Psychopath vs. Sociopath. Why do people keep getting it wrong?

[TakerFoxx]

So pretty much my whole life I believed that both psychopaths and sociopaths were people who had abnormally little empathy for other people and had a predisposition toward "wrong" behavior. This is true enough, but I also believed that psychopaths were the ones with poor impulse control and a tendency toward violence while sociopaths were the calculating, manipulative ones who were able to put on a disguise of being normal. And judging from pop-culture and other places, a lot of people believed the same.

But recently I double-checked and found that it was the other way around: psychopaths are the manipulative ones who are able to disguise themselves while sociopaths are the ones with a near-inability to control themselves. And I have to admit, this was genuinely surprising, because just about everything I had seen previously had claimed the opposite.

So, where does this misconception come from, and why is it so widespread? You'd think more polpe would have said something by now.

 

[DefunctTheory]

The misconception is there because there is no such thing as a 'psychopath.' Its an old term for an antisocial disorder that is now known as sociopathy, and its only used by those outside of the psychiatric profession, otherwise known as 'people who don't know what they're talking about.' So of course its misused.

 

[tilmoph]

Basically, neither the terms "psychopath" nor "sociopath" actually have modern medical definitions. The closest to them is anti-social personality disorder, which seems to grab from column a and from b, with the lack of empathy and conscience, high propensity towards manipulation of others, compulsive lying, and lack of impulse control.

Basically, no one is confusing anything. The terms don't have a set definition, so they can be used however the user wants, as long as everyone else they're speaking/writing to knows what they mean.

 

[Redd the Sock]

Most people learn these things from television, which has a poor track record of using such terms accurately.

 

[Olas]

I honestly couldn't have told you the difference between the two terms, they both seem to be used interchangeably for "crazy maniac" to the point where it's practically a pejorative like calling someone "retarded".

 

[chuckman1]

I was under the impression that sociopaths had no real emotion and were good at manipulating other people. While a psychotic break was something like a hallucination and if the person had enough they could be a (impossible to define) psychopath.

 

[SmallHatLogan]

The misconception is there because there is no such thing as a 'psychopath.' Its an old term for an antisocial disorder that is now known as sociopathy, and its only used by those outside of the psychiatric profession, otherwise known as 'people who don't know what they're talking about.' So of course its misused.

I've heard it differently, that sociopathy was the outdated term, replaced by psychopathy which is now also considered outdated (or it's not considered a technical term anyway). Antisocial Personality Disorder is the correct term as far as I know.

 

[beastro]

The misconception is there because there is no such thing as a 'psychopath.' Its an old term for an antisocial disorder that is now known as sociopathy, and its only used by those outside of the psychiatric profession, otherwise known as 'people who don't know what they're talking about.' So of course its misused.

I've heard it differently, that sociopathy was the outdated term, replaced by psychopathy which is now also considered outdated (or it's not considered a technical term anyway). Antisocial Personality Disorder is the correct term as far as I know.

How could it be that way when slasher flicks for decades had the villian labelled as a psychopath so much the term is tied to the hip with such movies?

I also find the changing terms funny when all they are are medical labels for assholes - the REAL assholes in life that embody all the sentiment in that title.

Monster is another apt name.

 

[FPLOON]

I don't know... I remember finally knowing what a sociopath was in that one episode of Adventure Time... and the movie Seven Psychopaths showcased seven kinds of psychopaths in an almost meta way...

Other than that, I say it's due to chalking both words up into a similar category to the point that they become interchangeable in terms of storytelling...

 

[Doopliss64]

Mirriam-Webster defines them mostly identically, with a possible subtle (and seemingly rather subjective) difference in connotation.

I know that every source I referenced in my high school psychology class used the terms interchangeably, at least. Perhaps things have changed very recently?

 

[TallanKhan]

Well it is difficult to pin down an exact definition of the terms "Psychopath" and "Sociopath" as no psychologist or psychiatrist has ever officially diagnosed someone as such. However, many legal systems recognise terms such as psychopathic or Sociopathic tendencies.

Essentially the terms are by and large interchangeable, however, there are some small differences. They share all the major traits such as a lack of empathy, low conscientiousness but someone who "sensation seeks" is often more likely to be described as a Psychopath. For instance a Sociopath might steal something because they want it and don't see anything wrong with taking it, a Psychopath might steal something because they want to do it and don't see anything wrong with it.

But that is more convention that solid definition.

 

[ThreeName]

The misconception is there because there is no such thing as a 'psychopath.'

The terms don't have a set definition, so they can be used however the user wants, as long as everyone else they're speaking/writing to knows what they mean.

Despite not being in the DSM/ICD as a specific disorder, psychopathy is still a constellation of identifiable personality traits that is used in real-world situations, particularly in rehabilitation and criminal classification.

As with literally any psychological construct, there's criticism and disagreement that extends for miles but it's a term that is used, applicable and measured and thus is most certainly "a thing". The occasional misuse of the term does not disqualify it from existence.

 

[Terminal Blue]

As others have already said, both of these terms are extremely vague and don't have much in the way of genuine support from the medical profession. What they both describe is a condition we call "antisocial personality disorder".

What you've described, really, is not two distinct personality types. The impulsivity and aggressiveness which you associate with the sociopath type is actually often related to the deceptiveness and manipulative behaviour which you associate with the psychopath type. Antisocial people tend to lie compulsively and tend to form and discard relationships according to their short-term needs precisely because they are impulsive. The skill of manipulating people is not so much a part of the condition itself as a likely consequence of how such a person learns to cope with the fact that they lack normal social skills.

 

[zumbledum]

Language just changes, spellings, pronunciation and even meaning , when i was a kid if something was awesome it filled you with a shocked kind of fear at its overwhelming power and your total insignificance in relation to it , thunder storms, god etc these things were awesome, now it means somethings just good its lost the fear connotation completely. things get used wrongly and it gets passed on and becomes the normal , "i could care less" is a great example as it literally means exactly the opposite of what it is used to convey.

Same with socia0 and psycho- Paths . when i learnt the words a sociapath was one who had no guilt or empathy , they behave and work in society not out of a desire to do so or fear of the consequence but simply because logically its the best thing for them. where as a psychopath had the same lack of empathy and guilt but felt a compulsion to violence. neither of which i suspect is the accurate medical original definition. and over time they have continued to change.

 

[Lil devils x_v1legacy]

As I linked in the other thread, this may be beneficial for those wishing to better understand the differences:

http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2015/02/12/differences-between-a-psychopath-vs-sociopath/

Additional reading:
http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/features/sociopath-psychopath-difference

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wicked-deeds/201401/how-tell-sociopath-psychopath

 

[Atrocious Joystick]

Psycopathy and sociopathy are unofficial and interchangable terms for a person that demonstrates lack of empathy, lack of conformity to laws or social norms, irresponsible behavior, massive ego, failure to maintain healthy lasting relationships (but no problem establishing relationships) and a whole slew of other symptoms that all chalk up to "criminal, self-centered douchebag".

There have been those who have preferred to use the world sociopathy either because they think psycopathy sounds too similar to psychosis or because they want to sort of mark that they think anti-social behaviour is due to sociological circumstances rather than genetic.

There is no "sociopaths are like this psycopaths are like this" and really the hollywood sexy psychopath does not exist. Nobody out there is Patrick Bateman or Dexter. Pleny of people out there are criminal, drug addicted sleazeballs who beats his wife, can't hold a job and constantly manipulates the few people who made the mistake of caring about him. That's what a real psycopath looks like.

 

[jklinders]

People get it wrong in part because the media gets it wrong. the media gets it wrong in part because they are not in it to inform but to entertain but also because the understanding of personality disorders has changed greatly even in my lifetime. That changing understanding is in part due to the very experts we count on to educate us in this stuff also are getting it wrong and are still trying to self correct.

People are not going to get it "right" until the experts settle on what this stuff actually means and stick to it for a couple of generations. Unlikely as the brain is a very finicky and incomprehensible thing.

Edit:

I still have no idea wtf socio or psychopath means. They are rather vague in modern term but used to have a more drilled down upon definition. Those older definitions have colored my own preconceptions to the point where I cannot separate truth from bullshit anymore.

 

[Lil devils x_v1legacy]

snip

Edit:

I still have no idea wtf socio or psychopath means. They are rather vague in modern term but used to have a more drilled down upon definition. Those older definitions have colored my own preconceptions to the point where I cannot separate truth from bullshit anymore.

There is no "sociopaths are like this psycopaths are like this"

If you read the links in post# 15 in the thread, it may better help better you understand the differences, as they are fairly clear and straightforward. and yes, they do actually tell you "sociopaths are like this psychopaths are like this"

 

[Fulbert]

Psychopath vs. Sociopath. Why do people keep getting it wrong?

Because people don't care enough about those who treat them like shit to bother with semantics. That would be my guess.

 

[jklinders]

snip

Edit:

I still have no idea wtf socio or psychopath means. They are rather vague in modern term but used to have a more drilled down upon definition. Those older definitions have colored my own preconceptions to the point where I cannot separate truth from bullshit anymore.

There is no "sociopaths are like this psycopaths are like this"

If you read the links in post# 15 in the thread, it may better help better you understand the differences, as they are fairly clear and straightforward. and yes, they do actually tell you "sociopaths are like this psychopaths are like this"

Don't get me wrong as the links are helpful, but my comment was more of a rejection of the now pop culture nature of those terms than a general cluelessness. I do get them mixed up but they both fall under a series of anti social personality disorders that it is probably better not to use such terminology at all.