In 2020, Martha Stout published Outsmarting the Sociopath Next Door as a follow-up to her 2005 bestseller The Sociopath Next Door, which I reviewed here. If you’ve read The Sociopath Next Door, then you already know how to recognize a sociopath when one crosses your path. Outsmarting the Sociopath Next Door tells us that avoiding sociopaths is the best way to deal with them. However, if you can’t avoid them, then Outsmarting the Sociopath Next Door will teach you how to deal with them.
For example, a child who acts sociopathic will only be motivated to behave by material rewards. Social rewards mean nothing to them because they are incapable of emotional connections.
Do you have a boss or co-worker who is a sociopath? If you can’t quit your job, then make sure never to show the sociopath your emotions. Don’t announce your intentions, and don’t bother going to Human Resources.
Your ex-partner or ex-spouse who is fighting for custody of the kids after not seeming to care about them (or even abusing them) while you two were together is probably a sociopath. Beware, they know how to game the legal system because they are master manipulators and liars. The more emotionally you react to their shenanigans, the more motivated they are to continue. So be boring, sigh, roll your eyes, and act like they are boring you by yawning in their face while they yell at you. If they can’t get a reaction from you, they’ll get bored and move on to another target.
Additionally, Outsmarting the Sociopath Next Door goes into more depth about violent sociopaths and the difference between a narcissist and a sociopath. You’ll also learn to be on the lookout for corporations and governments because Outsmarting the Sociopath Next Door explains that they can be and usually are sociopathic as well.
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