Sociopath vs. Psychopath

Sociopath: A person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial attitudes and behavior and a lack of conscience. Psychopathy is a personality disorder characterized by an abnormal lack of empathy combined with abnormally immoral conduct despite an ability to appear normal. Unconcerned about the adverse consequences for others of one's actions.

Psychopath: A person suffering from chronic mental disorder with abnormal or violent social behavior. An unstable and aggressive person. An abnormal lack of empathy combined with abnormally immoral conduct despite an ability to appear normal. A person with a personality disorder indicated by a pattern of lying, exploitativeness, heedlessness, arrogance, sexual promiscuity, low self-control, and lack of empathy and remorse.

I am not a qualified medical professional so the use of either of these is open to debate, question, validation, and many other explanations. In my attempts to further understand a predator both these terms come up.

To me, a layman to say the least, these two connect a bit. It seems to me that the sociopath tends to explain most predators yet psychopath can explain the worst predator imaginable. A lack of empathy and remorse describes the ability of both and the ability of the predator, the why of predatory violence, and predatory attacks/assaults, etc.

I say this with great trepidation because this type of classification can be dangerous but in the arena I am trying to use, predatory assaults/attacks, it would make no real difference as I am not judging a person other than to help me accept these types of folks, recognize what a predator is and does, and to train/practice accordingly. I will leave an analysis of persons for judgement in the courts and prisons to those professionals with credentials in psychology/psychiatry, etc.

In the final analysis it might be prudent to say a predator of violence and violent attacks/assaults would be of the sociopath nature. The psychopath is an extreme way to describe a possible violent person but the psychopath is relevant to all predators in nature and explanations, etc.

So, with that said, I would take my view of predators as psychopaths off the table and say knowing about sociopaths in relation to predator violence, persons, assaults, and attacks would suffice.

Yes, No, Maybe? Comments ...

p.s. why this is merely a learning forum, blog, etc. no answer is absolute or right until it is absolutely right. ;-)