Narcissistic Vs Histrionic Attention

Greatem wrote:What is the difference between SPD and AsPD in this regard then?

I don't think I ever thought about hiding something.
It seems to me the ego is something socially constructed anyhow.

I would have to create one in order to hide it.
Well, I do hide things, but it is mainly so people don't get all upset or happy.

I think there is some weird assumptions that everybody likes emotions. I don't think it is true.

Greatem wrote:

xdude wrote:On the other side, are the ASPD types who seemingly protect their fragile egos by shutting off big portions of their feelings for/from others entirely. Seeing everything as a kind of game, an emotional place where they can't be hurt.

That statement is quite true, for me anyway, i can post a very large number of personal experiences where i thought just like that. And i still do. I think its the best option.

What is the difference between SPD and AsPD in this regard then?

If you mean Sociopathic Personality Disorder, I'm not sure there is a difference anymore in how the terms are used (and it seems Sociopathic PD has gone out of fashion). That written long ago I remember using the terms like so-

ASPD - Anti-social traits but tends not to break laws. Such a person still might skirt the law, and not always deal with others 'fairly'.

Sociopath - ASPD traits, and tends to break laws in more outright ways.

OneRinger wrote:It seems to me the ego is something socially constructed anyhow.
...

Perhaps true, but it's just us humans here creating our societies. When 'ego' arises in society after society, it's fair to ask which came first, the chicken or the egg.

Also putting aside any feelings, even if one is in a group and jockeying for respect, position, or a bigger share of the pie; even if we attribute all of that to an increased chance of 'survival', from a certain point of view that is the core drive from which the feelings people associate with the word 'ego' rise.

Look at it like this -

A person who is well liked/loved, who others find to be attractive, who has wealth or the potential to gain wealth, who is well known, etc., has a better chance of survival, more opportunities to procreate, a better chance their offspring will survive and thrive, and of course, is more likely to have a less painful life.

Another approach to survival is to look around, see how much others have as compared with ourselves, and rather then compete in the group's traditional ways, to adopt other strategies (e.g., theft). Still, if you think about it, beyond stealing the bare minimum needed to survive, sometimes those who steal do so because they want the same life-style/benefits as others. Their ego (their sense of self-importance) is not clearly any less strong, in that their ultimately driven by the same core goals and act in their own interest, just their means to achieving the same end is different.

Anyway... just some thoughts ....

OneRinger wrote:I think there is some weird assumptions that everybody likes emotions. I don't think it is true.

I've watched several shows and read several articles about humans with various forms of brain damage as compared with the 'norm'. All layman stuff of course, but assuming any of that lay stuff is true, it is interesting how relatively small changes in the brain can result in such differences in perception/feelings, including lack of feelings others experience.

So yes, it seems true that not everyone weights/experiences emotions equally.

xdude wrote:If you mean Sociopathic Personality Disorder, I'm not sure there is a difference anymore in how the terms are used (and it seems Sociopathic PD has gone out of fashion). That written long ago I remember using the terms like so-

ASPD - Anti-social traits but tends not to break laws. Such a person still might skirt the law, and not always deal with others 'fairly'.

Sociopath - ASPD traits, and tends to break laws in more outright ways.

I mean Schizoid Personality Disorder.
Never heard of Sociopathic Personality Disorder, sociopaths and psychopaths are part of AsPD.
Most AsPD do break laws.

I mean what you think of Schizoids egos?

@X-Dude
I guess that was my point that the schizoid does not care about that pie, so does not need to have that type of ego. He does not need to try to find ways, legit or not to get it.

But maybe you were talking about anti-socials, who have that kind of ego.

It was to answer GreatEm's question about the difference in that regard.

So is it the consensus here that Schizoids lack emotion? Do you guys really think this is true?

jmJMjm wrote:So is it the consensus here that Schizoids lack emotion? Do you guys really think this is true?

The consensus was already made by some psychologists when they made the DSM.
Schizoids have Blunted affect (shallow emotion.s) and so do most AsPD.

Not an expert, but I've read enough to also believe that schizoid types brains are different and experience emotions (and their sense of the objective world) in different ways. Since we can't experience the world the way they do, all we have to go on is observation, and a degree of faith.*

* Most of us know from direct experience that any number of recreational or prescribed medications can alter our sense of emotions and thinking. We've seen people with dementia, Alzheimer, brain damage at birth, brain damage post accident, strokes, etc., exhibit drastic changes in their personality. From that point of view, it doesn't require much faith to accept that our sense of self is deeply rooted in how our brains are wired.

jmJMjm wrote:So is it the consensus here that Schizoids lack emotion? Do you guys really think this is true?

p.s. Not sure it's so black & white. There is something between the extremes of utter lack of emotions, and different or partially lacking emotions.

There are some interesting shows, and studies on various brain disorders in which parts of people's brains are damaged, or show decreased activity in various areas on MRIs. We humans apparently still find this disturbing. We're okay with a person who reports they don't feel right/well/normal when their heart, liver, kidneys, etc. damaged. We're okay with a person who reports they can't move their legs due to a spinal chord injury. Yet for some reason it terrifies us to believe that are our sense of self can be disrupted/changed due to damage to that biological organ we call the brain.

jmJMjm wrote:So is it the consensus here that Schizoids lack emotion? Do you guys really think this is true?

The consensus is that it varies from individual to individual.
There is a lack when it comes to showing emotions that is obvious to anybody.
What happens inside is trickier due to the inability to compare and the subjectivity of emotions. It seems likely that there are less emotions compared to the norm, I think that would be safe to say.

But everybody has some feelings and emotions, otherwise they would most likely be dead. It is a question of degree. And I think the lack is mostly towards positive emotions.