What is the difference between sociopathy and psychopathy?

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ASPD is a form of personality disorder. A personality disorder is a condition that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves.

The American Psychiatric Association states that ASPD can cause behavior that ignores or violates other people’s rights.

ASPD is a cluster B personality disorder. The disorders in this category typically involve dramatic, emotional, or unpredictable interactions with other people.

A healthcare professional can only diagnose a person with ASPD if they are over the age of 18 years. The reason for this is that a person’s personality is still developing until this age.

A person will usually only get a diagnosis if there is evidence of them experiencing conduct disorder before the age of 15 years. Conduct disorder is a mental health condition that occurs in children and adolescents, causing behavioral and emotional problems.

According to a 2015 article, healthcare professionals characterize psychopathy as involving:

• shallow emotional responses
• impulsivity
• lack of empathy
• increased chance of antisocial behavior

However, psychopathy is not an official diagnosis.

Some researchers state that psychopathy is a form of ASPD, and healthcare professionals might diagnose ASPD in a person who demonstrates psychopathic traits. For instance, the American Psychological Association describes psychopathy as another term for ASPD.

Other researchers say that psychopathy is a separate condition but acknowledge that it has traits that overlap with those of ASPD. Research supports this overlap, with one study estimating that approximately one-third of people with ASPD meet the criteria for having psychopathy.

Some researchers have also described psychopathy as a more violent version of ASPD. An article from the journal Current Biology also notes that people with high psychopathic traits show a noticeable lack of guilt and empathy.

The symptoms of ASPD and psychopathy overlap, but there are differences between them.

ASPD

For a healthcare professional to diagnose ASPD, a person must display at least three of the following criteria:

• disregarding the law
• being deceitful
• acting impulsively or being incapable of planning
• being irritable and aggressive
• disregarding safety
• being consistently irresponsible
• having a lack of remorse

ASPD is estimated to occur in approximately 1⁠–⁠4% of people. ASPD is also more likely to occur in males than in females.

Psychopathy

Canadian psychologist Robert Hare developed the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) in the 1990s to determine whether a person had psychopathy.

According to a 2014 article, while healthcare professionals would classify only 1% of the population with psychopathy using Hare’s checklist, approximately 20% of people in prison in North America would meet the criteria for psychopathy.

ASPD and psychopathy share many symptoms. However, additional signs that may indicate that a person has psychopathy include:

• lack of empathy
• arrogance
• charisma
• excessive vanity
• lack of guilt
• difficulty processing other people’s facial expressions
• goal-oriented behavior
• insensitivity to punishment

Both conditions can occur due to a combination of genetics and a person’s environment.

ASPD

Healthcare professionals do not know for sure why some people develop ASPD. However, both environmental and genetic factors can contribute.

The United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) suggests that traumatic childhood experiences, such as neglect or child abuse, can play a role in developing ASPD.

The NHS also states that a person with ASPD may have grown up with challenging family circumstances. For instance, they may have experienced:

• conflict between parents or caregivers
• inconsistent parenting
• parents or caregivers who misused alcohol or drugs

Additionally, research suggests that 38⁠–69% of people with ASPD inherit it from their parents. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), children of both adoptive and biological parents with ASPD have an increased chance of developing the condition.

Psychopathy

Similar to ASPD, psychopathy can be due to both genetic and environmental factors.

The authors of a Current Biology article note that studies involving twins have shown that psychopathic traits may be moderately or highly inheritable. They also state that antisocial behavior with psychopathic traits is more inheritable than antisocial behavior alone.

In a 2016 study looking at the brains of males with psychopathy, researchers found poor connections between the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex. The amygdala is the part of the brain that processes emotions, while the prefrontal cortex plays a role in decision-making.

The researchers also found high levels of testosterone in these individuals, which may help explain why psychopathy is more common in males than females.

However, this research involved only a small number of male participants, so further research is necessary to confirm the results.

Traumatic brain injury and damage to the prefrontal cortex in childhood may also cause psychopathic traits to develop.

Neither ASPD nor psychopathy currently has a cure. However, certain treatments can help a person manage the symptoms of these conditions.

ASPD

ASPD can be challenging to treat. Therefore, doctors may focus the treatment on managing certain symptoms or conditions that occur alongside ASPD rather than ASPD itself.

Treating conduct disorder when it occurs in a child may help reduce certain ASPD behaviors as they get older.

Treatment options for ASPD include:

• Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): CBT is a form of therapy that helps a person identify and change destructive thought patterns and behaviors. CBT may help a person with ASPD behave in a way that people consider “socially acceptable.”
• Mentalization-based therapy (MBT): MBT explores how a person’s mental state can affect their relationships.
• Medications: Certain medications, including mood stabilizers, antidepressants, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, can treat different symptoms of ASPD.

In the U.K., a person with ASPD may be able to take part in a democratic therapeutic community (DTC). In this type of social therapy, people join therapy groups that focus on community issues and allow everyone involved to contribute to decisions. There may also be opportunities for vocational and educational work.

However, acceptance into a DTC depends on a person’s willingness to be part of a community.

Psychopathy

As with ASPD, psychopathy can be very hard to treat. Individuals with psychopathy may not agree that they need treatment, or they may not commit to treatment.

Starting treatment in childhood for psychopathic traits can be helpful in reducing them. CBT may also be useful when treating children who develop psychopathic behaviors following traumatic brain injuries (TBIs).

A 2014 case series found that clozapine reduced the severity of ASPD and psychopathy symptoms in males. Clozapine was especially beneficial in reducing anger, aggression, impulsive behavior, and violence. However, the study was small and only included males, so further research is necessary to confirm these effects.

The DSM-5 characterizes narcissistic personality disorder as “a pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts.”

A person with NPD will have:

• a need to be admired
• a sense of entitlement, such as unreasonable expectations of favorable treatment
• an inflated sense of self-importance
• a lack of empathy

They may also be arrogant, exploitative, and envious of others.

Individuals with either NPD or ASPD can be tough-minded, superficial, exploitative, and unempathetic. However, those with NPD are not necessarily impulsive, aggressive, or deceitful. In addition, those with NPD typically lack a history of conduct disorder and criminal behavior.

Conversely, those with ASPD do not typically require the admiration and envy of other people.

Research from 2014 found that people with NPD and people with psychopathy both showed low honesty, humility, and agreeableness. However, individuals with psychopathy were also unlikely to be caring or responsible.

Many myths surround ASPD and psychopathy. Two common myths are:

Myth 1: People with psychopathy are always violent

Although people with these conditions are more likely than other people to be violent, this is not always the case. Research from 2020 found that certain people with psychopathy were able to inhibit violent tendencies, leading to greater success in life.

Myth 2: Prisons are full of psychopaths

Psychopathic people may be more likely to commit criminal acts than other people. However, according to estimates, only about 20% of people in prison in North America have psychopathic traits.

Sociopath is an unofficial term to refer to a person with ASPD. Psychopath is an informal way to describe an individual who displays psychopathic traits.

ASPD is a personality disorder. Some researchers believe that psychopathy is a form of ASPD, whereas others say that it is a separate condition.

Psychopathy shares similar traits with ASPD. However, psychopaths tend to have more violent and severe behavioral traits than people with ASPD. Both conditions can occur due to genetic or environmental factors, and psychopathy can also occur due to TBIs.

There is no cure for either condition, so treatments for both conditions seek to manage and control a person’s symptoms.

If a person thinks that they or a child in their care may have ASPD or psychopathy, they should speak with a doctor or mental health professional.