What will you learn from this book
-
Prevalence of Sociopathy: Stout highlights that sociopathy is more common than most people realize, with an estimated 1 in 25 individuals exhibiting sociopathic traits. These individuals often blend into society and may appear charming and charismatic on the surface.
-
Lack of Conscience: Sociopaths lack a conscience or moral compass, leading them to engage in deceitful, manipulative, and often harmful behavior without feeling guilt or remorse.
-
Superficial Charm: Sociopaths are skilled at charming and manipulating others to achieve their goals. They may present a charming and charismatic facade while hiding their true motives and intentions.
-
Manipulative Tactics: Stout discusses the various manipulative tactics employed by sociopaths, including lying, gaslighting, and exploiting others' vulnerabilities for personal gain.
-
Shallow Emotions: Sociopaths often display shallow emotions and a lack of empathy towards others. They may mimic emotions to manipulate others but lack genuine emotional depth or attachment.
-
Grandiosity and Entitlement: Many sociopaths exhibit traits of grandiosity and entitlement, believing they are superior to others and deserving of special treatment or privileges.
-
Risk-taking Behavior: Sociopaths often engage in impulsive and reckless behavior, disregarding consequences for themselves and others. They may be prone to criminal activity, substance abuse, or other high-risk behaviors.
-
Inability to Learn from Experience: Despite facing negative consequences for their actions, sociopaths often fail to learn from their mistakes or change their behavior. They may repeat harmful patterns and continue to manipulate and exploit others.
-
Hidden in Plain Sight: Sociopaths can be difficult to identify, as they may blend into society and maintain a facade of normalcy. Stout emphasizes the importance of recognizing the red flags and warning signs of sociopathic behavior.
-
Protecting Oneself: The book provides strategies for protecting oneself from sociopaths, including setting boundaries, trusting one's instincts, and seeking support from trusted friends and family members.
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10 | 0767915828 |
| ISBN-13 | 9780767915823 |
| No of pages | 241 |
| Font Size | Medium |
| Book Publisher | Harmony Books |
| Published Date | 14 Mar 2006 |
About Author
Related Books
Sample font images
Small
Medium
Large
© 2024 Dharya Information Private Limited
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.