Are Sociopaths Made or Born?

All the evidence points to them being born that way and there is no way to "cure" them. Their brains are wired differently. Sociopaths and psychopaths are the same thing, with different labels from what I know.

ChristineES said:

After an episode of Star Trek Voyager about sociopaths, my husband and I were discussing whether sociopaths are made or born. I say they are made and John says they can be born that way as did the Voyager episode (The EMH was able to cure the sociopath with 7 of 9s nano probes).

Does anyone think that people can be born without a conscience? Are people like Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy born that way or does something happen to make them that way.

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It seems that sometimes the best people come from bad homes and some awful people come from great homes - so I would imagine it is possible to be born a sociopath. They make great surgeons apparently, so not all sociopaths are serial killers. I always wondered about dentists.

ChristineES said:

After an episode of Star Trek Voyager about sociopaths, my husband and I were discussing whether sociopaths are made or born. I say they are made and John says they can be born that way as did the Voyager episode (The EMH was able to cure the sociopath with 7 of 9s nano probes).

Does anyone think that people can be born without a conscience? Are people like Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy born that way or does something happen to make them that way.

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I don't know how well defined the term is. Clinical psychopathy is very much a real thing and its causes are not well understood, but seem to be to a degree inborn.

I happen to believe however that most sociopathic behavior is very much learned. We as people are far more reliant on peer pressure and encouragement than we like to admit.

ChristineES said:

After an episode of Star Trek Voyager about sociopaths, my husband and I were discussing whether sociopaths are made or born. I say they are made and John says they can be born that way as did the Voyager episode (The EMH was able to cure the sociopath with 7 of 9s nano probes).

Does anyone think that people can be born without a conscience? Are people like Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy born that way or does something happen to make them that way.

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I say both. My reading on the subject finds that sociopaths have different physical brain features, but that these features are not deterministic of sociopathy. (One researcher found that he shared the traits of a sociopath, but didn't turn out to be one.....so he says.)

Monk Of Reason said:

Do you mean psychopaths or sociopaths? Both are a little differnet. Though it seems to be widely believed that they are born that way. Psychopath's are usually categorized as individuals who don't feel any kind of sense of right and wrong. Any sense of morality they have would be learned by observing others but would never feel that something was "wrong". This comes from a lack of empathy and an inability to connect with others in any real meaningful way. Some even go so far as to state that most psychopaths don't have the ability to process emotions in general on the same level we do.

Sociopaths however do have some sense of right and wrong but usually do not care. Sociopaths tend to be more impulsive and do have the ability to have connections with a few people that they are close to in life.

Both conditions, again, seem to be inherent. You can even genetically inherit it from your parents. My wife's cousin has psychopathic disorder which he inherited from his father (who was a serial abuser and murder)

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That's a reasonably good distinction. Though both are classed as ASPD(Anti-Social Personality Disorder).

If anyone has deeper questions regarding it, or just curious, here's my thread.

There seems to be confusion over the terms. Psychopaths and sociopaths are not the same, but they share many of the same traits because they share the same diagnosis: antisocial personality disorder. So far, studies have shown that psychopaths are born (nature) and sociopaths are made (nurture). The ventromedial and anterior cingulate sectors of the prefrontal and orbitol cortices are underdeveloped in psychopaths; this region is known for impulse control and emotional regulation. Now, as to some differences.

Sociopaths tend to be on edge, unstable, erratic and spontaneous behavior, impulsive, are prone to emotional outbursts, are outsiders in their community, can form very real bonds and attachments to a few people or a small group (with difficulty, but it is done), they generally cannot maintain employment and are also uneducated. Psychopaths, on the other hand, are quite charming, well-educated (in-line with their sense of self-importance and high drive for success), are often seen as trustworthy, cannot develop true bonds with others, but they do form shallow relationships with people they can manipulate for their own benefit (others are merely pawns). Furthermore, psychopaths limit risk to themselves, so the criminal element within their population practice extreme care and planning (not nearly as spontaneous or impulsive) and are less often caught. The DSMV lists the key traits of both as: 1. A disregard for the rights of others, 2. A disregard for laws and social mores, 3. A failure to feel remorse or guilt, and 4. A tendency to display violent behavior. Note that the last one says a tendency. Previous posts have confused the conditions with killing. Many people kill, these groups simply do not feel remorse and they lack the ability to empathize. However, psychopaths can often become powerful CEOs and not go on carefully planned murdering sprees and most would never know.

Edit: and while typing out my long-winded post, Nietzsche succinctly stated their shared diagnosis.

Moni_Gail said:

There seems to be confusion over the terms. Psychopaths and sociopaths are not the same, but they share many of the same traits because they share the same diagnosis: antisocial personality disorder. So far, studies have shown that psychopaths are born (nature) and sociopaths are made (nurture). The ventromedial and anterior cingulate sectors of the prefrontal and orbitol cortices are underdeveloped in psychopaths; this region is known for impulse control and emotional regulation. Now, as to some differences.

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I agree with most everything in this post but my readings have come to a different conclusion about the origin of sociopaths. Anti-social disorders in general usually (if not always in true anti-social diagnosis) are inborn. The violent and sadistic acts usually stem from either a) sadism itself or b) an upbringing with their condition can nurture them into violence. The true could be said of psychopaths as well. And there can be an argument that b causes a.

There is one other documented way of becoming a sociopath without being born one and that is head injuries. Damage to the portion of the brain that processes empathy and other emotions can cause anti-social symptoms such as an obvious lack of empathy.

Monk Of Reason said:

I agree with most everything in this post but my readings have come to a different conclusion about the origin of sociopaths. Anti-social disorders in general usually (if not always in true anti-social diagnosis) are inborn. The violent and sadistic acts usually stem from either a) sadism itself or b) an upbringing with their condition can nurture them into violence. The true could be said of psychopaths as well. And there can be an argument that b causes a.

There is one other documented way of becoming a sociopath without being born one and that is head injuries. Damage to the portion of the brain that processes empathy and other emotions can cause anti-social symptoms such as an obvious lack of empathy.

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Sociopaths are generally described as primary or secondary sociopaths by researchers. Primaries show a genetic predisposition (which may be culled by their environment) and secondaries' APD tendencies stem entirely from their environment. I'd love to give you links, but I only have free access to the studies through the university. I can only try and summarize the information from my neuro and psych lectures. Psychopaths have a much stronger genetic and heritable link, in which their environment can only determine whether their energies will be career or violence driven.

But yes, you are completely correct on the head injuries. I was trying to keep my post as short and to the point as I could.

Moni_Gail said:

Sociopaths are generally described as primary or secondary sociopaths by researchers. Primaries show a genetic predisposition (which may be culled by their environment) and secondaries' APD tendencies stem entirely from their environment. I'd love to give you links, but I only have free access to the studies through the university. I can only try and summarize the information from my neuro and psych lectures. Psychopaths have a much stronger genetic and heritable link, in which their environment can only determine whether their energies will be career or violence driven.

But yes, you are completely correct on the head injuries. I was trying to keep my post as short and to the point as I could.

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I will note that there seems to be a big difference between what is actually said in the research and what is commonly found on the internet when looking up the information. I remember back when I first started doing research for an general psych class several years ago there was an article from a somewhat well established online but non-scholarly source and it stated that there was no fundamental or functional difference between the two. Because of that article and misinformation (granted back in 09) I believed for several years that to be the truth. It was until I took my abnormal psych class in 2011 that they corrected me.

I haven't done much research on it since it had nothing to do with my major and abnormal psych was the last class I was able to take just because I wanted to. As I understood it in 2011 there had to be some genetic disposition for there to be anti-social (or injury later in life) for the nurture to mold them into what we call the sociopaths. Has this understanding changed in the recent years?

Monk Of Reason said:

I haven't done much research on it since it had nothing to do with my major and abnormal psych was the last class I was able to take just because I wanted to. As I understood it in 2011 there had to be some genetic disposition for there to be anti-social (or injury later in life) for the nurture to mold them into what we call the sociopaths. Has this understanding changed in the recent years?

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As far as I've been taught over the last few years, yes. However, what you've stated does apply to psychopaths.

As to your first paragraph, I will say that the fundamental difference is readability! lol I'm beginning to think many of these are not written to get information across, but just to get published. I'm so very tempted to go with more common vernacular for my own graduate publication.

ChristineES said:

After an episode of Star Trek Voyager about sociopaths, my husband and I were discussing whether sociopaths are made or born. I say they are made and John says they can be born that way as did the Voyager episode (The EMH was able to cure the sociopath with 7 of 9s nano probes).

Does anyone think that people can be born without a conscience? Are people like Jeffrey Dahmer and Ted Bundy born that way or does something happen to make them that way.

Click to expand...

They are most certainly born that way. Any psychiatrist will agree with this assessment, unless you are referring to sociopathy caused by trauma to the brain.

Sociopathy is merely when the part of the brain that provides empathy to a person does not develop or does not develop fully. There are tons of sociopaths in the world who are non-violent and beneficial members of society. They realize that they are sick, and try to act against their will. I know one in particular who is a lawyer. She said that every time someone argues with her or annoys her all she can think about is killing them with her bare hands. She has no remorse or anyting associated with these feelings either, but she does have the sense not to go thru with them. She understands the punishment it would inflict.

Psychiatrists also agree that sociopathy cannot be treated and is a permanent condition. Often, psychiatrists will refuse to see or treat sociopaths (therapists too), as it is often dangerous for their own mental well-being to do so. They can be the most dangerous people on the planet, and there are far more of them than you would think.

Check out this article, which provides the scientific reasoning behind sociopathy being a lack of proper brain development. It is an extremely interesting disorder.

The Neurobiology of Moral Behavior: Review and Neuropsychiatric Implications

Nature or nurture, right?

A question that humanity has yet to substantially answer.