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The Sociopath Next Door

by Martha Stout

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Info:	Broadway (2006), Paperback, 256 pages
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Showing 1-5 of 18 (next | show all)

Good discussion. Fascinating stories presented but most in the group felt there should have been more information on what to do when one lives next door to a sociopath! (

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MPbookclub | Oct 5, 2009 |

Surprise, the world is full of assholes! Am I the only one who already knew that? But I read this book to try to get a firmer grip on sociopathy, or at least read some interesting case studies and/or personal accounts of/with sociopaths. I knew it would be pop psychology and not a textbook experience, but it still fell short of my expectations. I left the book with that, "Yeah, so?" feeling that happens when someone tells me something rather obvious and somewhat pointless like, "That car has a flat tire." (

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quinniepants | Sep 9, 2009 |

This book is well-written, in simple language that anyone can understand. (Unlike many books written by psychologists.) Martha Stout uses stories from her own psychology practice and experiences to illustrate the various ways a sociopath operates within the world. I found the information extremely interesting. Stout gives us great insight into human nature. (

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Darcia | Jul 19, 2009 |

I picked up this book simply because of everything you see on the news these days. I wanted to read about what would push someone to do some of the things we see. After getting into the book I was really surprised to realize that sociopaths are not all criminals and evil-looking. They look like everyone else and most of the time are not confronted about their actions. It's scary to think that 4% of the population do not have any conscience. This was a great read and I would recommend it to anyone seeking info on this topic (

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fastawker | May 16, 2009 |

An informative stroll through the contrasting worlds of psychopathy and of conscience. The author gives the Rule of Three for dealings with anyone (1 lie or failure to follow through can be a misunderstanding; 2 can be a warning; 3 is a clue to end the relationship), and a sure way to detect a sociopath: anyone who tries to make you feel pity for them. Since psychopaths are 4% of the population of the western world, this is handy advice. (

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bordercollie | Mar 19, 2009 |

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Epigraph

Dedication

For Steve Stout, my brother and the person I think of first when I think of strength of character

First words

Imagine--if you can--not having a conscience, none at all, no feelings of guilt or remorse no matter what you do, no limiting sense of concern for the well-being of strangers, friends or even family members.

Quotations

The conscience of a people is their power. - John Dryden

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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

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Barbara Graham

Conscience

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Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0767915828, Paperback)

Who is the devil you know?

Is it your lying, cheating ex-husband?
Your sadistic high school gym teacher?
Your boss who loves to humiliate people in meetings?
The colleague who stole your idea and passed it off as her own?

In the pages of The Sociopath Next Door, you will realize that your ex was not just misunderstood. He’s a sociopath. And your boss, teacher, and colleague? They may be sociopaths too.

We are accustomed to think of sociopaths as violent criminals, but in The Sociopath Next Door, Harvard psychologist Martha Stout reveals that a shocking 4 percent of ordinary people—one in twenty-five—has an often undetected mental disorder, the chief symptom of which is that that person possesses no conscience. He or she has no ability whatsoever to feel shame, guilt, or remorse. One in twenty-five everyday Americans, therefore, is secretly a sociopath. They could be your colleague, your neighbor, even family. And they can do literally anything at all and feel absolutely no guilt.

How do we recognize the remorseless? One of their chief characteristics is a kind of glow or charisma that makes sociopaths more charming or interesting than the other people around them. They’re more spontaneous, more intense, more complex, or even sexier than everyone else, making them tricky to identify and leaving us easily seduced. Fundamentally, sociopaths are different because they cannot love. Sociopaths learn early on to show sham emotion, but underneath they are indifferent to others’ suffering. They live to dominate and thrill to win.

The fact is, we all almost certainly know at least one or more sociopaths already. Part of the urgency in reading The Sociopath Next Door is the moment when we suddenly recognize that someone we know—someone we worked for, or were involved with, or voted for—is a sociopath. But what do we do with that knowledge? To arm us against the sociopath, Dr. Stout teaches us to question authority, suspect flattery, and beware the pity play. Above all, she writes, when a sociopath is beckoning, do not join the game.

It is the ruthless versus the rest of us, and The Sociopath Next Door will show you how to recognize and defeat the devil you know.