Characteristics of a Sociopath

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#1 Sep 26 - 12AM
Anonymous (not verified)
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Characteristics of a Sociopath

Jekyll & Hyde personality

always charming and beguilingly plausible, especially to those who are capable of protecting or enhancing the sociopath's position

excels at deception (this must never be underestimated, but always is)

excels at evasion of accountability

is extremely and successfully manipulative of people's perceptions and emotions (eg guilt and anger)

silver-tongued, has an extreme verbal facility and can outwit anybody (including a top barrister) in verbal conflict

will often engineer himself or herself into a position of authority as gatekeeper of the organisation and thus the person through whom all information must flow, and the person to whom all requests for services must be referred - which he or she then takes delight in denying

is adept at offering weak and inadequate people the positions of power, control, security, influence or respect that they crave but who lack the necessary competencies to achieve - such people are unaware that their consequent dependence on the sociopath makes them permanent manipulatees, pawns and expendable agents of harassment

identifies those essential to the sociopath's survival and manipulates their perceptions of them by making them feel special and thus obligated to reciprocate with support and protection

manipulates others into making fools of themselves in situations where they cannot back down or from which they cannot withdraw - these people become increasingly susceptible to further manipulation and are then trapped as pawns in the sociopath's game

is likely to be surrounded by people who, having been subjected to control, manipulation and punishment by the sociopath, look wretched and who start to exhibit behaviour best described as disordered, dysfunctional, sullen, aggressive, defensive, hostile, retaliatory, counterproductive or cult-like and for whom disbelief, disavowal and denial are instinctive responses

creates an environment where levels of denial are so great that those involved are oblivious of the foolishness and self-evident absurdity of their denials when presented with the facts, with the result that non-involved observers are led to question whether such levels of denial merit psychiatric intervention

is contemptuous of disrepute to their organisation and of collateral damage and of the destructive consequences for all direct and indirect parties

is always surrounded by and leaves behind a trail of dysfunctional organisations, destroyed businesses, ruined careers, stress breakdowns and unexplained suicides

despite a trail of devastation to individuals, organisations, families and communities, the actions of a socialised psychopath may go undetected or unrecognised for years

a history of conducting frivolous, vexatious and malicious legal actions, especially (but not exclusively) against anyone who can recognise the sociopath for what he is

only after the sociopath is exposed and relieved of position, or they move on, can the full depth of their destructive behaviour be fathomed and the consequences calculated

is skilled at identifying, undermining, discrediting, neutralising and destroying anyone who can see through the sociopath's mask of sanity

at all times restricts the actions and rights of others (especially those holding the sociopath accountable) whilst aggressively protecting his or her right to do anything without being hampered by social norms or legal requirements

pursues endless vindictive vendettas against anyone perceived as a threat or who attempts, knowingly or unknowingly, to identify or reveal or expose the sociopath, or who makes efforts to hold the sociopath accountable

is adept at appropriating rules, regulations, procedures and law to manipulate, control and punish accusers regardless of relevance, logic, facts or consequences

persists in and pursues vindictive vendettas using self-evidently false evidence or information, even after this is brought to the attention of the sociopath

will often manipulate minor bullies of the Wannabe type (who on their own might or would not merit the label 'serial bully') into acting as agents of harassment and as unwitting or unwilling conductors of vendettas

is adept at placing people in situations where the sociopath can tap into each person's instinctive urge to retaliate in order to use them as his or her instruments or agents of harassment

gains gratification from provoking others into engaging in adversarial conflict

once conflict has been initiated, the sociopath gains increased gratification by exploiting human beings' instinctive need to retaliate - this is achieved by encouraging and escalating peoples' adversarial conflicts into mutually assured destruction

revels in the gratification gained from seeing or causing other people's distress

when faced with accountability or unwelcome attention which might lead to others discerning the sociopath's true nature, responds with repeated and escalating attempts to control, manipulate and punish

is adept at reflecting all accusations and attempts at accountability back onto their accusers

is adept at creating conflict between those who would otherwise pool negative information about the sociopath

has no limits on his or her vindictiveness

the need to control, manipulate and punish develops into an obsession with many of the hallmarks of an addiction

is skilled at mimicry and can plausibly and spontaneously regurgitate all the latest management jargon

exhibits minimal professional skill level and competency

exploits his or her intelligence to excel at talentless mediocrity

is always identifying the behaviours and strategies to which other people respond with the desired effect

is able to anticipate and credibly say what people want to hear

is easily able to win people over before betraying them or deceiving them or ripping them off

easily manipulates and bewitches an immature or naive or vulnerable or emotionally needy person to be their spokesperson or agent of aggression

exploits anyone who has a vulnerability

is pushy and extremely persuasive

is sexually inadequate and sexually abusive

is likely to protect anyone accused of or suspected of sexual abuse of pedophile activity, and will frustrate or obstruct investigations into that person

maybe associating with, or actively involved in, abuse or pedophile activity

has no emotions, no emotional processing capability and no ability to understand other's emotions

is incapable of understanding, initiating or sustaining intimacy

the male sociopath has often convinced a string of women to feel they are in love with him and despite being treated abominably they blindly continue to be loyal to him and minister willingly to his every demand

may start projects with apparent enthusiasm and energy but quickly loses interest

frequently takes unnecessary and uncalculated risks but takes no account of consequences

is reckless and untrustworthy with money

is likely to be illegally diverting or siphoning off significant sums of money to his or her own budget, project, account or cause

is unreliable and untrustworthy in every facet of life

is likely to be leaking confidential information or secrets to third parties

is likely to have committed or be committing criminal or near-criminal offences, eg fraud, embezzlement, deception

is likely to have committed or be committing breaches of harassment and discrimination law, employment law, contract law, etc

disregards rules, regulations, Health and Safety requirements, professional standards, codes of conduct and legal requirements, etc

cannot comprehend the deeper semantic meaning of language and is thus unable to understand or appreciate metaphor, hyperbole, irony, satire etc (these elicit either zero response or a hostile response)

likes, seeks, enjoys and relies on procedure, ritual and ritualistic practices

through arrogant overconfidence takes increasingly risky chances and eventually overplays their hand or makes a mistake which leads to the sociopath revealing him or herself

exhibits parasitical behaviour, takes everything and gives nothing

grabs headline credit for minimal, flukey or other peoples' success whilst

surviving off the backs of manipulatees who are exclusively blamed for all failures

rarely blinks, may have stary scary eyes that cut right through you, or may avoid eye contact completely

is callous, cold and calculating

is devious, clever and cunning

is ruthless in the extreme

regards people as objects and playthings to be discarded when surplus to requirements

displays zero empathy

completely without conscience, remorse and guilt

malicious and evil

http://www.factnet.org/vbforum/showthread.php?t=12253

Apr 18 - 1AM
Barbara (not verified)
Anonymous's picture

Characteristics of a Sociopath

Remember - Narcissism & Socio/Psychopathy are on the same spectrum of disorders... READ TOP POST ~~~~~~~~~ Moving Forward: Coaching for Victims Pathologicals Feelings buried alive never die. - Alice Miller
Sep 26 - 1PM
Liberty (not verified)
Anonymous's picture

'Stary eyes'

'...rarely blinks, may have stary scary eyes that cut right through you, or may avoid eye contact completely...' Doess anyone have a theory on this? On seeing a photo of my ex someone commented 'he's very good looking but what's with the stary eyes?...
Sep 26 - 9PM (Reply to #12)
lisad3366 (not verified)
Anonymous's picture

ahhhh... yes, thinking of

ahhhh... yes, thinking of himself again.not listening or caring about anything going on around him. I have family photos that 'S" was taking and my sister in every picture has this nasty look of "I don't trust this guy" on her face. The distant or looking through you glare is that his prey is still alive and he is thinking of his next move. Sick but true. The N's do not really evr listen or hear anything we say. IT'S ALL ABOUT HIM. Where will his next "fix" come from
Sep 26 - 9PM (Reply to #11)
James (not verified)
Anonymous's picture

If looks could kill...

Many of us remember this type of "look". I saw it like my ex N was looking at me but not really seeing me. If that makes any sense? http://james-personalitydisorder.blogspot.com/2009/05/predatorily-reptilian-gaze.html
Sep 26 - 9PM (Reply to #10)
Barbara (not verified)
Anonymous's picture

reptilian gaze

Psychologists call it "The Reptilian Gaze" - its a classic in Ns and Ps. http://www.lisaescott.com/forum/2009/03/26/bit-confused-about-my-future#comment-894 been discussed on this site a number of times ~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Pathologicals only discard the best, most precious of gems of people... not the worst. They despise the strong, principled, decent & honest. Their discarding of you is then their highest commendation of your worth!" - A.V.
Sep 26 - 5PM (Reply to #9)
dolce (not verified)
Anonymous's picture

If you search around on here

If you search around on here you'll find a post where we all talk about "the stare". Sorry I dont have the link for you. ~Free to Be~
Sep 26 - 10AM
grossot
grossot's picture

OMG!

is always identifying the behaviours and strategies to which other people respond with the desired effect Holy crap! My N studies applied behavior annalysis and was very interested in how this technique could be applied to businesses! ~Give a Narc an inch and they become the ruler~ nolongercontrolled
Sep 26 - 10AM
Monica
Monica's picture

Mine was all of these.....

And that scares the heck out of me. Because I never considered him a "sociopath" even though I knew he was a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I had never met someone so manipulative, controlling, emotionally absent and unempathetic in my entire life. And now I am hearing that he may also be corrupt in many ways. I always suspected that but now I am actually hearing others talk about it. And I keep asking myself over and over and over again...how did an intelligent, professional, caring, mature person like myself allow herself to be brainwashed by someone like this? I just don't understand that.
Sep 26 - 9PM (Reply to #6)
Barbara (not verified)
Anonymous's picture

here's how it happened!!!

get and read WOMEN WHO LOVE PSYCHOPATHS - explains exactly how they did it to us!! LINK (book not available at Amazon, etc) ~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Pathologicals only discard the best, most precious of gems of people... not the worst. They despise the strong, principled, decent & honest. Their discarding of you is then their highest commendation of your worth!" - A.V.
Sep 26 - 9PM (Reply to #4)
lisad3366 (not verified)
Anonymous's picture

Rock and Roll Monica! I

Rock and Roll Monica! I agree They go hand in hand Sociopath and N
Sep 26 - 9PM (Reply to #5)
lisad3366 (not verified)
Anonymous's picture

I too am very talented, own

I too am very talented, own my own biz for 21 years (even thru these awful times) have my own band, home, health, cars, boat, intelligence, love, laughter and a HUGE heart. But.I can't believe I let this guy break me ! Do we have something tatooed on our face? God Bless Lisa (I hope that didn't sound too "me, me, me") Getting strong here ! Thank you ALL!
Sep 26 - 2PM (Reply to #2)
Liberty (not verified)
Anonymous's picture

Monica

I too repeatedly posed the very same question. Just my opinion and obviously borne from my own self-awareness/experiences, but it is the gulf between the intellectual and emotional self where-in for me the confusion lay. Intellectually I knew what was going on, but my emotional self had already been brainwashed through my early years to understand such behaviour as 'love'. So in a way, I have now married the two as a result of this experience to allow for a more integrated and uniform place within the self from which I can now invite and enjoy more healthy relationships both romantic and platonic. This is why in spite of the pain, I can now say I am actually thank ful of this experience for helping me heal... Hope you are well today. Liberty
Jan 1 - 11PM (Reply to #3)
Barbara (not verified)
Anonymous's picture

Characteristics of a Sociopath

they only need a FEW of these READ TOP POST ~~~~~~~~~ The truth will set you free... but first it will piss you off - Gloria Steinem Visit My Abuse Website