Qualities of a Sociopath

‘Someone who is described as a sociopath will have several traits that setthem apart from those with no personality disorders. These traits include:* Lack of empathy - Inability to feel sympathy for others or to understandthe emotional consequences of their actions. * Cold, calculating nature -The ability and willingness to use others around them for personal gain.* Shallow emotions - Lack of real emotion in response to events, limitedcapacity to feel love. * Narcissism - A personality disorder in itself, inwhich the individual feels strong love and admiration toward themselves(often a defense mechanism against deep seated low esteem).* Grandiose self-image -They might see themselves as someone whois superior to others and sometimes even experiences delusions.A sociopath might see themselves as a fitting ruler of a countryor even the world, but might also have delusional beliefssuch as seeing themselves as a God or having super powers.* Charming - While the sociopath is unable to fully understandthe emotions of others, they are capable and rather highly adept atmimicking them and might appear to be charming and normal at first.* High IQ - Often sociopaths will exhibit a high IQ which they canuse to manipulate and plan. * Manipulative - Sociopaths use theirsuperficial charm and high IQ to manipulate others to get their ends,and their lack of empathy allows them to do this with no sense ofguilt or remorse. * Secretive - Has little need for others and is highlysecretive in their actions. * Sexually deviant -The lack of remorse,guilt or emotional attachments means that the sociopath is happyto have affairs and to engage in questionable sexual activitywithout questioning their desires. * Sensitive to criticism -That said,like all narcissists, the sociopath will desire the approval of others,will be highly sensitive to criticisms. They often feel they deserveadulation and admiration of the world and might feel victimized.* Paranoid - Often their lack of understanding of emotion alongwith their incongruous self-view means that they feel a lack oftrust and paranoia. * Despotic/Authoritarian - Often the sociopath*will see themselves as a necessary authority and will be in favor oftotalitarian rule. * Lawfulness - Despite popular belief, a sociopathis not likely to be a problem to the law in later life, but ratherwill seek to find loopholes, to rise to a position of power, orto move to another area so that their behavior is tolerated* Low tolerance for boredom - Sociopaths require constantstimulation and get quickly bored. * Impulsive behavior -A lack of regret and empathy makes sociopaths more likelyto make sudden rash decisions based on the current facts.* Compulsive lying - As part of their façade and as a meansto an end, sociopaths are compulsive liars and will rarelyspeak truthfully, making them hard to pin down.Sociopaths of course vary in their symptoms and might actdifferently in different cases. However, their main trait ispresenting themselves as having the same empathy, feelingsand emotions as others when in fact they lack this emotionalcapacity. They are thus cold and manipulative and rarelysee any problem with their actions. (see egosyntonic)