If, as US psychologist Dr Ramani Durvasula says, ‘everybody’ is talking about narcissism but ‘nobody seems to be understanding it’, the same could be said of sociopathy.
Before Patric Gagne published her book Sociopath: A Memoir this time last year, the word was generally associated with dictators like Hitler and Stalin, serial killers Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy and Harold Shipman – or notorious fraudsters such as Bernie Madoff.
But when Patric – a happily married mother of two and a successful therapist – labelled herself a ‘sociopath’ and explained that ‘social emotions’ (things like guilt, empathy, remorse and even love) didn’t come naturally to her, she encouraged a broader understanding of the term.
In some ways, then, sociopaths may appear to resemble narcissists – after all, narcissists have ‘low, inconsistent empathy’ and are ‘pathologically selfish’, according to Dr Ramani.
But, ‘while both sociopathy and narcissism are personality disorders, they are not the same,’ as a recent article in Very Well Mind points out.
Here, FEMAIL explores the characteristics and traits which identify someone as a narcissist or a sociopath – and explains the difference between the two personality disorders.
‘While sociopaths qualify as narcissists, not all narcissists are sociopaths,’ writes Darlene Lancer for Psychology Today.
Narcissism exists on a spectrum but, as Dr Ramani explains in a YouTube video, someone with Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) usually has the following traits: low, inconsistent empathy; grandiosity; entitlement; and arrogance.
She added: ‘They’re very superficial, they have an excessive need for admiration and validation and praise, they envy other people or they believe other people envy them, they’re pathologically selfish.’
These narcissistic traits lead to behaviours including ‘manipulation’ and ‘gaslighting’.
A narcissist is also likely to be dismissive, minimise other people, have contempt for them, betray them and belittle them, according to Dr Ramani.
In addition, they shift blame, get angry easily, have poor frustration tolerance, are passive aggressive, are controlling, have a need for power, lie and future-fake.
Future-faking is when someone talks at length about plans for the future but never follows through on them.
Dr Ramani added that there are different types of narcissists, ranging from the ‘malignant narcissist’, who is ‘more controlling, menacing, mean and scary’ to the ‘vulnerable narcissist’, who is ‘more passive aggressive, sullen, socially anxious, sad and grumpy’.
While it’s unusual, some narcissists can have ‘insight, remorse and an ability to connect emotionally,’ according to Psychology Today.
Sociopaths (those with Antisocial Personality Disorder), however, largely have no remorse after physically or emotionally hurting another person – but the differences with narcissists run deeper.
Psychology Today says a sociopath must show at least four of nine traits.
These include: a failure to hold down a job; an inability to conform to social norms; excessive lying; impulsive with an inability to play ahead; irritable and aggressive; reckless about others’ safety; consistently irresponsible; unable to feel remorse; and unable to sustain monogamy for more than a year.
Darlene Lancer said: ‘The main distinction is that sociopaths are more cunning and manipulative [than narcissists] because their ego isn’t always at stake. In fact, they don’t have any real personality.’
Very Well Mind author Elizabeth Plumptre, meanwhile, also advised those who are trying to distinguish between a sociopath a narcissist to look a the motives driving their behaviour.
‘Sociopaths will manipulate, harm, rob, and otherwise violate another person merely for fun,’ she explained.
‘Narcissists’ motives are rooted in magnifying their importance or accomplishing some goal.’
Daily Mail UK
