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Painting: Vincent Van Gogh, “Corridor in the Asylum”

For the benefit of those who have seen so many serial killer thrillers they’ve begun to think Satan is speaking to them through the neighbor’s dog, The Straight Dope explains the difference between sociopaths, psychopaths, and serial killers.

Sociopath. The term is no longer in use. It has been replaced by “antisocial personality disorder” (APD), which is characterized by “a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others occurring since age 15 years, as indicated by three (or more) of the following: failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors; deceitfulness; impulsivity or failure to plan ahead; irritability and aggressiveness; reckless disregard for safety of self or others; consistent irresponsibility; lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another.” If this describes you, thank you for taking time to read this. Now go away.

Psychopath. The term is not in the DSM, but is used by some criminologists. Psychologist Robert Hare has prepared this checklist to measure psychopathy: Glibness/superficial charm, Grandiose sense of self-worth, Pathological lying, Cunning/manipulativeness, Lack of remorse or guilt, Shallow affect, Callous/lack of empathy, Failure to accept responsibility for own actions, Promiscuous sexual behavior. (Hey, I think I went out with that guy.)

Hare estimates that 1 percent of the general population is psychotic, which means we’ve already elected most of them into office.

The difference between psychopathy and APD is that psychopaths are characterized by a lack of empathy, grandiosity, and shallow emotion that are not necessary for a diagnosis of APD. 

Serial killings. “Serial killer” is not a mental disorder. In American criminal law, “the term “serial killings” means a series of three or more killings, not less than one of which was committed within the United States, having common characteristics such as to suggest the reasonable possibility that the crimes were committed by the same actor or actors.” And by “actor” they do not mean Kevin Spacey or Anthony Hopkins.

Hare notes that not all psychopaths are violent criminals: they thrive in corporate environments without killing people (just their souls). For supplemental reading I recommend “American Psycho” by Bret Easton Ellis—relevant again in the current financial debacle.