What Is The Difference Between a Psychopath And a Sociopath?

When we hear of particularly violent or disturbing crimes such as that of mass murder or rape we often label these people as ‘psychopaths’ or ‘sociopaths’. We tend to use these words interchangeably, but what do they really mean?

It is first worth noting that ‘psychopath’ and ‘sociopath’ are not distinct diagnosable mental illnesses themselves. Rather, many of the characteristics attributable to each of them fall under the umbrella of antisocial personality disorder (APD).

The terms psychopath and sociopath do have a number of similarities including a poor ability to identify right from wrong, a tendency to be manipulative and an impaired ability to experience empathy. They are also more prone than the average person to partake in violent behaviours, although this does not mean that they will always do this. While there are many similarities there are also a number of differences between the two that distinguish them in significant ways.

First and foremost, a psychopath is said to be born and a sociopath is said to be made. What this means is that people who are psychopaths tend to have deeply embedded genetic differences that differentiate them from the average person including a lack of empathy and emotional regulation. This was exhibited in a study by which 121 male prison inmates were shown photos, which depicted painful moments such as a foot stepping on a nail or a finger being jammed in a drawer.

They were then instructed to imagine that it was them who these events happened to and then to imagine it was someone else.The results suggested that in inmates who scored highest in psychopathy, responses in the brain centres for emotion (such as the amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex) when imagining this event happened to themselves was normal however when imagining this happened to others, were not active. In fact, it was even suggested that pleasure regions may have been activated instead. This means that people who are considered to be psychopathic tend to dissociate emotionally, specifically when regarding other people and have a lack of empathy that is rooted in their biology.

Sociopaths on the other hand, often experience abuse or trauma early on in life that thereafter teach them to behave in a particular manner in order to survive. For example, a child who grows up in a rough neighbourhood may learn to be violent, to lie or to exploit others in order to protect him or herself.  Although these behaviours may not necessarily be comfortable initially, over time these people learn to train themselves to act in this way. Sociopaths, unlike psychopaths, do have a capacity to feel empathy in a limited way; they are capable of forming meaningful relationships and will also experience emotions including distress or anger.

This means that when a sociopath engages in criminal activity, they will often do this in an impulsive or irresponsible manner, often exhibiting angry outbursts of violent behaviour with little thought to the consequences of these actions. When psychopaths commit crime on the other hand, this is often done in a cool and calculated manner. Having the ability to dissociate from their emotions, psychopaths can logically think through a situation and act in a manner which is likely to benefit them most.

Many psychopaths may even act a particular way, giving the illusion that they are experiencing emotions, when in fact they are doing so for their own personal gain.So in summary, even though we use these two terms synonymously, there are clear differences that distinguish the two in big ways affecting their behaviours, relationships and overall wellbeing.