Psychopath, Sociopath or Narcissist — How To Spot The Difference PDF

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A brief summary on psychopath v sociopath debate...

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Udara Soysa, Attorney-at-Law, BA(Hons), LLB(Hons), PGDHR, MPA(Colombo) Tel: 077-3235418/E-mail: [email protected]

Psychopath, Sociopath or Narcissist — How To Spot The Difference Bite Size Psychology No — they’re not all serial killers the way they are portrayed in movies. When people are “difficult” to be around, it’s easy to toss off labels like psychopath or narcissist — a lot of people are using these terms interchangeably but each is a distinct psychological disorder. Here’s a key difference to remember right off the bat: Every psychopath is narcissistic but not every narcissist is a psychopath.

Narcissist vs Psychopath Narcissism exists on a continuum, but someone with NPD is grandiose, lacks empathy, and needs admiration from others. Narcissism is a disorder of self-esteem. They are deeply insecure so they want everyone around them to feel insecure. Their defense is to drag everyone down so they can feel superior. When narcissists do a bad thing, they feel some degree of shame and guilt. Their shame is more of a public emotion focused on the judgement of others, rather than regretting their wrongdoings. A psychopath, on the other hand, doesn’t feel remorse when they do something bad; they simply don’t care who gets hurt. A psychopath is someone who tends to be calculative, cunning, manipulative, exploitative, lacks empathy, and doesn’t think or care about the consequences of their actions. Psychopaths have extremely charming facades that they use to manipulate those they interact with. As a rule of thumb, glib shallow charm is a good red flag to watch out for.

Prince charming is probably prince psychopathy!

Psychopath vs Sociopath There is a lot of overlaps between a Psychopath and a Sociopath and they both fall under the Anti Social Personality Disorder diagnosis. The key difference though is that psychopaths are born and sociopaths are made. A sociopath might be a kid who grows up in a bad neighborhood and learns criminality as a way to get by. They may not be necessarily comfortable with it — as the psychopath would be — but if you live under conditions of lawlessness long enough, you start to adjust to that new world order. A psychopath has an absolute lack of empathy. Any form of relationships they have is purely for exploitative purposes; Whether that be financial or sexual or with other goals in mind. A sociopath, on the other hand, might get form some close connections but is still very cold and distant. Sociopaths are more reactive and impulsive. Psychopaths a more calculative and sophisticated. The research in Anti-Social Personality Disorder shows that psychopaths actually have a different autonomic nervous system. When we get afraid, our heart starts to race, we sweat, our eyes get wide; We get the fight or flight responses. A psychopath doesn’t have the same arousal. There simply have different brain function. We don’t exactly know how much of it is genetic and how much is influenced by the environment or upbringings but the genetic component colliding with neglectful or abusive childhood can lead to the person developing anti social personality disorder (ASPD). As humans we tend to avoid things that make us anxious; Psychopaths don’t get anxious so they simply go on to do anything they desire. In fact, they probably seek to feel that arousal the rest of us feel so they tend to go towards dangerous sports or activities to get a sense of that thrill. Some research also suggests that Sociopaths and Psychopaths do have degrees of empathy, but with an innate ability to switch it off at will.

To conclude — Understanding the differences between these disorders can help differentiate them when we encounter it but at the end of the day, the pattern is way more valuable than the label. Given their psychological makeup, it’s unlikely that someone diagnosed with a narcissistic personality disorder or antisocial personality disorder would think they need or ever seek help. If you suspect you’re dealing with someone who may have either disorder, be sure to seek therapy and watch out for your own interests....