You've probably heard the term "psychopath" or "sociopath" before, but what are they really, and what's the difference?
Firstly, psychopathy and sociopathy are not actual medical diagnoses. In other words, you cannot be diagnosed as a "psychopath" or "sociopath." What you may be diagnosed with is Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD).
People with Antisocial Personality Disorder usually lack empathy, are impulsive and make risky decisions, and can be manipulative. These are the general characteristics of psychopathy.
Additionally, psychopathy can be divided into two sub categories:
Type one psychopathy
Type two psychopathy (this is what's known as a sociopath)
People with type one psychopathy are usually characterized by being more calculated, manipulative, having superficial charm, lack of empathy, callousness, and low anxiety.
People with type two psychopathy, or sociopaths, are usually more impulsive and participate in more risky behaviors, meaning they are more likely to engage in criminal activity.
More on Psychopathy:
Not all psychopaths are criminals or violent and aggressive, which many people regard to be true. This is just a stereotype. In fact, psychopathy is a spectrum. According to the PsychopathyIs, approximately 30% of people actually portray some psychopathic traits such as low empathy, ego, and impulsivity, without actually being considered a psychopath. Most psychopaths actually look for jobs or positions of higher power, such as a CEO.
Psychopathy is more common among men than women, with about 1.3% of men in the US being affected, compared to the 0.3%-0.7% of women affected. Usually, children do not get diagnosed with Antisocial Personality Disorder. Instead, they may be diagnosed with Conduct Disorder, whose characteristics are very similar to APD and psychopathy (disregard for others, problems regulating emotions, socially unacceptable behavior).
What causes psychopathy?
Research shows that psychopathy could be caused by genetic, neurological, and/or environmental factors.
Studies have found that usually the amygdala is smaller in a psychopath's brain than an individual without psychopathy. The amygdala, a small part of the brain located inside the temporal lobe, is responsible for the fight-or-flight response, regulating aggression and fear, emotions related to caring or empathy, and social communication and interpretation. It has also been found that psychopathy could possibly be genetic, considering that disruptive behavior can be heritable. Additionally, it has been shown that psychopathic traits can be avoided if the parent uses positive reinforcement on the child at an early age.
Even though psychopathy is not considered a diagnosis and is not taken very seriously, some people believe that we should move towards looking more into this disorder so that we can really understand how the brain of a psychopath works.
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