Narcissist vs. Sociopath: The Difference Explained

What is the difference between a narcissist and a sociopath? Many psychiatric terms are used interchangeably, which can make it difficult to tell some of them apart.

Although it is possible to have both narcissistic and sociopathic tendencies, Narcissistic Personality Disorder and Antisocial Personality Disorder are not the same thing. In the chart above, you can find the criteria for each of the two disorders. As you can see, they have very different sets of traits.

Human beings are complex, and two people with narcissistic or sociopathic traits will not display exactly the same behavior. Narcissism and sociopathy can also be more severe in some people than in others. You can think of each criterion, such as the need for admiration, as a continuum, with more obvious and severe signs being closer to the extreme end.

Napoleon Bonaparte is often used as an example of a narcissistic personality, while Adolf Hitler is often discussed as an example of someone with Antisocial Personality Disorder, or sociopathy.

For Narcissistic Personality Disorder, or NPD, a person does not need to meet all nine criteria. In fact, it is very difficult to find someone who has all nine criteria present.

For Antisocial Personality Disorder, or ASPD/APD, there are additional conditions:

• the individual being diagnosed must be at least 18 years old;
• there must be a history of conduct disorder before the age of 15;
• the antisocial behavior must not occur exclusively during schizophrenia or a manic episode.

Additional clarification can be found in the DSM-5 section.

There are many more posts on narcissism and sociopathy on this website. Posts on narcissism can be found here. You may also find this post on being in a relationship with a narcissistic sociopath particularly interesting. Posts on sociopathy can be found here.