Did you mean that ‘jackass laugh’? (Tune into radio shockjock shows for examples.)
One year in Bill Hickey’s acting class we had a male student who was extremely crude, a complete boor, he even had that sociopathic jackass laugh. But in his acting exercises and scenes he would put on incredibly emotionally nuanced, fine grained performances. Even then I realized that that persona was his true self. I now believe his father was a sociopath and that he had equated maleness with sociopathy. It seems he had gone into acting to keep his soul alive.
Yes, he knows I know. It’s phrased much more glibly and with acting that would win an Academy Award. The sociopath is hyper-social and always needs to be the center of attention and putting on a show.
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I registered for Bill Hickey’s class and never got to see him–we had a sub at HB Studio for that whole term. Looks like I missed more than just his instruction… not that there would have been a guarantee of similar classmates.
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Good point.
Could one of the personal reasons for pursuing acting, is that it provides a socially acceptable cover for the acting done almost 24/7 by sociopaths? (They’re brilliant at utilizing those covers to their advantage and to dupe.)
Just wondering.
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The thing about a sociopath’s “acting” is that it’s just that, an act, it’s never real. I think what pathwhisperer was saying is that there is no way a sociopath could “act” love so well since he has never experienced love – so if he’s not really a sociopath, he must really be able to love.
Personally, I’d be afraid to underestimate a sociopath’s ability to “act” love. Nevertheless, I also can’t think of a single time I’ve been duped by a sociopath that I haven’t felt a burning in my red flag zone but for some reason or another chose to ignore it. I don’t know if it’s as simple as a particular kind of laugh but the signs are there and I think it’s more a matter of learning how to read them.
buster
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Typo: It’s “How to Spot a Dangerous Man.”
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Is that a good book? I have it in my cart in “saved for later” and I’m trying to decide which ones to order next. I just finished my second Martha Stout book and I’m halfway through “Emotional Blackmail” by Susan Forward. I’m a little disappointed so far but Martha Stout is, well, okay I guess.
I believe Sandra (Brown?) is the author of “…Dangerous Man”?
I also have a George K Simon and a Thomas Sheridan to choose from. My last Thomas Sheridan was also a disappointment but I still want to read the other one.
buster
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You might find this article on Thomas Sheridan (aka Transsociopathica, Labyrinth of the Psychopath) of interest, http://www.sott.net/article/249840-From-Internet-Troll-to-Psychopathy-Expert-The-Con-Artistry-of-Thomas-Sheridan. Basically I think they are correct, but as liars use the truth to sell lies then there can still be considerable truth to be teased out. Originally I was quite taken by the Transsociopathica blog, but did wonder about his strategy in terming sociopaths demonic. Now I believe his intention was to mislead away from a genetic cause. Further, once that idea failed to sell, he deleted the Transsociopathica blog.
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Yes, that was interesting. I actually read defeated demons first and I intended to read Puzzling People next but after the first one I didn’t rush to get the second. I still want to read it but I have this same problem with a lot of these types of books – the information starts out good in the early chapters but then it seems to go into a lot of “they…do this” and “they…do that”. That sort of thing is not sound information and if you take it too much to heart you may start to think just about everyone you meet is a psychopath (including yourself).
Sociopaths are imitators so you can’t really judge by any certain things they say or do. They’re good a picking out our weak spots and exploiting them FOR THE PURPOSE OF using someone or causing harm in some way. That’s the difference. If someone you meet is pushing your buttons in some significant way, or trying to involve you in too much too fast, and especially if they’re not giving you time to think about things, you might want to start calculating just how much you’re being asked to invest in the relationship compared to how much the other person is investing, excluding promises.
buster
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Interesting take – he went into acting to keep his soul alive. Or, is it that he’s a sociopath, therefore he’s always acting. Why not get paid for something you’re doing all the time anyway? (Which questions the conclusion that the finely emotionally nuanced performance was this man’s true persona.) The fellow acting student posting here may have the super-trait of inordinate positivism / finding the good in others, while ignoring the bad. (Other super-traits are hyper-empathy, inordinately high tolerance for bad behavior, ability to give without reciprocation, ability to forgive, ability to bond deeply, among some others. Applied to other normals, super-traits are wonderful. Applied to selfish con men (and women), they are a death knell.)
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The term “super-traits” was coined by Sandra Brown MA, founder of the Relational Harm Institute and expert on socio/psychopathy, who wrote the books “How to Spot and Dangerous Man” and “Women Who Love Psychopaths” with Dr. Leanne Leedom. In her extensive case studies, she discovered the personality trait patterns evident in the paradoxically strong, hardworking, and beautiful women who get ensnared by cunning and charismatic psychopaths.
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Holly Maddux, who was murdered by the psychopath Ira Einhorn (https://pathwhisperer.wordpress.com/2011/09/20/post-redux-are-saps-socially-adept-psychopaths-real/), was described as being so empathetic that she would rescue baby opossums from roadkill mothers.
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Perhaps, but I don’t think so. I believe I read the situation correctly.
I’m not aware that he was ever paid. For the vast majority of actors (95%+), it’s more of a hobby than a profession. Individuals have very private reasons for pursuing the art.
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