The idea of what exactly constitutes a psychopath has come under a lot of revision throughout the history of psychology. And while I'm sure a lot of you will have at least a vague idea of what a psychopath or sociopath is, hopefully this can shed some more light on what is a very serious personality condition. [quote]Psychopathy is traditionally defined as a personality disorder, characterized by enduring antisocial behavior, diminished empathy and remorse, and disinhibited or bold behavior.[/quote] But what constitutes "enduring antisocial behaviour"? The consensus is that, in order to be a psychopath, one must qualify for a diagnosis of [i]antisocial personality disorder[/i]. The DSM, fourth edition, defines the symptoms of ASPD as follows: [quote]A) There is a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others occurring since age 15 years, as indicated by three or more of the following: failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest; deception, as indicated by repeatedly lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure; impulsivity or failure to plan ahead; irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults; reckless disregard for safety of self or others; consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain consistent work behavior or honor financial obligations; lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another; B) The individual is at least age 18 years. C) There is evidence of conduct disorder with onset before age 15 years. D) The occurrence of antisocial behavior is not exclusively during the course of schizophrenia or a manic episode.[/quote] Psychopathy differs from ASPD in terms of personality. Psychopaths typically have traits which involve quite a severe sense of diminished remorse, superficial charm and the ability to turn empathy on or off. Distinctions have been made between two types of psychopaths. Cleckleyan psychopaths usually display behaviour that is bold, fearless and uninhibited behaviour, whereas criminal psychopaths display these traits with a much more aggressive personality, oftentimes leading to problems with the criminal justice system. [b]One of the most important things to note about psychopathic individuals is that rarely see a difference between people and objects. [/b] There are two commonly used "diagnosis" tools for psychopaths, here is the system as devised by Cleckley: [quote]Superficial charm and good "intelligence" Absence of delusions and other signs of irrational thinking Absence of "nervousness" or psychoneurotic manifestations Unreliability Untruthfulness and insincerity Lack of remorse and shame Inadequately motivated antisocial behavior Poor judgment and failure to learn by experience Pathologic egocentricity and incapacity for love General poverty in major affective reactions Specific loss of insight Unresponsiveness in general interpersonal relations Fantastic and uninviting behavior with drink and sometimes without Suicide threats rarely carried out Sex life impersonal, trivial, and poorly integrated Failure to follow any life plan.[/quote] While it may seem evident that people oftentimes have these symptoms, what marks a psychopath is the severity with which they suffer from these social disadvantages. Another system of classification is the [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hare_Psychopathy_Checklist]Hare Psychopathy Checklist[/url] which has broadly similar points, but identifies two subtypes. Factor A psychopathy is associated with narcissistic personality disorder, extroversion, egocentricity and callous disregard for others, whereas Factor B psychopaths are usually more emotionally unstable and criminal in their actions, while experiencing higher degrees of fear or anxiety; the two subtypes are occasionally referred to as "primary" and "secondary" respectively. [i]Given that it is midnight, you'll have to excuse any lack of quality. As always, I will endeavour to answer questions as best I can, and as always I will not tolerate any offensive or non-contributory posts. [/i] [spoiler]Given the wide disparity of information regarding psychopathy/sociopathy, if you choose to look it up yourself you might find some discrepancies. I have constructed this using a mixture of as-universal-as-possible sources as well as personal experience.[/spoiler]