The 10 Differences Between Psychopath And Psychotic
The mind is a complex object of study, which sciences such as psychology and psychiatry try to explain, and even more so when we are faced with conditions that make it difficult for the person to function or that cause discomfort and suffering.
In order to try to analyze the particularities of these types of mental functioning and disorders, a rich and varied vocabulary has been generated, but which can sometimes be confusing for those who are not used to using such terms. An example of this occurs between the terms psychotic and psychopath, which beyond phonetic similarities have little in common.
Let’s see How do the terms psychopath and psychotic differ?, throughout this article. Because no, they don’t mean the same thing.
To begin to be able to stipulate the existence of differences between both conditions, it is useful to make a brief definition of each of them and their main characteristics.
Psychopathy is a condition in which people manifest a notable lack or absence of empathy, emotional detachment, absence of guilt and insensitivity to the needs and feelings of others, tendency to lie and deceive, as well as to achieve one’s own gratification regardless of its consequences, instability, parasitic lifestyle with one’s environment, impulsivity, irresponsibility, inability to follow and maintain a life plan, little behavioral control and little respect for social norms.
There is also usually a very restricted and volatile emotional sphere, their emotions often being classified as proto-emotions.
Besides, They stand out for their high capacity for seduction and manipulation In general, other people tend to be indifferent to them (although in some cases they can feel respect or esteem for very specific and close people) and they are often seen as means to achieve their ends.
Although psychopathy is especially known for cases of serial killers and other blood crimes, the truth is that Not every psychopath has belligerent and criminal behavior There are also adjusted psychopaths, who generally have a tendency to seek positions of power and are usually found in the upper echelons of business or even at the political level.
It is also common for some unusual behaviors to manifest from childhood, such as the abuse and mutilation of animals.
Clarifying the term psychotic
When we talk about the term psychotic we are referring to a type of mental alteration or disorder characterized mainly by the presence of a break or split of the mind or psyche with reality which together with neuroses constitutes one of the main large group of types of mental disorder.
Those who suffer from a psychotic-type disorder suffer from some type of condition in which they generally suffer perceptual deceptions, that is, perceptions without a real object that are basically a mental projection that is perceived as coming from the outside. These alterations in perception are what we call hallucinations
Likewise, it is common that, often derived from such perceptions, delusions appear: false and implausible beliefs or ideas in relation to reality or part of it that are maintained with conviction and that are very resistant to change, regardless of the existence of evidence. against or lack of support from the media.
Hallucinations and delusions are some of the most common and well-known symptoms of psychotic disorders, but in this type of disorder other symptoms may appear, such as flight of ideas, incoherence and loss of logic in thinking very high emotional lability, behavioral alterations, attention problems, decreased reasoning capacity, catatonia, affective flattening, agitation, logorrhea, anhedonia and/or social difficulties.
It is a type of severe mental disorder that generates great impact and alteration in the life of those who suffer from it and that usually appears in the form of outbreaks, but although it does not have a curative treatment, it can be treated in such a way that it is can lead a normal life.
Differences between psychopath and psychotic
The concepts of psychopath and psychotic are sometimes confused at a phonetic level, but as we have seen, they are not very similar to each other at a conceptual level. It is because of that We can find a large number of differences between the terms psychopath and psychotic some of which are noted below.
1. Hallucinations and delusions
One of the differences between people with psychopathy and those who suffer from psychotic disorders can be observed in one of the key conditions of the latter: the presence of hallucinations and delusions.
Although the presence of perceptual deceptions or hallucinations and/or delusional ideas are one of the main criteria that would indicate a psychotic-type disorder, These are not present among psychopaths which do not suffer any type of perceptual alteration.
2. Capacity for empathy
Another of the main differences is found in one of the distinctive characteristics of psychopathy: the absence of empathy. Psychopaths are mainly characterized by the absence or minimal ability to put themselves in another person’s shoes, understand them, and feel their emotions and feelings.
However, This absence of empathy is not among the defining characteristics of psychotic disorders (although in some cases it can occur, and especially when there is associated cognitive impairment).
3. Break with reality
Schizophrenia and the rest of psychotic disorders are understood as alterations that cause a break in the patient’s mind with the reality that surrounds them, so that the person finds themselves in a situation that prevents them from acting in a manner consistent with said reality.
This does not happen with psychopaths, whose appreciation of reality at a cognitive level is in almost all cases quite clear
4. Emotionality
Another differential aspect between psychopath and psychotic can be observed on an emotional level. Specifically, the psychopath has an emotionality that, although not empty of content, is usually superficial and shallow, often considering that they experience proto-emotions or very basic emotions without fully developing this sphere.
The psychotic patient in this sense can be much more variable: It is possible that they are extremely labile and experience very intense emotions suddenly, or in other cases a very marked affective flattening and anhedonia may be found (although before these alterations they experienced a broader range of emotions).
5. Imputability
Precisely due to what was mentioned in the previous point, in the case of psychopathic and psychotic judicial proceedings they have different legal considerations since they start from different points.
And when an outbreak is triggered in a person with a psychotic-type problem, their perception of the world is altered in such a way that they can issue responses that they would not have had these perceptual alterations not existed.
So, some of your actions may be completely outside your will This could mean that in a criminal process in which it was demonstrated that they were acting under the effects of a psychotic break, they could be considered not attributable.
On the other hand, the psychopathic subject has a clear cognitive awareness of what is happening around him and has sufficient volitional capacity to be aware of what he is doing at all times.
Thus, in the case of psychopaths we would in almost all cases be faced with subjects attributable to any crime they commit, since They have complete capacity to decide and understand their behavior and consequences (albeit on a cognitive and not emotional level).
6. Difficulties of adaptation to society
Although this difference today is not so noticeable since the advances in treatments for psychotic disorders allow people to lead a normotypical life, one of the main differences that exist between both concepts is found in their different capacity to adapt to society
As a general rule, the population with some type of psychotic disorder usually suffers from some type of social adaptation problem, either due to the symptoms or the social stigma that this type of disorder still generates.
However, in the case of psychopaths they tend to be much better adapted and accepted by society, even if only on a superficial level. In fact, although There are subtypes of psychopathy in which there is social withdrawal a large number of people with psychopathy have generally been found to be highly seductive and charismatic (although their personal interaction is often very superficial and utilitarian).
Although this point is somewhat relative since it depends on many factors, in some cases it can be observed that while People with psychotic disorders tend to let themselves go and neglect their personal image (especially when there is cognitive impairment), psychopaths tend, on the contrary, to be extremely careful with it, partly due to the presence of feelings of self-worth and grandiosity and partly because this facilitates their tendency to seduce and use others as instruments. .
8. Cognitive difficulties and alterations
In addition to the above, another point in which both problems differ is the fact that while someone who is a psychopath has preserved general cognition and does not have cognitive problems, in psychotic disorders, depending on the case, negative symptoms are observed, that They usually imply a certain deterioration on a mental level (impoverishment of speech and thought, loss of coherence and logic…).
It is also very common for the population with a psychotic disorder to manifest alterations at the attention level compared to the non-clinical population.
9. Mental disorder or not
A final fundamental difference between a psychopath and a psychotic is found in the fact that we are dealing with a mental disorder or not. In the case of psychotic disorders, it is clear that we are dealing with a disorder or psychological alteration that It greatly alters the behavior and perception of the sufferer and generates suffering and limits its normal functioning.
However, and despite the fact that there are alterations such as the inability to empathize and commit, instability and very limited emotionality, psychopathy is not considered a mental disorder per se.
10. Treatment
Although neither condition currently has a “curative” treatment, the truth is that they also differ in what can be achieved therapeutically.
Although both are workable, in the case of psychotic disorders the use of medication and following medical prescriptions combined with psychotherapy can help to a large extent to these people being able to lead a normal life, and even free of symptoms.
With regard to psychopathy, although various treatments are proposed and carried out that may prove to be of some use, it is usually a condition considered irreversible in which methodologies that allow generating major changes have not yet been found
In some cases, the capacity for empathy has been increased through training and some behaviors have been modified, although generally it is at a more cognitive than sense level.
However, in general, psychopaths tend to have a high resistance to carrying out therapies, in addition to observing a high degree of manipulation of the situation and the therapy on their part.
