Psychopathy and Sociopathy

The History of a Concept

Dinwiddie, Stephen H. MD

Stephen H. Dinwiddie, MD, is a Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Address correspondence to Stephen H. Dinwiddie, MD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 446 E. Ontario Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611; email: [email protected].

Disclosure: The author has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Psychiatric Annals 45(4):p 169-174, April 01, 2015. | DOI: 10.3928/00485713-20150401-04

It has long been recognized that some individuals behave in a way that seems to indicate the absence of any meaningful conscience. Characterized by repeatedly self-defeating and frequently criminal behavior, this syndrome has for centuries interested (and frustrated) clinicians who have struggled not only with its treatment but even its nosological status. In this article, some of the main currents of thought that have over time shaped what we currently refer to as sociopathy, Antisocial Personality Disorder, and psychopathy will be explored. [Psychiatr Ann. 2015;45(4):169–174.]