I actually never thought that I will write on this topic. I came up with this topic after researching. This idea was triggered by Mr. David Elliott from The single dad’s guide to life when on my post “How to deal with a broken heart” he commented this…
Mr. Elliott is a great person with lovely ideas and I have been a great fan of his earlier works as well.
The names psychopath and sociopath may sound similar because both of them have similar qualities but yet they are different from each other. A psychopath is a person experiencing an endless mental issue with unusual or vicious social conduct and a sociopath is a person with an identity issue showing itself in extraordinary standoffish states of mind and conduct.
Psychopathy can be thought of as a more extreme type of sociopathy with more manifestations. In this manner, all psychopaths are sociopaths yet sociopaths are not really psychopaths. According to the introduction of one with psychopathy or sociopathy varies. As per Kelly McAleer, Psy.D,
“The psychopath is callous, yet charming. He or she will con and manipulate others with charisma and intimidation and can effectively mimic feelings to present as “normal” to society. The psychopath is organized in their criminal thinking and behavior, and can maintain good emotional and physical control, displaying little to no emotional or autonomic arousal, even under situations that most would find threatening or horrifying. The psychopath is keenly aware that what he or she is doing is wrong, but does not care.
“Conversely, the sociopath is less organized in his or her demeanor; he or she might be nervous, easily agitated, and quick to display anger. A sociopath is more likely to spontaneously act out in inappropriate ways without thinking through the consequences. Compared to the psychopath, the sociopath will not be able to move through society committing callous crimes as easily, as they can form attachments and often have ‘normal temperaments.’ . . .”
As per the Society for the Study of Psychopathy, psychopath characteristics includes:
Absence of regret
Absence of compassion
Absence of profound enthusiastic connections
Narcissism
Shallow appeal
Untruthfulness
Manipulativeness
Heedless hazard taking
However, a sociopath is diagnosed at the age of 18 and their traits include:
Rehashed infringement of the law
Inescapable lying and double dealing
Physical forcefulness
Heedless negligence for security of self or others
Steady flightiness in work and family conditions
Absence of regret
Over Protective towards the one they care for
At last, I would just say that Psychopaths and Sociopaths both are harmful to society. Despite the fact that psychopaths and sociopaths both are fit for carrying out terrible wrongdoings, however, sociopaths are caring about them with whom they have a bond. They will harm themselves but not the person they love or care about. Sociopaths befriend very fewer people and the one they trust they protect them with all their life even if it means by hurting own self.
Well, that was one heck of an information isn’t it?
Though I am ending it here but there is more to know, learn and study on this topic. And I would love to thank Mr. Elliott again for this great idea. Check out The Single Dad’s Guide to Life if you are already bored with my mental health studies.
I will see you again soon. Till then, Take Care and Stay safe.
I love this. I had no idea what the difference between the two was. This is really informative and so interesting!
I didn’t know the difference until reading this post. Great information here. So useful.
Wow… I always thought those traits that you have here for the psychopath were actually those of the sociopath. I thought the sociopaths didn’t form attachments at all. Not real ones anyway. But it would appear that they do. Both of them can be dangerous although the sociopath appears to present more danger to themselves and less to others. And the psychopath is more pre-planned and always presents a danger to others in that they can affect feeling, even if they don’t truly have it.
Such an interesting topic. I don’t know if I ever even thought there was a difference. Go figure!
Honestly, I never thought that they both had any difference. This is something new. Thank you, Moni for sharing this.
Very interesting topic and information here. It should be helpful to those who might be in relationships with one or the other type of personality – or they may be one of these themselves and not realize it. You often hear these terms brought up when someone is convicted of some crime, and then there may or may not be a discussion of mental illness. I know there has been more in news recently about the need for acknowledgement of and treatment for those suffering from various forms of mental illness.
Wow! Never knew this difference! Thank you for sharing. Very educational as well. Great work!
This is such an interesting topic.I’ve always wanted to know the difference and now I’ll be careful!
Great information. Didn’t know these details about psycho and sociopath. S
Great thanks for this article. At least I’m neither the two. 🙂
This topic brings to mind, Ted Bundy. I think he’s both a psychopath and a sociopath. It’s so hard to tell sometimes though what’s the difference when people look so normal BUT they’re not!
Very informative post. Precisely detailed. Good one!
I knew these terms but thia post made my views clear. This was educational. 😊
I never know what was the difference between a psychopath and sociopath before reading. Interesting read. You define each disorder rin detail.
We really need more mental health care for people who exhibit these symptoms. Thank you for explaining the differences in such an easy to understand way.
Great post about its difference. I don’t want to get in-touch either of the two, coz its always creates problems.
I knew they are different but didn’t know these details. I didn’t know the diagnosis of sociopath happens at 18
For me, both sociopaths and psychopaths had the same meaning until now. Now I know the difference. Thanks
Thanks for sharing this informative post. I wasn’t aware of these facts and you spread a very knowledgeable post.
Thanks for this post! I kind of got the jiss of both the differences between a psychopath and a sociopath. This was very helpful as I am applying to study a bachelors in psychology studies in April. Also the 2nd pic gave me a jump scare (I’m reading in the dark btw).
This is really informative and super intersting. Thanks for sharing
This is horrific.. Love to talk about this type of studies..
It looks like a wonderful piece of difference.
Thanks for sharing.
Hmm…this topic is heavy but very informative. As parents, we live in conscious world about our kids dealing with people like these in their future..:( and keep them protected
I didn’t know the difference between the two so this was interesting to read.
Most serial killers are psychopaths and that’s why people never knew who or what they were about till they get caught. It’s scary that we are around people we think are “normal” when in fact, they may harbour violent feelings. *shudder*
I found this really interesting, I had a similar conversation with my husband recently
It’s so great to see someone talking about the difference! As a psychology major, this is something that often irks me when overheard in conversation. Just because two disorders share antisocial personality disorder, does not mean that they can be labelled interchangeably.
Thanks for sharing!!
I have been seeing a lot more posts highlighting the differences lately. It’s really enlightening because I honestly always thought they were the same thing. Nice descriptions.
Thank you for writing this. I would say that I learned a lot from reading it. I really thought they meant the same thing but now I know that there is a huge difference between them.
Thanks for the info. Yep. Me too, thought both are just the same then
Hmm! I had no idea there was even a difference! Thanks for the information!
That’s interesting! This explains everything to me “more extreme type of sociopathy” for a psychopath. You have good knowledge and teaching skills for this for differentiating well those two. Well, for me psychopath is way scarier because they act as normal.
I would hate to associate myself with a sociopath or a psychopath. I noticed a lot in documentaries how some criminals don’t show any remorse at all which explains their state of mind.
I love this post, I’ve been reading alot lately of the differences between the two. I love reading about how the brain works so differently and how the two will carry themselves in everyday life. It’s very important to know the differences between psychopath and sociopaths.
So often these terms seem to be used interchangeably. This was such an informative list and taught me so much about the differences.
This is such an interesting topic. Honestly, I didn’t know what are the differences are but glad you show us and I have learned a lot.
I knew there was a difference between Psychopaths and Sociopaths but I actually thought it was the other way around. By your description I had them confused! Glad I know which one is which now.
very nice sharing from you, learnt the differences between these 2 concepts after reading your post here 😀
cheers, siennylovesdrawing
Oh I never really knew about the difference of this two. That’s an additional knowledge for me.
To be honest I never realized there was that much of a difference between the two! Very informative post. Thank you for clarifying.
This is one of the scariest posts I have ever read hahaha I didn’t know the difference and as I was reading, I was getting goosebumps lol
I never knew the difference between those two words but thanks to you now I know. Thanks for sharing.
Interesting differences. I always thought they were the same so this article taught me something new! Thanks for sharing
I didn’t know what is the difference nor what it feels like to be both psycho and socio. But I know how hard it is. Thanks for sharing this.
very interesting and important post! It is very important to know more about various deviations not to be afraid when you hear it. The more you know the easier it is
Such an interesting and new post. I had never thought that they both are different. Thanks for sharing.
There is such a thin line between the two to the point that I hadn’t thought of any difference. But above all, it’s important to realize that it is a mental issue hence both of these need psychological help.
interesting post. we should know one thing.. sociopaths can be manufactured. so by taking care of people we can prevent it from happening. Psychopaths..we dont have a say in that. we all have a little of those in us.
I always thought these were one and the same. I learned a lot about the differences.
I never really thought about the differences of these two character traits because they usually go hand-in-hand.
Unfortunately, psycho and sociopaths have that charismatic ability that attracts others to them. It’s one reason why so many women AND men get stuck in relationships with mental/physical abuse because their partner makes them feel like it’s normal or like the other person is overreacting.
Didnt even know there was a difference between psychopaths and sociopaths. Very interesting how noone explained this yet. Thanks!
I don’t know why we don’t learn such things in school. It would come in really handy to detect these type of people in real life.