What's the difference between a psychopath and a sociopath?
Inspiration
I heard the two used almost interchangeably and I want to better understand the differences. I actually hear people using “psychopath” more often, and occasionally someone will correct them and say they’re a “sociopath”
Findings
Both are forms of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD)
Sociopathy
- Individuals exhibiting this tend to be highly emotional and frequently experience emotional outbursts or mood swings
- It’s thought that genetics play a role in sociopathy, but it isn’t caused by genes alone. There’s often childhood trauma and certain individuals have a genetic risk and environmental factors could be a trigger for the condition
Psycopathy
- They may pretend to care about other people’s feelings but are unable to form a real emotional bond
- They experience very little emotion and pay present themselves as normal to conceal criminal behavior
- They lack empathy and may cause someone to be cold and have difficulty recognizing emotional distress in others
- A common trait to mimicking the actions of people around them since they can learn from others and mirror their behaviors, they can be very charming and pleasant to interact with
- It’s thought that genetics and biology are the primary causes of psychopathy
Etymology
Neither of these terms seem to be used in clinical settings, and they’re more used in pop culture. So the origins aren’t of much use.