How to Determine if Someone Is a Sociopath
Consider the individual's personality and mannerisms., Take the person's past and present behavior into account., Consider the person's relationships with others.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Consider the individual's personality and mannerisms.
Sociopaths are usually extremely charming and charismatic.
Their personalities are described as magnetic, and as such, they generate a lot of attention and praise from others.
They also tend to have a strong sexual energy, and may have strange sexual fetishes or be sex addicts.Sociopaths oftentimes feel overly entitled to certain positions, people, and things.
They believe that their own beliefs and opinions are the absolute authority, and disregard the opinions of others.Sociopaths are rarely shy, insecure, or at a loss for words.
They have trouble suppressing emotional responses like anger, impatience, or annoyance, and constantly lash out at others and respond hastily to these emotions.
They may cultivate an innocent persona.
It's as if they are playing a character in a play, with very thoughtful displays of their personality.
They may act innocent or especially sweet, which is easy to believe because they are very good actors.
You shouldn't take your first impression of them at face value.
If you don't know a person well, they can mislead you into thinking they are innocent or sweet.
The only real way to know a sociopath's true personality is by getting to know them well.
But if you listen to your intuition, you may get the feeling that their persona is just too simple to be real.
Non-sociopaths are genuine people and not a perfect picture of a simplified personality. -
Step 2: Take the person's past and present behavior into account.
Sociopaths exhibit abnormally spontaneous and daring behavior.They seem to act outside of the realm of social norms, and may do bizarre, risky, or outrageous things without assessing the potential repercussions.
Sociopaths can be criminals.
Because of their tendency to disregard the law and social norms, sociopaths may have a criminal record.
They may be con artists, kleptomaniacs, or even murderers.Sociopaths are professional liars.
They fabricate stories and make outlandish, untruthful statements.
Because they have practiced lying so much, they are able to make these lies sound convincing.
As their experience with lying grows, so does their confidence and assertiveness in telling their lies.
Sometimes their lies are stories to get sympathy, others are lies about work they have done.
Sociopaths have no typical feelings of guilt associated with claiming someone else's work as their own.
They only care about their image and will do whatever is easiest to create it.Sociopaths have a low tolerance for boredom.
They get bored easily and require constant stimulation.
Their image and ability to control others are the only things that they really care about, so they satisfy their boredom by working to enhance their image and playing with the feelings of others. , The way that a person interacts with others may also be an indicator that that person is a sociopath.
Sociopaths are very good at convincing others to do what they want, either through charm or other more aggressive means.
As a result, friends and coworkers of a sociopath may find themselves doing whatever the person wants them to do.Sociopaths are incapable of experiencing guilt or shame for their actions.
It is common for sociopaths to lack remorse when they have done something that hurts others.
They may appear indifferent or rationalize their actions.
They will feign remorse or pity though if they need to appear to be socially normal.
For example if someone tells a sociopath about a family member's death, they would feign sympathy.
Sometimes they might use the other person's sorrow as a vulnerability to take advantage of.
Sociopaths often seek out others who are weak or at weak moments to exploit their emotional vulnerability, and to make the person feel more attached or dependent on them.Sociopaths are manipulative.
They may try to influence and dominate the people around them and tend to seek positions of leadership or high social standing.Sociopaths lack empathy and may be incapable of love.
While some sociopaths will have an individual or a small group of people that they seem to care about, they have a hard time feeling emotions and it is likely that they have not had healthy romantic relationships in the past.Sociopaths have a hard time dealing with criticism.
They often desire approval from others and may even feel like they are entitled to it. -
Step 3: Consider the person's relationships with others.
Detailed Guide
Sociopaths are usually extremely charming and charismatic.
Their personalities are described as magnetic, and as such, they generate a lot of attention and praise from others.
They also tend to have a strong sexual energy, and may have strange sexual fetishes or be sex addicts.Sociopaths oftentimes feel overly entitled to certain positions, people, and things.
They believe that their own beliefs and opinions are the absolute authority, and disregard the opinions of others.Sociopaths are rarely shy, insecure, or at a loss for words.
They have trouble suppressing emotional responses like anger, impatience, or annoyance, and constantly lash out at others and respond hastily to these emotions.
They may cultivate an innocent persona.
It's as if they are playing a character in a play, with very thoughtful displays of their personality.
They may act innocent or especially sweet, which is easy to believe because they are very good actors.
You shouldn't take your first impression of them at face value.
If you don't know a person well, they can mislead you into thinking they are innocent or sweet.
The only real way to know a sociopath's true personality is by getting to know them well.
But if you listen to your intuition, you may get the feeling that their persona is just too simple to be real.
Non-sociopaths are genuine people and not a perfect picture of a simplified personality.
Sociopaths exhibit abnormally spontaneous and daring behavior.They seem to act outside of the realm of social norms, and may do bizarre, risky, or outrageous things without assessing the potential repercussions.
Sociopaths can be criminals.
Because of their tendency to disregard the law and social norms, sociopaths may have a criminal record.
They may be con artists, kleptomaniacs, or even murderers.Sociopaths are professional liars.
They fabricate stories and make outlandish, untruthful statements.
Because they have practiced lying so much, they are able to make these lies sound convincing.
As their experience with lying grows, so does their confidence and assertiveness in telling their lies.
Sometimes their lies are stories to get sympathy, others are lies about work they have done.
Sociopaths have no typical feelings of guilt associated with claiming someone else's work as their own.
They only care about their image and will do whatever is easiest to create it.Sociopaths have a low tolerance for boredom.
They get bored easily and require constant stimulation.
Their image and ability to control others are the only things that they really care about, so they satisfy their boredom by working to enhance their image and playing with the feelings of others. , The way that a person interacts with others may also be an indicator that that person is a sociopath.
Sociopaths are very good at convincing others to do what they want, either through charm or other more aggressive means.
As a result, friends and coworkers of a sociopath may find themselves doing whatever the person wants them to do.Sociopaths are incapable of experiencing guilt or shame for their actions.
It is common for sociopaths to lack remorse when they have done something that hurts others.
They may appear indifferent or rationalize their actions.
They will feign remorse or pity though if they need to appear to be socially normal.
For example if someone tells a sociopath about a family member's death, they would feign sympathy.
Sometimes they might use the other person's sorrow as a vulnerability to take advantage of.
Sociopaths often seek out others who are weak or at weak moments to exploit their emotional vulnerability, and to make the person feel more attached or dependent on them.Sociopaths are manipulative.
They may try to influence and dominate the people around them and tend to seek positions of leadership or high social standing.Sociopaths lack empathy and may be incapable of love.
While some sociopaths will have an individual or a small group of people that they seem to care about, they have a hard time feeling emotions and it is likely that they have not had healthy romantic relationships in the past.Sociopaths have a hard time dealing with criticism.
They often desire approval from others and may even feel like they are entitled to it.
About the Author
Alexis Evans
Professional writer focused on creating easy-to-follow lifestyle tutorials.
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