The Sociopath/Analysis: Difference between revisions
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{{Analysis}}{{trope}}
[[The Sociopath]] has become a very popular villain-type in recent years; crime dramas and thrillers, for example, will inevitably feature one as a particularly merciless and evil antagonist. Some tropes that are frequently associated with [[The Sociopath]] include [[Serial Killer]], [[Faux Affably Evil]], [[Lack of Empathy]], [[The Unfettered]], [[Manipulative Bastard]], [[Complete Monster]], and [[The Chessmaster]]. Many [[Psycho for Hire|Psychos For Hire]] and believers in [[For the Evulz]] are this as well.
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While to the casual observer going about their everyday business a sociopath "seems normal" and often possess a [[Bitch in Sheep's Clothing|superficial charm that can allow them to pass as normal people]], if you spend any length of time with them or *know* to be looking for sociopathic indicators, their "mask of sanity" won't hold up under high scrutiny. Essentially, its a very insulting [[Clark Kent Outfit]] that sociopaths mentally put on when they try to blend in with society: they perceive normal people as a bunch of gullible, sentimental fools who slather each other with token pleasantries like "Hi, how are you? Looking good today, have you lost weight?" and then honestly put their "trust" in other people, based on these shallow pleasantries.
A feature of this is "semantic aphasia"
Sociopaths do not necessarily have some sort of [[Freudian Excuse]] for their Lack of Empathy (although if they get caught out with a lie they will invent one). However, many works will have such characters grow up with [[Abusive Parents|horrific abuse]], conditioning them to believe that they live in a [[Nietzsche Wannabe|nihilistic]] [[Social Darwinist|dog-eat-dog]] [[Crapsack World]] where [[Humans Are Bastards|empathy is useless]]. This is partly because many people can't see why somebody would be so 'cold' and 'ruthless' without a good reason. But sociopathy generally does not have any better reason to be there than any other sickness (although negative experiences with other human beings will change the way it manifests itself). Sociopaths will often try to play the sympathy-ploy that they are they way they are due to abuse or trauma they suffered...but the reality is that even small children who grow up experiencing the [[War Is Hell]] environment in all its horror, subjected to truly nightmarish experiences, *don't* turn into sociopaths (and in fact may turn even more empathic to those suffering around them). Sociopaths have some innate problem and an abusive childhood will *often* exacerbate their behavior, help it manifest, but it doesn't cause it. Then again, some sociopaths have completely normal upbringings, with seemingly no provocation for their behavior.
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Brain scans have determined that there is indeed something structurally wrong with the brains of sociopaths: their amygdala, the deep part of the brain responsible for processing higher emotions, is severely damaged. What's not clear is if having a deficient amygdala is what ''caused'' sociopaths to be the way they are, or if this is just a symptom, and years and years of sociopathic behavior gradually deadened the part of the brain responsible for empathy. In either case, the result is the same: [[Evil Cannot Comprehend Good|they can't comprehend empathy]]. They can use the rational part of their intellect to play-act or mime their way through ''imitating'' complex emotions, but they don't truly feel them, and thus can't really understand them.
Besides pretentiousness and an utter lack of empathy, the other major defining feature of sociopaths is extreme impulsivity. They frequently complain of being "bored" and thus doing it "[[For the Evulz]]"
This results because their cognitive abilities (i.e. ability to sort through information immediately coming from the surrounding environment) is limited by an inability to take responsibility and long term goals into consideration, making them unable to learn from punishment. Whatever the cause, this leads to one of the major disconnects between the Hollywood "evil mastermind" sociopath and the real-life kind: '''true Sociopaths actually tend to be very bad at long-term planning'''. They follow poorly planned out whims, purely focused on the immediate gratification and with ''zero'' thought of the consequences...even to themselves. Even when lying or bragging would only get them into even more trouble. This might be surprising considering how well sociopaths are often able to charm normal people in long-cons, blending into society...but a charming used-car salesman doesn't really need that much long-term planning.
This is because a sociopath's skills as a [[Manipulative Bastard]] is based largely on [[Indy Ploy|improvisation]]: they custom-tailor their lies spur-of-the-moment, without much thought as to how all of their lies will fit together into a cohesive whole. Not that they care, they'll just think up a new lie to patch over the inconsistency, but over time they add up. For example, when Ted Bundy was asked if he ever did drugs, he launched into a long and rambling diatribe, first adamantly insisting that he never did, then that he might have tried marijuana, then admitting that he took marijuana and might have tried crack, but yeah, he still feels he "doesn't do drugs". Each individual sentence was "acted" wholeheartedly, because he was a shameless liar, but if you paid attention to the logic of his words, they were incredibly incoherent. John Wayne Gacy adamantly insisted in court that he was innocent, but when victims on the stand described how he tortured and nearly killed them, he started ''laughing'' in open court, sort of how a normal person might laugh at a man getting hit in the groin by a
TL;DR: We think that for sociopaths everything goes "[[Gambit Roulette|Just As Planned]]" when in fact that's what they want you to think. An exception to this cognitive weakness can exist in the more intelligent types of sociopaths who do know how to [[Cut Lex Luthor a Check]] and use their skills to rise in the social hierarchy.
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The combined result is possibly one of the most frightening aspects of the most hardcore of sociopaths: Because they're so apathetic, impulsive and [[The Unfettered|unfettered]] it is impossible to punish them, and they never learn to fear punishment of any kind, even when it would mean their own destruction. The Sociopath won't take it personally if you humiliate him and kick him out - so it's tough to teach him a lesson. The only reason he'll stay in somebody's life is because that person is gullible and there's no need to reinvent the wheel.
Sociopaths never seem to see that there's a problem with the way they treat others and as such don't admit they have a problem. They are almost impossible to cure as they often see their therapist as [[Critical Psychoanalysis Failure|just another person to con]], and may well persuade them that they have been cured when they still don't see a problem with their past behaviour. If you do try to lecture and psychoanalyze an intelligent sociopath, [[Hannibal Lecture|he will lecture and psychoanalyze you back]]. And chances are he'll win (or perceive himself as winning, which for him is the same thing). A common tactic that sociopaths fall back on, after all other possible lies have been exhausted (and that does take a while, for them) is to flat out insist that their ''accuser'' is simply delusional or insane, i.e. deny that their hands are visibly covered in
This makes them different from other personality disorders associated with shamelessness, impulsivity, lack of empathy and an [[It's All About Me]] mentality, such as the Extreme [[Narcissist]]: when in doubt narcissists want others to take care of their needs and wants. Sociopaths will just ''take'' what they need or want. Narcissists cannot really dispose of their emotional, moral and conscientious weaknesses, such as love or guilt, and when cornered, are far more easy to [[Break the Haughty|be punished]].
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And for them, a lover is just another potential victim. Any kids are simply a burden - or at best a tool. They will often run away if they are faced with any responsibility for their family. However, sociopaths are capable of faking affection for a time, which will seem authentic to many. Love is merely a game for them, and they will essentially see their lover as simply a prize to be won, or a possession to be owned.
These kinds of behaviors cause [[The Sociopath]] to be nigh-universally shown in fiction as a remorseless, unsympathetic, [[The Unfettered|unfettered]] [[Complete Monster]], and he (and it is almost always a he, as female sociopaths are actually extremely rarely diagnosed in real life) is almost never redeemable, with no remorse for their actions or the pain they cause others and in some cases actually take a sadistic pleasure in it; we very, ''very'' rarely get a sympathetic or redeemable sociopath, [[Dexter|though it does happen]]. If a sociopath is attractive or [[Draco in Leather Pants|"sympathetic"]], it is less from actual sympathy and more from [[Magnificent Bastard
However, it's possible for people diagnosed with sociopathy before having aged 15 to 18 years can be treated to become effective members of society (treated, mind you, not necessarily "cured"). Sometimes they can be convinced that [[Good Feels Good]], or taught to use their manipulative abilities to further positive goals. While The Sociopath is often associated with other [[Above Good and Evil]] personalities, [[Moral Sociopathy|many examples with morals also exist]], but they are more likely to suffer from [[Moral Myopia]], or subscribe to a [[Ubermensch|self-centered moral code]].
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