Why sociopaths lie

Coulter, the answer is probably no. Both psychopathy and sociopathy fall under the diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder, Dr. Coulter notes. Those with sociopathy tend to be more erratic and impulsive whereas those with sociopathy are often able to maintain the appearance of stable, normal life. With psychopathy, the diagnosis is based more on what that person is thinking and how they got to that point.

There are no medications specifically for antisocial personality disorders, says Dr. Psychotherapy is often recommended but that can be difficult. It can be particularly tough, Dr.

Coulter says, to deal with a friend or family member who has sociopathy because of that lack of self-awareness. An expert explains the traits of a sociopath, what treatments are available and how to protect yourself if you have a sociopath in your life. Learn more about vaccine availability. Advertising Policy. Whereas pathetic liars lie to get along, and narcissistic liars prevaricate to cover their inaction, drama, or ineptitude, sociopaths lie simply because they feel like it.

Lying is easy for them, and they lie with no conscience or remorse. The constraints and norms imposed by society against lying are meaningless to the sociopath. They are lacking in respect for the truth, and for other beings; they can lie to you because you are a tool to be used in whatever exploit they have going, simply to gratify their own needs.

Researchers using computer-assisted brain scans find that the physical brain of a sociopath is different than that of someone with a conscience. Researchers believe that sociopathic liars have both a hereditary component to their pathology and a component of a lack of nurture neglect from childhood.

The areas of a sociopathic brain associated with empathy, responsibility, and moral conscience simply do not exist and do not activate the neural pathways in response to stimuli as do those of a normal human brain.

They are animalistic in nature without ethics. Sociopathic liars often enjoy creating confusion, chaos, and disappointment in others because they set themselves outside of a societal expectation for truth telling. Some believe that it is fun to torture others, or that it makes the sociopath in some way "superior. Other sociopaths lie out of convenience rather than always lying to deceive others for some type of gain. The sociopathic liar will ruin your public relations department or team efforts quickly, and often for no reason other than because he or she can.

Sociopathic liars cannot handle the use of logic against their schemes because they rely on the confusion and misunderstanding created by their deceptions. Ethicists advise using honesty, rational agency, and a measure of humility to confront the perfidious. If you must work with or manage a sociopathic liar, document everything in writing as much as possible so that you can point to specific details and deadlines.

Do not take the bait and become angry or obviously disappointed when confronting them because sociopaths feed on the discontent created by their immorality. Finally, boxing in the sociopathic liar to expose his or her lies in a public manner, such as in a meeting, will be worth the effort. Sociopathic liars detest exposure of their schemes above all else and will eventually move on to fresh territory to begin an insidious cycle of destruction anew.

Take heart in being an ethical public relations manager and minimizing the destruction caused by three types of liars, excluding them and their behaviors as much as possible. Recognizing these types of liars and minimizing the damage they cause can further the effectiveness of your communication activities. A few more pro-ethics, anti-liar pointers:. As a function based on creating trust and relationships between organizations and publics, we must focus on truth and honesty in all of our communication.

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