You may have heard people call someone a ‘psychopath’ or ‘sociopath’, but do you know what these words mean? They are popular psychology terms used to call an antisocial personality disorder. Till today, not many definitions can define these two terms well in the psychology research literature. Most professional experts believe both psychopaths and sociopaths share a similar set of traits – these people have a poor inner sense of right and wrong, and they seem not to understand or share others’ feelings. So, what’s the difference between Psychopath and Sociopath? That’s what we are going to discuss in this article!
What do these two patients have in common? Here are a few reasons explaining why they become the risks to society:
- -Both suffer from antisocial personality disorder
- -Both lack sympathy
- -Both fail to feel any remorse or guilt
- -Both demonstrate complete disregard to social rules and behavior standards
- -Both are violent
What’s a Psychopath? According to psychology experts, psychopathy means the individual has no empathy or sense of morality among a number of human traits. A psychopath is very dangerous – he’s violent and cruel, as well as oftentimes downright sinister, especially he shows no remorse for his terrible actions. This type can commit crimes in cold blood. Researchers have shown psychopaths have underdeveloped components of the brain thought to be responsible for fear, judgment, and impulse control.
What’s a Sociopath? The psychology experts believe that sociopathy is the results of environmental factors, i.e. a child experiencing physical abuse, emotional abuse, or childhood trauma. This person does have a sense of morality and well-developed conscience but they’re not strong enough to stop him from his behavior. Sociopaths are often pathological liars – despite great manipulation, they lack the ability to judge the morality of a situation, as well as their existing moral compass is quite skewed.
Both psychopaths and sociopaths present risks to society as they tend to live a normal life as others while coping with their disorder. However, psychopathy is way more dangerous than sociopathy since they experience a lot less guilt connected to their actions. A psychopath born with a great ability can dissociate himself from his terrible actions. Living without emotional involvement, any pain you suffer is nothing to this person. A majority of famous serial killers have been psychopaths; however, not all psychopaths and sociopaths are violent entirely. Violence is not a necessary ingredient for a diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder, but it’s often present.
In both cases, some signs and symptoms will appear before age 15; and by the time an individual becomes an adult, he is well on the way to be a psychopath or sociopath. If you are living with a child or young teen, please observe and recognize these following symptoms of conduct disorder:
- -Aggressive to people and animals
- -Destruction of property
- -Deceitfulness or theft
- -Serious violations of rules or laws
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