Revised as of
10 July 2023
Okay, I’m fed up. In fact, I just may go psychopathic on yo’ ass. Or maybe, I’m more sociopathic? Hmmm . . . what is the difference?
Getting serious, I really am fed up with authors who casually label various characters as psychopaths or sociopaths. Two that most quickly come to mind are Laurell K. Hamilton in her Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series in which Anita questions whether she’s becoming a sociopath. A fair question, and if she were to actually Google for a definition, she’d find that she’s doing quite well. Edward may have some issues, but his belief system is changing with his engagement to Donna and his involvement with Anita. Now Curran in the Ilona Andrews’ Kate Daniels series is definitely NOT a psychopath. AND I wish the authors would stop referring to him in that way!
“. . . sociopaths lack empathy but are capable of it, while psychopaths are incapable of it altogether” Borreson).
Writers, authors, scribblers . . . you have a responsibility to use words well. Know their meanings. Apply them properly. Okay, I shouldn’t have said that . . . I don’t want to stunt someone’s muse. However, please stop confusing your readers — and annoying me — by misusing these two terms.
Psychology Today Says . . .
While the general dictionary provides a reasonable definition for both terms, I found an article in Psychology Today by William Hirstein, Ph.D., explaining that various lists have been compiled to describe such a person with “the most commonly used . . . [being] . . . the Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R), developed by Robert Hare and his colleagues. There are other books, lists, and organizations which Hirstein notes, and for the sake of this Word Confusion, it doesn’t really matter, and I intend to compile the various definitions into the relevant columns below for psychopath or sociopath. Well, I suppose it does matter if you’re in the psychology business . . . *grins* . . .
Then there’s Jack Pemment’s article that goes deeper into the neurology involved.
You may want to read both articles, as both have some very interesting points to make about biological issues within the brain that may create this problem — and could create some interesting plot issues. Including this comment: “Psychopaths do not show a differential brain response to emotional terms over neutral terms that normal people do (Williamson et al., 1991). They also have trouble understanding metaphors and abstract words.”
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
If you found this post on “Psychopath versus Sociopath” interesting, consider subscribing to KD Did It, if you’d like to track this post for future updates.
| Psychopath | Sociopath |
|---|---|
Ted Bundy, FBI 10 Most Wanted, 1978, is courtesy of the FBI Archives and is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. — Ted Bundy was a psychopath. |
Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun is courtesy of the Bundesarchiv, B 145 Bild-F051673-0059 under the CC-BY-SA and CC BY-SA 3.0 de licenses, via Wikimedia Commons. — Shockingly, Hitler was capable of, and did, love, which makes him a sociopath, and not a psychopath. |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Noun
Plural for the noun: psychopaths |
Noun
Plural for the noun: sociopaths |
| A person suffering from chronic mental disorder with abnormal or violent social behavior
[Informal] An unstable and aggressive person |
A person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial attitudes and behavior and a lack of conscience |
| Current belief is that psychopathy is biological, a developmental disorder that is associated with specific kinds of behavior
Can be diagnosed in the form of extreme antisocial personality disorder at age 18 Don’t give a shit what you think; we aren’t real to them |
Current belief is that sociopathy is due to environment, beliefs of a subculture [that] provide a morality and a worldview that could permit the individual to indulge in heinous acts such as mass killing, or brain injury
Extremely unlikely to be prevalent in young offenders Can form emotional bonds, although those bonds aren’t usually healthy ones |
| Uncaring
No empathy Coldheartedness Callous unconcern for the feelings of others Inability to feel emotions deeply Not good at detecting fear in the faces of other people Has extremely high thresholds for disgust A lack of emotion, especially the social emotions, such as shame, guilt, and embarrassment Lack of fear on the part of the psychopath They blame others for events that are actually their fault, although they may admit blame when forced into a corner, but these admissions are not accompanied by a sense of shame or remorse, and they have no power to change the psychopath’s future behavior. Con others for personal profit or pleasure Lying Boastful Grandiose sense of self-worth, egocentric Impulsive Very difficult to distract them from their chosen path Incapable of love Impersonal sex life Incredibly selfish Parasitic lifestyle Inability to plan for the future, lack of realistic long-term goals Low tolerance for frustration Irritable and aggressive with a tendency to fight a lot Genuinely unable to appreciate their own body sensations . . . [or] their own emotional experiences |
Has a sense of morality and a well-developed conscience, but the sense of right and wrong is not that of the parent culture
A lack of emotion, especially the social emotions, such as shame, guilt, and embarrassment Emotionally shallow Antisocial Very little sense of guilt Being caught has no power to change their future behavior Irresponsible Con others for personal profit or pleasure Shallow sense of word meaning Grandiose sense of self-worth, egocentric |
| Examples: | |
| Ted Bundy was a psychopath.
Actually, almost all serial killers are psychopaths. According to the current research, psychopathy is biological and present from birth. |
Politicians could be considered sociopaths.
According to the current research, sociopathy can be a learned behavior whether it’s learned as a defense mechanism or part of the child’s learning environment. Pemment mentioned acquired sociopathy, meaning that an injury to the brain caused behavioral changes. Sherlock Holmes, contrary to the television program, is not a high-functioning sociopath when his behaviors in the show are considered. No, he’s not a psychopath either. |
| History of the Word: | |
| Dr. Hirstein starts with some history behind the evolution of the term psychopath, starting with the early 1800s when doctors singled out patients who seemed normal but behaved with a moral depravity with “no sense of ethics or of the rights of other people”, finally applying psychopath to “these people around 1900”.
In the 1930s, “the term was changed to sociopath . . . to emphasize the damage they do to society.” Today, we’ve reverted back to psychopath, but with “some . . . us[ing] that term to refer to a more serious disorder, linked to genetic traits, producing more dangerous individuals, while continuing to use sociopath to refer to less dangerous people who are seen more as products of their environment, including their upbringing.” |
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C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Psychopath versus Sociopath
Apple Dictionary.com
Borreson, Kelsey. “10 Signs You Might Be Dating A Sociopath.” Relationships. Huffington Post. 2018. Web. 12 June 2018. <https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/signs-youre-dating-a-sociopath_us_5ac28aabe4b09712fec35cc3>.
Hirstein, Dr William. “What is a Psychopath?” Mindmelding. Psychology Today. 30 Jan 2013. Web. n.d. <http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/mindmelding/201301/what-is-psychopath-0>.
Pemment, Jack. “Psychopathy versus Sociopathy: Why the distinction has become crucial.” ScienceDirect. vol 18, no 5, September–October 2013. n.d. Web. n.d. <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2013.07.001>. 458-461.
Other Resources
While this guy is not a psychologist, I found his post on “Profile of the Sociopath” very interesting as a character study.
Sociopath World could be an interesting site to explore as well.
Pinterest Photo Credits
Young Girl with Angry Face by Mitya Zotov is via Pexels and Charles Manson Booking Photo, cropped and enlarged with the background removed, 1971, is courtesy of San Quentin Prison, the State of California, and MugShots.org via Wikimedia Commons. Both are in the public domain.
