Overview 

Psychopathy and sociopathy are phrases that are often used interchangeably. However, the two disorders should not be confused, as they are extremely different. While both of them include a disregard for the rights and well-being of others, psychopathy is more biologically based while sociopathy is more environmentally based. 

Signs and Symptoms

Signs of Psychopathy:

• Manipulation/Pathological lying
• Impulsive but more controlled
• Incapable of loyalty to anyone/anything
• Lack of emotional responses 
• Doesn’t accept responsibility for their actions 
• Cannot form attachments/No empathy whatsoever
• Much more calculated and organized
• Extreme shallowness

Signs of Sociopathy:

• Disregard for/the violation of the rights of others but can feel guilty for hurting those extremely close to them
• Repeated lying/deception for personal gain
• Extremely impulsive
• Irresponsible/failure to conform to the law
• Lack of remorse for hurting others 
• Failure to maintain consistent employment
• Failure to maintain/develop stable relationships

Biological Differences (Psychopathy) 

Despite psychopathy and sociopathy both being characterized by antisocial behavior, they differ biologically in several ways. Psychopathy is the one that is primarily linked to structural and functional brain differences, specifically in areas that are related to emotional processing. Psychopathy can be shown through successful and unsuccessful psychopaths. 

Someone considered a successful psychopath has relatively normal brain functioning, allowing them to achieve their goals nonviolently. Their amygdalas (responsible for processing emotions) and prefrontal cortexes (helps with decision-making and impulse control) have normal volumes, so they are able to have better executive functioning than unsuccessful psychopaths. 

Unsuccessful psychopaths are those whose brains have functional defects, so they are not able to control their actions in a nonviolent way as successful psychopaths are. These types of psychopaths have a reduced volume of gray matter, which is a type of tissue that helps you function properly, in their prefrontal cortexes and amygdala. This means that they struggle to regulate emotions and impulses more so than successful psychopaths. This may lead them to have less remorse and can result in more serious offenses such as murder.

Serial killers are often labeled as “semi-successful” psychopaths due to their ability to carry out their crimes with careful planning and intelligence, successfully evading law enforcement.

Unlike sociopathy, genetics play a huge role in psychopathy, with genes like the 5HTT and BDNF linking to aggressive behavior, and the MAOA gene affecting the breakdown of dopamine and serotonin. When the production of those neurotransmitters is tampered with, it can lead to buildup which triggers impulsive and aggressive behavior. These genetic and biological components are one of the reasons why signs of psychopathy can be spotted so early on in life such as during childhood. 

Behavioral/Emotional Differences 

Some of the primary emotional differences between psychopathy and sociopathy are that psychopaths are able to discern moral rights from wrongs, whereas sociopaths are less able to. Psychopaths also experience regret after, not during, the decision-making process because they make decisions without worrying about future consequences. On the opposite end of the spectrum, sociopaths do not experience regret. Sociopathy is often the phrase associated with Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD). Sociopaths are often able to experience more emotions than psychopaths, however, they are much less able to control them which leads to outbursts. Their behavior is much more unpredictable than that of psychopaths and they are unable to keep up appearances. Psychopaths are much more calculated and are able to create a facade of normalcy, simulating emotions for personal gain, and blending into society. Sociopathy is thought to stem from environmental factors, unlike psychopathy. These components can be anything such as abuse, trauma, and neglect. Despite these defining events that may trigger this kind of behavior, sociopathy is much more difficult to diagnose than psychopathy and it is for this reason that psychiatrists and professionals are unable to give someone a permanent diagnosis of ASPD or Sociopathy until they are at least 18 years old. 

Below is a chart of the main difference between psychopathy and sociopathy from simplypsychology.org:

Resources:

1.  https://www.simplypsychology.org/psychopathy-vs-sociopathy.html 
2. https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/psychopath-sociopath-differences 
3. https://www.verywellhealth.com/sociopath-vs-psychopath-characteristics-and-differences-5193369#:~:text=Researchers%20believe%20that%20environmental%20factors,%22born%20this%20way.%227