An Understanding: Sociopaths

Do sociopaths love their family or their friends?

Yes... and no. The answer varies depending on what type of sociopath we're talking about here considering that they are, at the end of the day, their own individual person. On a general basis, my answer would have to lean towards a no. They don't have a type of love for their family or friends per-se. They usually don't recognise the bond they have with each other until something major and greatly significant happens. Most sociopaths don't really like their family. But a majority do have a bond (that, again, can't be recognised until something major event takes place, but it's there) with people they would typically consider their friends. Here is a passage from John Whistler, an individual diagnosed with ASPD, and a Schizoid Sociopath.

"Can I love someone that I have been friends with for several years? Sort of, but not very intensely. If the bond is there, I don't notice it until something serious ends up happening. If someone I have known for a long period of time (several years usually) decides to leave my life, whether it be through death, moving away, or something else, most of the time, it's just a "Well, I actually enjoyed that persons company." type of bond. But there is no sadness, no feeling of emptiness, just maybe some annoyance over the fact I have one less person to entertain me when I am bored.
There was only one big exception to the rule, and the only way I knew this bond was different was I ended up feeling very guilty over something I did. Was partially intentional and partially not, but easily avoidable. I kept pushing two friends that happened to be dating since the 4 years I have known them. I ended up breaking them both and one went sort of crazy and shit. That incident made me feel some pretty big guilt. That was the only instance that I can remember where guilt actually became an identifiable emotion and a distraction. So, the only way I actually figured out I bonded to these individuals emotionally was I ended up feeling guilt over something I did to them. Prior to that, I had no idea that I was actually non-superficially, emotionally invested in these individuals.
Keep in mind, I knew those two people for 4 years and they were good, honest, and hardworking people. I seized an opportunity for my own gain and it just blew way out of proportion. That is why I felt guilt. I have done just as worse, if not, worse things to my own family and other people I use to associate with and felt nothing. So, I guess those two people had a different kind of bond with me that I couldn't even see until I actually felt guilt.
[...]
Can a sociopath ever feel love? Maybe, but not intensely. At least I didn't. It took 4 years of friendship and a big, life-changing event for me to figure out I had bonded with someone emotionally."
How I see it is that sociopaths don't generally love. In the brains of a neurotypical person, it's safe to understand that trying to understand how a sociopath can bond with an individual is a complicated concept to grasp. There is one response given from Atticus Gallows, who is diagnosed with ASPD and is a secondary psychopath.
"I myself don't even love my own little family beyond cognitive function and as for my immediate family (the one I was born into) I don't even actually interact with them beyond what my daughter benefits from. I'm sure they believe that I love them as I have zero reason to correct them however they do know that I am not going to respond to any of their needs without some sort of personal gain."

Essentially, to put it into more simpler words, motive runs the biggest role in a sociopaths mind when thinking about love, or bonding with someone. What do they have to gain? What do they have to lose? When seen from a perspective of someone with a neurotypical mind, often we think about the love we have for said person, and that love is the motive. We do things and complete needs for our partners/family members/friends out of pure love. We don't want to see them hurt in anyway, we WANT to see them happy, because often times that's the very thing that makes us happy. That is the concept of love in a neurotypical person's mind. Of course, love comes in so many more forms than just this, but this is the general idea, and is what's expected by the majority. A sociopath however, would take into consideration about what needs to be done on their commands. Will anything they do be beneficial towards them? Will they have anything to lose? This isn't love, rather more of an act of the person who couldn't quite care less about anyone else. It's that simple. Again, sociopaths have their own special way of loving someone, bonding at the very least (when said relationship has lasted long enough - depends on what emotions the opposed person triggers the sociopath, and how fast).
So then to answer the question, it's much more likely and easier for a sociopath to have to bond with a certain individual than a collective group of people. Therefore:

Bonding with a friend? - ✅likely
Bonding with family? - ❌ unlikely