The Sociopath Next Door
by Martha Stout
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Book Reviews of The Sociopath Next Door
Book Review: Alarmist, moralizing pseudo-science...
Summary: 1 Stars
Most Oprah-friendly psycho-babble is relatively harmless, but this book equips the multitude of middle-minded armchair psychologists who've experienced corporate downsizing or bad break-ups with little more than emotionally charged popcorn science that can (and undoubtedly will) be used for inappropriate slander. It is the stuff of witch hunts -- that Stout takes the time to lament the Salem witch trials in one of her many pointless digressions is an upsetting irony.
More upsetting is her tacit authorization of a lynch mob mentality. She uses an Inuit custom to illustrate her point that sociopathy may be an irredeemable state. The concept of 'kunlangeta' within the Inuit society parallels sociopathy. These individuals -- regardless of their mental disorder -- are subject to the lowest form of justice and systematically executed. The Inuit may assume that 'kunlangeta' is irremediable, but that is hardly an excuse for their murderous custom. The fact that she does not condemn such behavior is shocking.
With sweeping generalizations and fear-mongering, she defines an entire class of people as sub-human, beyond any form of redemption or rehabilitation, apparently worthy of extermination. This is an eerie tactic, made more corrupt as she curses the names of history's mass murderers while relying on their methodology to craft her message.
Her arguments are emotional. Her statistics are soft. Her evidence is anecdotal. Alarmist moralizing sophistry may very well be the recipe for a best-seller, but as a woman of science, it is irresponsible work. She may be a well-credentialed expert, and her extrapolations may ultimately prove correct. Her book, however, is little more than exploitation.
If this topic is of interest to you, start with Robert Hare's far superior book, "Without Conscience".
Book Review: Fascinating Subject ...
Summary: 4 Stars
It has been years since I've read a book by a psychologist ~~ in college, psychology was my major but it was mostly statistics than interesting stories, so I switched it over to liberal arts. This book has made me regret the change of majors for the first time in years. This is a very fascinating book as well as a fast read. 1 out of 25 people are sociopaths. That's interesting. I am still sitting here racking my brains to see if I was involved with a sociopath (my husband was married to one) and can't think of anyone. I do have a lot of narcissists in my life. (They are the ones who think only of themselves and are totally wrapped up in their own little worlds without regards to anyone else's feelings or thoughts ~~ but they do have a conscience and can empathized with others.)
She even offered guidelines on what to do if you encounter sociopaths in your life. But what keeps drawing me is the question, what is it like to be without a conscience? What is it like to live meaningless lives? That is something unfathomable for me to even begin to understand. That's ok ~~ I have no deep desire to find out. It is just an interesting theory and Stout did a good job of writing this book. She offered case studies, statistics (for once, which I didn't find boring), solutions and thought-provoking questions. She examined the effects of religion in the last chapter. She offers her own thoughts and opinions while writing it in a professional manner. It's just a good book!!
If you're a serious reader and likes to read a variety of topics, this one will fit the bill. If you're more of a fluff reader ~~ then this one might still capture your interest, but maybe not. It's just a good book on the sociopathic theory. You never know ~~ you might know one yourself.
11-20-07
Book Review: A Great Read, but not to be taken so litterally
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a fascinating and entertaining book, but should not be taken as fact. It is very easy to write off someone as a sociopath based on a list of vague symptons. A clinically certified sociopath will display absolutely no brain activity when shown pictures of disturbing or catastrophic images; most people, non-sociopaths that is, will have a physiological response to such images, such as increased heart rate, sweating, ect. Sociopaths show none of these signs. They simply are not capable of detecting anyone elses pain or misery. I think it is unfair, and untrue to say that a sociopath has no concience: people with pre-frontal lobe damage have shown a similar lack of emotional response, but I would not say that they have no soul, or no concience. This is just another piece of the puzzle in understand human nature.
However, until those 4% of Americans have actually been tested for this lack of emotional response, I'm very hesitant to believe that 1 in 25 people are afflicted with this disorder. Just because someone meets the criteria of symptoms--flattery, charming, ect.--does not mean they fall into this catagory of mental illness. Not everyone who is callous, manipulative, self-sering, cruel and malicious is a certified sociopath. We might call them this, but in reality, some people choose to behave this way. We also need to take a moment to look at the society that these 4% of people come from: we call sociopathy a mental illness, when maybe it is just the perfect adaption for the kind of individualistic, and Capatilistic society we live. When we have a societal and economic model based on the Social-Darwinist 'dog-eat-dog' kind of world, can we really call it a mental illness when all these people are doing is exactly what society is subtly telling them to do?
Book Review: Do You Have A Conscience ? Avoid The "Meanies"
Summary: 5 Stars
The marketing of the book as a "how to" in isolating destructive types conquering your life succeeds..besides showing you how to spot and avoid such types ,the book itself is also a worthy study in dealing with the questions surrounding human motivation, nature nurture arguements,inflation of ego,the clash between rugged individualism and the common good as well as clarity in outlining the arguments with evolutionary biology and traditional psychology thrown in for good measure..There is a nod to the future of mankind and the creation of a just society based on conscience.
The idea of conscience as distinct from authority or shame(superego) is where the author treads but in difficult waters.
What is the relationship between the heart and the mind?
How does mental health balance the 2 and perhaps dealing with philosophers/psychologists Ala C.G. Jung here might have shed some light on her difficult and inconclusive conclusions.
Obviously, the author sympathizes with the heart (her like of Buddhist/Hindu psychology) and emphasis on the responsibility of love as distinct from perhaps a linear view of history whose reliance on strict justice and progression as a divine plan is skirted here as somehow leading to forms of excessive domination and cruelty is a point well taken in a world perennially battling between universalism and nationalism/parochialism.
This conflict it seems will always be with us, as Krishnamurti wryly observes and given credence by the author who quotes him.
Just where conscience,this vague emotion,fleeting feeling comes from perhaps leads to recognition of some soul whose definition remains in the vogue as something undefinable and indescribable but as the author points out the meaning of life.
Book Review: A good overview of a disturbing subject
Summary: 4 Stars
As a political scientist who studies war, terrorism, and other forms of political violence -- and as someone who has had a lifelong interest in psychology, sociology, criminal justice, and ethics -- I try to read everything I can find on the psychology of violence, criminal behavior, and social deviance. By far, the best book I have read on the subject is Roy Baumeister's "Evil: Inside Human Violence and Cruelty" (1996); and the second best is Aaron Beck's "Prisoners of Hate: The Cognitive Basis of Anger, Hostility, and Violence" (1999). So, when I came across Martha Stout's "The Sociopath Next Door" (2005), I knew I had to read it. And, while it's not quite in the same league as the Baumeister and Beck books, it is certainly well worth reading.
It's a fairly short book; well-written; easy-to-read; and aimed at the lay-reader who has no background in psychology. It doesn't have the depth, or the scope, of the Baumeister and Beck books; but it provides a good, non-technical introduction to what psychologists label "Antisocial Personality Disorder" -- better known as "sociopathy" or "psychopathy" (technically, these two terms are interchangeable). This book explores the nature of sociopathy; discusses its causes; and gives advice on how to recognize and deal with the sociopaths you may encounter (and, chances are, you will encounter many on a daily basis, since sociopathy is a far more common condition that many people realize -- affecting about 1 out of every 25 people). Fortunately, most sociopaths don't become violent criminals or terrorists. But all sociopaths are potentially dangerous; and can be dishonest, exploitative, cruel, and abusive -- so you need to be prepared to protect yourself against them. This book will help.