If you are saying invaders are sociopath ...

[Him]

You are right...
THE FEAR I SEE IN MY VICTIMS FEEDS ME

[Old Man Gamer (OMG)]

Who knew that a PvP banter post would turn into a philosophical debate on human emotions.

[felixpoop]

Originally posted by Malenia, Blade of Miquella:

Dude, sociopaths wouldn't be able to identify emotions in others.

Sociopaths often identify people's emotions - this is what allows them to be so manipulative.

[Kyutaru]

Originally posted by The Sylvan Learning Center:

Dude nothing is at stake here. You lost, just back down

Interesting sentiment. Back it up now like I have.

And no, they can very much feel those feelings themselves. That's another misconception proven otherwise by science. They simply can't read those emotions in others. Manipulation doesn't require understanding the feeling, only the result. I don't need to experience or understand your fear in order to know that you become more pliable when I do something like brandish a weapon. Luckily, google also exists explaining what people are afraid of which someone with zero emotional awareness can use to scare people without understanding their fear.

[Kyutaru]

Originally posted by felixpoop:

Sociopaths often identify people's emotions - this is what allows them to be so manipulative.

Misconception. They identify the results by remaining objectively oblivious to emotion. The barriers that exist in others that inhibit their ability to perform certain acts don't exist here and they can view with objective rationality what gets the results they want.

Again, no one needs to have the ability to read fear to witness how you respond to spiders.

[Shard of Manus]

Originally posted by Sisko:

They’re two terms for antisocial personality disorder yes, and typically mis used as pop culture terms with little meaning, but professionals do discriminate between the two, and entire medical studies going to effect of one argument or the other.

Nothing in mental health is as simple as a single definition is my only point here and typically within pop culture we have slightly diff meanings for both, with psychopath being entirely unable to understand emotion and a sociopath(social) with limited as they’re as typically manipulative individuals.

Whilst neither psychopath or sociopath are clinical diagnoses, they are terms used by clinicians to help distinguish between differences in the manifestations of Anti-social Personality Disorder - however, the definition you gave for either is incorrect.

Firstly, neither sociopath nor psychopath are terms given based on symptoms. Anti-social personality disorder and its variations are determined by patterns of behaviour. The notion that psychopaths "don't understand emotion" or "don't feel emotion" is entirely incorrect. A better distinction would be to say that a psychopath lacks remorse, empathy or sympathy, is quite resilient to a sense of disgust, and (moreso a correlation than a symptom) are oft quite disconnected from fear - which is as much as instinctive reaction as it is an emotion. Psychopaths are very much host to other emotions, regardless of their control over them - such as anger/rage, disgust (with regards to hate, not to filth - such as disgust towards certain types of people), envy/jealousy, desire and possessiveness.

However, the primary distinction between a psychopath and a sociopath is the period in their life that they display the patterns of behaviour that indicate ASPD. Psychopaths are defined when ASPD manifests in childhood, and displays traits such as violence to an extreme degree towards animals or people (such as torturing or killing animals), extreme displays of aggression or disregard for authority, manipulation and other serious 'anti-social behaviour' etc. - albeit this is diagnosed as Conduct Disorder (as ASPD is never diagnosed in youths).

Psychopaths are more clearly defined by this childhood presence of behaviour patterns, and are typically believed to be more affected by their biology in this regard - especially with regards to emotional regulation and the ability to 'switch off' certain parts of their emotional register (such as remorse, fear and the like). Sociopathy however develops much later, and is considered moreso to be the product of environmental factors and doesn't display during youth.

Obviously these are difficult to distinguish by that alone, and there are other present differences (such as sociopaths being more neurotic and prone to extreme emotional outbursts - hence why there are far more sociopathic criminals than psychopathic ones, because if you combine emotional instability with a lack of moral apprehension... you tend to get crime). However, my main point is that psychopaths aren't strangers to emotion, and this stereotype is falsely spread.

[felixpoop]

One problem is that the terms psychopath and sociopath are used interchangeably, both in everyday speech as well as the professional literature. One reason for this is that neither is an actual diagnosis. A major effect of this is that individual researchers, and laymen, essentially decide their own criteria for inclusion, resulting in much disparity.

Research, and common sense, both show that either of these are able to feel emotion personally - it's very shallow, and primarily negative, but it's there. They are also able to read the emotions of others. I wouldn't go so far as to say 'empathize", however, as this carries the implication that the emotion is at least partially shared.

[Kyutaru]

Originally posted by Shard of Manus:

Whilst neither psychopath or sociopath are clinical diagnoses, they are terms used by clinicians to help distinguish between differences in the manifestations of Anti-social Personality Disorder - however, the definition you gave for either is incorrect.

https://www.forbes.com/health/mind/sociopath-vs-psychopath/

"What Is a Sociopath?

The term sociopathy was coined in the era of behaviorism between 1920 to 1950 as a primary psychological theory, but it has since fallen out of use. “This term has not been used in modern science for several decades—for example, you cannot get funding from the National Institute of Health [NIH] to study ’sociopaths,'” says Kent Kiehl, Ph.D, a neuroscientist studying brain imagine, criminal psychopathy and other psychotic disorders in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

When the term was still in use, it was believed that people were born as blank slates and subsequently shaped by their environment or social forces, ultimately resulting in a good or bad personality, says Kiehl. However, this view was determined to be incorrect and, as focus shifted to increasing accuracy and reliability in diagnosis, the term “sociopathy” was dropped from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) about 20 years ago.


What Is a Psychopath?

Even though the term is not an official diagnosis per the DSM-5, psychopathy remains a term in psychology today to indicate individuals who display high levels of unemotionalism or callousness, as well as impulsiveness or developmental antisocial traits, such as destructive or aggressive behavior."

Originally posted by Shard of Manus:

However, my main point is that psychopaths aren't strangers to emotion, and this stereotype is falsely spread.

That wasn't what was stated either, I even stated above that it's a misconception that they can't FEEL emotions. What they can't do is READ emotions in other people. Psychopaths are very much emotional themselves and can feel fear.

But if you want to claim that psychopaths possess empathy, I'm going to have to ask for a source.

[Shard of Manus]

Originally posted by Malenia, Blade of Miquella:

But if you want to claim that psychopaths possess empathy, I'm going to have to ask for a source.

Like I said before, empathy is NOT emotional intelligence. Understanding an emotion or sharing an emotion is disconnected from ones ability to read an emotion.

All people develop their emotional intelligence. It is easier for 'normal' individuals when compared to those that do lack the ability to empathise with others, as they must first learn to identify those emotions and their stimuli in order to recognise them, with little to no first-hand experience.

However, developing that skill is STILL developing emotional intelligence. It is still developing the ability to read emotions.

[Texas_Jake]

Originally posted by Him:

You are right...
THE FEAR I SEE IN MY VICTIMS FEEDS ME

You make TikToks about how badass you are don't you?

[Kyutaru]

Originally posted by Shard of Manus:

Originally posted by Malenia, Blade of Miquella:

But if you want to claim that psychopaths possess empathy, I'm going to have to ask for a source.

Like I said before, empathy is NOT emotional intelligence. Understanding an emotion or sharing an emotion is disconnected from ones ability to read an emotion.

I literally linked you the official definition of empathy. It's reading people's emotions, not whatever you're on about. I'm not defining it according to how you're defining it, no one's going to call it emotional intelligence either because that's a compound term that lumps together personal feelings with empathy.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/emotional-intelligence

"Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to identify and manage one’s own emotions, as well as the emotions of others."

Since psychopaths do not possess empathy, they cannot perform the latter part of emotional intelligence. Only the first half is possible, which is why you're getting confused by a 50/50 split in their capabilities. Again, there's a reason we're very specifically stating they lack empathy and not that they lack emotional intelligence. No one's claiming they can't perceive their own feelings, it's others feelings they can't understand.

[Kyutaru]

Originally posted by Isz:

Being able to look at a crying person and understand the are in an emotionally heightened state by memorizing the cues is not emotional intelligence, it's strategy.

And utilizing patterns of behavior you've witnessed before as part of your strategy of dealing with others is emotional manipulation. No empathy required.

[InstableMonster]

Originally posted by Isz:

Originally posted by InstableMonster:

By feeling I meant to know what others feels. Not feeling it themselves which is what they lack.

Psycopathy and sociopathy share traits btw.

That's the thing, the lack of empathy makes it impossible for them to understand the feelings of others outside of a textbook type understanding. They know what other people are doing emotionally by observation, but completely removed from relating it to their own experience.

Understanding the emotion someone is feeling and relating to it are not the same. Hence they understand other people emotions but cant put themselves in their shoes.

You're telling me exactly what I'm saying.

[Grubbs008]

Look at all the doctors in this Forum.

[Kyutaru]

Originally posted by Malenia, Blade of Miquella:

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/empathy

the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner

No, they can't.

[LongParsnip]

I miss the days of steamworks where you would get a friend request after killing someone and then thinking to yourself how many juicy tears are about to thrown your way. Sometimes they just wanted to say GG and ask for a rematch. Fun times.