<blockquote>
  <p>As a percentage of their endeavours, do those with a tendency to use
  bullying focus more or less on sociopaths as a per capita of their
  targets?</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Thanks for this interesting question. Based on my research the short answer appears to be that there is no clear evidence either way. The longer answer is that this is probably too complicated a question to easily answer. </p>

<p><strong>Explanation</strong></p>

<p>Based on <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wicked-deeds/201401/how-tell-sociopath-psychopath" rel="nofollow">psychology today</a> I take sociopaths to be those who have: </p>

<ul>
<li>A disregard for laws and social mores </li>
<li>A disregard for the rights of others </li>
<li>A failure to feel remorse or guilt </li>
<li>A tendency to display violent behavior</li>
</ul>

<p>It is also important to consider that sociopaths develop these traits rather than being born with them, like psychopaths are (see quote from psychology today <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wicked-deeds/201401/how-tell-sociopath-psychopath" rel="nofollow">1</a>). </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>Psychopathy is related to a physiological defect that results in the
  underdevelopment of the part of the brain responsible for impulse
  control and emotions. Sociopathy, on the other hand, is more likely
  the product of childhood trauma and physical/emotional abuse. Because
  sociopathy appears to be learned rather than innate, sociopaths are
  capable of empathy in certain limited circumstances but not in others,
  and with a few individuals but not others.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>The literature on child bullying suggests that both bullies and victims tend to be more likely to have psychiatric disorders, such as sociopathy. The rates are 13% for bullies/ 8% for victims {1}. This suggests that 92% of those who are bullied are not sociopaths, but it fails to control for the fact that fewer individuals have sociopathic tendencies at that age. What is really needed is a test comparing two samples of children, on with sociopathic tendencies and one without.</p>

<p>An additional complication with this question is that it may be the case that children become sociopaths due to being bullied rather than being bullied because they are sociopaths {2,3}</p>

<p>Indeed some research {e.g., 2} suggests that anti-social personality disorder (which includes sociopathy) is the most common disorder amongst victims of bullying.</p>

<p>I hope this answer has been useful. Please let me know if you would like more information or need clarification on any points.</p>

<p><strong>References:</strong></p>

<p>{1} Copeland, W. E., et al. (2013). "Adult psychiatric outcomes of bullying and being bullied by peers in childhood and adolescence." JAMA psychiatry 70(4): 419-426.</p>

<p>{2} Sourander, A., et al. (2007). "What is the early adulthood outcome of boys who bully or are bullied in childhood? The Finnish “From a Boy to a Man” study." Pediatrics 120(2): 397-404.</p>

<p>{3} Arseneault, L., et al. (2010). "Bullying victimization in youths and mental health problems:‘Much ado about nothing’?" Psychological Medicine 40(05): 717-729.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-19T02:04:24.870Z
It's my suspicion, from large observations of very different bullying in a diverse array of ages on multiple continents (I'm not only asking about children, nor just westerners) that a significant amount of bullying activity is done to control deviant behaviour of those unable to be instructed in morals and ethics in other ways.
Confused
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-19T02:06:00.230Z
And I'm using the word "instructed" in a weird way, but that's about the closest I can get to an appropriate word. It's not always that they're being reprimanded, it's seemingly that there's an attempt at education and/or preemptive correction/direction intended.
Confused
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-19T02:09:38.167Z
Of those that would be classified as bullies by the more meek, few I've encountered show signs of sociopathy, other than a higher than average use of violence and intimidation. And, arguably, they show heightened respect and reverence for social mores and rules, and the rights of others - whilst having a very clear and stronger remorse and guilt for those things they determine to be wrong, unjust and/or immoral. Interestingly, this is not just in and of themselves, they also expect similar enlightenment from their peers and those they influence.
Confused
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-19T02:12:26.073Z
Unfortunately it seems nobody has done any study of those bullied with an objective of understanding (if there is) any rationale of the activity.
Confused
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-19T12:17:05.617Z
This seems like a fair answer with good references (+1). @Confused: your anecdotal experience (that bullies are unlikely to be sociopaths) does not seem to be supported by data above. I suspect it is quite hard to define "bully" across situations, so you might be using it differently.
splint
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-19T12:18:52.003Z
Personally, it seems unlikely to me that bullying serves to "instruct". If it did, would we expect people to get bullied for breaking moral codes? That seems a specific and restrictive case and certainly not the norm in bullying.
splint
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-19T13:44:03.403Z
@splint I think you're reading the links wrongly. It's hard to ascertain whether their conditions are a result of bullying, or if they were that way to begin with and the bully noticed it before anyone else.
Confused
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-20T08:21:55.120Z
Perhaps you could specify which links you think I am reading "wrongly". I was referring to your third comment above which suggests that bullies should be less likely to show sociopathy than those who are bullied, and that they show "heightened respect...." etc. The first part of this is contradicted by the rates in the answer above. I haven't seen any evidence for heightened respect.
splint
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-20T08:23:44.933Z
I agree that it is hard to tell whether bullying causes sociopathic disorders or the other way around.
splint
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-20T22:59:57.903Z
Not pertinent to the question.
Confused
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-19T00:09:12.500Z
2016-01-19T23:04:12.817Z
2016-01-19T23:04:12.817Z
Peter Slattery
<p>I think the question asked here violates the orthodox discussion around bullying. But indeed, there's a psychological response in normal human beings towards amoral/narcissistic/sociopathic individuals. We do experience the desire to restore normalcy even with violent means. Otherwise stories about medieval knights, superheroes, and the likes would not interest us like they do. </p>

<p>I think normal adults suppress this desire a lot better than children. I have a narcissistic mother who regularly humiliated me in subtle ways. And as I child, I initiated a lot of physical fights with her. From the outside, I looked like a psycho, but victims of narcissistic abuse would know how totally sadistic it is even without violence. </p>

<p>It is possible that children who display narcissistic and sociopathic signs early on get picked up by bullies. Sometimes they are just plain creepy, which is not sufficient reason to beat someone up, but children who are sensitive to these kinds of signals may not be able to suppress the impulse to restore normalcy. </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-27T05:58:55.440Z
Welcome to Psychology.SE. Please visit our site [tour]. We work differently to most SE sites, where we have a strict policy that all answers should be backed up with reliable references so that the answer can be independently verified, regardless of the reader's/answerer's background. If you still have trouble with this, feel free to visit the [help] or [meta]. Unreferenced claims can lead to answers being deleted.
Chris Rogers
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-07-26T13:30:35.590Z
2019-07-26T13:30:35.590Z
user33983
<p>As a percentage of their endeavours, do those with a tendency to use bullying focus more or less on sociopaths as a per capita of their targets?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-15T17:26:51.123Z
Bullying correlates with psychopathic traits such narcissism and impulsiveness while victims of bullying tend to be physically weaker, fearful, less assertive or depressed. Anti-social behavior / psychopathy correlates positively with assertiveness and fearlessness. Thus it seems likely that psychopath are not as exposed to the risk of being bullied as others.
Erwan Legrand
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-16T23:06:41.183Z
What if a bully saw himself as a responsible leader, using force as a means of governance?
Confused
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-17T00:50:11.703Z
You're seemingly assuming bullies are sociopaths. What if that's not the case?
Confused
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-17T00:51:42.820Z
As to the rest of your comment... it's utterly incoherent, and irrelevant, too.
Confused
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-01-20T22:59:00.520Z
No, not at all. Use your definition of a bully. Then think about their victims. In terms of percentages (vs total population) are the victims more or less likely to be sociopaths? Are the bullies making this choice consciously?
Confused
<social-psychology><abnormal-psychology>
Do bullies pick on sociopaths?
Confused
# Do bullies pick on sociopaths?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-01-12)

As a percentage of their endeavours, do those with a tendency to use bullying focus more or less on sociopaths as a per capita of their targets?

**Tags:** social-psychology, abnormal-psychology

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Bullying correlates with psychopathic traits such narcissism and impulsiveness while victims of bullying tend to be physically weaker, fearful, less assertive or depressed. Anti-social behavior / psychopathy correlates positively with assertiveness and fearlessness. Thus it seems likely that psychopath are not as exposed to the risk of being bullied as others.  
> **username_0**: What if a bully saw himself as a responsible leader, using force as a means of governance?  
> **username_0**: You're seemingly assuming bullies are sociopaths. What if that's not the case?  
> **username_0**: As to the rest of your comment... it's utterly incoherent, and irrelevant, too.  
> **username_0**: No, not at all. Use your definition of a bully. Then think about their victims. In terms of percentages (vs total population) are the victims more or less likely to be sociopaths? Are the bullies making this choice consciously?  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2016-01-19. Score: 5

> As a percentage of their endeavours, do those with a tendency to use
> bullying focus more or less on sociopaths as a per capita of their
> targets?

Thanks for this interesting question. Based on my research the short answer appears to be that there is no clear evidence either way. The longer answer is that this is probably too complicated a question to easily answer.

**Explanation**

Based on [psychology today](https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wicked-deeds/201401/how-tell-sociopath-psychopath) I take sociopaths to be those who have:

* A disregard for laws and social mores
* A disregard for the rights of others
* A failure to feel remorse or guilt
* A tendency to display violent behavior

It is also important to consider that sociopaths develop these traits rather than being born with them, like psychopaths are (see quote from psychology today [1](https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/wicked-deeds/201401/how-tell-sociopath-psychopath)).

> Psychopathy is related to a physiological defect that results in the
> underdevelopment of the part of the brain responsible for impulse
> control and emotions. Sociopathy, on the other hand, is more likely
> the product of childhood trauma and physical/emotional abuse. Because
> sociopathy appears to be learned rather than innate, sociopaths are
> capable of empathy in certain limited circumstances but not in others,
> and with a few individuals but not others.

The literature on child bullying suggests that both bullies and victims tend to be more likely to have psychiatric disorders, such as sociopathy. The rates are 13% for bullies/ 8% for victims {1}. This suggests that 92% of those who are bullied are not sociopaths, but it fails to control for the fact that fewer individuals have sociopathic tendencies at that age. What is really needed is a test comparing two samples of children, on with sociopathic tendencies and one without.

An additional complication with this question is that it may be the case that children become sociopaths due to being bullied rather than being bullied because they are sociopaths {2,3}

Indeed some research {e.g., 2} suggests that anti-social personality disorder (which includes sociopathy) is the most common disorder amongst victims of bullying.

I hope this answer has been useful. Please let me know if you would like more information or need clarification on any points.

**References:**

{1} Copeland, W. E., et al. (2013). "Adult psychiatric outcomes of bullying and being bullied by peers in childhood and adolescence." JAMA psychiatry 70(4): 419-426.

{2} Sourander, A., et al. (2007). "What is the early adulthood outcome of boys who bully or are bullied in childhood? The Finnish “From a Boy to a Man” study." Pediatrics 120(2): 397-404.

{3} Arseneault, L., et al. (2010). "Bullying victimization in youths and mental health problems:‘Much ado about nothing’?" Psychological Medicine 40(05): 717-729.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: It's my suspicion, from large observations of very different bullying in a diverse array of ages on multiple continents (I'm not only asking about children, nor just westerners) that a significant amount of bullying activity is done to control deviant behaviour of those unable to be instructed in morals and ethics in other ways.  
> **username_0**: And I'm using the word "instructed" in a weird way, but that's about the closest I can get to an appropriate word. It's not always that they're being reprimanded, it's seemingly that there's an attempt at education and/or preemptive correction/direction intended.  
> **username_0**: Of those that would be classified as bullies by the more meek, few I've encountered show signs of sociopathy, other than a higher than average use of violence and intimidation. And, arguably, they show heightened respect and reverence for social mores and rules, and the rights of others - whilst having a very clear and stronger remorse and guilt for those things they determine to be wrong, unjust and/or immoral. Interestingly, this is not just in and of themselves, they also expect similar enlightenment from their peers and those they influence.  
> **username_0**: Unfortunately it seems nobody has done any study of those bullied with an objective of understanding (if there is) any rationale of the activity.  
> **username_3**: This seems like a fair answer with good references (+1). @username_0: your anecdotal experience (that bullies are unlikely to be sociopaths) does not seem to be supported by data above. I suspect it is quite hard to define "bully" across situations, so you might be using it differently.  
> **username_3**: Personally, it seems unlikely to me that bullying serves to "instruct". If it did, would we expect people to get bullied for breaking moral codes? That seems a specific and restrictive case and certainly not the norm in bullying.  
> **username_0**: @username_3 I think you're reading the links wrongly. It's hard to ascertain whether their conditions are a result of bullying, or if they were that way to begin with and the bully noticed it before anyone else.  
> **username_3**: Perhaps you could specify which links you think I am reading "wrongly". I was referring to your third comment above which suggests that bullies should be less likely to show sociopathy than those who are bullied, and that they show "heightened respect...." etc. The first part of this is contradicted by the rates in the answer above. I haven't seen any evidence for heightened respect.  
> **username_3**: I agree that it is hard to tell whether bullying causes sociopathic disorders or the other way around.  
> **username_0**: Not pertinent to the question.  

---

### Answer by username_4 on 2019-07-26. Score: 0

I think the question asked here violates the orthodox discussion around bullying. But indeed, there's a psychological response in normal human beings towards amoral/narcissistic/sociopathic individuals. We do experience the desire to restore normalcy even with violent means. Otherwise stories about medieval knights, superheroes, and the likes would not interest us like they do.

I think normal adults suppress this desire a lot better than children. I have a narcissistic mother who regularly humiliated me in subtle ways. And as I child, I initiated a lot of physical fights with her. From the outside, I looked like a psycho, but victims of narcissistic abuse would know how totally sadistic it is even without violence.

It is possible that children who display narcissistic and sociopathic signs early on get picked up by bullies. Sometimes they are just plain creepy, which is not sufficient reason to beat someone up, but children who are sensitive to these kinds of signals may not be able to suppress the impulse to restore normalcy.

> **Comments:**
> **username_5**: Welcome to Psychology.SE. Please visit our site [tour]. We work differently to most SE sites, where we have a strict policy that all answers should be backed up with reliable references so that the answer can be independently verified, regardless of the reader's/answerer's background. If you still have trouble with this, feel free to visit the [help] or [meta]. Unreferenced claims can lead to answers being deleted.  

---

