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.
I think more research should be done on the reasons why they don’t want to change.
Which would be flawed research from the start because you make the assumption that they don’t want to change. To paraphrase Harriet Hall:
that study would fall into the category of what I call Tooth Fairy science. You could measure how much money the Tooth Fairy leaves under the pillow, whether she leaves more cash for the first or last tooth, whether the payoff is greater if you leave the tooth in a plastic baggie versus wrapped in Kleenex. You can get all kinds of good data that is reproducible and statistically significant. Yes, you have learned something. But you haven’t learned what you think you’ve learned, because you haven’t bothered to establish whether the Tooth Fairy really exists.
Research has and continues to be done on this area. It has done for a long time. If it was simply a matter of choice it would make treatment options much much easier.
Asking why psychopaths don’t want to change is, again, imbuing them with a “human” nature. It is human nature to want to relieve suffering for themselves and for others, and we have the ability to introspect in order to do so. This means sometimes changing ourselves. Psychopaths do not have that self-reflective nature. They do no experience emotional suffering the way humans do. There really is a piece missing. Research has shown that all the therapy in the world cannot supply this missing piece. If you think of them as non-human, it goes a long way to understanding where they come from.
BloggerT7165: I’m saying what is it in our society that would satisfy them to change? NOTHING. Hence, why “normal” people are stepping out and doing what isn’t right… getting away with what they know is wrong … and here we go again, kicking off the sensations they feel in getting away with a vice. It’s a free for all out their in society … or haven’t you noticed. When was the last time you saw a president go to jail for his corruption? Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. It starts from the top and trickles down to us pe-ons in the world.
Hey, there are sensations that get kicked off in our bodies and minds that affect our every molecule in our bodies … and all that entails for focusing and conducting ourselves towards virtues in life. Same goes with the vices… focusing and living their lives in the vices … doesn’t allow the trip system to go off in their molecules affecting their brains and bodies … so what is getting tripped off … instead of a big ego trip … their muscles in their minds go dormant because the virtues aren’t being tripped off through life … and the molecules that get activated are made up of the vices.
Think about how you feel when you do something for someone. Good. Right? You have a warm sensation come over you. Why is that? Same thing if you should do something evil towards someone. How awful would you feel? You’d probably throw up too, because you aren’t use to doing something evil.
All these idiots did is condition themselves over the year to accept what was evil as good. They switched the sensations around in their own minds.
Now, it’s up to mental health professionals to work backwards with them to undue the conditioning that they did to themselves.
Peace.
All these idiots did is condition themselves over the year to accept what was evil as good. They switched the sensations around in their own minds.
That would be a sociopath rather than a psychopath. And a psychopath has not conditioned themselves over the years, they were like this even as children (prior to age 10).
Regarding the so-called “sociopaths” who are not actual psychopaths……..I think our society is becoming increasingly more antisocial. You cannot go anywhere without someone intruding on your peace with their loud private cell phone conversations. And they are encouraged to do so from earlier and earlier ages. I find it repulsive. People relate to gadgets more than to each other. And do people even remember what it’s like to just be present? Instead, we are supposed to be multitasking all the time, with our text messaging, IM, emails, cell phones, Ipods,……..where’s the humanity? It is very sad for me at 48 to see the direction society is taking–more and more mechanized.
Hi BloggerT:
What was my ex? Sociopath or Psychopath:
* Constant Lying
* Cheated on every woman…sets the next one up before he leaves the one he is with.
* I saw him commit Workers Comp Fraud and Tax Fraud
* Dominating
* Controlling
* Manipulative
* Evasive
* Verbally Abusive
* Physical Abuse – with me one time, with the ex alot.
* Jealous – Always accused me of looking at guys or trying to attract their attention.
* Temper – Broke things of mine in a rage – never replaced them.
* Never had a place of his own because he doesn’t or can’t pay rent.
* No Car – No Credit – Irresponsible with bill paying
* Lazy – Called out sick all the time because he just didn’t want to go to work. Quit 2 jobs over the 2 years I was with him.
* No Friends
* Didn’t sleep well in the night. Sometimes could be up till 5 am watching tv or playing video games.
* Put a standing fan in the bedroom and ran it all night because he needed the sound to go to sleep.
* Always working out…his muscles could never be big enough.
* Unable to say “I’m sorry.” Said saying “I’m sorry” doesn’t do anything. I can’t right the wrong he did.
I could not answer you. There really is a reason why people are required by law to be licensed before even starting to learn how to diagnose people. There is a lot more to diagnosing people than just checklists. But for those on the receiving end of the behaviors you listed does it really matter? All that matters is that it is hurtful abusive behavior that no one should have to endure.
A psychopath was psychopathic even as a young child. The example many use for this theory is a gang member. They may have been fine as a young child but they got older, got into a gang and they began doing anti-social activities and they look and acted no different than a “psychopath”. However as they matured and left the gang lifstyle they did change and no longer would meet the criteria for being a psychopath.
The impulsivity of Sociopaths cannot be emphasized enough. If you heard gunshots, would you run toward the gunfire, or away? If the police were cleaning out a crack house in your neighborhood, would you stand on the sidewalk and make a public nuisance, or avoid the scene? Need I go on?
From ministry in a community with a lot of moderately anti-social people, many drug users and a few sociopaths, I can give witness to the impulsivity. Most of these people crave excitement to such a degree that they run toward, rather than away from scenes involving dangerous confrontations.
Most street wise people can sense when things are going South, and make themselves scarce before shots are fired or blows are exchanged. As a rule, street-smart means knowing when to melt away without fanfare. Not so with the addicts, sociopaths and the moderately ASPD. They got this odd wild-eyed look on their faces, like a cat rolling in catnip. Nothing could drag them away ’til long after the exhausted police officers had filled out their last form, asked their last question, and left.
The one person I suspected was a psychopath would never have placed himself at personal risk. He got his jollies without ever sticking out his neck. He probably couldn’t resist hurting people, but he knew how to bide his time. The only thing in life that didn’t work for him was his marriage and his family. The rest of the time, being covertly vile worked out well for him.
I have seen impulsiveness in all three and the opposite in all three.
Iwonder here is an example of a Psychopath (a true case).
At 14 he was already in a State prison for Rape and his antisocial behaviors went back all the way into early childhood. He was released and was caught again for Rape while still a juvenile and when he was released again he got out and raped and murdered a woman and then abused the corpse. He conned the prison officials and clinicians who were working with him, conned them so well that 2 of them actually tried to get him an early release because he appeared to have made such good progress (note here that they had zero training in dealing with sex offenders or psychopaths).
STAR!
SSSSSSSSSssssssss! Primal instinct! Survive at all Cost! Animale instinct takes place of maternal/parental edgeamKation! We are off to See the Wizard ? the wonderfull Wizard of OZ! all I want is a brain? LOVE JJ