Sociopathy Paper

Jarad Smith

Dr. Clarke

November 18, 2011

Sociopathy and Psychopathy

When most people think of a psychopath or sociopath they think of a person who is violent and has a lack of guilt. These traits are both true. But, a psychopath has many more characteristics that people see with the naked eye. Most psychopaths are anti-social and do not relate to others as normal people do. They usually plan out their violent attacks with no emotion or sympathy to what they do. To some people they get the tags “emotionless,” “fearless,” and “unstoppable.” The reason that psychopaths do not fear anything is because they somehow lack anxiety and feel that nothing matters to them. It is also hard to say what motivates a psychopath, could it be control or dominance possibly, but most psychopaths have had no long relationships with anyone in their lives or any purpose for the things they do other than planning violence. They tend to have a grandiose demeanor and an attitude of entitlement like other people owe them something. Certain brain disorders and hormonal imbalances make a person become a psychopath. There are four different types of psychopaths. First, there are primary psychopaths. This type of person does not respond to any type of punishment, apprehension, stress, or disapproval for the things that they do. For a primary psychopath, words to not connect to them like words would for a normal person. It is also unclear to scientist if they even understand the meaning of their own words and this is a condition known as “semantic aphasia.” These psychopaths have no life plan and are usually incapable of showing any emotion at all. The second type of psychopath is known as secondary psychopaths. They usually expose themselves to high stress activities and violent plans. But, they are also more prone to guilt, worry, and stress. These psychopaths are not “fully” psychopathic because they are somewhat normal as well. They usually do their own thing early in their lives and make up their own rules for themselves. Even though they are the closest psychopaths to average people, they still are very daring, unconventional, and adventurous. Secondary psychopaths are strongly driven by a desire to escape or avoid pain, and they are unable to avoid temptations. When these psychopaths anxiety builds about a certain plan or thought, their attraction to it builds as well. They live their lives by the enticement of temptation. There are also two other types of psychopaths that primary and secondary psychopaths can be divided into. They are known as distempered psychopaths and charismatic psychopaths. Distempered psychopaths are more likely to go on a rage or do something violent at any second than any other type of psychopath. Their frenzies are known as an epileptic fit. These psychopaths are usually men that have a very high sex drive, and are capable of getting high sexual energy at any split second. Sexual urges are obsessive for a distempered psychopath and are a huge part of their lives. They are also obsessed with illegal things such as drugs and wrongdoing. This is because they get a “high” from the excitement and the risk-taking anxiety. An example of a distempered psychopath would be a rapist or serial killer. The last type of psychopath is called a charismatic psychopath. These psychopaths are sneaky and charming. They usually are very attractive liars. They also are usually talented at something and use their talent to manipulate others. A charismatic psychopath is also a fast talker and can persuade people out of everything they own, including their own lives. Religious leaders that are over cults could be psychopaths if they lead their followers to death. They usually end up actually believing their own lies. Psychopaths view the world a lot differently than the average human being does. They enjoy possessions and power and they also get pleasure from taking from others. They would rather steal others peoples things than work hard and pay for the things that they want. They also enjoy the misfortune of others and find excitement in it. The disorders of a sociopathic person have been narrowed down to several factors according to scientists. One of the causes is neurological abnormality in the frontal lobe of the brain, which controls a persons fear for things that they see or do. It is believed to be abnormal growth of the brain or a brain injury. Another disorder for a sociopathic or psychopathic person is that the amygdalae, two small regions at the bottom of the brain, have been grown abnormally. This part of the brain controls aggression, sexuality, and recklessness. It also controls what people thing about the emotions of others. This is why psychopaths do not care or cannot sense other people’s emotions. But, even though psychopaths have some disorders, they know exactly what makes a normal human being tick and they know how to influence our feelings. They also have to talent to spot kind and caring women. Psychopaths use mimicry on a day-to-day basis as well to make people perceive them as normal human beings. They usually try to make you feel that they are normal and have normal emotions by telling you a sad story or about a moving experience that they have been through in their life. But, the truth is they go through life with no compassion for people and they have no emotion towards people at all. They use the sad stories or moving experiences to help the other person develop pity for them. Once they see that the person has developed pity, they go for the kill and take everything the person owns or maybe even kill that person. Lying to a psychopath is like breathing for a normal person. They think nothing of it. Psychopaths usually lie until they are caught, then they make up new lies to get out of the other ones that they have told. It’s a continuous process and since they lie so much, they become very good at it. Sometimes a psychopath confuses their victims by their behaviors and they try to sell their story to anyone that will listen to them. Manipulation is key to a psychopath and lying is the way that they manipulate people. They also have selective memory. They may promise a person something one day and forget it the next unless it suits to their strategy of sucking you in.
The psychopath is one of the most fascinating and distressing problems of human experience. For the most part, a psychopath never remains attached to anyone or anything. They live a "predatory" lifestyle. They feel little or no regret, and little or no remorse - except when they are caught. They need relationships, but see people as obstacles to overcome and be eliminated. If not, they see people in terms of how they can be used. They use people for stimulation, to build their self-esteem and they invariably value people in terms of their material value (money, property, etc.). Even though there is no defiant diagnosis for psychopathy or sociopathy, you can notice a person that could be a prospect for the abnormality. So it is important to know the people you are dealing with everyday and keep an eye on your surroundings because psychopaths are very dangerous.