Sociopathic Characters: Do's and Don'ts

While sociopathy is a real thing, writing it realistically feels really difficult as the condition is so diverse. After reading two hundred pages worth of information on narcissism and detachment from society, I'm tapped out.

If one was to write a sociopath into a realistic fiction story (or any medium for that matter), what behaviors and traits are distinct to a sociopath, and which ones are not, or are erroneously believed to be?

What traits or qualities infuriate or push away readers? What do they all have in common?

Lack of Empathy with some It's All About Me would probably be best, except the "lack of empathy" should be portrayed less as an enthusiastic "man, fuck all these people I don't know and don't care about" and more "this person legitimately doesn't understand they should consider other people's feelings before their own". Sociopathy isn't malicious, it's malfunctioning. It's a mind that (obviously) does not see things the way most people do, but that doesn't make them inherently evil or untrustworthy either. It's the closest real life has to Blue-and-Orange Morality.

That's a grand place to start. Lack of Empathy also tends to be portrayed as the defining characteristic of the condition, when it's actually only one among six+ (it doesn't have to be observed for a diagnosis, and if the other criteria aren't observed it won't matter how callous you are).

The "calculating mastermind" archetype probably needs to disappear. Manipulative behaviour is commonly associated with sociopathic behaviour, but some of those other diagnostic criteria include things like impulsiveness, persistent failure to make or keep long-term plans, and inability to establish close or lasting relationships. It tends to be detrimental to establishing power bases and master plans... but they don't get nearly as much public awareness, presumably because it doesn't fit well with the evil freak people want for villains or antiheroes. :P

Another aspect that seldom gets recognized is just how unrewarding a socio-pathic lifestyle must be. Not only are most sociopaths social failures due to not understanding how to get along with other people (although a few do possess a high degree of charisma), but without the ability to share other people's feelings, sociopathy most of the time must feel emotionally flat. When you are left to your own devices to please yourself, ennui sets in pretty quickly. I have long suspected that is the reason so many of them seem to pursue high-risk, high stimulation activities (like hunting people). One book which depicted this aspect fairly well was "We Need To Talk About Kevin" by Lionel Shriver. The book was better than the movie in this regard.

To put in my perspective, as an actual sociopath, I personally cannot see why I need to put other people first before myself. It just seems like nobody really matters, and that they'd all do the same thing as me in my shoes. I know I'm no calculating mastermind of events, I just move based on immediate queues I'm given, regardless of the things moralists would tell me are so wrong about what I did.

As for my view of manipulation, its...really rather like equivalent exchange. I do my best to make you happy by pretending to be the person you need depending on the moment. Then I get to make you make me happy. I can be your white knight, your mischievous thrill seeker, your charming prince, your happy and outgoing extrovert, your awkward nerdy kid, your devoted friend, your passionate lover, sky's the limit.

While I do have a number of friends, I do agree with your diagnosis of being emotionally...ah, flat. After doing things a number of times, being a cruel bastard online and in my games, its become evident just how boring my life can be. I feel I'm always thinking, having grandiose ideas, but knowing as a sociopath I am not very good at long term planning and thus, that these probably won't come true. It is really not quite the life Hollywood thinks I lead.

So, OP, take this little monologue and maybe, make use of it.

All of this helps me really well actually.

I've met people who claimed to be sociopathic but they would tell me the ins and outs of the actual mindset.

It's not really like The Masquerade where all Sociopaths pretend to be normal until they rise up and unleash their master plan, although the fear non-socios have about them makes an interesting writing prompt.

edited 23rd Nov '14 10:48:45 PM by Aespai

I can't add much personally on the do's & dont's at the time as it'll take a bit more thinking, but there is a character I wish to propose to look at for inspiration. Jade Curtiss from Tales Of The Abyss. Take a look at his character sheet and you'll understand why. He can be found under Protagonists. I think he might be one of the best characters to look at for writing a non-stereotypical sociopath in fiction, especially since he is on the heroes side & actively does try to do the right thing.

Speaking from a personal point, the thing I enjoyed about him most as a Sociopathic Hero is he does lack empathy, recognizes it, & actively tries to figure out how to do the right thing (as well as what the right thing is) in spite of it. It's the fact that he is trying - even if he does struggle - that makes me like him so much as opposed to him just going "Well, lol, I'm evil."

edited 23rd Nov '14 11:13:06 PM by Prime_of_Perfection

Adding to that note, some of us have...well, standards. They're not particularly common ones, nor are they often all that comprehensible.

You could say I have a code. For example, as I stated about equivalent exchange, I would never - ever - cheat you out of your happiness in the exchange.

Nor am I willing to tolerate people who go out, say one thing so strongly, so vehemently, and hold everyone to that standard, and then betray it themselves when they think nobody's watching.

You seem to exhibit a form of Moral Sociopathy, I think.

Not that it should be taken as 100% accurate, but this aspect of the condition was captured pretty well by Henry Portrait Of A Serial Killer. The title character is less "Hannibal Lecter" and more "Forrest Gump if he was a complete dick".

That being said, many "sociopathic" characters probably wouldn't be classified as "sociopaths" in the strictest sense (maybe it's because of Michael Rooker's performance, but even the aforementioned Henry has a few moments, like the business with the fence, where he comes across as a little too passive-aggressive).

It doesn't help that the term has been overused, on This Very Wiki.

edited 20th Jan '15 1:35:19 AM by Robotnik

Firstly the sociopathic genius is overplayed. Yes a lot of sociopaths are clever but not chessmaster levels of intelligence. Think basic manipulation and lies rather than long schemes.

Also not all sociopaths are violent or sadistic. The key trait is a lack of empathy, this might let them hurt people but they still need a reason to want to. Some might find pleasure in hurting people but equally they could enjoy more normal things. If course they would have no problem using people to fulfil their needs.

As said above, boredom is a big deal. With some feelings dulled a lot have to go to extreme lengths to counter boredom. A lot of sociopaths are driven by nothing more than curiosity and need for entertainment.

Some misconceptions: 1) they can't value people. They might not have friends in the sense that they view then as equals but they can value people for what they contribute and enjoy their company, like a normal person views a pet. 2)they dont understand empathy. Sociopaths understand it just fine, they don't feel it. A sociopath understands how empathy makes people act, how to mimic it and what response to expect from it. You aren't going to confuse/trick a sociopath with empathy. 3)they are not misguided people unable to tell right from wrong. Their entire view of morality is shifted, they don't justify themselves (not internally) and they don't feel they are doing the right thing. They simply don't care about good and evil beyond how they affect the sociopaths life. Blue and orange morality is the closest description.

@OP

One of the problems with the question is that there is a range of severity to antisocial personality disorder, and a range for that matter, in the intelligence and functionality of people with it. Sure they all have lots of things in common, but there can be major differences in how it appears nonetheless. And that's without getting into the various other conditions (malignant narcissism, for instance) that can look like TV!sociopathy, but aren't.

Blue-and-Orange Morality is a terrible comparison, actually, and I wish people would stop misusing it. Cthulhu is BAOM. Ted Bundy was not.

Also, the part about sociopaths understanding empathy just fine? That's really dependent on how high-functioning the antisocial personality in question is. Some can anticipate how others will react, but some, especially at the low-functioning end, really can't. Impulsiveness, a profound Lack of Empathy, and an inability to understand consequences—be they legal or social—causes some sociopaths/psychopaths to completely fail to grasp how other people will respond to their behaviour.

edited 21st Jan '15 9:01:11 AM by AmbarSonofDeshar

@Sliding Scale of Sociopathy - on one hand, it's simple enough for some of us to observe how people behave - when expressing empathy, or any emotion - and mimic that. On the other hand? Some people may find it impossible.

Honestly, a simple analysis of behavior (re: tones of voice, expression, etc.) gives me enough to mimic most emotions. That's what (IMO) makes sociopathic characters interesting; it's possible they'll seem totally normal.

That said, including no hints that a character is sociopathic kinda defeats the purpose of having a sociopathic character, no?

Not sure if this thread is dead but here's my two cents (scroll all the way down close to the end for the TL;DR version), just keep in mind I'm no psychology major

First here are some links (which you have probably read by this point anyway): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisocial_personality_disorder http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychopathy https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheSociopath https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Analysis/TheSociopath https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MoralSociopathy http://www.reddit.com/r/writing/comments/2703bf/how_to_write_a_sociopath/ http://www.ehow.co.uk/about_5371687_types-sociopaths.html

I'm going to assume that since you've already read about 200 pages of this stuff you only want psychological facts that can double as writing tips.

You might want to decide early on what 'kind' of sociopathic character you want to write. From a book I was reading that dealt with antisocial personality disorder called "The Science of Evil" by Simon Baron-Cohen: "You feel mystified by why relationships don’t work out, and your lack of empathy creates a deep-seated self-centeredness. Other people’s thoughts and feelings are just off your radar. This leaves you doomed to do your own thing, in your own little bubble, not just oblivious to other people’s feelings and thoughts but also oblivious to the idea that there might even be other points of view. The consequence is that you believe 100 percent in the rightness of your own ideas and beliefs, and judge anyone who does not hold your beliefs as wrong or stupid." (Posting this isn't a copyright violation is it? o_o)

Also there's multiple disorders that result in a reduced capacity for empathy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empathy#Personality_disorders). Some examples (taken from the above mentioned book again):

Borderline personality disorder: "The hallmark of borderlines is a constant fear of abandonment, emotional pain and loneliness, hatred (of others and of themselves), impulsivity, and self-destructive, highly inconsistent behavior. Jerold Kreisman and Hal Straus summarize borderlines in the title of their book I Hate You—Don’t Leave Me. This neatly sums up the contradictory behavior in borderlines."

Psychopathic personality disorder: "About 15 percent of prison samples are psychopaths and just less than 1 percent of males in the general population. The concept of the psychopath goes back to Hervey Cleckley’s 1941 book, The Mask of Sanity. As its title suggests, Cleckley was concerned with how to recognize a psychopath if he or she were convincingly pretending to be normal. He argued that psychopaths exhibit these characteristics: • superficial charm • lack of anxiety or guilt • undependability and dishonesty • egocentricity • inability to form lasting intimate relationships • failure to learn from punishment • poverty of emotions • lack of insight into the impact of their behavior • failure to plan ahead"

Narcissistic personality disorder: "There is no attempt to make space in the conversation for the other person or to find out about the other person. Narcissists simply lecture, holding forth about him or herself, and they decide when to end the conversation. They have monologues, not dialogues."

Examples for each type include (again from the same book since I don't exactly have a lot of resources on this subject aside from it and Google right now):

1. Borderline: A woman with a strict mother who denied her any intimacy (hugs or anything similar) as a child. At age 16 she ended up suffering sexual abuse at the hands of a 40 year old stranger whom she had befriended and apparently mistaken for a 'kindred soul'. At 18 she took up self-mutilation, drinking and casual sex as coping mechanisms for her growing depression. The last one ended up getting her pregnant and after the baby was born it was given up for adoption while she developed post-natal depression. She ended up marrying a man who promised to take care of her and having two more children with him. Her rampant paranoia and suspicion of his intentions (and everyone else's for that matter) seem to have driven a wedge between her and her family. She regularly verbally abuses them and threatens suicide. It's apparently become routine for her to blow up over any disobedience in her children's faces, threaten to injure herself, leave them and then guilt trip them at the same time;

“How dare you treat me with such disrespect? You can just fuck (is swearing allowed here btw?) off! I hate you. I never want to see you again. You can just look after yourselves. I’m through with the lot of you! You’re evil, selfish bastards! I hate you! I’m going to kill myself! And I hope you’re happy knowing you made me do it!”.

Then she'll usually storm off and proceed to spend the rest of the evening partying or just hanging out with her other friends away from home. Psychological projection of her own 'negative' traits onto others is a regular thing for her too. Marilyn Monroe was another more famous example of this disorder btw.

2. Psychopath: 28 year old. Saw a guy looking at him from across a bar. Went up to him, did some talking, smashed a glass bottle, stabbed him in the face with the shard and killed him;

Criminal: “He humiliated me in public. I had to show him I wasn’t a doormat.”

Questioner: “Do you believe you did anything wrong?”

Criminal: “People have treated me like shit all my life. I’m not taking it from no one no more. If someone shows me disrespect, they deserve what they get.”

Questioner: “Are you sorry that he died?”

Criminal: “Were the kids at school sorry when they bullied me? Was my boss sorry when he fired me? Was my neighbor sorry when he deliberately hit my car? And you ask me if I’m sorry that that piece of shit died? Of course I’m not sorry. He had it coming to him. No one’s ever been sorry for how they’ve treated me. Why should I give a fuck about him?”

(His other crimes and questionable acts include shoplifting, drug dealing, rape, violent assault, setting fire to the school gym at age 13, starting fights in the playground, attacking a teacher who asked him to be quiet, jumping on someone’s head when they wouldn’t let him into the football team and lastly tying a brick to the back leg of his cat and filming her trying to walk at age 8 (and no I didn't make this up).

3. Narcissist: 64 year old. Massive ego, feels he deserves far more than what he has been given in life, denigrates people who attempt to criticize him or express alternative viewpoints to his. Overriding emotion? His sense of entitlement. Cuts lines at restaurants, verbally abuses the waiter, etc. Makes a point of sucking up to people of 'importance' who may be of use to him in the future. Sees problems with others but never himself (i.e. Never My Fault).

Common theme here: "It's my world. You just happen to live in it."

From everything I've heard, while both psychopathy and sociopathy are influenced by factors such as genetics, social upbringing and neurological damage (which kind of goes without saying, unless you're a dualist I suppose) the influence of each factor apparently varies for each. From [https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wicked-deeds/201401/how-tell-sociopath-psychopath]: "Psychopathy is related to a physiological defect that results in the underdevelopment of the part of the brain responsible for impulse control and emotions. Sociopathy, on the other hand, is more likely the product of childhood trauma and physical/emotional abuse. Because sociopathy appears to be learned rather than innate, sociopaths are capable of empathy in certain limited circumstances but not in others, and with a few individuals but not others."

Bottom line:

'The Sociopath' may be a single trope but it's by no means as simple as that may imply. Keep in mind they don't necessarily even have to be what most people consider 'evil', perhaps more 'Machiavellian' than the average person but 'evil' isn't really a given. As Prime_of_Perfection mentioned you could write a pretty original hero with one too. If you're explicitly writing a 'sociopath' as you say you are then you probably want to include childhood trauma and/or abuse of some kind and give them some 'moral compass' (however deviated from normal) to make it more believable. If you're using the terms 'sociopath' and 'psychopath' interchangeably then you probably want to narrow down the character's antisocial traits and decide exactly what kind of issues he or she has. Keep in mind that there are reports of people who have all the 'necessary' genes and brain structure to 'qualify' even as psychopaths but are still (more or less) law-abiding citizens with no 'master plan' in the works. In one such case (http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-neuroscientist-who-discovered-he-was-a-psychopath-180947814/?no-ist) a neuroscientist named James Fallon studying the disorder found out he had the 'needed' brain structure (but not the upbringing). Oddly enough though when he told his family they weren't really surprised and mentioned that he always did have an 'attitude problem' and a short temper (seemed like a pretty normal dude on camera though), he even wrote a book about it called The Psychopath Inside.

It's also been mentioned quite a bit that 'psychopaths' can't feel emotions the way normal people do but can emulate them perfectly. One analogy described it as like a colorblind person figuring out what a traffic light is saying (stop/get ready to move/go) by watching others react to it and memorizing the order of the lights so they know what to do for each light.

Terms like 'psychopath' and 'sociopath' tend to be frowned upon in psychology these days. The term 'anti-social personality disorder' seems to be more commonly used instead (at least among the academic sorts) as it is apparently considered more accurate. It seems that the old terms are loaded with baggage and negative (and not necessarily accurate) connotations (i.e. The Ace/Broken Ace, The Chessmaster, The Empty Shell, etc.). Similar to disorders like autism this one too lies on a spectrum. The more extreme cases can be violent and dangerous.

Common traits among the 'low empathy' types is the ability to easily objectify others and a strong sense of entitlement (i.e. as someone mentioned before 'It's all about me'). Also since some of them aren't affected much by societal pressures and the like they tend to have an advantage at high stress jobs that might cause others to crack, like working in an operating theater for example.

Q: If one was to write a sociopath into a realistic fiction story (or any medium for that matter), what behaviors and traits are distinct to a sociopath, and which ones are not, or are erroneously believed to be?

A: Depends on the sociopath... Theodore Millon, an American psychologist known for his work on personality disorders suggested five subtypes of ASPD.

Subtypes & their Features:

1. Nomadic (including schizoid and avoidant features): Feels jinxed, ill-fated, doomed, and cast aside; peripheral, drifters; gypsy-like roamers, vagrants; dropouts and misfits; itinerant vagabonds, tramps, wanderers; impulsively not benign.

2. Malevolent (including sadistic and paranoid features): Belligerent, mordant, rancorous, vicious, malignant, brutal, resentful; anticipates betrayal and punishment; desires revenge; truculent, callous, fearless; guiltless.

3. Covetous (variant of "pure" pattern): Feels intentionally denied and deprived; rapacious, begrudging, discontentedly yearning; envious, seeks retribution, and avariciously greedy; pleasure more in taking than in having.

4. Risk-taking (including histrionic features): Dauntless, venturesome, intrepid, bold, audacious, daring; reckless, foolhardy, impulsive, heedless; unbalanced by hazard; pursues perilous ventures.

5. Reputation-defending (including narcissistic features): Needs to be thought of as infallible, unbreakable, invincible, indomitable, formidable, inviolable; intransigent when status is questioned; over-reactive to slights.

Q: What traits or qualities infuriate or push away readers? What do they all have in common?

A: Firstly, it's a bit hard to answer the one about the readers, but I'm willing to bet that a person maintaining a grandiose, almost sanctimonious sense of entitlement even while committing some of the most heinous crimes imaginable to man would infuriate a lot of people. For example take this monologue from "Battle Royale":

http://mangafox.me/manga/battle_royale/v09/c065/2.html (It devolves into a rant and goes on for a few pages. Text box reading order is right to left.)

Whether it 'pushes them away' depends on the readers in question and what you're trying to accomplish. Are you going for a Villain Protagonist or an antagonist? Major or minor character? Some might not want to read on if they can't sympathize with the main character. Could be plenty of other reasons too, some with thinner skin might just be instantly morally outraged or something similar for whatever reason. I mean are we talking about just a 'regular' fellow with a troubling disorder here? A cold-blooded killer? A sadist? The Vamp? You're inevitably gonna end up pushing away somebody while attracting others no matter what you do. You need to be most concerned about your target audience whatever that is.

Secondly, in regards to what they all have in common? Well... I'll let my friend Wikipe-tan tell you: "Antisocial (or dissocial) personality disorder is characterized by a pervasive pattern of disregard for, or violation of, the rights of others. There may be an impoverished moral sense or conscience and a history of crime, legal problems, and impulsive and aggressive behavior."

If you really have no idea where to start I suppose you could just pick a popular stereotype of sociopaths or psychopaths; The cold & calculating ace without the slightest hint of concern for human life (example: Kazuo Kiriyama from the "Battle Royale" manga), The nihilistic sadist/complete monster (example: The Joker), etc. then chip away at the misconceptions until you're left with something resembling reality (i.e. use popular stereotypes as templates of sorts).

If you somehow read this far then I hope this helped in some small way, or if it just wasted around say... 10 minutes of your life then feel free to tell me how much I suck Sorry about any spelling or grammatical errors, I don't exactly have a habit of proofreading my posts

And... I just realized I'm whatever the male equivalent of a postwench is...

P.S. Nick The Swing? About this:

"As for my view of manipulation, its...really rather like equivalent exchange. I do my best to make you happy by pretending to be the person you need depending on the moment. Then I get to make you make me happy. I can be your white knight, your mischievous thrill seeker, your charming prince, your happy and outgoing extrovert, your awkward nerdy kid, your devoted friend, your passionate lover, sky's the limit."

You mind if I borrow that line for something? Cause that one sounds like a keeper

edited 18th Feb '15 7:09:25 PM by Quasipinko

Okay, sure, go ahead.

I'd have to agree with your assessment, just as well.

I wanted to go see The Erlkings, to see how that play treated such subject matter. I've heard contradictory stories about it, though, and its stopped playing.

All of that actually really helped. I might pick up the books you posted too

The $0.02 of someone who's been told they're "borderline" sociopathic (functional, do have empathy, I'm just... a muted version of normal people, I guess?):

The lack of/low empathy is a big thing, yeah, but the most prevalent experience I've had isn't "not caring about people," it's "not understanding why people x."

I can't fathom the motivations behind a vast chunk of human behavior. Actually, now that I think about it, that's probably a function of low empathy. For instance, my friend texted me this morning that her grandfather, who she dislikes, had a stroke in the night. My first reaction wasn't "oh, sad," or "how are you feeling?" It was, "shit, how do people respond to this? I can't say 'serves the asshole right,' can I? That sounds like it's inappropriate."

As a result, I've developed what I like to think of as subroutines. I may not know WHY you express a high level of sympathy when a relative, even a disliked one, dies; but I know that you DO, therefore: "That sucks, babe. I'm here if you need to vent."

Tl;dr, low or nonexistent empathy can make it hard to replicate correct social interactions, which might be a good way to hint at a character's sociopathy.

I used to conjure up instant romances, telling every pretty woman I could corner that she wanted me. How I bedded ladies back then was a cousin to rape, I suppose — my ability made their consent a joke — only, they really did want me, and went on wanting me. Pathologically, they followed me, left tearful notes and voice messages; one woman outright stalked me, caught me with my next tumble-to-be and lit into her, grabbing her hair. Life got so nuts, I left town, changed my name. And it happened all over again. Finally getting things under control required divine intervention.

Just a question related to this post I recently made in another Tropes Forum, I created a character who has the gift of mind control. How he uses it is, I think, still on this side of sociopathic. He worries about what he's doing — just not enough to stop doing it anyhow. My label for him is, Obliviously Evil. Is he redeemable?

edited 3rd May '15 10:49:13 AM by Lyra5000

As I've discovered, with Mind Control you can wipe their minds of what you influenced them to do.

from a Moral standpoint (as moral as mind control can get), as long as you don't damage them when you are done using them for sexual adventures, and erase their memory of it so any possible psychological trauma is avoided, then you're fine.

Example, people don't ruminate and get scarred when they are circumsized as a baby. It's less traumatic if you can't remember it. Doesn't interfere with you daily life as badly.

Basically charm them, bed them, and when you're all finished you bring them back to a safe place with their last thoughts being "how did I get here? why is it 7:00?" and not "they used me like a plastic fuck doll and I couldn't say no"

That is super fucking awful and not okay at all.

edited 25th May '15 12:01:34 PM by Tungsten74

Read Web Original/Worm, look to the character of Regent. I don't think I've seen a better written benign sociopath.

To put it in perspective, he's intelligent but not gifted, largely driven by impulse and a desire for safety, and understands and respectsd morality as a concept but doesn't really feel the emotion of guilt on a deep level, only the intellectual recognition that something he did was pointlessly cruel.

Most notably, he's trustworthy if he counts you as a friend; he's a liar and a bit ruthless when he feels he or his friends are being threatened, not traitorous (his focus chapter is an excellent example of this, when he goes all out with his People Puppet powers on someone who's tried to murder his teammates twice; it's both really shocking and yet it's made clear from the emotional context that he's really attempting to finish the mission said team gave him and make sure that someone never threatens his friends again.

So now that we've established dwarves, what about elves? How different can you make them before one starts to wonder about their elvishness? Is it their arrogance, their magic, archery skill, or what?

Wrong thread for that, I think.