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Sociopaths in Society

What is a Sociopath?

A sociopath is somebody who behaves in a way that suggests they have no conscience. Unlike the average human, a sociopath does not feel any sense of guilt or remorse when committing morally wrong actions or actions that their society deems unacceptable. Because of this utter lack of fear for the sanctions of society, sociopaths take advantage of the social system and use manipulation and amoral behaviors to obtain their goals. The types of behaviors they exhibit are those that would make someone with a conscience uncomfortable .

As cited by David T. Lykken in his article “Psychopathy, Sociopathy, and Crime”, the French psychiatrist, Phillipe Pinel coined the term “manie sans delire” to describe sociopaths. The term, meaning “madness without confusion of mind,” was chosen by Pinel because of his observations about sociopaths. He observed that they behave crazily even though they can not be diagnosed medically to be mentally insane Although sociopaths’ condition can’t be specifically diagnosed as a mental or neurotic disorder, they are considered to be suffering from Antisocial Personality Disorder . But this sociopathic condition is considered to be preventable. As defined by David T. Lykken, sociopaths are “antisocial personalities whose behavior is a consequence of social or familial dysfunction.” Essentially, sociopaths are believed to never have learned the basic societal functions they are expected to carry out and reciprocate. Because this must be learned in the early childhood stages of one’s life, it is impossible to try and teach an adult sociopath the things they never learned as a child .

Sociopathic Behaviors and Their Impact on Society

Because sociopaths are free from the guilt and constraints that a conscience imposes upon the average human, they are more free to act in ways that a conscience and the negative sanctions of society would normally prevent them from doing. The ways in which they choose to focus their manipulative powers vary greatly.

Sociopaths are commonly associated with crime. Although this is true, sociopaths are also “everyday” people. According to J.L Bernard and Russell Eiseman in their study “Verbal Conditioning in Sociopaths with Social Monetary Enforcement,” sociopaths “fail to react to words which bring about emotional reactions in normal people” In other words, they intellectually comprehend what is being said but fail to feel the emotions that come along with what is being said. Because of this, they are able to manipulate the emotions of others for their benefit and progression without feeling any sort of guilt or sympathy. The more apparent effects of this behavior can be seen in many criminals and their actions. But the more subtle effects of this destructive behavior can be seen in regular people that appear to be normal functioning members of society. They are usually the type that employ this sort of manipulative behavior for their benefit and personal gain.

The sociopaths that appear to be normally functioning members of society are more difficult to recognize because they appear completely normal. They often display charming behavior and can fake emotion convincingly, which leads them to be trusted and even admired by society.This charming behavior can also serve as tool for sociopaths to gain positions of power, such as a CEO position.

The term sociopath has negative connotations that often cause people to assume that sociopaths will strive to achieve their goals through evoking fear from their victims But Dr. Martha Stout’s statement in her book "The Sociopath Next Door" states quite the contrary. She states:

The most reliable sign, the most universal behavior of unscrupulous people is not directed, as one might imagine, at our fearfulness. It is, perversely, an appeal to our sympathy.  It is an option they utilize only when their appeal to pity approach proves to be unproductive.

As previously mentioned, sociopaths are prevalent in both the crime and domestic aspects of society. They can be neighbors, teachers, CEOs or even friends. Stout suggests that approximately 4 percent of the population suffers from Antisocial Personality Disorder, which she defines as the “condition of missing a conscience”. With the population of the United States being approximately 310 million and assuming Stout’s prediction is correct, there are over 12 million people that have the potential to be sociopaths within the United States.

Sociopaths and Crime

As cited by David T. Lykken, more than 200,000 boys between the ages of twelve and seventeen years old were arrested in 1992 in the U.S for murder, forcible rape, aggravated assault, or robbery. Furthermore, the crime rate has risen substantially since then. J.J Dililio Jr. explained the situation in 1995: Thus, when it comes to the homicidal violence of the contemporary inner city, we are dealing with very bad boys from very bad homes, kids who in most cases have suffered or witnessed violent crimes in the past. These juveniles are not criminally depraved because they are economically deprived; they are totally depraved because they are completely unsocialized. Although many people may deem these criminal boys as mentally unsound psychopaths, in reality they are not. Lykken explained:

Most recidivistic criminals are sociopaths, and sociopaths are just as dangerous and because of their numbers, an even greater social liability than psychopaths. They are why we lock our doors, stay off the streets at night, carry Mace, and invest in guns and guard dogs and electronic surveillance systems. We are currently producing sociopaths with factory-like efficiency in the United States. Although we do not know how to cure sociopathy, I think we can figure out what needs to be done to prevent it.

There are several factors that are becoming increasingly prevalent in American society that can be identified as sources of sociopaths. The main cause of this increase of sociopathy within our society is the lack of proper parenting. Unlike traditional societies that raise their children communally, the U.S is becoming increasingly independent with their parenting styles. With a high divorce rate, the problem is only worsening. Generally the single parent who rears the children is the mother, leaving children lacking in fatherly influence which is proving to be essential to their sociological development. According to Lykken’s article, about 70 percent of the adults and juveniles currently incarcerated were reared without their biological fathers. This type of environment is conducive for children to become sociopaths in the future. As the rate of marriage continues to decrease, the number of unsocialized children is also increasing This creates a domino effect as these sociopathic children grow up and have children of their own. Lykken stated:

“The feral products of indifferent, incompetent, or over burdened parents- the sociopaths- are growing rapidly in number because the proportion of this nation’s children who are being reared by (or, rather, domiciled with such parents is increasing rapidly.”

Once the unsocialized children grow up, they become sociopaths with no sense of remorse or guilt. They have the potential to shoot, kill, steal, and manipulate continuously. Not feeling the normal pangs of a conscience clears the way for limitless criminal and manipulative behavior.

According to Lykken, the only way to stop this problem is prevention because there is no cure for adult sociopathy. Although parenting classes for at risk parents are expensive and draining, child psychiatrist Jack Westman estimates in his book Licensing Parents, as cited by Lykken, that each typical sociopath will cost society about $3 million over the course of their lifetime.

Sociopaths vs. Psychopaths

Sociopaths and psychopaths are commonly confused with one another. As mentioned above, sociopaths are, as defined by David T. Lykken, “antisocial personalities whose behavior is a consequence of social or familial dysfunction.” In contrast, psychopaths are, as defined by Lykken, “people whose antisocial behavior appears to result from a defect or aberration within themselves rather than in their rearing.”

Essentially psychopaths are psychopaths because of something within their biology that is heavily resistant to socialization. While sociopaths are sociopaths, not because of a lack of ability to be socialized but rather from the lack of having a socializing experience in their childhood.

A psychopath is “relatively indifferent to the probability of punishment for his actions."Psychopaths are difficult to socialize because of their fearlessness. Socialization is based primarily upon the sanctions and fear of what other members of society will think or do if one acts against the norms that one is taught But because psychopaths have no fear or respect for society’s customs, they act impulsively.

Although it is difficult to socialize psychopaths, it is not impossible. Often times, a psychopath’s lack of fear can be beneficial if they are socialized and it is channeled correctly. Lykken stated that, “the hero and the psychopath may be twigs on the same genetic branch.”

In contrast to sociopaths, being a psychopath is a medical condition. Many studies suggest that impairment or damage of the frontal lobes may be the cause of psychopathy. The following excerpt from Lykken’s article describes a situation that provides evidence towards this theory:

“Neurologist A. R. Damasop and colleagues recently described a thirty-five-year-old professional man, “EVR,” who was successful and happily married and “who led and impeccable social life, and was a role model to younger siblings.” EVR developed a brain tumor that required surgical excision of the frontal orbital (behind the eyes) brain cortex on both sides. After recovery, his IQ and memory test scores were uniformly in the superior range, and his performance on several other tests designed to detect frontal lobe damage was entirely normal. EVR’s social conduct, however, “was profoundly affected by his brain injury. Over a brief period of time, he entered disastrous business ventures (one of which led to predictable bankruptcy), and was divorced twice (the second marriage, which was to a prostitute, only lasted 6 months). He has been unable to hold any paying job since the time of surgery, and his plans for future activity are defective.” Previously model citizen, EVR now meets criteria for primary psychopathy.”

There are multiple classifications and types of psychopaths. The degree of recklessness of their behavior varies greatly. Generally, all of their behavior can be attributed to their lack of fear and conscience. The major difference between sociopaths and psychopaths is that sociopaths are more manipulative in their actions while psychopaths are more blatant in their actions.

Examples of Sociopaths in Society

Stephen Glass was a former reporter for the New Republic as well as a free-lance writer. He was discovered to have completely fabricated multiple stories that were published in the New Republic and other publications. He fabricated his stories to the point that they were more fiction than journalism. He was able to accomplish this through his deceitful, manipulative and seemingly innocent personality. To back up his stories, he created false people, numbers, companies and more, all in an effort to protect the supposed credibility of his stories. He even went as far as to create a fake company website for one of the companies in his stories. As cited in Bissinger’s article “Shattered Glass,” after discovering Glass’s lies, the New Republic published a note which read in part:

“We believe that each of the following articles by Glass contains at least some fabricated material: “All Wet” (February 16, 1998), “Clutch Situation” (February 16, 1998), “Gift of the Magnate” (January 26, 1998), “State of Nature” (January 19, 1998), “Ratted Out” (December 22, 1997), “Anatomy of a Policy Fraud” (November 17, 1997), “No Free Launch” (November 3, 1997), “Kicked Out” (October 20, 1997), “Cheap Suits” (October 6, 1997), “The Young and the Feckless” (September 8 & 15, 1997), “Deja Coup” (August 11 & 18, 1997), “Low Blows” (August 4, 1997), “Peddling Poppy” (June 9, 1997), “After the Fall” (May 26, 1997), “A Fine Mess” (April 21, 1997), “The Jungle” (April 7, 1997), “Spring Breakdown” (March 31, 1997), “Writing on the Wall” (March 24, 1997), “Don’t You D.A.R.E.” (March 3, 1997), “Rock the Morons” (February 10, 1997), “Holy Trinity” (January 27, 1997), “Probable Claus” (January 6 & 13, 1997), “Hazardous to Your Mental Health” (December 30, 1996).”



Famous Sociopaths:

Adolf Hitler

Ted Bundy

Joseph Stalin