


























© Shutterstock
0 / 27 Fotos
Morality
- A psychopath doesn’t have moral qualms about the way that they harm other people, even if they appear to on the surface.
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1 / 27 Fotos
Sociopaths have a conscience
- A sociopath will generally have a conscience and would feel bad about stealing money, for example, but will generally do it anyway.
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2 / 27 Fotos
Lack of empathy
- The similarity, in this case, is that both lack empathy. Both will steal your money. The sociopath might feel bad about it, but will likely not have the empathy to deter them from doing it.
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3 / 27 Fotos
Social conventions
- Sociopaths are pretty clear that they don’t care about other members of society, whereas psychopaths will try their best to follow social conventions to “fit in.”
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4 / 27 Fotos
Textbook psychopath behavior
- Despite psychopaths trying their best to fit in, they will still display cold-hearted behavior. The textbook psychopath will tend to not even recognize other people’s distress, even when they’re causing it. A sociopath will notice it, but won’t care enough not to put themselves first.
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5 / 27 Fotos
Sociopath rationalize their wrongdoings
- This is because the textbook sociopath is typically a master at rationalizing their own wrongdoings. The psychopath doesn’t have to, because they won’t recognize them in the first place.
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6 / 27 Fotos
Anger and rage
- Sociopaths are prone to fits of anger and rage and find it difficult to maintain their work and family life.
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7 / 27 Fotos
Shallow relationships
- Psychopaths will have relationships and don’t have significant problems at work (they are masters of disguise). They will be able to maintain relationships, but they will generally be shallow.
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8 / 27 Fotos
Psychopaths are capable of love
- Despite what we may think, psychopaths can grow fond of other people, but may show it oddly.
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9 / 27 Fotos
‘The Hidden Suffering of the Psychopath'
- Willem H.J. Martens argues in his infamous article, ‘The Hidden Suffering of the Psychopath,’ that psychopaths experience a lot of emotional pain, suffering from loneliness, and want to be loved like everyone else.
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10 / 27 Fotos
Pop culture
- We commonly think of psychopaths and sociopaths as being inherently dangerous and violent, but it’s not the case. This is more of a construct from TV and film.
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11 / 27 Fotos
Violence
- Violence is not inherent to psychopaths. However, psychopaths will tend to go to extreme lengths to get what they want, and that's where violence comes in.
© Shutterstock
12 / 27 Fotos
One is genetic
- The common categorization that sociopaths are made and psychopaths are born is an oversimplification. However, it’s understood that psychopathy is only partly genetic.
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13 / 27 Fotos
The psychopath’s brain
- A psychopath’s brain will be different in the sense that the areas that control emotional regulation will be underdeveloped, which isn’t typically true for sociopaths.
© Shutterstock
14 / 27 Fotos
Society
- Although science has proven that psychopathy is a biological phenomenon, it cannot be removed from the context of the society a person lives in.
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15 / 27 Fotos
Social circles
- For example, if a psychopath operates in social circles that promote equality, they will do their best to adhere to the values of the group to fit in by treating people fairly.
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16 / 27 Fotos
Upbringing
- It’s been proven that psychopaths tend to come from an unstable family and/or a community that was prone to violence.
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17 / 27 Fotos
Parents/caregivers
- Another big risk factor is when parents are substance abusers or fail to provide sufficient care and attention.
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18 / 27 Fotos
Sociopaths are relatively young
- Sociopaths tend to “give up” their antisocial behavior later in life and become able to forge strong and lasting relationships.
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19 / 27 Fotos
Antisocial personality disorders
- The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders classifies both of these (psychopaths and sociopaths) as antisocial personality disorders.
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20 / 27 Fotos
Diagnosis
- To be diagnosed with an antisocial personality disorder, people must attain self-esteem from power, personal gain, or pleasure, be self-centered, and set goals based on personal gratification with little regard to law or ethics.
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21 / 27 Fotos
Broken promises
- The DSM says that people with antisocial personality disorder will tend to disregard commitments and agreements.
© Shutterstock
22 / 27 Fotos
Deal-breaking
- This sort of deal-breaking behavior extends into all areas of their lives, including finances.
© Shutterstock
23 / 27 Fotos
Difficulty planning
- They will have difficulty making plans, believing that they can nimbly navigate any problem as it arrives.
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24 / 27 Fotos
Fights and assault
- They may be in fights or involved in assaults often. They will often lie to gain a social advantage (like telling people you’re a war hero when you’ve never served).
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25 / 27 Fotos
Rates
- The rate of antisocial personality disorder in the general public is estimated to be between 0.2% and 3.3%. Sources: (International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology)(Verywell Mind) (Biological Psychiatry)
© Shutterstock
26 / 27 Fotos
© Shutterstock
0 / 27 Fotos
Morality
- A psychopath doesn’t have moral qualms about the way that they harm other people, even if they appear to on the surface.
© Shutterstock
1 / 27 Fotos
Sociopaths have a conscience
- A sociopath will generally have a conscience and would feel bad about stealing money, for example, but will generally do it anyway.
© Shutterstock
2 / 27 Fotos
Lack of empathy
- The similarity, in this case, is that both lack empathy. Both will steal your money. The sociopath might feel bad about it, but will likely not have the empathy to deter them from doing it.
© Shutterstock
3 / 27 Fotos
Social conventions
- Sociopaths are pretty clear that they don’t care about other members of society, whereas psychopaths will try their best to follow social conventions to “fit in.”
© Shutterstock
4 / 27 Fotos
Textbook psychopath behavior
- Despite psychopaths trying their best to fit in, they will still display cold-hearted behavior. The textbook psychopath will tend to not even recognize other people’s distress, even when they’re causing it. A sociopath will notice it, but won’t care enough not to put themselves first.
© Shutterstock
5 / 27 Fotos
Sociopath rationalize their wrongdoings
- This is because the textbook sociopath is typically a master at rationalizing their own wrongdoings. The psychopath doesn’t have to, because they won’t recognize them in the first place.
© Shutterstock
6 / 27 Fotos
Anger and rage
- Sociopaths are prone to fits of anger and rage and find it difficult to maintain their work and family life.
© Shutterstock
7 / 27 Fotos
Shallow relationships
- Psychopaths will have relationships and don’t have significant problems at work (they are masters of disguise). They will be able to maintain relationships, but they will generally be shallow.
© Shutterstock
8 / 27 Fotos
Psychopaths are capable of love
- Despite what we may think, psychopaths can grow fond of other people, but may show it oddly.
© Shutterstock
9 / 27 Fotos
‘The Hidden Suffering of the Psychopath'
- Willem H.J. Martens argues in his infamous article, ‘The Hidden Suffering of the Psychopath,’ that psychopaths experience a lot of emotional pain, suffering from loneliness, and want to be loved like everyone else.
© Shutterstock
10 / 27 Fotos
Pop culture
- We commonly think of psychopaths and sociopaths as being inherently dangerous and violent, but it’s not the case. This is more of a construct from TV and film.
© Shutterstock
11 / 27 Fotos
Violence
- Violence is not inherent to psychopaths. However, psychopaths will tend to go to extreme lengths to get what they want, and that's where violence comes in.
© Shutterstock
12 / 27 Fotos
One is genetic
- The common categorization that sociopaths are made and psychopaths are born is an oversimplification. However, it’s understood that psychopathy is only partly genetic.
© Shutterstock
13 / 27 Fotos
The psychopath’s brain
- A psychopath’s brain will be different in the sense that the areas that control emotional regulation will be underdeveloped, which isn’t typically true for sociopaths.
© Shutterstock
14 / 27 Fotos
Society
- Although science has proven that psychopathy is a biological phenomenon, it cannot be removed from the context of the society a person lives in.
© Shutterstock
15 / 27 Fotos
Social circles
- For example, if a psychopath operates in social circles that promote equality, they will do their best to adhere to the values of the group to fit in by treating people fairly.
© Shutterstock
16 / 27 Fotos
Upbringing
- It’s been proven that psychopaths tend to come from an unstable family and/or a community that was prone to violence.
© Shutterstock
17 / 27 Fotos
Parents/caregivers
- Another big risk factor is when parents are substance abusers or fail to provide sufficient care and attention.
© Shutterstock
18 / 27 Fotos
Sociopaths are relatively young
- Sociopaths tend to “give up” their antisocial behavior later in life and become able to forge strong and lasting relationships.
© Shutterstock
19 / 27 Fotos
Antisocial personality disorders
- The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders classifies both of these (psychopaths and sociopaths) as antisocial personality disorders.
© Shutterstock
20 / 27 Fotos
Diagnosis
- To be diagnosed with an antisocial personality disorder, people must attain self-esteem from power, personal gain, or pleasure, be self-centered, and set goals based on personal gratification with little regard to law or ethics.
© Shutterstock
21 / 27 Fotos
Broken promises
- The DSM says that people with antisocial personality disorder will tend to disregard commitments and agreements.
© Shutterstock
22 / 27 Fotos
Deal-breaking
- This sort of deal-breaking behavior extends into all areas of their lives, including finances.
© Shutterstock
23 / 27 Fotos
Difficulty planning
- They will have difficulty making plans, believing that they can nimbly navigate any problem as it arrives.
© Shutterstock
24 / 27 Fotos
Fights and assault
- They may be in fights or involved in assaults often. They will often lie to gain a social advantage (like telling people you’re a war hero when you’ve never served).
© Shutterstock
25 / 27 Fotos
Rates
- The rate of antisocial personality disorder in the general public is estimated to be between 0.2% and 3.3%. Sources: (International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology)(Verywell Mind) (Biological Psychiatry)
© Shutterstock
26 / 27 Fotos
Discover the differences between psychopaths and sociopaths
Could you tell the difference?
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The words psychopath and sociopath are often thrown around arbitrarily. They are regularly used in a way that would suggest them to be the same. In fact, these words aren’t even scientific. Doctors don’t diagnose people as being psychopaths or sociopaths. Instead, they would more likely diagnose someone as having a host of conditions, which we then tend to sum up.
Psychopaths and sociopaths do generally have a lot of similar characteristics, one of them being that both tend to have a warped sense of what’s right and wrong. On the other hand, there are a lot of differences. To discover them, click through this gallery.
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