According to neurologist Ralph Adolphs, social behavior is a biological and psychological mechanism. Knowledge acquired through the five senses, the realization of a different point of view from one's own, experiences, thoughts and information through communication shape how the world is perceived. Physical, mental and social abnormalities during this process or establishment of this perception may lead to sociopathic behavior.
Identification
According to the American Psychiatric Association, or APA, sociopathic behavior is essentially a pattern of disregard and violation of others and their rights, social rules and appropriate social behavior. A person must be at least 18 years old to be diagnosed, though the pattern can begin in early childhood or adolescence. Called "conduct disorder" in children and "antisocial behavior" in adults, this untreated and unresolved behavior pattern can develop into sociopathic behavior.
Brain Damage and Sociopathic Behavior
Dr. Jeffrey Saver and Dr. Antonio Damasio conducted neurological studies on patients with damage to the frontal lobes of the brain. They reported in the journal "Neuropsychologia" and Damasio, along with D. Tranel and H. Damasio, reported in the journal "Behavioural Brain Research" that injury to these sections produces abnormal social behavior. The frontal lobe controls planning, decision making, judgment, impulse control, memory, social and sexual behavior. While the person is able to recognize and identify social situations, he is still unable to respond appropriately, predict and consider outcomes of his responses and determine how to achieve social acceptance.
Childhood Mental Disorders and Sociopathic Behavior
The APA explains several mental disorders that are associated with conduct disorder, a precursor to antisocial behavior. Antisocial behavior is the dominant feature in sociopathic behavior. Those with a learning disorder, for example, perform below average in academics. Children experiencing this may misbehave because of frustration and unmet needs. Mood disorder covers a broad spectrum of mental conditions that disturb the mood. The person may be depressed when receiving a desired gift, euphoric during a routine task or extremely irritated when served a plate of food that is too hot. The moods may continue for days with no warranted reason and can lead to unacceptable or illegal behavior.
Adult Mental Disorders and Sociopathic Behavior
The APA names borderline, histrionic, narcissistic and substance-related personality disorders as components or causes of sociopathic behavior. Borderline disorder is unstable interpersonal relationships, inflated self-image and impulsive behavior. Someone with histrionic disorder expresses excessive emotions and lacks empathy. Those with narcissistic disorder also have an inflated self-image and lack of empathy with a need for admiration. Substance abuse causes one or more types of mental disorders in substance-related disorder.
Social Causes and Sociopathy
A person's environment can contribute to sociopathic behavior as easily as brain damage or a mental problem. Infants and children who experience rejection or neglect by their parents, physical or sexual abuse, harsh discipline such as frequent or extreme beatings and punishments, poor supervision, institutionalized living in an orphanage or hospital ward, frequent changes of caregivers, association with delinquents or psychotic family members may perceive others to be more hostile or threatening than they actually are and, in turn, become more aggressive themselves or develop conduct disorder. Nonaggressive conduct--such as destroying property, disobedience, theft, deceit, skipping school or running away--is another form of conduct disorder. A repetitive, persistent pattern of this kind in adulthood generally becomes antisocial behavior or a sociopath who will break any law, disregard any person and his rights, lie, manipulate, deceive and even commit violence to satisfy his wants and needs, with no remorse or sympathy.
References
- "Annual Review of Psychology"; The Social Brain: Neural Basis of Social Knowledge; Ralph Adolphs; 2009
- "Neuropsychologia"; Preserved Access and Processing of Social Knowledge in a Patient With Acquired Sociopathy Due to Ventromedial Frontal Damage; J. L. Saver, M.D., and A. R. Damasio, M.D.; 1991
- "Behavioural Brain Research"; Individuals With Sociopathic Behavior Caused by Frontal Damage Fail to Respond Automonically to Social Stimuli; A. R. Damasio, D. Tranel and H. Damasio; December 1990
- "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, IV"; American Psychiatric Association; 1997
