There is a definite ego there. a couple of things trigger my annoyance and that is stupid people (which I'm sure majority of ppl also find annoying), ppl who r overly emotional and cannot come out of their funk (useless and weak) and ppl who think they r better than me. All these ppl make me want to slap them to take them down a notch. But the way its done seems to be listed as the traits of a sociopath. I see them more as tools to be used. so I now ask the question are the traits listed really part of the natural human personality or are they just skills that one can learn even without being a sociopath? What really identifies one as a sociopath should be the thoughts and feelings (or lack of) right?
I believe they are the most natural traits to the human animal. The were the traits that existed in us before the advent of society, impulsivity, promisiousness, lack of consideration for others, selfishness, etc. There are other traits listed that must have come after society, that are higher order functions, which include superficial charm, manipulation etc...
and yes, all of these behaviors can be learned, infact that is what many people try to do in their writings, read a few books written by robert green, specifically the 48 laws of power. he takes a study on world leaders, and writings about them to find out where their success stemmed from... many of them were assumed sociopathic, as many of the traits in a sociopath are leader qualities (confidence, charm, charisma, manipulation, etc) and what robert greene tries to do in his books are write a road map toward thinking like them... so yea, the traits can be learned.
Manipulation is not a higher order function that only developed after society developed, lol. It's learned as early as infancy when we realize that crying will get our parent's attention and thus, food or diaper change etc.
Our manipulative techniques change as we get older because our circumstances and desires change. In childhood, we might manipulate our parents to get out of going to school or some chore we don't want to do by faking illness.
As adults, we play on people's emotions, manipulating them to get what we want and it's easy because we've been doing it all our life.
Well, I have anyway...
No, a child cannot be classified as a sociopath. The manual that clinicians and psychiatrists use to diagnose individuals with different mental and emotional disorders is called the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. And a diagnosis like antisocial personality cannot be made until one is at least 18 years of age. And that is because kids — their brains — are thought to be so malleable and luckily so influenced by the environment. Different things that happen in the environment can completely alter a child's personality or even behavior. And with this child, it sounds more like some kind of an attachment disorder. We call it a reactive attachment disorder that can cause certain behavior like that. It's hard to see, but it comes from the child being afraid, being scared, not knowing if this is a consistent attachment [with his adoptive parents].
-Dr. Jill Weber
No, they didn't. So now what do you have to say, smart guy?