First I want to Stress that I do not discriminate or even judge people who fit into these categories. This post is not here to criticize people with these personalities, I believe that there are a lot of Unknowns in Psychology...furthermore, both those with Antisocial personalities/Psychopathy and Narcissistic personalities are capable of Salvation and Compassion. Its just a matter of whether one with the personality wants to change those aspects about themselves.
The World can be a dirty, evil place, so it is no surprise that these personalities exist and the traits that are expressed at variable levels within a huge portion of the world population.
The information below is not to condemn those with antisocial personality or narcissism, this post is simply an information outlet. Nothing here is 100% guaranteed, its just highlighting tendencies.
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People often wonder if there are any subtle tells that specifically show whether a person may be a Psychopath vs a Narcissist.
There are many differences in speech & behavior.
For example.
Psychopaths rarely stutter and do not show restraint in conversations, they already know what they are going to say and may not wait their turn to say it. Psychopaths do not generally wait for other people, they will talk over you and begin a new impact statement before you can get the last word out of your mouth.
They do often use 'uh's' and 'uhms', particularly when tired or caught off-guard. However, the more Charisma and self-discipline the person has, the less speech dysfluencies will be noticed. Therefore, a Charismatic Psychopath will rarely, or if ever use uhms and uhs and they tend to be some of the most intelligent people around.
Psychopaths often give no emotional response to their behavior being addressed or may switch the conversation without emoting any feeling into the conversation, they often do not fully answer or address questions as they have a lack of concern or at least feel they have no obligation to respond in completeness.
When threatened, they will already have found an adequate response to deal with the threat. However, they will give no sign of Panic or Anxiety.
Their behavior reads as Aggressive, unshakable and Arrogant in some conversations. They take pleasure in talking themselves out of situations.
A Psychopath will also frequently have very fast answers to complex questions, indicating they have read into your words and emotions and already calculated their response. However, Paranoid psychopaths generally are better at predicting the words of others.
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Psychopaths VS Narcissists
Deny Vs Brag
Undermine Vs Verbal Assault
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Psychopaths often deny the truth readily, they may also twist the truth for the purposeful twisting of others perception, a Narcissist is more likely to self-direct or self-redirect, but rarely denies solely to distort.
Narcissists
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Narcissists respond differently, their words often run back to self-defense, may appear to have more energy and the arrogance is more pronounced versus the callousness of a psychopath.
They also may have more ''I'' statements and more of their speech is outwardly obnoxious. Often directed at self, they may be often (but not always) lousy at keeping a unique conversation going. They may not be interested in staying in an environment that does not give them the sense of entitlement they feel they deserve.
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Psychopaths Seek Attention Objectively, but do not Require it, Narcissists use Approval and Attention as Fuel)
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Narcissists often have more to prove or feel they do. Therefore they spend extra time justifying their actions and amplifying their appearance to get the approval of others in whom will give them the status they seek to acquire.
Psychopaths seek no such attention, they aren't concerned with the approval of others and are concerned only objectively with how they are perceived. Meaning, they will do things to prove a point but not based on Emotion. Its more alike to an inhuman desire made of Greed & having Dominance over others.
Therefore, Psychopathy shares elements of Narcissism but is more defined by callous, manipulative traits and lying continually.
Minimizing & Shortening
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Some Psychopaths seem to value the idea of concise and efficient speech, therefore, they often shortcut their conversations by selectively addressing specific points and dissecting the speech patterns of others.
They use this to merge a sense of identity with the person they are talking to.
In doing so, an edge is obtained in getting their point across. With as little words as possible. This is a common tactic for those that have social dominance (Politicians) as well.
Composure & Voice Tone
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Psychopaths rarely raise their voice in Anger, compared to Narcissists who use verbal assault typically more often and with more fury. A true psychopath will find power in silence at times, but will also have bouts of short-lasting fury. The Rage of a psychopath is often unpredictable, and acted on when convenient for them.
Narcissists find no such convenience, but will often rush to a fast conclusion or to fast-track a conclusion with said issue.
Therefore, Anger is (typically) expressed louder by the Narcissist, but perhaps more effective by Psychopaths however, Psychopaths do often have more severe Anger issues and so there is significant crossover.
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CONCLUDING REMARKS
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Its important to remember that all Psychopaths have narcissistic traits, they are expressed at different intensities depending on the person. Therefore it is still very difficult to truly distinguish between the two personality 'disorders'. With that being said, Narcissism may be excluded if the primary traits of the person include Deceptive & Bold behavior.
Speech and Behavior alone are often insufficient to be accurate 100% of the time.
It is important to remember that - and also to remember that the concepts of these disorders and research of them are constantly evolving. Neither disorder constitutes a traditional ''mental illness'', they are instilled in the persons personality, therefore the term ''personality disorder'' and as such are incurable.
The person with said personality can change if they want to, and put the effort in, but they will always likely have tendencies in that direction. However, some research shows that Empathy can be retaught and those with antisocial personality can use their team-effort traits to build stronger social bonds. As by the research, Psychopaths do indeed care about those they perceive to be on the ''same team'' but when someone flips against them, the vicious anger can become apparent.
