Anyone give me a definition of 'sociopath'? (please!) :)?

Question

just wondering, i am doing an assignment and am locked out of google scholar..so short of using the library (yeah, i totally just should) has anyone got a standing definition of what a sociopath is, in the society context or otherwise. thx

Answer 1

It's another term for Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD), characterized by violation of and disregard for the rights of others through deceitful, aggressive or antisocial behavior, typically without remorse or loyalty.  This is the definition from Butcher.  In the DSM, it's defined primarily by behaviors that qualify 50-80% of a prison population for a diagnosis, as compared to the concept of psychopathy (no conscience, remorse, or empathy), which would apply to only 15 to 30%.

Answer 2

I have not come across a word like "sociopath" . There are 'sociologists' . From the word 'path' after 'socio' I can say that  a  sociopath is one who has  a deep knowledge about  the 'society', 'social  problems' and  'remedies'.

Answer 3

Hillary Clinton

Answer 4

Someone with a sociopathic personality; a person with an antisocial personality disorder ('psychopath' was once widely used but has now been superseded by 'sociopath')

Answer 5

sociopath----is the term designating the sociopathic personality since the symptoms of sociopatholgy are manifested in the field of social behavior. wow! we all have the right answer!   wiu-stu LS

Answer 6

Sociopathy is a loosely-defined term that may be used to refer to:

Psychopathy

Antisocial personality disorder

Dissocial personality disorder

Psychopathy is a psychological construct that describes chronic immoral and antisocial behavior.[1] The term is often used interchangeably with sociopathy[2]. Psychopathic personality disorders have been the most studied of any personality disorder. Today the term can legitimately be used in two ways. One is in the legal sense, "psychopathic personality disorder" under the Mental Health Act 1983 of the UK. The other use is as a severe form of the antisocial or dissocial personality disorder as exclusively defined by the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R).[3] The term "psychopathy" is often confused with psychotic disorders. It is estimated that approximately 1% of the general population are psychopaths. They are overrepresented in prison systems, politics, law enforcement agencies, and law firms, and in the media.[4][5][6]

Antisocial personality disorder (APD) is a mental disorder defined by the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual: "The essential feature for the diagnosis is a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood."[1] Deceit and manipulation are considered essential features of the disorder. Therefore it is essential in making the diagnosis to collect material from sources other than the individual being diagnosed. Also, the individual must be age 18 or older as well as have a documented history of a conduct disorder before the age of 15.[1]

Dissocial personality disorder is one of several psychopathic personality disorders, each of which has different operational definitions and terminologies depending on the system of classification of mental disorders used.[1] Psychopathy is a general construct that differs from the specific diagnoses of antisocial, psychopathic, dissocial, and sociopathic personality disorders, the various diagnostic classifications for psychopathy.[2] Dissocial personality disorder is the diagnostic category established for psychopathy in the ICD-10 diagnostic criteria developed by the World Health Organization (WHO). It is conceptually similar to the DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria for Antisocial personality disorder.[3]