Psychopathy VS. Sociopathy: What are the Differences?

Written by E.S. Kings

January 4, 2023

Before we start I'd like to address that both psychopathy and sociopathy are genuine personality disorders that should be addressed and treated by a psychiatrist or professional who specializes in antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). In fact, psychopathy and sociopathy are not official diagnoses and are instead known as antisocial personality disorder. Like many personality disorders, individuals may experience it differently than others. This will be a brief, short overview of the differences between psychopathy ("primary" psychopaths) and sociopathy ("secondary" psychopaths).

You may be asking, what is a primary and a secondary psychopath? A "primary" psychopath is described as the classical version. Callous, manipulative, and a complete lack of empathy. A "secondary psychopath" is what we consider, outside of the medical field, to be sociopathy. Aggressive, impulsive, and, surprisingly, able to feel guilt. A primary psychopath is additionally described as emotionally stable, while a secondary psychopath (sociopath) is described as a variant to the primary psychopath due to their aggressiveness.

You may hear the terms "psychopathy"and "sociopathy" while studying criminal psychology, abnormal psychology, and the broad world of psychology at large, but what are the differences? Are there even any?

To put it simply, psychopaths may acknowledge that they do not feel empathy, but pretend to care and form relationships by manipulation. Their relationships are formed for personal benefit without regard for the other person. Psychopaths may also show poor judgement that others may consider as inconsiderate and unwise. This does not mean that they are not charming and manipulative. In fact, psychopaths use their charm to benefit in their personal lives. Sociopaths, on the other hand, are more likely to be impulsive and violent. They cannot maintain a normal life as their disorder interferes with their personal lives. Sociopaths struggle with their anger which leads to outbursts and unstable mood swings. This behavior can lead to aggressive tendencies such as assault and law breaking. Unlike psychopaths, sociopaths have a weak conscience. This means that sociopaths are able to feel guilt, but do not acknowledge it as much as the average person and do not let it interfere as much as is considered normal and healthy.

Psychopaths tend to not be able to recognize others' emotions and may react in ways that others consider callous. To the psychopath, however, they may see their behavior as rational. Psychopaths may also suffer from pathological lying. Pathological lying is when an individual impulsively lies about both big and small situations. Adding on to this, psychopathy is typically associated with other disorders such as narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), sexual sadism disorder, and borderline personality disorder (BPD). This indicates that psychopaths may have variations in their personality and behavior that many may associate with a different personality disorder or may be disregarded completely. Surprisingly, psychopaths are considered to be amusing or even delightful to talk with. Why? Psychopaths mirror the behavior of their peers to appear normal. This may be to conceal criminal activity or simply for their personal benefit.

Sociopaths tend to lash out or have fits of anger that become increasingly aggressive and violent as they age. Along with this, sociopaths tend to almost or completely disregard their own safety. Sociopaths may not be able to learn and grow from their past behavior as many others are able to do. An example of this could be not being able to learn and/or understand why a previous action of theirs was wrong or why a conversation they had with someone was disrespectful. On the other hand, a psychopath would pretend to understand. Sociopaths will try to rationalize this behavior and may even use manipulation to do so. Unlike psychopaths, sociopaths cannot usually control their behavior which leads to violent and aggressive tendencies. Like psychopaths, sociopaths are also associated with many other personality disorders such as the ones mentioned above; NPD, sexual sadism, BPD, etc. Additionally, sociopaths do not care about appearing normal as much as psychopaths do which manifests in the inability to maintain a stable personal life.

To put it more in perspective here is a list of traits typically found in a psychopath vs a sociopath:

Psychopath:

• Lack of conscience

• Pathological lying

• Poor judgment

• Manipulative

• Tend to be successful in professional life

• Relationships made for personal benefit

• Mirroring peer behaviors

• Controlled

• Pretend to care

• Blame their victim

• Narcissistic behavior

• Lack of empathy

• Charismatic

• Seen as callous

• Tend to have a stable personal life

• Unable to form emotional attachments

• Disregard of others

Sociopath:

• Impulsive

• Weak conscience

• Erratic

• Prone to aggressive behavior

• Blame their victim

• More likely to break the law

• Unstable mood swings

• Tend to lash out

• Unable to understand why their behavior is wrong

• Typically unable to grow as a person

• Rationalize their behavior

• Violent tendencies

• Are not worried about keeping up public image

• Cannot maintain stable personal life

• Anger fits that can be violent

• Can form emotional attachments on occasion

• Disregard for safety

• Unable to keep jobs

• Prone to anxiety and high stress levels

REFERENCES

Andrews, D.A. & Bonta, James. (2016) The Psychology of Criminal Conduct (6th ed.).

Anna Smith Haghighi. (2021, July 6). What is the difference between sociopathy and psychopathy? Medicalnewstoday.com; Medical News Today. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/psychopath-vs-sociopath

Fletcher, J. (2021, July 31). Differences Between a Psychopath vs. a Sociopath. Psych Central; Psych Central. https://psychcentral.com/health/differences-between-a-psychopath-vs-sociopath

https://www.verywell.com (2021). Sociopath vs. Psychopath: Characteristics and Differences. Verywell Health. https://www.verywellhealth.com/sociopath-vs-psychopath-characteristics-and-differences-5193369

Kiehl, K. A., & Hoffman, M. B. (2011). THE CRIMINAL PSYCHOPATH: HISTORY, NEUROSCIENCE, TREATMENT, AND ECONOMICS. Jurimetrics, 51, 355–397. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4059069/

Kara Mayer Robinson. (2015, February 23). Sociopath v. Psychopath: What’s the Difference? WebMD; WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/features/sociopath-psychopath-difference

Sociopath vs. Psychopath: What’s The Difference? (2022, November 21). Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/health/mind/sociopath-vs-psychopath/

The Difference Between Sociopathy and Psychopathy. (2019). Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/happiness-is-state-mind/201902/the-difference-between-sociopathy-and-psychopathy

Zimmerman, M. (2021, May 5). Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD). Merck Manuals Professional Edition; Merck Manuals. https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/psychiatric-disorders/personality-disorders/antisocial-personality-disorder-aspd

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