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.
Hi Indigo! LOLOLOLOL The snakeys say hi too!
Regarding the impulsive of psychopaths, mine was impulsive too. He knew he would have to move out of his townhome soon. And yet he started collecting snakes and giant enclosures for themin a very short time frame. Last I heard, he had a small zoo of them. It would be nearly impossible for him to move with all those snakes, who need to have heat on them at all times. He was too impulsive to just wait until after the move.
I think impulsivity is key to this conversation. A psychopath might say to himself and mean it, I will never do that again. I mean, I really don’t want to kill people anymore! And then, the opportunity presents itself right in front of them, and boom they act out of impulsivity forgetting everything they had ever thought of, not thinking of the consequences, and the future hardly exists. They live in the NOW, and it is very much what will give them the greatest pleasure in the NOW. And they act. When it is over, they might again say to themselves, and mean it, I will NEVER do that again, and they mean it, but they only mean it right now. Right now they aren’t going to kill anyone. That is part of the dichotomies of the psycho, and part of the lies. I actually believe they believe all their lies. Because I saw it for my own eyes. They can say two opposite things at the same time and mean them both! And to them, they are both valid. You’re right Blogger, they think really differently.
Bird, this is what makes them so dangerous.
Well, my ex is grew up in Camden, NJ as a teenager. He was into the Gansta scene but only mentioned fighting to the extent of using fists. He said it was survival because he had to walk so far to school that his boys had to stick together walking through some neighborhoods in case they got jumped.
I know he was involved with some bad people when we first met. He was going out making a fast buck and I couldn’t get the total gist of it, but he described it like going along with very low-level members connected to organized crime where they would go around collecting money. He would be one of the guys that should the person not pay-up, would have to rough up the person. This organization had asked him to step up a level and carry a gun. They gave it to him but before he could go out with it, I talked him into getting out…for good. He had to have someone “vouch” for him. This person had to convince the high-er ups to let him out. I remember him on the phone in the kitchen telling this person, ” you have to vouch for me.” “I can’t do this anymore.” “I have a chance to have a real life with someone.” He had to take a ride one night. Either he was coming back, or they would have whacked him. He was scared shit. I waited..and waited. He came back like 4 am. He said they let him out. A few days later, he met with one of them and gave the gun back…which had to be melted down because it had a “history.” My ex never went back. He told me a few times he put himself in a position where someone actually put a gun in his mouth. He told me he prayed to God both times to let him live and he’d never do these things again. I’m not making this stuff up. Was he? I don’t think so. I knew he had a gun. I knew he wanted to tell me. I knew he wanted me to stop him before he got killed. He said he didn’t care about himself. The money was for his kids.
So, is he a sociopath or a psychopath? Maybe he was a psychopath that turned sociopath. Now he just gets money from women.
Bird the impulsivity issues in some is kinda like this. “Normal” people do “Ready, Aim, Fire” but people with severe impulse control issues often are “Fire, Ready, Aim”. And yes bird they really do think differently.
BloggerT7165: Thanks for clarifying that … I always thought they just fired, fired, fired at radom ..l didn’t think they bother to go through the other steps, even backwards. Just kidding …
Peace.
I dont think they step, I think it is more like a skip or a leap 🙂
Dear Iwonder,
Everything he told you might have been a lie. I can tell you the “money wasn’t for his kids”—if he was involved in some of ths “organized crime” crap, him telling you was probably posturing to appear like a “big shot” to you. My advice is to stay away from people who either ARE or are pretending to be “crooks” of any kind.
It is like some of the Ps telling people they were FBI, Navy Seals, CIA or whatever…the pretending to be some “big bad dude” to impress others with their macho. It is amazing how many people try to pretend to be something they are not, have never been and could not ever qualify for, just to get a thrill out of play acting the part. Like little boys playing “Cowboys and Indians” and pretending to ride the range with the tough guys, shooting the bank robbers.
My bio-father, who WAS an amazing man and who had done some AMAZING things would still give an interview claiming to be and have done things that he never did. He contradicted himself so many times IN PRINT that it was hard to tell the truth from the fiction unless you really knew him. It was almost like he made them up as he went, oblivious of all the other printed stories about him that came right from his mouth. What Hare said about them contradicting themselves and not seeing that about what they said is a perfect description of how they are with telling tales about themselves.
Wini I posted this in the other thread but wanted to put it in this thread and for you to consider also:
All the ones I have interacted with all knew the difference between right and wrong. But it is hard to explain it. It is kind of like this. Do you ever break the speed limit when you are driving? If so do you know it is wrong? But you do it anyway right? Now of course there is a huge difference between that and the “wrongs” that a psychopath does.
But thats just it, to them there is no difference and they will in fact point that out in what seems like a flawed logic. Funny thing is I was just today watching a video of an inmate interview and he made the statement of what is a worse sin, stealing a cracker or killing someone? They are both equal in God’s eyes he said.
And that is it, its not just bs they are pushing they really do think this way. So I do not feel guilt or remorse for breaking the speed limit so why would I for doing X”
That is the best I can think of right now to explain how they have thought.
Iwonder: I met John Gotti, Big Paulie Costellano, and Sammy the Bull all in one night. Except, I hadn’t a clue to who they were until they came on TV a few years later.
I kept trying to serve Sammy the Bull drinks as he stood by the door way into the establishment. He would just say “no thanks” … his job was to watch over Big Paulie and case the entire room ensuring everything was kept under wraps. The door was locked to local patrons … that was a big RED flag … I would say … daaaaaaaaa again, masks of those that need to wear masks.
Peace.