And if so, why do they often still seek dominance/prestige?
My current take is that prestige-seeking comes mainly from Approval Reward, and is very weak in (a certain central type of) sociopath, whereas dominance-seeking comes mainly from a different social drive that I discussed in Neuroscience of human social instincts: a sketch §7.1, but mostly haven’t thought about too much, and which may be strong in some sociopathic people (and weak in others).
I guess it’s also possible to prestige-seek not because prestige seems intrinsically desirable, but rather as a means to an end.
Do you think sociopaths are sociopaths because their approval reward is very weak? And if so, why do they often still seek dominance/prestige?
Basically yes (+ also sympathy reward); see Approval Reward post §4.1, including the footnote.
My current take is that prestige-seeking comes mainly from Approval Reward, and is very weak in (a certain central type of) sociopath, whereas dominance-seeking comes mainly from a different social drive that I discussed in Neuroscience of human social instincts: a sketch §7.1, but mostly haven’t thought about too much, and which may be strong in some sociopathic people (and weak in others).
I guess it’s also possible to prestige-seek not because prestige seems intrinsically desirable, but rather as a means to an end.
Relatedly, how do we model the reflective desires of sociopaths in the absence of Approval Reward?
I don’t know! IIRC they talk about related things a bit in this podcast but I wound up not really knowing what to make of it.