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Tracy Heim Instructor: Malcolm Campbell English 1102 October 30, 2013

Your Neighbor, The Sociopath

Many people hear the or! "sociopath# an! automatically associate the or! ith cra$y an! insane, hen actually sociopaths can be your neighbors, your boss, an! e%en your boy&rien! or girl&rien!' It(s e%en possible you might e%en be a sociopath' Many people con&use sociopaths ith psychopaths, )et me &irst !e&ine them both so you *no the !i&&erence an! reali$e hat I mean hen I say sociopath' +hile both sociopathy an! psychopathy are anti,social personality, they !i&&er in many ays' -sychopaths ten! more to genetically,base! an! are "born ith temperamental !i&&erences such as impulsi%ity, cortical un!erarousal, an! &earlessness that lea! them to ris*,see*ing beha%ior an! an inability to internali$e social norms# ."-sychopath %s' /ociopath#0' /ociopaths are on the opposite en!1 the en%ironment an! the society aroun! them cause their actions, hether it as po%erty, parental neglect, or !elin2uent peers' -sychopaths act more on impulse hile sociopaths can control their beha%iors an! are actually pretty smart in a ay that they *no hat they(re !oing, they *no an! un!erstan! %ery ell others( emotions

an! e3pressions, they 4ust can(t e3perience them' This ma*es it %ery easy &or them to manipulate other humans' -sychopaths 4ust ha%e no control o%er their actions an! portray no charm or class hen in society in or!er to connect ith others1 they burst out in %iolence that is erratic an! unplanne! .not al ays0'

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I personally &eel as i& many sociopaths can e3press lo%e' They 4ust !o not *no

hat lo%e

is an! they !on(t *no ho to e3press it, they only *no ho to manipulate others' +hen a sociopath is in a relationship ith someone they are in it to get something that they ant, they may be 4ealous o& them or ant something &rom them' 5ut o%erall, sociopaths( main goals in li&e are to be in control, an! ha%e po er' 6n! !uring this process o& getting to the top &or po er, sociopaths ill !o hate%er it ta*es, a&ter all they are %ery a are as to ho humans react an! beha%e in social settings' I& you are in a relationship ith a sociopath they ill !o their best to ma*e you &eel special, gi%e you un!i%i!e! attention1 ta*e you out on &ancy !ates, call you hen they say they(ll call, bring you &lo ers, as* you 2uestions an! attenti%ely listen, they(ll be charming an! charismatic, say all the right things an! be a per&ect gentlemen .or la!y0' 7o I sai! be&orehan! that I belie%e sociopaths can e3press lo%e' This is true because e%en though they !on(t *no hat they are &eeling, they are portraying hat they thin* their partner oul! ant

them to' In more than most cases, the %ictim !oes &eel lo%e &rom these sociopaths, an! &or that reason I belie%e that sociopaths can e3press lo%e, 4ust because they !on(t *no !oing or they !on(t *no hat they are

hat lo%e is, others &eel lo%e &rom them, un&ortunately it !oes not en!

up being true lo%e &rom them in the en!' It is sa! to say that &or se%eral cases in relationships, the in&atuation o& the "lo%ing# &eeling 2uic*ly !eclines an! the sociopath becomes more hostile an! characteri$e! by rage, humiliation, !egra!ation, an! in some se%ere cases, abuse' This change in beha%ior &rom the sociopath usually starts to occur hen they partner is has &ully committe! to them' +hether this be by marriage, mo%ing in, getting pregnant, etc' hate%er sign that e3presses commitment to the sociopaths sho s them that they ha%e their partner hoo*e! an! that they are no in &ull control meaning they thin* they can !o hate%er they ant *no ing that their partner ill stay' /ome o& the things that sociopaths ill ant &rom their partner can

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inclu!e se3ual encounters, money, attention, it also gi%es them the satis&action that they *no they can be the biggest ass that they can be an! generally get a ay ith !oing hate%er because they ha%e you hoo*e!' 6n! sociopaths ill &eel no remorse &or you, this is &un &or them' 7ot only are sociopaths success&ul in controlling a romantic relationship ith you, the same goes &or a business relationship' /ome 4obs that a sociopath ill pursue might inclu!e, CEO, la yer, salesperson, surgeon, 4ournalist, policeman, che&, ci%il ser%ant an! many others' 5asically any 4ob that re2uires you to be in control ith responsibilities manipulating others, a sociopath ill apply &or' In the boo* The Wisdom of Psychopaths, author -ro&essor 8utton re&ers to psychopaths an! sociopaths( success in a business is !ue to the &act that they embo!y the "se%en !ea!ly ins#, these " ins# are ruthlessness, charm, &ocus, mental toughness, &earlessness, min!&ulness, an! action' It !oesn(t e%en matter i& you are the CEO, Martha /tout states "+hate%er your 4ob, you 9a sociopath: manipulate an! bull the people ho are un!er your thumb, as o&ten an! as outrageously as you can ithout getting &ire! or hel! accountable' ;ou !o this &or its o n sa*e, e%en hen it ser%es no purpose e3cept to gi%e you a thrill' Ma*ing people 4ump means you ha%e po er < or this is the ay you see it < an! bullying pro%i!es you ith an a!renaline rush' It is &un# ."The /ociopath 7e3t 8oor#0' /ociopaths ant employers that ill !o hat they ant an! that ill &ollo the rules, that they can manipulate, an! i& there is someone that rebels against these rules an! regulations then the sociopath as a boss ill stop at nothing to tear them !o n an! sho no remorse hen they put them in their place' /ome articles claim that you shoul! act li*e a sociopath hen employe! in a business in or!er to achie%e greatness, a&ter all some o& the orl!(s greatest la yers an! CEOs are sociopaths because they *no to get hat they ant' hat to !o

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Here are some points on ho to i!enti&y a sociopath: Personality < sociopaths ten! to be %ery charismatic an! charming hen you &irst meet them, it ill be %ery !i&&icult to separate them &rom others' They are also in some ays attention see*ers in that they ta*e pri!e in praise &rom others an! generate more attention' 6nother personality trait o& a sociopath is that because they li*e to be in control they most li*ely ill ha%e a slight se3 a!!iction or eir! se3 &etishes' /ociopaths li*e ris* ta*ing en!ea%ors an! e%en are criminals or mur!ers' They also are %ery goo! liars an! pro&essionali$e! lying so that they can soun! more con%incing an! manipulating Their relationships with others because sociopaths thri%e on being in control they surroun! themsel%es ith &ollo ers that are ea*er an! %ulnerable an! the sociopath ill treat these &ollo ers ith no remorse, threatening them an! betraying them in or!er to get hat he>she ants' 6&ter all, accor!ing to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV o& the 6merican -sychiatric association, to be !iagnose! ith ha%ing an "antisocial personality !isor!er# one must posses only three o& the &ollo ing characteristics: 1' ?ailure to con&orm to social norms 2' 8eceit&ulness>manipulati%e,ness 3' Impulsi%ity, &ailure to plan ahea! =' Irritability>aggressi%eness @' Careless !isregar! &or the sa&ety o& others an!>or sel& A' Consistent irresponsibility B' )ac* o& remorse

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6pproaching a sociopath: Most importantly you oul! ant to a%oi! a sociopath i& you *no someone ho is one or try me!ications &or them to ta*e, ho e%er most sociopaths are not open to being helpe!, they belie%e that their belie&s an! authority ma*es them right in e%ery ay' 6lso sociopaths are naturally !e&ensi%e an! can be %iolent, so i& you are approaching a sociopath &or treatment, contact a pro&essional &or help an! ma*e sure you state the big picture in that you are simply concerne! &or them'

Most people ith personality !isor!ers are born that ay so you ill are able to !etect these characteristics e%en in early chil! !e%elopment' Ho e%er, 8a%i! +illiams starte! a con%ersation on TE8 Tal*s 2uestioning i& technology an! social net or*s in to!ay(s society are causing *i!s to !e%elop a personality !isor!er' +illiam as*s on TE8 Tal*s i& *i!s these !ays are losing social interaction s*ills because o& the e3cessi%e amount o& time they spen! online ith social net or*s an! %i!eo games' "In tra!itional social en%ironments a bully coul! be hel! accountable an! shunne! or e%en !e&en!e! against, in cyber bulling there is little i& any bac*lash hich can result in a &eeling o& immunity to the social norms, an! as such sociopathic beha%ior can be !ismisse! as trolling'# .+illiams, TE8 Tal*s: Trolling0 5ecause "trolling# is so ne to our society, ith the gro th o& technology an! social net or*s, I(%e !eci!e! to search some more contemporary sites as to &in! a clear !e&inition o& hat society thin* "trolling# really is' Crban!ictionary'com ha! the most to say about this topic, an! e%en though I &eel as i& this is not a reliable source an! I oul! rarely use it1 in this case I %ote other ise, &or Crban 8ictionary is create! by the people o& the Internet an! there&ore oul! *no about this mo!ern term' Here is an e3cerpt:

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The art o& !eliberately, cle%erly, an! secretly pissing people o&&, usually %ia the Internet, using !ialogue' Trolling !oes not mean 4ust ma*ing ru!e remar*s: /houting s ear or!s at someone !oesnDt count as trolling1 itDs 4ust &laming, an! isnDt &unny' /pam isnDt trolling either1 it pisses people o&&, but itDs lame' The most essential part o& trolling is con%incing your %ictim that either a0 truly belie%e in hat you are saying, no matter ho outrageous, or b0 gi%e your %ictim malicious instructions, un!er the guise o& help' Trolling re2uires !ecie%ing1 any trolling that !oesnDt in%ol%e !ecie%ing someone isnDt trolling at all1 itDs 4ust stupi!' 6s such, your %ictim must not *no that you are trolling1 i& he !oes, you are an unsucces&ul troll' /igns that your trolling is succes&ul: E;our %ictim screaming in all,caps at you' E-ersonal attac*s .Calling you a retar!, i!iot, etc0' E5eing an Internet Tough Fuy' EMa*ing a cru!e remar*, be&ore 2uic*ly logging o&& be&ore you can retort' /igns that your trolling is unsucces&ul: E;our %ictim i!enti&ying you as a troll' EI!enti&ying yoursel& as a troll' E;our e&&orts being ignore!' E5eing counter,trolle! ./ee belo 0 Counter,trolling .Or re%erse trolling0 is an e&&ecti%e metho! o& re!eeming yoursel& a&ter being trolle!' It in%ol%es ta*ing the topic at han! you ere being trolle! ith, an! use it against sai! troll' I ne%er thought about "trolling# as a sign o& sociopathic beha%ior but a&ter rea!ing parts o& the con%ersation on TE8 Tal*s I starte! to reali$e that hen some people are online they thin* that they are anonymous an! that they can say hate%er they ant to people an! ha%e no remorse because they *no that they ill get a ay ith !oing it, an! that the people on the other en! can(t !o anything about it' 6n! a&ter all, one o& the main characteristics o& sociopaths is sho ing no remorse' Gust a thought the ne3t you &in! yoursel& sitting at the computer &or hours tal*ing shit about some in your geometry class because she has a big nose, yet coul!n(t say it to her &ace'

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/ociopaths are more common than e thin*' 6&terall, one in t enty,&i%e persons are al*ing aroun! ith an un!etecte! mental !isor!er ./tout, "The /ociopath 7e3t 8oor#0 so a!! that to the amount o& people ho are alrea!y !iagnose! an! you might as ell be staying in an insane asylum' +hat is more shoc*ing is that the characteristics o& sociopath resembles the same *eys to success in certain career paths, an! in the !e%elopment o& ,, unhealthy but alluring ,, romantic relationships1 generally being li*e! &or their charisma' Ho e%er, these characteristics can be harm&ul in both settings' 6n! e%en though you aren(t !iagnose! ith an antisocial personality !isor!er no , it coul! be possible to !e%elop one !ue the technology in to!ay(s orl!' 6l ays atch out &or those !e%ilishly charismatic &ellas o&&ering you a !rin* at the bar, but atch out &or those that ne%er lea%e their apartments either' ;ou ne%er *no , your neighbor coul! be a sociopath' /itting' +aiting' +atching'

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+OIJ/ CITE8

8utton, Je%in' "The +is!om o& -sychopaths'# )on!on: +illiam Heinemann, 2012' -rint'

Jerns, Geanne M' "6 8ictionary o& +hat Can 5e )earne! in the Koice o& the /ociopath(s )o%er'# Io a City, /chool o& )etters an! the Fra!uate o& the Cni%ersity o& Io as, n'!' 6rticle' 1@ /ept' 200H'

"-sychopath %s' /ociopath: 8i&&erence an! Comparison'# 7'p', n'!' 6rticle' 1@ Oct' 2013'

/tout, Martha' "The /ociopath ne3t 8oor: The Iuthless Kersus the Iest o& Cs'# 7e ;or*: 5roa! ay, 200@' -rint'

+illaims, 8a%i!' "Is Trolling the /tart o& /ociopathic 5eha%iourL# TE8 Tal*s' 7'p', /ept' 2013' +eb' 1@ Oct' 2013

"Crban 8ictionary: Trolling'# Crban 8ictionary' 7'p', n'!' +eb' 30 Oct' 2013