ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITY, SOCIOPATHY, AND PSYCHOPATHY

Posted by permission of Dr. Thomas O’Connor. Copyright by T. O’Connor

“When I’m good, I’m very good. When I’m bad, I’m better.” (Mae West)

    People who cannot contain their urges toharm (or kill) people repeatedly for no apparent reason are assumed to suffer from some mentalillness. However, they may be more cruel than crazy, they may be choosing not to controltheir urges, they know right from wrong, they know exactly what they’re doing, and they are definitely NOT insane, at least according to the consensus of most scholars (Samenow 2004).  Insuch cases, they usually fall into one of three types that are typically consideredaggravating circumstances in addition to their legal guilt — antisocialpersonality disorder (APD), sociopath, or psychopath — none of which are the same as insanity or psychosis.  APD is the most common type, afflicting about 4% of thegeneral population.  Sociopaths are the second most common type, with the American Psychiatric Association estimating that 3% ofall males in our society are sociopaths and Stout (2005) estimating 4% of the population.  Psychopaths are rare, found in perhaps1% of the population.

    Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD)is practically synonymous with criminal behavior, but as with all distributions of a disease or whatever in a population, it is probable that the majority of people with this particular affliction are law-abiding.  Aging, overinvolvements, and/or relationships might hold sway over the control (or lack of control) in these kind of people, and although approaching the study of offenders from a relationship & personality disorders point of view may or may not be productive, Dr. Drew is probably an adequate source of information on such matters.  Dr. Drew’s theory (and one with wide ramifications since he pretty much defines an antisocial tendency as thinking about one’s self first) is that women with certain kinds of disorders, like borderline personality disorders, tend to be attracted to and hook up with men who manifest symptoms of psychopathic personality disorder and that such match-ups may or may not be dysfunctional.  On the other hand, the field of criminology tends to treat APD as so synonymous, in fact,with criminal behavior that practically all convicted criminals (65-75%) have it, with criminologistsoften referring to it as a “wastebasket” category.  Antisocials come is all shapes and sizes, and psychologistsconsider the juvenile version of it to be a juvenile conduct disorder. The maincharacteristic of it is a complete and utter disregard for the rights of othersand the rules of society. They seldom show anxiety and don’t feel guilt. Although many people would hope that there’s an effective treatment, there’sreally no effective treatment for them other than locking them up in a securefacility with such rigid rules that they cannot talk their way out. A full listof APD traits would include:

    whereas the DSM-IV “clinical” features ofAntisocial Personality Disorder (with a person having at least three ofthese characteristics) are:

    Sociopathy is chiefly characterized bysomething wrong with the person’s conscience. They either don’t have one, it’sfull of holes like Swiss cheese, or they are somehow able to completelyneutralize or negate any sense of conscience or future time perspective.Sociopaths only care about fulfilling their own needs and desires – selfishnessand egocentricity to the extreme. Everything and everybody else is mentallytwisted around in their minds as objects to be used in fulfilling their ownneeds and desires. They often believe they are doing something good for society,or at least nothing that bad. The term “sociopath” is frequently usedby psychologists and sociologists alike in referring to persons whoseunsocialized character is due primarily to parental failures (usuallyfatherlessness) rather than an inherent feature of temperament.  Lykken (1995), for example, clearly distinguishes between the sociopath (who is socialized into becoming a psychopath) and a “true” psychopath (who is born that way).  However, this mayonly describe the “common sociopath”, as there are at least four (4)different subtypes — common, alienated, aggressive, and dyssocial. Commons arecharacterized mostly by their lack of conscience; the alienated by theirinability to love or be loved; aggressives by a consistent sadistic streak; anddyssocials by an ability to abide by gang rules, as long as those rules are thewrong rules. As Stout (2005) indicates, it only takes three of the following to be defined as a sociopath, and some common sociopathic traits include:

    Psychopathy is a concept subject tomuch debate, but is usually defined as a constellation of affective,interpersonal, and behavioral characteristics including egocentricity;impulsivity; irresponsibility; shallow emotions; lack of empathy, guilt, orremorse; pathological lying; manipulativeness; and the persistent violation ofsocial norms and expectations (Cleckley 1976; Hare 1993). The crimes ofpsychopaths are usually stone-cold, remorseless killings for no apparent reason.They cold-bloodedly take what they want and do as they please without theslightest sense of guilt or regret. In many ways, they are natural-bornintraspecies predators who satisfy their lust for power and control by charm,manipulation, intimidation, and violence. While almost all societies wouldregard them as criminals (the exception being frontier or warlike societieswhere they might become heroes, patriots, or leaders), it’s important todistinguish their behavior from criminal behavior. As a common axiom goes in psychology, MOST PSYCHOPATHS ARE ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITIES BUTNOT ALL ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITIES ARE PSYCHOPATHS. This isbecause APD is defined mainly by behaviors (Factor 2 antisocial behaviors) and doesn’t tap theaffective/interpersonal dimensions (Factor 1 core psychopathic features,narcissism) of psychopathy. Further, criminalsand APDs tend to “age out” of crime; psychopaths do not, and are athigh risk of recidivism. Psychopaths love to intellectualize in treatment withtheir half-baked understanding of rules. Like the Star Trek character, Spock,their reasoning cannot handle any mix of cognition and emotion. They arecalculating predators who, when trapped, will attempt escape, create a nuisanceand danger to staff, be a disruptive influence on other patients or inmates, andfake symptoms to get transferred, bouncing back and forth between institutions.The common features of psychopathic traits (the PCL-Ritems) are:

    In addition to these most well-known types, there have beencriminologists who have put forward additional constructs. They are onlymentioned here because of their relevance to serial criminals, and theinteresting similarity in the way they compare to the FBI’s “disorganized -organized” typology. 

    The patterns of episodic aggressive behavior scale is derivedfrom Joel Norris (1990) Serial Killers, London: Arrow Books and also reproducedin Brian Lane & Wilfred Gregg (1992) The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers, NY:Berkeley Books. This particular sociopathic checklist is found in numerous places but extensivelyfeatured in both of Samenow’s worksin the 1970s on criminal personality (thinking errors).

DETAILED ANALYSIS OF ANTISOCIAL PERSONALITY DISORDER

    The diagnosis of APD has long been controversial. Thecriteria for it seem to change with each and every new edition of the Diagnosticand Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-I 1968; DSM-II 1976; DSM-III1980; DSM-III-R 1987; DSM-IV 1994). The diagnosis was substantially changed withDSM-III when the APA decided to distinguish between child and adultcharacteristics, and essentially substituted behavioral criteria (like truancyor law violations) for personality criteria (like callousness and selfishness).In the DSM-III-R (R for Revised), the focus was on violence and a list ofviolent acts (fighting, cruelty to others, cruelty to animals). The currentDSM-IV approach essentially says that anything which is not sociopathy,psychopathy or dyssocial personality disorder is antisocial personalitydisorder, but there is considerable overlap. The diagnostic possibilities areendless; there are at least 3 million possible variations of symptoms on atleast 62 different measurable items.

    Ongoing research is quite prolific into the factor orprincipal components analysis of APD characteristics. Most forensic expertsbelieve there are 3-4 factors (groupings of symptoms). One factor involvessymptoms that cluster around what might be called a Lack of Planning(promiscuous, irresponsible, impulsive traits and behavior). Another factorclusters around the notion of Disregard for Others. A third factor is clearlyrelated to Adult Criminality. A fourth factor is clearly related to JuvenileDelinquency. Impulsivity appears to be a prototypical(core) feature, but it can take many forms. Definitions of impulsivity arenumerous — a tendency to act without reflection; dysfunctional informationprocessing; a tendency for risk taking; sensation seeking; and an inability tosustain attention. Rating scales are easily available to measure these. 

    The incidence of APD is twice as high for inner-cityresidents than in small towns or rural areas, and five times higher in malesthan in females. It affects people in all social classes, but if someone withAPD is born into a family of wealth and privilege, they will usually manage toeek out a successful business or political career. Poorer people with APD tendto wind up in state prison systems. Since African-Americans are seven times morelikely to be represented in state prison systems, it’s tempting to speculate theincidence of APD among African-Americans is high.  However, there are mostlikely other causes of crime among African-Americans (like unemployment andracism). The fact is that most of the current prison population, white or black,shares the APD diagnosis. All it takes is a juvenile record, an adult offensecareer, aggressivity, impulsivity, a checkered work history, and/or lack ofdemonstrable repentance. These can be easily found in almost any prison inmate’sdossier.

    One of the things closely related to APD is the comorbidityof alcoholism and narcotic addiction. Some of the criteria for a substance abusedisorder are very similar: theft, hazardous behavior, failure to fulfill rolefunctions in home, school, and work. A strong correlation exists betweensubstance abuse and factor 2 (antisocial behaviors) of the psychopathyconstruct. APDs with a drug addiction have some serious substance abuseproblems — the kind that lead to death by overdose or accident within fiveyears. Are APD and narcotic addiction part of the same disorder, does one leadto the other, or are they are spuriously linked together? From what littleresearch there is, it appears that most of the time, APD precedes narcoticaddiction, although some of the time, addiction leads to APD behaviors. Peoplewith such comorbid characteristics also usually have undiagnosed other Axis Iand Axis II disorders.  

DETAILED ANALYSIS OF THE SOCIOPATH

    From the wild Irish slums of the 19th Century Easternseaboard to the riot-torn anomic neighborhoods of Los Angeles, our society hasalways produced sociopaths who are quite often the products of illegitimacy,broken homes, and a lack of any bonding with male or societal authority. Some70% of sociopaths come from fatherless homes. Father absence produces manyconsequences similar to the symptoms of sociopathy — early, precocioussexuality; antagonistic, deprecating attitude toward the opposite sex; lack ofinterest in bonding with a durable, stable mate; aggressive acting-out;excessive boasting; and risk-taking behavior. Some 30% of children today areborn out-of-wedlock, and another 30% live in divorced homes. These conditions -a problem of unsocialization – produce sociopathy. Furthermore, sociopaths tendto reproduce themselves, that is, they produce more than own their share ofillegitimate offspring themselves. 

    So what is a sociopath? You won’t find criteria in the DSM IVor official psychiatric nomenclature, but the construct refers to the largestsubgroup of APDs. Most are males, but an increasing number are female. They haveotherwise normal temperaments (as opposed to psychopaths who have abnormaltemperaments). Some are aggressive, fearless sensation seekers, and others areMachiavellian manipulators.  A Machiavellian is a personality type who is a cross between an antisocial personality and a narcissist, and someone who also has an extremely high sense of entitlement.  The one thing that all sociopaths have in common is that they are”too much” to handle for their parents or anyone else. It’s common torefer to them as unsocialized, but the dyssocial sociopath does socialize to themores and values of a dyssocial outgroup, like a gang. Let’s explore the four(4) subtypes of sociopaths:

    COMMON SOCIOPATHS are the largest subtype and have a weak orunelaborated conscience. They are not ashamed by the same things as you or Iwould be ashamed of. They are like feral children grown up, taking pleasures andgratifying impulses at every opportunity or temptation. They especially enjoyand take pride in bending or breaking the rules. As teenagers, they are oftenrunaways. As adults, they are often geographically mobile, living in shelters,or taking advantage of welfare systems. They are experienced shoplifters. Theyhave quite active sex lives. They are usually of average intelligence, but don’tdo well in school and never seem to break out of low-paying dead-end jobs.Nevertheless, they seem genuinely happy with their lives, unburdened by anysense of negative self-worth or the fact that they have not been a functional,contributing member of society.

    ALIENATED SOCIOPATHS have never developed the ability tolove, empathize, or affiliate in real life with another person. They will showmore emotion toward their pet or a personal artifact than toward a person. Or,they may hate animals and live out their emotional life by watching TV(identification with soap opera characters is a common pattern). Dating andmarriage relationships will be very barren and empty. They won’t get along withthe neighbors. They live in a shell. They have a cold, callous attitude towardhuman suffering or any social problem in the society they live in. They justdon’t care because it’s outside their range of empathy. Most will believe theyare justified in this because they feel they were cheated in some way themselvesby society, and a few will be more than happy to rant and rave about it toanyone who listens. They are chronic complainers, and underneath it all, theywould like to see nothing better than all of society destroyed.

    AGGRESSIVE SOCIOPATHS derive strong, yet nonperversegratification from harming others. They like to hurt, frighten, tyrannize,bully, and manipulate. They do it for a sense of power and control, and willoften only drop subtle hints about what they are up to. They polish theiraggressive, domineering manner in such a way to disguise any intimidation othersmight feel. They seek out positions of power, such as parent, teacher,bureaucrat, supervisor, or police officer. Their style is one of passiveaggression as they systematically go about sabotaging the ideas of others to gettheir ideas in place. In their spare time, they like to hunt or occasionally dosadistic things like find stray dogs and cut them up. They are usually effectiveat getting their way, and are especially vindictive if resisted or crossed. Theydon’t follow the social norm of reciprocity like others do.

    DYSSOCIAL SOCIOPATHS identify and hold an allegiance with adyssocial, outcast, or predatory subculture. Any subculture will do, as long asit runs counter to established authority. They are capable of intense loyalty,and even a feeling of guilt and shame, within such limited circles. They seem tocontinually fall upon bad luck and bad companions, however. While they willconstantly complain that none of this is their fault, behind it all is a kind ofself-defeating mechanism in the poor choices they made themselves.  

DETAILED ANALYSIS OF THE PSYCHOPATH

    Psychopaths cannot be understood in terms of antisocialrearing or development. They are simply morally depraved individuals whorepresent the “monsters” in our society. They are unstoppable anduntreatable predators whose violence is planned, purposeful and emotionless. Theviolence continues until it reaches a plateau at age 50 or so, then tapers off.Their emotionlessness reflects a detached, fearless, and possibly dissociatedstate, revealing a lower autonomic nervous system and lack of anxiety. It’sdifficult to say what motivates them – control and dominance possibly – sincetheir life history will usually show no bonds with others nor much rhyme totheir reason (other than the planning of violence). They tend to operate with agrandiose demeanor, an attitude of entitlement, an insatiable appetite, and atendency toward sadism. Fearlessness is probably the prototypical (core)characteristic (the low-fear hypothesis). It’s helpful to think of them ashigh-speed vehicles with ineffective brakes. Certain organic (brain) disordersand hormonal imbalances mimic the state of mind of a psychopath. 

    There are four (4) different subtypes of psychopaths. Theoldest distinction was made by Cleckley back in 1941 between primary andsecondary. However, we’ll explore the other two subtypes first:

    DISTEMPERED PSYCHOPATHS are the kind that seem to fly into arage or frenzy more easily and more often than other subtypes. Their frenzy willresemble an epileptic fit. They are also usually men with incredibly strong sexdrives, capable of astonishing feats of sexual energy, and seemingly obsessed bysexual urges during a large part of their waking lives. Powerful cravings alsoseem to characterize them, as in drug addiction, kleptomania, pedophilia, anyillicit or illegal indulgence. They like the endorphin “high” or”rush” off of excitement and risk-taking. The serial-rapist-murdererknown as the Boston Strangler was such a psychopath.

    CHARISMATIC PSYCHOPATHS are charming, attractive liars. Theyare usually gifted at some talent or another, and they use it to their advantagein manipulating others. They are usually fast-talkers, and possess an almostdemonic ability to persuade others out of everything they own, even their lives.Leaders of religious sects or cults, for example, might be psychopaths if theylead their followers to their deaths. This subtype often comes to believe intheir own fictions. They are irresistible.

PRIMARY PSYCHOPATHS do not respond to punishment,apprehension, stress, or disapproval. They seem to be able to inhibit theirantisocial impulses most of the time, not because of conscience, but because itsuits their purpose at the time. Words do not seem to have the same meaning forthem as they do for us. In fact, it’s unclear if they even grasp the meaning oftheir own words, a condition that Cleckley called “semantic aphasia.”They don’t follow any life plan, and it seems as if they are incapable ofexperiencing any genuine emotion.  

    SECONDARY PSYCHOPATHS are risk-takers, but are also morelikely to be stress-reactive, worriers, and guilt-prone. They expose themselvesto more stress than the average person, but they are as vulnerable to stress asthe average person. They are daring, adventurous, unconventional people whobegan playing by their own rules early in life. They are strongly driven by adesire to escape or avoid pain, but are unable to resist temptation. As theiranxiety increases toward some forbidden object, so does their attraction to it.They live their lives by the lure of temptation. 

    Hare’s PCL-R 20-item checklist is based on Cleckley’s 16-itemchecklist, and the following is a discussion of the concepts in the PCL-R:

1. GLIB and SUPERFICIAL CHARM — the tendency to be smooth,engaging, charming, slick, and verbally facile. Psychopathic charm is not in theleast shy, self-conscious, or afraid to say anything. A psychopath never getstongue-tied. They have freed themselves from the social conventions about takingturns in talking, for example. 

2. GRANDIOSE SELF-WORTH –– a grossly inflated view of one’sabilities and self-worth, self-assured, opinionated, cocky, a braggart.Psychopaths are arrogant people who believe they are superior human beings.

3. NEED FOR STIMULATION or PRONENESS TO BOREDOM — anexcessive need for novel, thrilling, and exciting stimulation; taking chancesand doing things that are risky. Psychopaths often have a low self-discipline incarrying tasks through to completion because they get bored easily. They fail towork at the same job for any length of time, for example, or to finish tasksthat they consider dull or routine. 

4. PATHOLOGICAL LYING — can be moderate or high; in moderateform, they will be shrewd, crafty, cunning, sly, and clever; in extreme form,they will be deceptive, deceitful, underhanded, unscrupulous, manipulative, anddishonest.

5. CONNING AND MANIPULATIVENESS — the use of deceit anddeception to cheat, con, or defraud others for personal gain; distinguished fromItem #4 in the degree to which exploitation and callous ruthlessness is present,as reflected in a lack of concern for the feelings and suffering of one’svictims.

6. LACK OF REMORSE OR GUILT — a lack of feelings or concernfor the losses, pain, and suffering of victims; a tendency to be unconcerned,dispassionate, coldhearted, and unempathic. This item is usually demonstrated bya disdain for one’s victims.

7. SHALLOW AFFECT — emotional poverty or a limited range ordepth of feelings; interpersonal coldness in spite of signs of opengregariousness. 

8. CALLOUSNESS and LACK OF EMPATHY — a lack of feelingstoward people in general; cold, contemptuous, inconsiderate, and tactless.

9. PARASITIC LIFESTYLE — an intentional, manipulative,selfish, and exploitative financial dependence on others as reflected in a lackof motivation, low self-discipline, and inability to begin or completeresponsibilities.

10. POOR BEHAVIORAL CONTROLS — expressions of irritability,annoyance, impatience, threats, aggression, and verbal abuse; inadequate controlof anger and temper; acting hastily.

11. PROMISCUOUS SEXUAL BEHAVIOR — a variety of brief,superficial relations, numerous affairs, and an indiscriminate selection ofsexual partners; the maintenance of several relationships at the same time; ahistory of attempts to sexually coerce others into sexual activity or takinggreat pride at discussing sexual exploits or conquests.

12. EARLY BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS — a variety of behaviors priorto age 13, including lying, theft, cheating, vandalism, bullying, sexualactivity, fire-setting, glue-sniffing, alcohol use, and running away from home.

13. LACK OF REALISTIC, LONG-TERM GOALS — an inability orpersistent failure to develop and execute long-term plans and goals; a nomadicexistence, aimless, lacking direction in life.

14. IMPULSIVITY — the occurrence of behaviors that areunpremeditated and lack reflection or planning; inability to resist temptation,frustrations, and urges; a lack of deliberation without considering theconsequences; foolhardy, rash, unpredictable, erratic, and reckless.

15. IRRESPONSIBILITY — repeated failure to fulfill or honorobligations and commitments; such as not paying bills, defaulting on loans,performing sloppy work, being absent or late to work, failing to honorcontractual agreements.

16. FAILURE TO ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR OWN ACTIONS — afailure to accept responsibility for one’s actions reflected in lowconscientiousness, an absence of dutifulness, antagonistic manipulation, denialof responsibility, and an effort to manipulate others through this denial.

17. MANY SHORT-TERM MARITAL RELATIONSHIPS — a lack ofcommitment to a long-term relationship reflected in inconsistent, undependable,and unreliable commitments in life, including marital.

18. JUVENILE DELINQUENCY — behavior problems between theages of 13-18; mostly behaviors that are crimes or clearly involve aspects ofantagonism, exploitation, aggression, manipulation, or a callous, ruthlesstough-mindedness.

19. REVOCATION OF CONDITION RELEASE — a revocation ofprobation or other conditional release due to technical violations, such ascarelessness, low deliberation, or failing to appear.

20. CRIMINAL VERSATILITY — a diversity of types of criminaloffenses, regardless if the person has been arrested or convicted for them;taking great pride at getting away withcrimes.        

INTERNET RESOURCES
Dr. Stanton Samenow’s Home Page

PRINTED RESOURCES
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