What is the Sociopathic Stare? | Is it really a Psychopathic Stare?

Dr. Todd Grande
Dr. Todd Grande
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Published 2019-01-02
This video answers the question: What is the sociopathic stare? sometimes this is referred to as the psychopathic stare, which may actually be a better name. We've heard the sociopathic stare referred to by a lot of descriptors: cold, detached, emotionless, lifeless, dead, blank, empty, icy, intense, piercing, and penetrating. There are a lot of different adjectives to describe this particular phenomenon. To understand the sociopathic stare or the psychopathic stare, we need to understand a little bit about psychopathy versus sociopathy and how that relates to antisocial personality disorder. Psychopathy has two factors: factor 1 and factor 2. With Factor 1 (interpersonal/affective), we see traits like superficial charm, grandiosity, callousness, unemotional, fearless dominance manipulativeness, having a lack of empathy, shallow affect and pathological lying. Factor 2 (social deviance) has a different set of characteristics: excitement-seeking, parasitic lifestyle, impulsivity, irresponsibility, poor behavioral controls, and criminal versatility. Factor 2 psychopathy is much closer to the diagnosis in the DSM of antisocial personality disorder than Factor 1 psychopathy. A lot of times when we talk about sociopathy we're really talking about factor 2 psychopathy, which is why the sociopathic stare is really probably better referred to as the psychopathic stare. A lot of the characteristics with Factor 1 psychopathy appear to line up with this particular type of staring.
All Comments (21)
  • @bigmanforce
    After talking to 700 people a day in the mcdonalds drive thru. You get this stare 😂😂😂 😶
  • @wyeth1023
    Dead eyes, it's like they're looking at a object instead of a person.
  • @sinsofskins3799
    That soul-less gaze that strikes terror to your core. Once you see it, you can't forget it. It's almost inhuman.
  • @jayell8145
    As ex husband attempted to strangle me, his eyes became dark empty holes. Once seen , never forgotten.
  • @MrUniman609
    The stare of fearless dominance is unmistakable..............It is the first stage of intimidation.
  • @lejci38
    Once you've seen it, you don't doubt it exists.
  • @SaintTrinianz
    Sociopathic stair: when the next step inexplicably appears or disappears
  • @OneMeanArtist
    My dad gets a stare that completely changes his face, esp in anger, like he's not even human... just the embodiment of murderous rage. It was terrifying growing up with it. I'm thankful I survived childhood long enough to get out. The trauma and mental/emotional damage are my battle even now after being free from him for years. They are like rabid predators who assault your mind and body at random over nothing. So incredibly toxic and destructive. I know this stare all too well. It is a real thing.
  • @Ozma337
    My theory regarding impaired eye contact is that the stare has nothing at all to do with eye contact. My observation is that their mind is too overwhelmed with thought in that moment to control what’s going on with their face. They’re evaluating and judging and calculating potential responses, and more importantly they haven’t decided what emotion they want to display so they display none. Its like a frozen webpage.
  • @sentry2020
    I call that 'demon eyes'. It is very easy to see, even if they are pretending. It is cold, dead, dark, evil - that look in the eyes - and often very piercing and intense (and not in a good way) - and can send chills down the spine.
  • @camillelynch4872
    One of the scariest moments of my life was witnessing that stare from someone I used to know. Nothing behind the eyes, but pure, predatory evil
  • @user-wm4je4ct8y
    It's predatory and menacing. It's telling the one being stared at I don't care if you are annoyed by what I do, I'm going to violate your boundaries and make you feel uncomfortable and there is nothing you can do about it. It's hostile.
  • @brianwalsh1401
    If you haven't experienced the narc/sociopathic stare, just like with anything else , you won't get it. I had this happen to me and I knew to avoid this person. They were looking at me the way a predator looks at prey. They were sizing me up to see what sort of supply I was good for. They let me know exactly what they were because I was aware of the stare to begin with. It was weird.
  • @karenstauffer5754
    I've seen this stare combined with a delighted grin in two people who turned out to be sociopaths.
  • @nickp9406
    I’ve seen this first hand several times. It’s very real. The feeling you get is horrifying. You feel like the person that gives you this stare has no soul and is a source of pure evil. Like you’ve just made eye contact with a sinful soulless being.
  • @annahasselgren3676
    To everyone with anxiety in the comments that are affraid they have this stare,,, YOU DONT when you see this stare you will know
  • @pdubhnic
    When you unmask a psycho or sociopath they may give you that stare. Bloody hell it's incredible. The death stare is what I call it. Intensively creepy to say the least. Yet you see first hand how much they put into their acting.
  • @tonyajot
    Strictly anecdotal, if you've ever been on the wrong side of a psychopathic stare, you don't doubt it. You don't forget it. It stays with you. Always.