2007-09-06 07:39:10 · 3 answers · asked by deno112 2 in Social Science ➔ Sociology
A sociopath is a person who has antisocial personality disorder. People with this condition do not have a conscience, any remorse, and tend to be con artists who are capable of deceiving anyone. They also appear to have very charming personalities to their unsuspecting victims.
Examples: Scott Peterson, Ted Bundy
Links:
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-sociopath.htm
http://www.hss.caltech.edu/~mcafee/Bin/sb.html
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_you_know_if_someone_is_a_sociopath
2007-09-06 07:46:41 · answer #1 · answered by ♥Shania♥ 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A sociopath is, basically, a person without a conscience. Sociopaths are not crazy or psychotic, they are perfectly rational. Often they have a friendly manner to everybody, though they are really attached to nobody.
They are not necessarily criminals; they may have enough sense to avoid behavior that gets them in trouble. But they have little empathy for others' feelings. If confronted about bad behavior, they just don't see that they are to blame. They don't necessary blame anybody else either, they just don't feel at fault. "Well, it's not my fault I shot him..My background and experience are such that if I'm startled, I'll react that way. I didn't mean any harm." I recall a confessed serial arsonist saying, "I don't want you to think I'm a bad guy. I wouldn't harm a mouse." I heard a non-criminal diagnosed sociopath who said he thinks that sociopaths really don't like people and don't respect most people. He said that he would never cheat on his wife because, if he did, he would lose a great deal of money in the divorce. This shows how a sociopath can be reasonably functional in society.
2007-09-06 09:59:56 · answer #2 · answered by The First Dragon 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Ted Bundy is a a sociopath... or was
2007-09-06 08:46:29 · answer #3 · answered by **** 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋