Rage and abuse, alternating with small expressions of love and approval produce an addictive cycle for abuser and abused, as well as creating hopelessness in the victim. Believe they are all-powerful, all-knowing, entitled to every wish, no sense of personal boundaries, no concern for their impact on others.
This description is very accurate, if a little extravagant. The "rage and abuse" are normally no more than an appearance of constant disappointment in the 'victim,' acting as though nothing they do is right, and often feigning frustration with their incompetence. All of this is nothing more than show, but the strength and conviction with which a sociopath pulls off the act creates a sort of dramatic gravity for the 'victim,' so that even as we destroy the 'victim' from the inside out, we rebuild them with uncommon praise and make them feel that all they can do is keep trying to measure up. Our social graces and faux emotional depth make the abused feel that we're worth the pain, that they can change the sociopath.
A sociopath actually will rarely believe that they are all-powerful. In fact, we're normally very real with ourselves, beyond the whole Mind over Matter concept. On the surface, we act like we're all powerful, always in control, indestructible, unstoppable, and with no sense of boundary or concern. On the surface, we may even force ourselves to truly believe that we're the bomb-diggity, the shiz-niz. But underneath, we know our boundaries, we know where to stop. We'll always push those limits, though, to make everyone around us believe our surface attributes. If you go farther than everyone else, then you've proven to them that their limits don't apply to you. Inside, though, you weren't sure if you could go beyond those limits.
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