Do we need the term 'Sociopath'

Originally posted by silent thunder
reply to post by crowdedskies

 

What makes a true narcissist, sociopath, or psychopath ]

HONESTLY, these are DIFFERENT CONCEPTS.

A narcissist may be totally selfish and knife you down at work, but a SOCIOPATH will actually come after you, even after you have left employment or even the country with attempts to smash up you private life, marriage, it won't end. They feel entitled to rip your whole life apart.

It is not uncommon for a term of art to be misappropriated by the general population. One must ask if the majority of English speakers are "wrong" if they use a term of art in a way that conflicts with its original meaning?

"Sociopath" is not the only psychological term of art that has been misappropriated by the general population. "Idiot" "moron" and several other terms were once technical terms used by psychologist that are now used by the general population and have lost at least some of their original meaning. You need to stop getting anal retentive over how people use the word "sociopath" wrong because it sounds retarded.

reply to post by airvicemarshal

You make two mistakes...A psychopath can easily perform a selfless act which is not done for your approval...say a hungry psychopath gives some of his sandwich to a bird...if it's not done for your approval, then he doesn't bother to tell you about it, so how would you know about it...

Likewise, a psychopath is not always seeking your attention...if he is not seeking your attention, then you don't notice he's a psychopath, and/or you are not even aware of his activities...

You act like a psychopath is somehow constrained to make you the center of his world...(bad luck for him if true)...but in reality, any given other person is quite peripheral to the main inner life or focus of any given psychopath...who could get too excited about a yipping square victim...gross...rather keep moving, thanks...

Something about your tone reminds me of passive-aggressive persons of my acquaintance, who want to attract trouble and then complain about it...no doubt I'm wrong...I'm just sayin'...




[edit on 15-6-2010 by nine-eyed-eel]

Originally posted by silent thunder
reply to post by crowdedskies

 

Well, I think you are correct in that we all have the same urges. What makes a true narcissist, sociopath, or psychopath different is that they seem to lack other qualities that the rest of us have: empathy, understanding or awareness of how one's behavior impacts others, etc.

There are those who are intent on causing harm. But for most people It is ,as you say, a continuum; a constant development of the personality. We sometimes look back and laugh at our selfishness and past behaviour.

The point of my thread is to discuss the misuse of the term Sociopath, where too many people get branded sociopaths, without proper justification.

Thanks to someone who pointed out that Sociopath is officially an obsolete word. It has been replaced by ASPD. Still ,unofficialy, Sociopath is still in common use.

Originally posted by Xcalibur254
Technically, sociopath is an outdated term. It has been replaced by anti-social personality disorder. Sociopathy supposes that the behavior is caused by social experiences and was fashionable during the heyday of social psychology. Psychopathy supposes that the same behaviors are caused by a psychological defect. Anti-social personality disorder however does not assume a root cause and simply defines the behavior. There are clear cut criteria that must be met in order to be diagnosed and they clearly represent a pathology with the person's thought pattern. In order to be labeled as antisocial one must display the following:

A. There is a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others occurring since age 15 years, as indicated by three (or more) of the following:

1. failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as
indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest


2. deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning
others for personal profit or pleasure


3. impulsivity or failure to plan ahead


4. irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or
assaults


5. reckless disregard for safety of self or others


6. consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain
consistent work behavior or honor financial obligations


7. lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing
having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another.

B. The individual is at least age 18 years.

C. There is evidence of conduct disorder with onset before age 15 years.

D. The occurrence of antisocial behavior is not exclusively during the course of schizophrenia or a manic episode.

theres the diagnosis, what is the treatment?

reply to post by spacedonk

No treatment...no prognosis for change...
I haven't even heard of anyone pretending to cure it...

reply to post by spacedonk


It's a personality disorder, not your standard mental disorder. It falls under Axis II of the DSM which includes such things as mental retardation. These are things where there pretty much is no prognosis, and instead are seen as traits of the person as opposed to a clinical disorder. I have heard of some treatments that attempted to teach people empathy, but their success was negligible.

Originally posted by andy1033

They call innocent people with just being quiet and not wanting to have sex with females anti social.

This is untrue. People with the features you describe would more than likely fall into the category of Schizoid Personality Disorder, however those feature would be insufficient to render that diagnosis.

www.mayoclinic.com...

[edit on 2010/6/16 by GradyPhilpott]