03-01-2016, 12:39 PM
There's been a lot of interesting discussion on this thread about Nick's behavior, so I thought that I might also throw in my opinion. I have some background in social psychology and human behavior in general interests me. I think there have definitely been some instances in the show where Nick's behavior has seemed a little off to me. This season in particular, he seems to mostly just be going along with things without any strong emotional reactions to arguably intense situations.
However, in my opinion, this unequivocally does not make him a sociopath. Words like sociopath and psychopath have been used so often in popular culture that the colloquial understanding of what they mean has been perverted from the actual diagnostic definition. And yes, calling somebody a sociopath is a diagnosis. Sociopaths are not just people who display a lack of emotional response to situations but they actually lack the ability to empathize with others and therefore display both antisocial behavior and the lack of ability to care about anybody. Nick is far from a sociopath.
Arguably, nicks behavior could be explained by all of the things that he has already gone through making him emotionally numb.
However, in my opinion, this unequivocally does not make him a sociopath. Words like sociopath and psychopath have been used so often in popular culture that the colloquial understanding of what they mean has been perverted from the actual diagnostic definition. And yes, calling somebody a sociopath is a diagnosis. Sociopaths are not just people who display a lack of emotional response to situations but they actually lack the ability to empathize with others and therefore display both antisocial behavior and the lack of ability to care about anybody. Nick is far from a sociopath.
Arguably, nicks behavior could be explained by all of the things that he has already gone through making him emotionally numb.