Whip Lash wrote:

So what is a sociopath? You won't find criteria in the DSM IV or
official psychiatric nomenclature, but the construct refers to the largest
subgroup of APDs. Most are males, but an increasing number are female.
They have otherwise normal temperaments (as opposed to psychopaths who
have abnormal temperaments). Some are aggressive, fearless sensation
seekers, and others are Machiavellian manipulators. A Machiavellian is a
personality type who is a cross between an antisocial personality and a
narcissist, and someone who also has an extremely high sense of
entitlement. The one thing that all sociopaths have in common is that
they are "too much" to handle for their parents or anyone else.

I think the scientific sociopath, perhaps the younger ones we see now,
are dissosciative.


It's

common to refer to them as unsocialized, but the dyssocial sociopath does
socialize to the mores and values of a dyssocial outgroup, like a gang.
Let's explore the four (4) subtypes of sociopaths:
COMMON SOCIOPATHS are the largest subtype and have a weak or
unelaborated conscience. They are not ashamed by the same things as you or
I would be ashamed of. They are like feral children grown up, taking
pleasures and gratifying impulses at every opportunity or temptation. They
especially enjoy and take pride in bending or breaking the rules. As
teenagers, they are often runaways. As adults, they are often
geographically mobile, living in shelters, or taking advantage of welfare
systems. They are experienced shoplifters. They have quite active sex
lives. They are usually of average intelligence, but don't do well in
school and never seem to break out of low-paying dead-end jobs.
Nevertheless, they seem genuinely happy with their lives, unburdened by
any sense of negative self-worth or the fact that they have not been a
functional, contributing member of society.

ALIENATED SOCIOPATHS have never developed the ability to love,
empathize, or affiliate in real life with another person. They will show
more emotion toward their pet or a personal artifact than toward a person.
Or, they may hate animals and live out their emotional life by watching TV
(identification with soap opera characters is a common pattern). Dating
and marriage relationships will be very barren and empty. They won't get
along with the neighbors. They live in a shell. They have a cold, callous
attitude toward human suffering or any social problem in the society they
live in. They just don't care because it's outside their range of empathy.
Most will believe they are justified in this because they feel they were
cheated in some way themselves by society, and a few will be more than
happy to rant and rave about it to anyone who listens. They are chronic
complainers, and underneath it all, they would like to see nothing better
than all of society destroyed.

AGGRESSIVE SOCIOPATHS derive strong, yet nonperverse gratification
from harming others. They like to hurt, frighten, tyrannize, bully, and
manipulate. They do it for a sense of power and control, and will often
only drop subtle hints about what they are up to. They polish their
aggressive, domineering manner in such a way to disguise any intimidation
others might feel. They seek out positions of power, such as parent,
teacher, bureaucrat, supervisor, or police officer. Their style is one of
passive aggression as they systematically go about sabotaging the ideas of
others to get their ideas in place. In their spare time, they like to hunt
or occasionally do sadistic things like find stray dogs and cut them up.
They are usually effective at getting their way, and are especially
vindictive if resisted or crossed. They don't follow the social norm of
reciprocity like others do.

DYSSOCIAL SOCIOPATHS identify and hold an allegiance with a dyssocial,
outcast, or predatory subculture. Any subculture will do, as long as it
runs counter to established authority. They are capable of intense
loyalty, and even a feeling of guilt and shame, within such limited
circles. They seem to continually fall upon bad luck and bad companions,
however. While they will constantly complain that none of this is their
fault, behind it all is a kind of self-defeating mechanism in the poor
choices they made themselves.

http://faculty.ncwc.edu/toconnor/428/428lect16.htm

And they all ended up on Usenet.

How quaint.