Slytherin Pride

Twenty One

Sociopathy vs. Psychopathy
(This will be dealing with some pretty heavy stuff so please be aware of that.)

So we all know that Tom Riddle can't feel love since he was conceived under a love potion, this means he is either a sociopath or a psychopath. So what's the difference?

One of the key differences between the two is the conscience, according to Doctor L. Michael Tompkins; a psychopath is completely without one while a sociopath has but it is weak, it will tell them what they are doing is wrong but that will not stop them from doing it. That's one check in the box for psychopath.

A psychopath is charming and will manipulate people with it, much like Tom was in his Hogwarts years. A sociopath, however, has trouble blending in with society and act impulsively, much like Voldemort at the end of his reign. If you are wondering how he could fit into both, it's been said that psychopaths can be sociopaths but sociopaths cannot be psychopaths. It's kinda like the saying with rectangles and squares, 'a square is a rectangle, but a rectangle is not a square'.

Sociopaths are often called a 'product of their environment', meaning that their upbringing is the cause for their lack of empathy and remorse, this fits for Tom, once again, because his childhood in Wool's Orphanage was less than pleasant since the workers there didn't understand why he was different and feared him, thus making them treat him differently.

Psychopaths are a different case, the reason for their illness being genetic or because of chemical imbalances, this makes the most sense because of Merope Gaunt's use of a love potion to make Tom Riddle Senior care for her (chemical imbalances) and the Gaunt Family's known inbreeding (genetic).

I knew Voldemort would be a psychopath from the start but I wanted to share my analysis with all of you.

Also I'm sorry if the facts about sociopathy were less than psychopathy, but it is the one we know the least amount about.

(Sources: HealthyPlace, WebMD, and MedicalDaily.)