I am retired from Mental Health field.
It is quite too common that sociopath and psychopath are used interchangeably, but the difference is important.
The key difference appears as control versus lack of control of behavior, or impulsivity.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is the standard in diagnosing mental health problems,
The common features of a psychopath and sociopath lie in their shared diagnosis — antisocial personality disorder.
The DSM-51 defines antisocial personality as someone have 3 or more of the following traits:
Regularly breaks or flouts the law
Constantly lies and deceives others
Is impulsive and doesn’t plan ahead
Can be prone to fighting and aggressiveness
Has little regard for the safety of others
Irresponsible, can’t meet financial obligations
Doesn’t feel remorse or guilt
Psychology researchers generally believe that psychopaths tends to be born — it’s likely a genetic predisposition — while sociopaths tend to be made by their environment. (Which is not to say that psychopaths may not also suffer from some sort of childhood trauma.) Psychopathy might be related to physiological brain differences. Research has shown psychopaths have underdeveloped components of the brain commonly thought to be responsible for emotion regulation and impulse control.
Psychopaths, in general, have a hard time forming real emotional attachments with others.
Instead, they form artificial, shallow relationships designed to be manipulated in a way that most benefits the psychopath.
People are seen as pawns to be used to forward the psychopath’s goals.
Psychopaths rarely feel guilt regarding any of their behaviors, no matter how much they hurt others.
But psychopaths can often be seen by others as being charming and trustworthy, holding steady, normal jobs.
Some even have families and seemingly-loving relationships with a partner.
While they tend to be well-educated, they may also have learned a great deal on their own.
When a psychopath engages in criminal behavior, they tend to do so in a way that minimizes risk to themselves.
They will carefully plan criminal activity to ensure they don’t get caught, having contingency plans in place for every possibility.
( Ted Bundy, classic case)
Sociopaths, in general, tend to be more impulsive and erratic in their behavior than their psychopath counterparts.
While also having difficulties in forming attachments to others, some sociopaths may be able to form an attachment to a like-minded group or person.
Unlike psychopaths, most sociopaths don’t hold down long-term jobs or present much of a normal family life to the outside world.
When a sociopath engages in criminal behavior, they may do so in an impulsive and largely unplanned manner, with little regard for the risks or consequences of their actions.
They may become agitated and angered easily, sometimes resulting in violent outbursts.
These kinds of behaviors increase a sociopath’s chances of being apprehended.
http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2015/02/12/differences-between-a-psychopath-vs-sociopath/
Trump is cold and calculating and knows enough to act mostly civilized. Throw in his narcissism, and there he is.
Sadly, he is, from all accounts, teaching his 10 year son the same way he taught his older sons, to be like him.
Might I just add....psychopaths are not common, compared to sociopaths, who get into the legal and mental health systems more often because of their out of control behavior, and frequent use of drugs and alcohol.
Trump has often been quoted as saying he has never used mind altering chemicals, and that makes sense for him.
He also has been quoted as needing little sleep, that he lies awake at night planning revenge.
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