This semester I taught both Forensic Psychology and Abnormal Psychology at the University of Bridgeport. The students there are an ethnically diverse group and I think are fairly representative of America’s young adult population. In both classes we discussed those individuals who have a “a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others.” I wrote antisocial personality disorder, sociopathy and psychopathy on the blackboard before we began our discussion. I then asked the students if they had heard of these terms and if they could tell me the definitions.
Only a small percentage had heard the term antisocial personality disorder, nearly everyone had heard the word sociopath, about a third had heard the word psychopath.
The next question to the students was, “What do all these terms mean?” Someone asked if antisocial personality referred to a person that didn’t like to be around others. Someone else said that psychopaths are “out of touch with reality, psychotic.” Most who heard the word sociopath associated it with criminality.
The students were shocked to discover that all three terms basically refer to the same disorder.
That same week, I spoke with an internet search expert. He told me that the term antisocial personality disorder is searched through Google about 5,000 times per day. The term psychopath is searched 60,000 times per day and the term sociopath is searched 110,000 times per day. These numbers are consistent with my survey of university students. My findings indicate that the American Psychiatric Association has done the public a great disservice with their boggled naming of the disorder.
An interesting historical fact is that this disorder used to be called “moral insanity.” Insanity is a legal term that indicates that due to mental defect a person is not responsible for his/her actions. Although many people believe that the morally insane have a mental (brain)defect there is considerable resistance to saying this absolves them of responsibility for their criminal acts.
This week we discussed the case of John W. Hinckley, Jr. the man who shot President Reagan and Mr. Brady, he was found not guilty by reason of insanity and committed to a mental hospital. A psychiatrist for the prosecution, Dietz testified that Hinckley viewed his actions on March 30 as successful. “It worked,” Hinckley told Dietz in an interview. “You know, actually, I accomplished everything I was going for there. Actually, I should feel good because I accomplished everything on a grand scale….I didn’t get any big thrill out of killing–I mean shooting–him. I did it for her sake….The movie isn’t over yet.” In short, Deitz saw Hinckley as a sociopath who was grandiose and trying to impress Jody Foster with his actions, though I believe he actually diagnosed him with borderline personality.
I reflected to the class that it seems that individuals like Hinckley and Dahmer (the serial killer) should be considered special cases of sociopathy and not lumped with the rest. There are sociopaths who are so grandiose and obsessed with power that they seem to lose touch with reality. Not that they are schizophrenic and have delusions or hallucinations, but their interpretations of the world cannot be construed as “normal.”
This is actually where the term “borderline” came from, as is used today to refer to “borderline personality.” The borderline is some point between neurotic and psychotic-borderline psychotic actually. So perhaps we could consider psychopaths those sociopaths who are so afflicted that their thinking and behavior indicate they have lost their grip on reality. Some psychiatrists do think of psychopaths as the worst sociopaths.
Should those with moral insanity who commit crimes be treated differently than others? Should John Hinckley be released now that he has been judged not psychotic? These are questions for another week.
See also:
https://lovefraud.com/blog/2006/07/30/confusion-about-sociopaths-pyschopaths-and-antisocials/
If you have a personal example of a sociopath’s “loose grip on reality” please share it with us in a comment.
Oxy,
” So I bought tapes (my own money) of old I Love Lucy, Red Skelton, Roy Rogers, and Alfred Hitchcock, the films that the patients could relate to, and 20 year old musicals, and DECREED that was the only thing to be on the TV.”
You rock girl!
***************************************
Wini & Oxy,
BTW – I just remembered something that another martial artist told me about dealing with cluster Bs: He says they all create a “reality suspension zone” around them. You know when you’re around them, or around someone who’s under their influence, because of the steadfast avoidance of critical realities. It’s a kinda “Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.” feeling when you step into the reality suspension zone. Everyone, or almost everyone in the zone acts and thinks dysfuntionally. (If you think you can remain in the zone and stay healthy, you may be in for a ego-busting shock.) It’s really helpful to be aware of the zone’s social location, so you can be aware of what’s influencing people’s perceived reality.
Hope that helps someone. It helps me.
Dear Elizabeth!!!
REALITY SUSPENSION ZONE!!!! That’s my mother’s address! I also lived there for waaaay too long!
You are so right, there is no way to remain in this ZONE and keep your own sanity! The longer you are in the zone the more effect the insanity has on you and you start to surcumb to the “crazymaking” going on there. You fight it, and fight it, but become more frustrated and then you start to doubt yourself.
My P-son, in some of his “letters of encouragement” to his pawns kept telling them that “Mom can’t win, because we are RIGHT, there are MORE of us, and we are smarter.” (that’s a quote).
His logic to me before I went NC was that “he got along” with everyone, (my mother and his plotters) and I got along with no one, therefore it was obvious that I was the problem, not him. In the ZONE that made sense, in my world it didn’t.
Democracy is NOT always the right way to find the truth and the right way to do things. Sometimes democracy is like two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner. LOL
The majority is also not always “right”–there was a time you could be burned at the stake for saying the world was a globe, but that didn’t change the shape of the earth. Being right doesn’t always make one popular either. Too many times though, and in the family the community and the work place, the “majority” rules—Nazi Germany is a good example of a small group of psychopaths influencing an entire nation into antisocial behavior. Of course there are many examples of this in history.
The instances of being “politcally correct” or being punished, when PC was antisocial behavior and thought, fills our history books and the “killing fields” of many nations.
Oxy: I believe we all have different forms of dysfunctions in all our families … it is the human condition.
On a scale of 1-10 … where do our relatives fall?
Hey, you know what THEY say, you can pick your friends, you can pick your seats … but you can’t pick your blood relatives (and yes Indie, I know what else we can write about what we can pick).
I believe we are all speaking about the degree of selfishness in these folks. Greed and selfishness are the mother of all sins … naturally we repeal against these sins … because it pains us.
You chose correctly, trying to love them all during all their selfish rampages throughout the years … GREED and selfishness … what a mess… and when you had enough of banging your head against that brick wall … the aches that hurt you to your very core of your soul … made you step back and “just let them go” … give them over to God and let God handle them… for they violate the very first commandment … as I wrote you before, believing in their own mini gods … their ego.
Peace.
Elizabeth Conley: Oh, I knew I was odd man out in my place of employment.
When I first started working there … it was 50/50 … half humble folks and half ego maniacs.
Of course the egos forced all the decent folks out … either forcing them to transfer (if they were lucky enough to transfer) or destroying their careers totally (firing) or just having them quit on their own. I always found that amazing, since none of these egos paid anyone’s salaries in there.
I refused. Absolutely refused to use and abuse anyone. I was there to work … and that’s what I did. I did have to fight for every job I did … cause I was constantly called on the carpet for doing my job by the egos in there … always wanting me to just go away so they wouldn’t have to work at all … just give everyone lip service and collect their paychecks.
It always amazed me … how the egos would complain and get the ear of the “real” bosses in that place. I’d love to tell my former big boss from years ago, that he listened to insecure, greedy prostitutes who slept with and controlled all the lower level managers from their bedrooms? I wonder what he’d think of that fact? His decisions actually weren’t his decisions on his own … he was conditioned by the egos in there putting their spins to manipulating what he assume was free thought?
Amazing how many people are manipulated by the greed and selfishness of others and haven’t a clue that they are being systematically groomed to think and believe the way a selfish person wants them to think.
I remember new employees coming in for the very first day … and my control freak co-worker used to express her opinion of this new person … that they think they are this or that. I’d always shake my head and say to her … how would you know what this person thinks or is all about … she/he just walked through the door and didn’t even say hi yet? Nope, she had to run and put her thoughts about the person in everyone’s ear … and guess who won? Yup, the new person was run out of our work place within a week.
Peace.
Elizabeth Conely: True story. This little ole lady came to work with us. She was a temp from a temp agency. She must have been in her early 70s.
Anyway, she started work that morning … came 10:00 a.m. break … she walked down the walkway to take her break … and never returned.
She knew within a couple of hours how evil it was in that place.
The “real” people in that place just laughed and said “good for her” … as the egos were all confused wondering what the heck made her do such a thing and ran around like chickens with their heads cut off … because they knew they didn’t even start to put one of their spins on this lady yet.
It was a funny situation. Come to think of it … that temp agency never contacted our section again … I don’t know about the rest of the building … but our section, well, we never heard a word from them no matter how many phone calls were made to that temp agency to return the phone calls.
Peace.
Sorry Sarah I disagree with a lot of what you say. The differences in the names are different because one of the arguments is that sociopaths and ASPD can, have , and do change. Some do not. Psychopaths however do not and can not.
I also disagree that the survivors are the most qualified to on the topic. You are most qualified to talk about your experience. But your experience is in no way identical to everyone else’s experience and while there are some things in common there are also very unique things. Again there is a very good reason why it is ILLEGAL for people that have not been trained and licensed to diagnose people. And that is to just start to learn how to do it. Waaaaaay to many people jump the gun and call someone a psychopath when in fact they are just abusive jerks. There is a difference and it is an important difference. It is also dangerous for to down the path of thinking that my personal experience with one makes me more qualified. That same logic would then apply to people who have experienced others with every condition you can think of and that is obviously not so. It does give you a special insight to be helpful, supportive, and understanding of those that have suffered though.
Sarah I do agree with you on other parts. I agree that the individual is the best person to know what is right for themselves and the best person to educate themselves on how to avoid abusive people. But by trying to label them something without knowing for sure you just add to the public’s confusion instead of helping. It is important for researchers to make distinctions. It may not be so for the general public. Avoiding hurtful people should be the goal, not the assigning of a label that may or may not be correct.
My Psyco Scored 110. 0/0 Textbook Hare / Peck Brainscaned, Confirmed !The Label that Helped me out of the Quicksand was the Label Buy one get one free ! What a deal! Tell me you could’nt use two of them! LOVE JJ
🙂 Good point Indie. Anything an individual calls them to themselves is fine as long as it is works to keep themselves safe and doing better.
BloggerT7165: If we aren’t energy … then they are pouring big money into the man who is making breakthroughs with radio waves and cancer cells. The excitement this is causing … and from the most unlikely source …and, the good thing … no side affects.
Peace.