# Can Psycopathy/Sociopathy be "fixed"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 26, 2016, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-psycopathy-sociopathy-be-fixed/760945 "2016-07-26T15:21:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Gedd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gedd/32/4938_2.png) [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-psycopathy-sociopathy-be-fixed/760945/21 "2016-07-27T20:03:43Z")
My wife once took a psychological test for work, and apparently tested towards being a sociopath or whatever. It was mostly because of the way she viewed the questions. She’s very open-minded and empathetic and most of the questions were simple “Yes” or “No” and she could think of exceptions for every situation where the answer they wanted was “No.” Or like when they asked “Do you get angry often” she thought once a week or so was probably often. (The only question I recall was “Have you ever wished you were the opposite gender” and she said “Yes.” When asked why she answered that she said “You’ve never had cramps.”) The guy she met with told her to take the test again without thinking about the questions as hard. It is interesting though, looking at checklists and descriptions of psychopaths. My wife had a trouble childhood, is very charismatic and well liked, and can read people like a book to the point where it’s scary. She also claims to have a mind palace like (the Benedict Cumberbatch) Sherlock Holmes, the high-function sociopath. Basically, if she wanted to be evil it would probably be easy for her to manipulate people into doing horribly disturbing things without them realizing it. But (fortunately) she doesn’t want to be evil. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-psycopathy-sociopathy-be-fixed/760945/22 "2016-07-27T20:04:25Z")
To add: Many fictional sinister psychopaths are portrayed as deriving _gratification_ from inflicting harm on others. I have always found this a little confusing - if you don’t intuitively _care_ about other people’s feelings, you might trample people as collateral damage _en route_ to selfish objectives, but why would you expend effort and take risk for the explicit _purpose_ of harming them? No doubt a small number of such dangerous people have existed (some of the real serial killers), but I’m skeptical that _sadistic_ behavior is in reality typical of, or even correlated with, psychopathy. It seems almost that a psychopath would be _less_ likely to derive gratification from inflicting harm _per se_. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-psycopathy-sociopathy-be-fixed/760945/23 "2016-07-27T20:13:49Z")
> [@Gedd](#): > > …Sherlock Holmes, the high-function sociopath… I’m open to more expert views on the typical characteristics of real high-functioning psychopaths, but I tend to think this portrayal is hogwash. He comes across more on the autism spectrum or Asperger’s, similar to Sheldon in Big Bang Theory. You don’t have to be a psychopath to shoot someone _for good reason_, you just have to be determined and believe that the ends justify the means. ---
**Author:** ![Gedd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gedd/32/4938_2.png) [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-psycopathy-sociopathy-be-fixed/760945/24 "2016-07-27T20:26:21Z")
Yeah, not knowing what someone’s feelings are doesn’t mean you’re a sociopath. Maybe not caring what someone’s feels are would. Kind of like breaking the rules because you don’t know them vs because you don’t care about them. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-psycopathy-sociopathy-be-fixed/760945/25 "2016-07-27T21:33:36Z")
> [@Gedd](#): > > …Kind of like breaking the rules because you don’t know them vs because you don’t care about them… And on reflection, I think even “don’t care” might be rather ambiguous. Perhaps “don’t intuitively grasp the significance of” is better? I find it difficult to imagine quite what it’s like - having empathy for psychopaths is hard! ---
**Author:** ![Chihuahua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dec6dc/32.png) [@Chihuahua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chihuahua)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-psycopathy-sociopathy-be-fixed/760945/26 "2016-07-27T22:20:50Z")
This might be illuminating: A neuroscientist discovers that he is a psychopath. > [@](#): > > ``` > I decided to try to treat my wife and other loved ones with more care. Each time I’m about to interact with them, I pause for a moment and asked “what would a good person do here?” and notice that my instinct is to always do the most selfish thing at that moment. My wife started noticing this and after two months said “what has come over you?”. When I told her that I was trying to use my own narcissism to show that I could, against all odds, overcome my psychopathy, she said she appreciated the effort even though I was not sincere. I still don’t understand how she can accept that insincerity. Perhaps people just want to be treated with respect and kindness. I find that astonishing. > > ``` > **[How I discovered I have the brain of a psychopath | James Fallon](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jun/03/how-i-discovered-i-have-the-brain-of-a-psychopath)** > > James Fallon: I found I had the brain imaging pattern and genetic make up of a full-blown psychopath while conducting research – and yet, I turned out to be a successful scientist and family man I hear he also has a TED talk. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2016, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-psycopathy-sociopathy-be-fixed/760945/27 "2016-07-27T23:31:07Z")
> [@Chihuahua](#): > > This might be illuminating: A neuroscientist discovers that he is a psychopath… Yup, the message from that would appear to be: maybe you can’t cure psychopathy; but it’s just not necessarily the terrible thing that it’s popularly assumed to be. This issue of sincerity is interesting. All humans clearly have an immense capacity for self-deception, perhaps because it’s easier to maintain a believable public persona if we _think_ we’re being sincere. But does someone who _sincerely_ believes that they are a “good” member of society necessarily act any better? Non-psychopaths still do incredibly selfish things, and then construct preposterous _post hoc_ rationalizations of why their actions were okay in order to maintain their self-image. ---
**Author:** ![Gedd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gedd/32/4938_2.png) [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2016, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-psycopathy-sociopathy-be-fixed/760945/28 "2016-07-28T12:05:35Z")
In a coincidence there is a [IMHO thread about the public’s understanding of mental health issues](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=799475) right now. ---
**Author:** ![Me\_Billy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Me\_Billy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Me_Billy)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2016, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-psycopathy-sociopathy-be-fixed/760945/29 "2016-07-28T14:54:08Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > To add: > > Many fictional sinister psychopaths are portrayed as deriving _gratification_ from inflicting harm on others. I have always found this a little confusing - if you don’t intuitively _care_ about other people’s feelings, you might trample people as collateral damage _en route_ to selfish objectives, but why would you expend effort and take risk for the explicit _purpose_ of harming them? No doubt a small number of such dangerous people have existed (some of the real serial killers), but I’m skeptical that _sadistic_ behavior is in reality typical of, or even correlated with, psychopathy. It seems almost that a psychopath would be _less_ likely to derive gratification from inflicting harm _per se_. They will do destructive things thinking they will not be caught… And they will do destructive things _knowing_ they will be caught, but that that the consequences for their actions will be acceptable. Should the consequences be more harsh than what they were expecting, then they become quite miserable. (Sort of like expecting a $300.00 repair bill for a car, but instead getting a $1,000.00 repair bill?) ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2016, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-psycopathy-sociopathy-be-fixed/760945/30 "2016-07-28T17:25:53Z")
And I’ll just add that there most certainly (after having a few unfortunate encounters with same) are some psychopaths which definitely get their jollies by toying with and manipulating people, just to see (or even imagine) their deeply puzzled if not hurtful reactions. They can often be slyly passive-aggressive in said efforts too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-psycopathy-sociopathy-be-fixed/760945.md?page=1)