Sociopath Test – Do I Have Sociopathic Traits?

Sociopath test has been digitally adopted from the preliminary version of DAPS-24, ^{[1] Dar, Deen Mohd. “Deenz Antisocial Personality Scale: Measuring Subclinical Traits.”} and has been developed with the influence of Deenz Dark Triad Personality Scale. Participation in this self-assessment is completely anonymous, NO personal information or your results are collected or stored for research purposes.

The term sociopath is used in everyday language to describe a person who exhibits harmful behaviors towards others. Over the years, understanding personality disorders has evolved. In the third edition of DSM polished in 1980, the term sociopath was replaced with antisocial personality disorder. The shift in terminology leads researchers and psychologists to understand the complexities and traits associated with Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD). ^{[2] MacKenzie, Paula M. “Psychopathy, Antisocial Personality & Sociopathy: The Basics A History Review.”}

People with ASPD may be aware of their own attitudes or behaviors which might leads them to the impairment of social and psychological wellbeing still, their perception of these traits may differ from societal norms. In recent years, there has been an increasing emphasis on early recognition of subclinical traits of ASPD to understand and identify tendencies toward antisocial personality. ^{[3] Smith,…. Subclinical psychopaths: How they adapt, their interpersonal interactions with and effect on others, and how to detect them. Charles C Thomas Publisher, 2013.} Subclinical traits are patterns of antisocial behaviors or tendencies that fall below the threshold for formal or clinical diagnosis. Identifying subclinical traits associated with antisocial personality aids in a more comprehensive understanding of the spectrum of behaviors.

Antisocial Personality Facets

Apathy: Apathy refers to a lack of concern, motivation, or decreased emotional response. Also a major trait of psychopathy. People with apathy show little or no concern for the emotions of others. In the subclinical perspective, the term apathy is used interchangeably with lack of empathy. Apathy and lack of empathy are related concepts but they refer to different emotional experiences or expressions. Lack of empathy is the inability or difficulty to understand the feelings of others and apathy is the state of feeling a lack of interest in things that evoke emotional responses.

Deceitfulness: We use the term deceitfulness in everyday language to describe a person who is dishonest or deceptive. It is normal to be deceitful on occasions when we have to avoid conflicts or protect ourselves. People who engage in deceitful behaviors are intentionally misleading the stations to achieve specific goals such as telling lies or manipulating others for personal gain.

Impulsivity: Impulsivity refers to sudden or quick actions without thinking of consequences. People with impulsive behaviors tend to make decisions quickly without considering risks, or outcomes. ^{[4] Lykken, David T. “Psychopathy, sociopathy, and antisocial personality disorder.” Handbook of psychopathy 23 (2018): 22.} The best example might be a person who speaks the words without thinking of the outcomes or spending money without considering the impact.

Irresponsibility: Irresponsibility refers to the lack of interest in fulfilling one’s duties. People with antisocial personalities or sociopathy tend to be irresponsible, especially in social situations and interpersonal relationships. They exhibit behaviors that disregard the consequences of their actions on others.

Callousness: Callousness refers to the disregard for the emotions, needs, or well-being of others. Also a major trait of narcissistic personality disorder. People with callousness act in a way that seems cold or lack of warmth. They show little or no concern for the well-being of others.

Aggressiveness: Aggressiveness refers to behaviors that involve forceful or strong reactions to situations. People with aggressive behavior tend to be ready to confront or attack, whether they express their opinions or assert themselves, they need to be aggressive.

Glibness: Glibness refers to the quality of being talkative or charming in social situations. People sometimes use these abilities for their personal gain and disregard the emotions or rights of others. Some people are deceptive but they do not get caught because of their abilities such as super facial charm or being fluent in speaking with others to manipulate or mislead others.

Obtuseness: Obtuseness refers to being insensitive, slow to understand, or failing to learn from past experiences. People with sociopathy tend to fail to learn from past mistakes and they may be unwilling to look back and repeat the same mistakes. ^{[5] Thorne, Frederick C. “The etiology of sociopathic reactions.”}

Development of Deenz Antisocial Personality Scale

Sociopath is a commonly used term to describe a person who shows traits of antisocial behavior, interchangeably used with antisocial personality disorder. In the recent years our understanding personality disorders has evolved and this lead to the need to develop compressive self-assessments which may be use to identify patterns of behaviors and tendencies towards traits which impacts individuals overall wellbeing. Early identification of traits can help in understanding and addressing issues which may lead to the impairment of daily functioning. The development of Deenz Antisocial Personality Scale was influenced by recognizing the need to identifying subclinical traits associated with antisocial personality in general population. The development of the scale started with lecture reviews and compressive review of existing psychometric scales such as Psychopathy Checklist-Revised ^{[6] Hare, Robert D. “Psychopathy checklist—revised.” Psychological Assessment (2003).} and Antisocial Process Screening Device. After reviewing existing lectures and self-assessments, the need to address outdated information was recognized. The primary aim for the development of the scale was to measure tendencies and identify college students who may show inclination towards ASPD. In the pilot testing phase, the scale demonstrated high accuracy in the identification of subclinical traits and reliability of scale. The institutional ethical board has approved the scale for administration of the scales, and currently, the scale is provided as a preliminary version to address reliability issues. As of 03/24, the scale has not yet been administered to a large group of the population for validation and accuracy. [wpdiscuz_comments]

References

1. Dar, Deen Mohd. “Deenz Antisocial Personality Scale: Measuring Subclinical Traits.” Google scholar ↩

2. MacKenzie, Paula M. “Psychopathy, Antisocial Personality & Sociopathy: The Basics A History Review.” The Forensic Examiner (2014). Google Scholar ↩

3. Smith, Cary Stacy, and Li-Ching Hung. Subclinical psychopaths: How they adapt, their interpersonal interactions with and effect on others, and how to detect them. Charles C Thomas Publisher, 2013. Google Books ↩

4. Lykken, David T. “Psychopathy, sociopathy, and antisocial personality disorder.” Handbook of psychopathy 23 (2018): 22. Google Books ↩

5. Thorne, Frederick C. “The etiology of sociopathic reactions.” American Journal of Psychotherapy 13.2 (1959): 319-330. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.1959.13.2.319 ↩

6. Hare, Robert D. “Psychopathy checklist—revised.” Psychological Assessment (2003). https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/t01167-000 ↩