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What is sociopathy?

Updated: 9/7/2023
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11y ago

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Sociopath is person with a mental disease. They don't follow the rules or moral of a society. They have a complete disregard for the feelings and rights of others. They don't feel remorse or guilt of their actions. They tend to be disorganized in his or her demeanor,nervous and easily agitated. They tend to spontaneously act out without thinking about the consequences of their actions. They are dangeourus to others and themselves. They need a lot treatment.

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16y ago
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11y ago

Warning: only do this if someonme isnt truly dangerous and also not to anatagonize a "normal" personal you just dont like.

How to outwit a sociopath: get nasty. We want to refrain from it because normal people dont act out this way, or our sense of decency or compassion holds us back. Its that sense of compassion that sociopaths take advantage of and use us to con us and reel us in again and again. Get tough and get nasty. Youre not going to lose your sense of compassion-we naturally understand limits, they dont. Keep your wits about you and chopper sic balls!

1. Realize its only about a power game of one-upmanship/control with them. Its their only source of power/energy. They have none of their own to generate. Dont allow their sweet talk/lies/false apologies to manipulate you. Dont talk to, explain, or try to understand them (except initially). If you do so, let it only be temporary. Whatever you do, catch the behavior in the beginning-and nip it in the bud. On another note--dont EVER blame yourself, Firstly, the sociopath will do enough of that for you--in order to manipulate and maintain control over you, and secondly, they are master manipulators and usually fool everyone, so its not just you.

2. Intially: go overboard with compassion for about 2 weeks to 6 months and give it your all to resolve conflicts to the best of your ability. Be a paragon of patience. Give them 3 chances or so, after that remove all traces of compassion for them or their behavior. This will clear your conscience letting you know you gave it your best shot to reach out to their humanity. In the meantime, collect a papertrail for future legal battles and acquire witnesses all with a sweet, smiling face plastered on the whole time. Jot down every note, episode and times and dates. Contact a lawyer and relay the notes. Especially if anything that smack of illegal takes place--dont be afraid to use it against them or trump up charges--as long as theyre true of course. There are "free" lawyers for the fianacially challeneged. Be firm, as sociopaths are notorius for crossing boundaries, but "legal" and fair. Not nasty as of yet. Gather allies! Make an emergency exit plan if neccessary to cover money, a place to stay and a vehicle. Be prepared for a restraining order if neccessary.

3. Have big balls when you step to the plate and dont back down-you need as much cunning or more to match them. They will connive, manipulate, con and steal, damage property, humiliate, one-up and insult you and throw tantrums and zero in on your every weakness. And do it for long-term. Let them know they have met their match. Dont let anyone-not even your parents or children get in the way (of course shield them from the conflict, dont badmouth in front of them, but dont let them be an excuse for not excercising military discipline and might). Wear a mask of steel. Be as stony cold as they are if you are to win. When the chips fall in the end, everything will come to light and people eventually will understand. Its only temporary and youre not only doing it for your own good or the good of the family, but its actually for their own good too. Sociopaths need to learn boundaries and limitations and the only way for that to happen is through (many) reprecussions. You are also creating a document of their behavior for any future victims to refer to if they investigate their past or file charges of their own. They will need it as a reference. If you can walk away unscathed, do so. If not, mentally prepare for a long battle and to take it all the way to the end. You have to be bigger and badder them them or at least appear to be so. DO NOT SHOW FEAR or hurt for that matter. Let them know youre no one to be trifled with. Bullies only understand bully. Dont bother trying to talk to or explain or get them to understand. Youve already tried that. That time is past. Become hell wheels. Also, as difficult as it sounds, be sure to take time out to relax and enjoy yourself w/out their influence to maintain peace of mind. Above all else, have the confidence and belief in yourself even if no one else does. You may stand alone--for now. All the more reason--you have to match and outdo the sociopaths overinflated sense of confidence. Let your sense of indignance, truth and integrity be your support. Sociopaths like to turn everyone against you and make you feel like your crazy or somethings wrong with you. They never take responsibility and love to BLAME and concoct stories of blame. They also are masters at manipulating public opinion against you so you must have absolute faith in yourself. Dont forget to gather evidence, lawyers, police reports and allies. Document, document, document. Paer trail, paper trail, paper trail.

4. Secret: Their weakness is they are a) unusually dependent on a specific person or set or persons for extreme need of security (or sense of control).

b) on material comforts of sorts or both. c) their reputation. Go to any means to destroy any of these. Trust me, they would do the same given the chance and will. Luckily this only means revealing the truth to all pertinent peoples, sometimes with a litlle evidence to back you up. Anonymous emails will do fine as well.

Find sabotaging ways to disconnect or expose them or deprive them of their security or material comforts--this is especially annoying to them since they are either overly materialistic or bad at procuring their own basic needs-including money, finances, work, food and sex. Withold, stop, sabotage or withdraw any of these. After all thats what they do to you. Antagonize them-with a blow of 1000 cuts. Even small pleasures and discomforts--have the TV disconnected, blow the fuse box to prevent the cable or TV--whatever they rely on for downtime--throw their favorite sneakers or T-shirts, gather evidence of their behavior and "innocently" deny it or reveal their behavior or information to their victims/security figures (although if its a parental figure, be prepared for them to deny or support their behavior, as every narcissist has an enabler behind him). In other words, fight fire with fire. Again, if you can walk away, do so. But if youre stuck with these a**holes, give it all you got!

5. Never let them see you hurt, your confidence shaken or that they "gotten to you" or one-upped you. If they call you crazy, say "Yeah Im crazy-you dont know how crazy I will take this, and if you dont back off Ill f- you up!" When they initiate a one-upmanship game, dont just one up them back--hit them immediately with the extreme. They wont expect it and unless they are truly crazy, they will retreat and come back later for a covert attack or manipulation. Anticipate this. Guard and protect yourself because if they findout or you reveal that youve been gathering intell or evidence on them, be ceratin they will do the same to you. So cover your a**. They will also try to engage you by opening with or asking questions or quietly gathering info on you--never let them in and never let them have the upper hand.

6. If they have broken any laws, or rules quietly gather evidence and then knock them out by bringing charges, complaints. If the police dont believe you or act like your harassing them or wasting their time--privately take the attitude of screw you a-holes, but in person be professional, insistent and firm. Dont lose it. They are there to do a job--to protect you. Dont let them forget that. Dont let them intimidate you either. I say this because they too are often taken in by the sociopaths lies/nature, especially if they are called repeatedly. Dont be shy though. Call them as many times as you need to. Even if its 10 times a day-thats what theyre there for thats their job, thats what their paid to do. Any witnesses, proof, video, audio or documentation will be of great benefit here. And as far as judges, there are appeals and concrete proof doesnt lie. After a crime is commited-there is always proof left behind. You just have to be swift-witted and have the peace of mind to collect it in a timely fashion. If they are abusive, be sure to get photos. If they rape you, get a rape kit done immediately. Otherwise its lost. Thats why its good to "feign" understanding and tolerance for a few months as needed-(even up to a year if need be) to gather and collect concrete evidence.

7. In addition to collecting evidence, alternate feigned ignorance and outlandish responses to the sociopath to outcrazy him.

8. Antagonize or ride him slowly by threatening him, his security and his image/reputation in small doses to the point were he breaks, then call the police to catch his rampage. Two word for you: restraining order.

9. Any of this sound familiar? Thats probably because this is what a sociopath will likely do to you. Catch him in the act, turn it around on him, and use his own tactics against him. You cannot talk to, reason with, use normal boundaries with sociopaths. They count on normal people doing so and thats how they get in, set up camp and "outwit" you. If you truly want to get rid of these jerks, you have to be firm and consistent--ironically the reason why he probably is a sociopath in the first place is that no one--especially parents growing up--were firm or consistent with boundaries or discipline with him. It was probably due to overindulgence, extreme disconnect and neglect, or a combination or alternation of the two. My first recommendation is get out while the going is good and cut your losses, but sometimes that simply isnt possible and your stuck with the person. If thats the case, commit to crazy.

10. Above all else, keep your distance, either emotionally or physically and do whatever it takes to maintain your peace of mind. Dont let this crazy person drive you crazy even if you have to resort to crazy temporaily to get them out of your life. Get out, take care of your health, get caring friends, a counselor, support, go for a run, get you nails done or your hair, read a book-whatever to unwind. Dont let them get the best of you remember--you have the upper hand. They want it, but you HAVE IT ALREADY. Good luck.

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11y ago

Sociopathy is the common term for someone who has Antisocial Personality Disorder. It is a mental disorder charectorised by "...a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood."

Someone with ASPD has at least three 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. deception, as indicated by repeatedly lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure;
  3. impulsiveness 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 orrationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another;
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12y ago

There is no agreed upon answer as to what causes sociopathy and there is a lot of speculation in the mental health field.

  • There is evidence that it is hereditary
  • There is evidence that it comes from how a child is raised (aka their environment)
  • Sometimes brain damage can cause sociopathy. The brain damage can be caused from physical injury such as massive head trauma, or it could even be chemical brain damage from drugs.

Contrary to popular belief, not all sociopaths are antisocial. In fact many have learned to have incredible charm to lure victims in and that seems to be more common than not, which can make them very dangerous indeed.

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12y ago

A sociopath is someone who doesn't care about other people's feelings.

A deviant sociopath isn't in any psychology text that I can find. But here are some things that you might be referring to:

A sociopath who is abnormal in some way. This would be any sociopath who doesn't fit the exact definition of a sociopath.

If a deviant sociopath is just your name for a sociopath. See top.

An unpredictable sociopath. A sociopath who is unpredictable in some way, beyond a sociopath's normal unpredictability.

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13y ago

The terms psychopath and sociopath are interchangeable, psychopath being somewhat obsolete. A sociopath is a person who has no discernible conscience, and the only remorse he feels for anyone is for himself when he gets caught. To a sociopath a victim is not seen so much as a person as an object upon which he can satifisfy his urges and desires, or otherwise take advantage of. A person who is sociopathic should be distinguished from a person who is psychotic. A sociopath is calculating and shrewd and manipulative. A person with pychosis is in a state of mental confusion and many times plagued by delusions and hallucinations. While a small percentage of psychotic individuals prove to be dangerous, it's most usually because they are deluded in some way that they are in danger. Not many sociopaths can be classified as psychotic. They are pretty much in a state of accute mental clarity and know what they want, except they are cold, calculating, and manipulative.

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12y ago

A sociopath is someone who doesn't care about anyone else.

A narcissistic person is someone who cares about him or herself very much, to an extreme.

So a sociopath would be someone who cared only about him or herself and not about anyone else, and thought him or herself the best person in the world.

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Related questions

Are there different levels of sociopathy?

yes


Is sociopathy a dissociative disorder?

No. Dissociative disorders are basically when people can't remember something that they did, or feel as if they are not in control of themselves. People with sociopathy are aware of what they are doing and have done.


What is a Sociopathy?

Its the study of antisocial personality sisorder of a person.


What is the disorder for showing little or inappropriate emotion?

Sociopathy


What does it mean if someone is constantly lying?

Chronic lying is a sign of sociopathy.


Is sociopathy a crime?

Sociopathy, (or as it's officially called, ASPD) is a mental disorder charecterized by failure to conform to social norms, deception, impulsiveness, irritability and aggressiveness, reckless disregard for safety of self or others, irrisponsibilty, and most importantly a lack or remorse or empathy. Sociopathy in and of itself is not a crime, most sociopaths are able to live completely fine lives without commiting crimes or getting arrested. That being said, the symptoms of sociopathy, including those listed above, make it very easy to resort to crime, which is why such a large percentage of people in jail, (sometimes up to %50) are sociopaths.


What life experiences make a sociopath?

There is a variety of circumstances that can contribute to sociopathy. Some people can experience trauma and still thrive socially. Others may be deeply affected by such experiences and become depressed, angry, addicted or suicidal adults. There are many cases where sociopaths have experienced no significant trauma at all. Sociopathy is often a personality trait that may or may not be related to life experiences. If a person has a predisposition for sociopathy, any type of trauma is enough to trigger maladaptive and antisocial behavior. Many times, childhood abuse (even emotional abuse) is associated with personality disorders and sociopathy.


When a sociopath takes on another intimate relationship will he still go on lying?

Sociopathy is untreatable. They do not change.


What do you do when a child is involved and your in a relationship with a sociopath?

The short answer is get out, sociopathy cannot be cured. But see answer to the related question.


What are some mental illnesses that a criminal might have?

Schizophrenia, intermittent explosive disorder, sociopathy, psychopathic personality.


Is actress missi Lynn accepting of tig notaro's sociopathy?

Yeah, she is not ashamed of being a liar herself.


Is there a particular gender age group or culture who more commonly develop sociopathy then others?

You generally develop sociopathy in childhood and are born with psychopathy. Although symptoms are lifelong. Culturally, there are very few serial killers at least who aren't white. Although that is not sociopaths and I couldn't say for sure...