceives;
he does not think about the safety of the people who surround him;
the person is impulsive, he is characterized by frequent outbursts of aggression due to which he can get involved in a fight;
he has no sense of responsibility, he is equally disdainful of the lives of others and his own.

We can say that such signs in modern society can be found in every second person. The difference is that in psychopaths and sociopaths they manifest themselves more clearly and in a more severe form.

How to spot a sociopath

The main reason for the emergence and development of sociopathy is the negative influence of the environment.
This can include family problems, emotional and physical abuse, and childhood trauma. Sociopaths are characterized by eccentricity and unpredictability. Such a person is very difficult to make contact. At the same time, a sociopath is in dire need of society. It is important for him to feel involved in any group, to be a member of society. Unfortunately, this cannot actually be achieved. A sociopath often changes jobs, circle of acquaintances, and partners. A sociopath often fails to create even the appearance of ordinary human life.

The main reason for such circumstances is impulsive human behavior. They are very hot-tempered. Usually an outburst of anger ends in physical violence.

It is important to distinguish between a sociopath and a social phobe. There is nothing in common between these types of people. Social phobia is absolutely harmless to others. He may be distinguished by his angelic character and good nature. The only problem of a social phobia is the fear of publicity and any other contact with society. It is difficult for him to make contact simply because he cannot overcome himself. Sociopathy is a serious personality disorder accompanied by aggression, violence and a complete lack of guilt and responsibility.

Behavioral characteristics

The clinical diagnosis is supplemented by behavioral characteristics:

Emotional manipulation of others, such as pretending to be interested in someone in order to achieve a goal.
A lie that allows you to achieve a certain advantage.
When faced with the consequences of his own actions, he displays aggression, sadism and ruthlessness.

The difference (distinctive feature) between a sociopath and a psychopath is a person’s attitude towards conflicts: a sociopath enters into conflict situations, unlike a psychopath.

Individuals with sociopathy ignore promises, obligations, and agreements. If the achievement of an immediate goal is required, then such people make decisions with virtually no regard for the consequences, in response to the events of the current moment.

Sociopaths do not have the ability to plan and cannot quickly solve problems as they arise. They ignore rules, take risks, and justify their outrageous actions.

How to spot a psychopath

The main cause of psychopathic disorder may be disorders of brain development and heredity.
A psychopath often simply refuses to control his emotions. A psychopath is very cruel. Under the guise of normal relationships with loved ones, he simply manipulates them to achieve his own goals or for self-affirmation. They have a complete lack of remorse.

He can easily harm anyone, even a loved one. Outwardly, a psychopath may well look friendly. These people can start a family, get a good education, and get a decent job. He carefully thinks through his every step. Having found himself in a criminal history, this person will carefully consider his next steps in order to remain unpunished.

Questions and answers

Is it possible to develop sociopathy in adulthood?

This pathology is observed in childhood and adolescence under the influence of heredity and provoking factors. In an adult, without treatment, it can take on slightly different forms and manifestations.

How is a sociopath different from a psychopath?

Sociopathic disorder presupposes at least some rudiments of internal understanding of the wrongness of one's own actions, but this rarely deters one from committing antisocial acts. This condition is characterized by high impulsiveness. With psychopathy, criticism of one’s behavior is completely absent, and all steps towards the goal are thought out in advance.

Types of psychopathic disorders

But not all psychopaths behave the same way. Experts distinguish several types of psychopathy:

Excitable
psychopathy is characteristic of irritable people. Their mood systematically changes, they do not accept other people's opinions and take absolutely no one into account. An excitable psychopath is clearly confident that there is only one correct opinion - his. There simply cannot be any other options. A person who dares to object to an excitable psychopath risks experiencing the full force of anger, including physical violence.
Hysterical
psychopaths require increased attention. Such a person is very infantile, he is not constant in his likes and dislikes. Benevolent on the outside, hysterical psychopaths can be cold on the inside.
A paranoid
psychopath thinks too highly of himself. He is suspicious, touchy, does not accept criticism and easily asserts himself by belittling others.
Inhibitory
psychopathy causes a person to literally live in a constant state of anxiety. He feels inferior and constantly controls his behavior. Such people are pronounced hypochondriacs. They constantly analyze themselves, from appearance to individual elements of behavior. A person is constantly under tension, which provokes the appearance of psychosomatic symptoms - constant fatigue and increased anxiety.

Sociopathy in men

In representatives of the stronger sex, sociopathic disorder manifests itself in the form of physical violence against the weaker. From childhood, boys with this pathology begin to lie, steal and commit other acts condemned by society and the law; they behave inappropriately and aggressively. They derive a kind of pleasure from inflicting pain and suffering through deliberate actions.

Betrayal and infidelity can be considered signs of a sociopathic disorder in a man, and the patient always shifts the blame for these offenses to his partner. It is also typical for him to seek new sensations, constantly taking risks and using other people for this purpose. When resisting, he quickly becomes irritable, aggressive, or throws a tantrum or threatens. Sociopaths constantly lie because they consider others stupider than themselves; without a twinge of conscience, they exploit others, because they are sure that they have every right to do so.

What is the difference between a psychopath and a sociopath?

Each type of person has certain traits and habits.
People with psychopathy and sociopathy are no exception. Sociopaths express their feelings more clearly because they are more emotional. Anger and a nervous state accompany a sociopath constantly. Such people rarely start families and try to limit their communication with other people as much as possible. They cannot always be in the same society, which provokes them to regularly change jobs and even place of residence. A sociopath does not know how and does not want to plan; he acts spontaneously without foreseeing the consequences of his actions.

A psychopath is absolutely not prone to empathy. He does not know how and does not try to get emotionally close to other people. He can win people over, but only in order to use them for his own purposes. The outward good manners and intelligence of people with psychopathic disorder hides a cold calculation.

They plan absolutely any of their actions in advance. Such a person simply does not want to empathize with others, both negatively and positively. For him, only his own emotions are important.

Important!

Both categories can pose a serious danger to society.
If a person or his environment does not recognize the disorder in time and does not take measures to eliminate it, then both parties can have very serious problems.
People with psychopathic disorders are still considered more terrible and dangerous. The feeling of guilt is alien to them; they do not know how and do not want to admit their actions and repent of what they have done. They simply do not know how to compare their emotions with their actions. Most maniacs and serial killers had psychopathic disorders. They simply don't care about other people's pain. At the same time, a psychopath can easily gain trust. It is easier for them to create an image of a healthy, positive person. Due to his charm, he can easily mislead.

A sociopath is more eccentric. He easily loses his temper and the actions he commits are often caused by a state of passion.

Symptoms of Sociopathic Disorder

In boys, the first manifestations are observed in the primary grades of high school, in girls the disorder appears later - during puberty. A patient with sociopathy is characterized by:

tendency to lie;
cruelty and aggressiveness;
promiscuity;
selfishness.

Children with such a deviation do not want to go to school, damage property, get into fights, bully the weaker, torture animals, and often leave home and wander. The main feature of a patient with a sociopathic disorder from an early age is an oppositional attitude towards his parents. They show open hostility towards strangers or simply neglect their interests. It is important for them to undergo a consultation with a psychiatrist to rule out other pathologies.

After committing another offense, the patient is not tormented by his conscience, even if he is caught at the scene of the “crime”. He always considers others to blame, shifting all responsibility onto them and completely justifying himself. Often people with sociopathic disorder start smoking, drinking, and taking drugs early on. They have increased libido and promiscuity in sexual relations.

At the first sign of sociopathic disorder, you should consult a doctor. Otherwise, the person will experience desocialization and begin to have problems with the law.

After reaching adulthood, patients almost always look like ordinary people, with normal social adaptation and adequate behavior. They are witty, charming and attract attention. But this impression of them is formed only with infrequent contacts. With close people and friends, patients behave like manipulators; they do not know how to empathize and do not experience emotional attachments.

To achieve their goal, they lie, imitate symptoms of diseases, talk about their “unhappy and difficult” life in order to arouse pity and achieve their intended goal. Regardless of the circumstances, they follow their own path, wanting to get as much pleasure as possible, and do not consider it shameful to commit antisocial acts. Guilt and shame do not exist for a person with a sociopathic disorder; he considers it his right to get what he wants by any means. Even after punishment and condemnation, they do not draw any conclusions and do not learn from their own mistakes. At work, they often shift responsibilities to others, are constantly late, and perceive criticism from colleagues or superiors as unfair accusations.

Sociopathic disorder can manifest as passive or active. With passive sociopathy, a person somewhat limits their actions according to religion or law, which protects them from receiving punishment. But at the same time, patients constantly violate the rules of decency, morality and conscience. Active sociopaths are completely devoid of all restrictions, most of them end up in prison. To carry out their business, they often join criminal gangs, fraudulent groups and sects.

The sociopathic disorder persists in the patient until the end of his life, while after 40 years of age, their activity in the criminal field decreases. Many of these patients suffer from concomitant affective disorders and chronic diseases; many of them become drunkards or drug addicts. The use of psychotropic drugs leads to an acceleration of social maladjustment; in this case, assistance should begin in the drug treatment department.

If you find signs of a sociopathic disorder in your relative, call the number listed on our website. An experienced specialist will tell you how to behave with such a person and what actions to take.

Can these disorders be cured?

Most doctors agree that psychopathic and sociopathic disorders are incurable.
So far, it has not been possible to create a drug that could increase empathy. As you know, more effective treatment is possible only if the patient himself is ready to cooperate with doctors. Psychopaths consider themselves normal people without deviations. It is almost impossible to convince them otherwise. It is for this reason that psychotherapy is often unsuccessful. In addition, most patients use treatment for completely different purposes.

They learn more details about the structure of their psyche in order to manipulate them in the future. As for sociopaths, many psychiatrists believe that the best solution is not to try to cure the disorder, but to isolate sociopaths in an environment where it will be easier for them to communicate and help them adapt to normal life.

Attention!

It is easier not to treat people with personality disorders, but to help them direct their behavior in the right direction. It is quite possible to satisfy your own needs without causing harm to others or breaking the law. Many patients with psychopathic disorders are able to live in normal society and do so quite successfully.

They have learned to control the characteristics of their character without causing harm to others. At the same time, the composure characteristic of a psychopath can even become an advantage in certain professions. For example, in working with finances, cold calculation allows you to achieve certain successes.

Sociopathic disorder in women

The manifestations of this mental pathology have some gender differences. In women, such a violation is determined in cases where she begins to put her needs first, without paying attention to the desires of other people. She simply stops noticing their aspirations, and therefore she begins to have problems in the social sphere. The main signs of sociopathy in this case include:

lack of understanding of other people's pain;
inability to show care and attention;
cruelty towards children, intimidation.

Most often, a mother's children suffer from this disorder. And if in men sociopathy manifests itself clearly, then women act more flexibly, most often carrying out violence on an emotional level. Everything that a woman should normally have by nature (care, love, warmth) is absent with sociopathy and turns her into a mental aggressor and tyrant.

Summing up

Representatives of two different antisocial disorders - psychopath and sociopath, the difference between which is not always noticeable, fortunately, are not so common in any society.
According to the latest data, such disorders are diagnosed in no more than 3% of the population. Men are more susceptible to the disorder. Moreover, most often these are people with various addictions.

Drug addicts, substance abusers, alcoholics and other people prone to reduced social responsibility are more likely than others to develop personality disorders. However, psychopaths and sociopaths do not always become criminals.

Question for readers

: What is your opinion about these characteristics of people? Share it in your messages, it is very important to us!

Milyukova Yuno Aug 20, 2020

Common features

A common feature of sociopaths and psychopaths is a tendency to manipulate and deceive, ignoring the safety, feelings and rights of other people. Contrary to existing stereotypes, people with antisocial disorder are not always violent or short-tempered. Similar traits are listed in the DSM-5, the Diagnostic Manual of Mental Disorders. A mental disorder is diagnosed if a specialist detects in a person, in addition to the general symptoms of a personality disorder, at least three of the following:

Disregard for social norms and regular violation of laws.
Constantly deceiving other people.
Impulsivity, inability to plan.
Aggressiveness, irritability, tendency to escalate conflict.
Ignoring the safety of others.
Irresponsibility, inability to fulfill financial obligations.
Lack of empathy and the ability to experience remorse and remorse.

These symptoms first appear in adolescence. If not properly monitored, a person may experience a serious personality disorder in later life.