How can one tell if someone is a sociopath before they do anything

Too many times, it is very well hidden. Many times they come off as a really "nice guy" and then does this bizarre deed! Actually, they are usually very quiet in their dealings until "all of a sudden" they explode and blow everyone's mind! I would bet there were many signs of depression before. Sometimes they may seem slighty paranoid but are very good at convincing you that they are a victim of ... pretty much everything! But they are so believeable....you never guess

There are tons of law abiding sociopaths, they get by just fine, you only hear about those that break the law. This is that sad old case of innocent until proven guilty.

ya got me there as I wouldnt really know wha tto look for in the first place!

Hay suspensful, I have often contemplated exactly the same thing, surely someone in their family, or a friend would notice a pattern developing, I don't think it would just happen overnight. If a child hets away with stealing from other kids, he will become confident, and never consider getting caught. Surely parents would notice their child has stuff not belonging to him. The same goes with bullies, if noone addresses the problem, it will worsen.

Its hard to know about people..I think a lot has to do with the eyes..They say the eyes are the window to the soul...I have a friend that has some deminica, and sometimes his eyes look blank or confused,and i always notice the eyes...Doctors & nurses look at bad things every single day...and when you constantly see things on a daily basis it conditions your mind to see this..I think they have feelings but they are just conditioned to see these things...I think sometimes that is why doctors try not to get too personal at times...

Well I am not a therapist, or a sociopath.. But I do believe that someone can keep those feelings very well hidden until it is too late.. From my personal experiences the ones to watch out for are the quiet ones.. Why? Granted the ones that speak exactly what is on there mind and it happens to be crazy or what not, in a way you have an idea that something is bond to come up.. A quiet person will keep those feelings hidden may be even dormant for sometime.. Then one day something is done or say, and that person snaps.. And sometimes that person does not even realize what happened until its too late or long after the event occurred.. It is hard to believe that someone could do something that terrible and have no remorse.. or feelings of any kind.. But some are conditioned that way, throughout childhood, one tragic event, or some other underlying cause that is unknown.. Just remember quiet people are more deadly then ones that act out...

Apparently the test for personality disorders (which is what sociopaths come under) is very long and expensive. So yes we could spot them earlier if someone would spend the money to test them when they first started showing signs (apparently as kids they like to do stuff like torture and kill animals, and they develop a libido younger than most kids). But sadly it's probably never going to happen, in fact sociopaths probably go to prison and never get tested or treated while they are there and then get released until they commit another crime.

There are a few things that are red flags. If the person had a rough childhood- abuse, not knowing dad, addict parents or parents that never talked about feelings, that can be a huge contributor to the person growing up to be socipathic. Not showing emotion when other, "normal" people do is also a big sign of someone being a sociopath.

I know there are some tell signs that they have determined to be indicators but I'm not sure if other people know what to look for. I'm sure a sociopath knows what they are because they have probably been diagnosed by a trained professional. I know that some careers cause you to become numb to the pain of others and that's when you should move along. I know some nurses that are horrible to patients behind their backs, I guess it depends on who you are and how you cope.

Have you ever seen a kid that kicks someone else and seems to have a blank stare afterwords? Or maybe someone that purposefully hits the cat crossing the road without blinking. Or maybe the person is talking along with a group of people and all of a sudden, someone says something very innocent and that person goes balistic. Sometimes it's just a verbal assault that follows and sometimes its physical. Yes there are meds that can help,but; these people partly because of their disease, would be the first one not to seek help.