ABSTRACT
There are different types of psychopaths, but the two that emerged from the work of Karpman back in 1941 are idiopathic and symptomatic. These labels have since been changed to the familiar primary and secondary psychopaths, respectively, by Blackburn and Coid. When we consider the primary psychopath, we are talking about the true psychopath who encapsulates the traits associated with psychopathy. In contrast, the secondary psychopath’s antisocial behaviour arises from a neurotic or psychotic condition. The similarity of antisocial behaviour exhibited by the two forms of psychopathy is an example of behavioural phenocopy. DSM-5 considers psychopathy as a sub-type of ASPD, but it fails to distinguish sociopathy from psychopathy. There is a debate as to whether sociopathy differs from psychopathy. In fact, there is some neuroscientific evidence for this to be the case. Alternatively, many regard sociopathy as muddying the water and think it should be excluded. Psychopathy should be conceived as being on a personality rather than a criminal dimension. Criminals can be psychopaths, but many psychopaths are not criminals. Despite psychopaths often having a different understanding of morality and behaving morally, they do not always contravene the law.
