Media news anchors, best-selling authors, and Hollywood directors/actors have effectively added two seemingly-sexy psychological terms into our collective consciousness — psychopath and sociopath. So, do you really know what those terms mean? Are there true differences between the two? But most importantly, do you know why it is essential every LEO understands these discrepancies. To be honest, many forensic psychologists, psychiatrists and criminologists use the terms sociopathy and psychopathy interchangeably as well. However, there are distinct patterns of behavior that will help you determine what kind of antisocial criminal you are dealing with, (a) additional probable crimes he/she has committed, (b) how to conduct the investigative interview process, and (c) general safety precautions you need to be aware of when dealing with either of these nefarious creatures
The 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) lists both sociopathy and psychopathy under the diagnostic heading of Antisocial Personality Disorders (ASPD). While disorders under this condition share many common behavioral traits, there are also some considerable differences.
The Similarities: 10 Key Shared Traits Include:
- Disregard for right and wrong
- Persistent lying or deceit to exploit others
- Using charm or wit to manipulate others for personal gain or personal pleasure
- Arrogance, callousness, a sense of superiority and being extremely opinionated
- Recurring problems with the law, including criminal behavior
- Hostility, significant irritability, agitation, aggression or violence
- Lack of empathy for others and lack of remorse about harming others
- Unnecessary risk-taking or dangerous behavior with no regard for the safety of self or others
- Poor or abusive relationships
- Being consistently irresponsible and repeatedly failing to fulfill work or financial obligations
The Differences: Psychopath Versus Sociopath Comparison Chart
In addition to their commonalities, sociopaths and psychopaths also have their own unique, and very different, behavioral characteristics. It is important to note that in both cases, some signs or symptoms are nearly always present before age 15. By the time a person is an adult, they are well on their way to becoming a budding psychopath or sociopath.
Prevalence
- Psychopath: 1% of population
- Sociopath: 4% of population
DSM-5 DX
- Psychopath: Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD); lack of empathy; no conscience
- Sociopath: Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). High impulsivity.
Origin of illness
- Psychopath: Largely a part of genetics. Believed to be derived from the nature part of the nature vs. nurture debate.
- Sociopath: Generally, implies that environmental factors, such as upbringing, trauma and abuse have played a role in the development of the ASPD.
Predisposition to Violence
- Psychopath: Varied
- Sociopath: High
Impulsivity
- Psychopath: Varies; generally low
- Sociopath: High
Behavior
- Psychopath: Controlled
- Sociopath: Erratic
Criminal Behavior
- Psychopath: Tendency to participate in schemes and take calculated risks to minimize evidence or exposure, having contingency plans in place for every possibility.
- Sociopath: Tendency to leave clues and act on impulse.
Criminal Predispositions
- Psychopath: Psychopathic criminals are cool, calm, and meticulous. Their crimes, whether violent or non-violent, will be highly organized and generally offer few clues for authorities to pursue. Have a tendency for premeditated crimes with controllable risks, criminal opportunism, fraud, calculated or opportunistic violence.
- Sociopath: Sociopathic criminals tend to be nervous and easily agitated. They are volatile and prone to emotional outbursts, including fits of rage. Have a tendency for impulsive or opportunistic criminal behavior, excessive risk taking, impulsive or opportunistic violence.
Social Relationships
- Psychopath: May appear superficially normal in social relationships, but has no attachments, empathy or conscience. Often social predators. May hurt family and friends without feeling guilt. Values relationships that benefit themselves.
- Sociopath: Can empathize with close friends or family; will feel guilty if they hurt people close to them. To others they will often appear to be very disturbed and/or awkward.
Morality / Empathy
- Psychopath: Have no conscience or moral compass, so they do not feel guilt.
- Sociopath: Are generally capable of empathy and guilt, although it is too weak to resist being overpowered by their impulsivity and erratic behavior.
Education / Employment
- Psychopath: Are often well educated and hold steady jobs
- Sociopath: Likely to be uneducated and live on the fringes of society; unable to hold down a steady job or stay in one place for very long.
Family Life / Companionship
- Psychopath: Capable of having families and other long-term relationships without those around them ever suspecting their true nature.
- Sociopath: Capable or forming an attachment to an individual or group/gang, although they have no regard for society in general or its rules.
Who is the Most Dangerous? The Psychopath or the Sociopath?
While both psychopaths and sociopaths present significant risks to society, psychopathy is the more dangerous disorder. Psychopaths have a greater ability to dissociate from their actions related to the fact that they do not experience guilt connected to their crimes. Additionally, without emotional involvement, any pain that another person suffers is meaningless to a psychopath; he suffers no emotional repercussions that would later prevent another heinous act. He remains a predator to humanity until he is incarcerated, dies, or is otherwise forced to stop his behaviors.
While many famous serial killers have been psychopaths, not all psychopaths (or for that matter all sociopaths) are violent. However, violence is all too frequently present. At least forty percent of all serial killers are unrepentant psychopaths, many for just the thrill of taking another life
Psychopaths also tend to be more manipulative than sociopaths; are often seen by others as more charming and glib; can lead a semblance of a normal life; and can minimize risk in criminal activities. That is the perfect equation for a con-artist or white-collar criminal. Additionally, as psychopaths lack the impulsive quality of a sociopath, they can easily disappear in a crowd. They will also probably have shorter rap sheets, as they know how to cover their bases with more finesse.
Law Enforcements’ Interaction with the Psychopath
Law enforcement officers interact with psychopaths routinely. Think you can spot one? Think again. They are inevitably more intelligent than your average bad guy. Frequently, absolutely nothing noteworthy stands out about them, until they are stopped for a crime or a field interview. Even then, psychopaths are hard to identify. The less intelligent are already incarcerated or on parole/probation. The most intelligent have not been caught, and in all reality, may never be apprehended.
10 Tips to Keep in Mind
- Remember, you cannot spot a psychopath, unless you recognize him from previous encounters, mugshots, or APBs. When you encounter one, they will at first seem overly cooperative and friendly towards you. Meanwhile, they are sizing you noting every detail; your physical, intellectual and moral capabilities while trying to lull you into a false sense of security. They may invade your personal space just to see how you react. They are surveying your car, concealed weapons, best escape routes, radio traffic, etc. Fundamentally, psychopaths represent the greatest danger to officer safety. If an arrest is eminent, and the psychopath believes he can get away with violence, he will resort to it. This can be an instantaneous reaction, often catching the law enforcement officer off guard.
- Review the suspect’s arrest record. Psychopaths crimes are usually all over the place, from sexual crimes, to larceny, to arson, to armed robbery or even attempted murder - they don’t tend to stick to one specialty. Further, when they commit a crime they may not hesitate to kill their victims or witnesses just to experience the sensation of killing.
- When interviewing psychopaths never bluff. They are masters of this game and are certainly better than the majority of street officers. The best tactic is to know every detail of the case inside and out and stand your ground.
- Psychopaths routinely use speech to conceal thoughts. Psychopaths are evasive when you make contact, they will attempt to control the conversation. Once they have a sense of what kind of person you are, they will attempt to manipulate you; they are highly skilled in this regard. When confronted they will deny any involvement in illegal activities pointing the finger towards someone else. If that doesn’t work, plan B is to rationalize the crime and offer their own interpretations of the laws that you believe were violated.
- Psychopaths are indifferent to the truth, they are pathologic liars. At best, as an officer, you will get half-truths to confuse and manipulate you into casting doubt on their involvement. They will evade your questions, claim forgetfulness, and provide you with vague and inconsistent answers about their past. Even when cornered the psychopath will offer excuses, apologies, and then simply return to his pathologic lying.
- Psychopaths can frequently beat a lie detector, or at the very least, produce an inconclusive result. As psychopaths are often immune to feelings of guilt and anxiety they will not respond to questions that might make the normal person feel these emotions.
- Although they are well versed in the laws of society, they truly don’t believe these laws apply to them. They have absolutely no remorse for the crimes they have committed against others, and will only express regret to manipulate an officer in hopes that the justice system will go easier on them.
- Assume they will push your buttons to anger you and possibly violate his or her rights making testimony inadmissible. Establish appropriate, firm, concise and clear limits at the start of your interrogation. Keep to those limits. They are probably versed on laws.
- Psychopaths like to volunteer to help the police find criminals; the ultimate cat and mouse game.
- Remain vigilant, not all psychopaths act alone. Be aware of his possible connections with others for attempted diversions, additional crimes, and escape/rescue attempts.
Bottom Line:
Antisocial Personality Disorders are constantly being challenged legally. Under law, these disorders are generally classified as character disorders, disputing their categorization as personality disorders by mental health professionals. Often, a defendant with a specific personality disorder can use that as a defense. However, if you examine ASPS traits as a character disorder, there is no such defense. This is because a psychopath’s behavior is not only premeditated and volitional; at the time of the crime he was able to differentiate right from wrong and to distinguish between good and evil. You don't get off on a mental plea when you know what you're doing is wrong, and equally importantly, you simply don’t care. Lacking empathy, psychopaths are rarely remorseful.
In my humble opinion, psychopaths belong incarcerated, let the courts decide their next home away from home. They simply do not belong in our mental health institutions; especially considering that therapy rarely, if ever works. There is no psychotropic medication available to fix their underlying pathology.
Watch your six out there. There are people who will (and enjoy) doing you harm.
