ABSTRACT

Whether criminal or not, sociopaths typically exhibit what is generally considered to be irresponsible and unreliable behavior; their attributes include egocentrism, an inability to form lasting personal commitments and a marked degree of impulsivity. Underlying a superficial veneer of sociability and charm, sociopaths are characterized by a deficit of the social emotions (love, shame, guilt, empathy, and remorse). On the other hand, they are not intellectually handicapped, and are often able to deceive and manipulate others through elaborate scams and ruses, or by committing crimes that rely on the trust and cooperation of others, such as fraud, bigamy, and embezzlement. The sociopath is "aware of the discrepancy between his behavior and societal expectations, but he seems to be neither guided by the possibility of such a discrepancy nor disturbed by its occurrence" (Widom 1976a, p. 614). This cold-hearted and selfish approach to human interaction at one time garnered for sociopathy the moniker "moral insanity" (Davison & Neale 1994; McCord 1983).