humanevariation:

I see a lot of psychopath and sociopath posts here on tumblr and I wanted to invite everybody to the current debate regarding psychopaths v. sociopaths.  You see, there is no clear cut definition or distinction between the two groups.  Recently, there has been a Sherlock Holmes quote indicating that he is a “high-functioning sociopath, do your research.”  However, this is incorrect.  Here is one distinction between the two:

Research suggests that, “psychopaths are a stable proportion of any population, can be from any segment of society, may constitute a distinct taxonomical class forged by frequency-dependent natural selection, and that the muting of the social emotions is the proximate mechanism that enables psychopaths to pursue their self-centered goals without felling the pangs of guilt. Sociopaths are more the products of adverse environmental experiences that affect autonomic nervous system and neurological development that may lead to physiological responses similar to those of psychopaths. Antisocial personality disorder is a legal/clinical label that may be applied to both psychopaths and sociopaths” (Walsh & Wu, 2008).

In a nutshell, this is indicating that among the mental health community, there is some consensus that psychopaths are simply born that way while sociopaths have become that way due to environmental factors (poverty, exposure to violence, permissive or neglectful parenting, etc.).

There is also another widely agreed upon difference: psychopaths are more meticulous and presentable, while sociopaths are more unorganized and feel more remorse than the psychopaths, which feel none.

The last main difference between psychopathy and sociopathy is in the presentation. The psychopath is callous, yet charming. He or she will con and manipulate others with charisma and intimidation and can effectively mimic feelings to present as “normal” to society. The psychopath is organized in their criminal thinking and behavior, and can maintain good emotional and physical control, displaying little to no emotional or autonomic arousal, even under situations that most would find threatening or horrifying.  The psychopath is keenly aware that what he or she is doing is wrong, but does not care.

Conversely, the sociopath is less organized in his or her demeanor; he or she might be nervous, easily agitated, and quick to display anger. A sociopath is more likely to spontaneously act out in inappropriate ways without thinking through the consequences. Compared to the psychopath, the sociopath will not be able to move through society committing callous crimes as easily, as they can form attachments and often have “normal temperaments.” The sociopath will lie, manipulate and hurt others, just as the psychopath would, but will often avoid doing so to the select few people they care about, and will likely feel guilty should they end up hurting someone they care about

The difference between psychopaths and sociopaths is not a binary option, but rather lies on a dimensional scale.  While Sherlock Holmes feels some remorse, he is highly organized, meticulous, calculating, and is able to pull himself together in public.  Maybe a low-functioning psychopath?  I did a search through research databases and found no references of high-functioning and low functioning sociopaths.  It seems that in clinical science, that distinction is not used.  But of course this is up to speculation.  

So interesting, am I right?