I Like It Because It Hurts You: On the Association of Everyday Sadism, Sadistic Pleasure, and Victim Blaming

Claudia Sassenrath; Johannes Keller; Dominik Stöckle; Rebekka Kesberg; Yngwie Asbjørn Nielsen; Stefan Pfattheicher

doi:10.1037/pspp0000464

I Like It Because It Hurts You: On the Association of Everyday Sadism, Sadistic Pleasure, and Victim Blaming

Claudia Sassenrath^*
, Johannes Keller
, Dominik Stöckle
, Rebekka Kesberg
, Yngwie Asbjørn Nielsen
, Stefan Pfattheicher

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review

9 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Past research on determinants of victim blaming mainly concentrated on individuals’ just-world beliefs as motivational process underlying this harsh reaction to others’ suffering. The present work provides novel insights regarding underlying affective processes by showing how individuals prone to derive pleasure from others’ suffering—individuals high in everyday sadism—engage in victim blaming due to increased sadistic pleasure and reduced empathic concern they experience. Results of three cross-sectional studies and one ambulatory assessment study applying online experience sampling method (ESM; overall N = 2,653) document this association. Importantly, the relation emerged over and above the honesty–humility, emotionality, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness personality model (Study 1a), and other so-called dark traits (Study 1b), across different cultural backgrounds (Study 1c), and also when sampling from a population of individuals frequently confronted with victim–perpetrator constellations: police officers (Study 1d). Studies 2 and 3 highlight a significant behavioral correlate of victim blaming. Everyday sadism is related to reduced willingness to engage in effortful cognitive activity as individuals high (vs. low) in everyday sadism recall less information regarding victim–perpetrator constellations of sexual assault. Results obtained in the ESM study (Study 4) indicate that the relation of everyday sadism, sadistic pleasure, and victim blaming holds in everyday life and is not significantly moderated by interpersonal closeness to the blamed victim or impactfulness of the incident. Overall, the present article extends our understanding of what determines innocent victims’ derogation and highlights emotional mechanisms, societal relevance, and generalizability of the observed associations beyond the laboratory.

Original language	English
Journal	Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Volume	126
Issue	1
Pages (from-to)	105-127
Number of pages	23
ISSN	0022-3514
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000464
Publication status	Published - Jan 2024

Keywords

empathic concern
everyday sadism
harm
sadistic pleasure
victim blaming
Crime Victims/psychology
Cross-Sectional Studies
Sadism/psychology
Humans
Pleasure
Personality Disorders/psychology
Personality

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@article{4a91d333cd5c4ebaa865e9b80067ecfa,

title = "I Like It Because It Hurts You: On the Association of Everyday Sadism, Sadistic Pleasure, and Victim Blaming",

abstract = "Past research on determinants of victim blaming mainly concentrated on individuals{\textquoteright} just-world beliefs as motivational process underlying this harsh reaction to others{\textquoteright} suffering. The present work provides novel insights regarding underlying affective processes by showing how individuals prone to derive pleasure from others{\textquoteright} suffering—individuals high in everyday sadism—engage in victim blaming due to increased sadistic pleasure and reduced empathic concern they experience. Results of three cross-sectional studies and one ambulatory assessment study applying online experience sampling method (ESM; overall N = 2,653) document this association. Importantly, the relation emerged over and above the honesty–humility, emotionality, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness personality model (Study 1a), and other so-called dark traits (Study 1b), across different cultural backgrounds (Study 1c), and also when sampling from a population of individuals frequently confronted with victim–perpetrator constellations: police officers (Study 1d). Studies 2 and 3 highlight a significant behavioral correlate of victim blaming. Everyday sadism is related to reduced willingness to engage in effortful cognitive activity as individuals high (vs. low) in everyday sadism recall less information regarding victim–perpetrator constellations of sexual assault. Results obtained in the ESM study (Study 4) indicate that the relation of everyday sadism, sadistic pleasure, and victim blaming holds in everyday life and is not significantly moderated by interpersonal closeness to the blamed victim or impactfulness of the incident. Overall, the present article extends our understanding of what determines innocent victims{\textquoteright} derogation and highlights emotional mechanisms, societal relevance, and generalizability of the observed associations beyond the laboratory.",

keywords = "empathic concern, everyday sadism, harm, sadistic pleasure, victim blaming, Crime Victims/psychology, Cross-Sectional Studies, Sadism/psychology, Humans, Pleasure, Personality Disorders/psychology, Personality",

author = "Claudia Sassenrath and Johannes Keller and Dominik St{\"o}ckle and Rebekka Kesberg and Nielsen, \{Yngwie Asbj{\o}rn\} and Stefan Pfattheicher",

note = "Funding Information: The research reported here was funded by a research grant (SA 2971/3-1) awarded to Claudia Sassenrath by the German Science Foundation Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023 American Psychological Association",

year = "2024",

month = jan,

doi = "10.1037/pspp0000464",

language = "English",

volume = "126",

pages = "105--127",

journal = "Journal of Personality and Social Psychology",

issn = "0022-3514",

publisher = "American Psychological Association",

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I Like It Because It Hurts You: On the Association of Everyday Sadism, Sadistic Pleasure, and Victim Blaming. / Sassenrath, Claudia; Keller, Johannes; Stöckle, Dominik et al.
In: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 126, No. 1, 01.2024, p. 105-127.

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - I Like It Because It Hurts You

T2 - On the Association of Everyday Sadism, Sadistic Pleasure, and Victim Blaming

AU - Sassenrath, Claudia

AU - Keller, Johannes

AU - Stöckle, Dominik

AU - Kesberg, Rebekka

AU - Nielsen, Yngwie Asbjørn

AU - Pfattheicher, Stefan

N1 - Funding Information: The research reported here was funded by a research grant (SA 2971/3-1) awarded to Claudia Sassenrath by the German Science Foundation Publisher Copyright: © 2023 American Psychological Association

PY - 2024/1

Y1 - 2024/1

N2 - Past research on determinants of victim blaming mainly concentrated on individuals’ just-world beliefs as motivational process underlying this harsh reaction to others’ suffering. The present work provides novel insights regarding underlying affective processes by showing how individuals prone to derive pleasure from others’ suffering—individuals high in everyday sadism—engage in victim blaming due to increased sadistic pleasure and reduced empathic concern they experience. Results of three cross-sectional studies and one ambulatory assessment study applying online experience sampling method (ESM; overall N = 2,653) document this association. Importantly, the relation emerged over and above the honesty–humility, emotionality, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness personality model (Study 1a), and other so-called dark traits (Study 1b), across different cultural backgrounds (Study 1c), and also when sampling from a population of individuals frequently confronted with victim–perpetrator constellations: police officers (Study 1d). Studies 2 and 3 highlight a significant behavioral correlate of victim blaming. Everyday sadism is related to reduced willingness to engage in effortful cognitive activity as individuals high (vs. low) in everyday sadism recall less information regarding victim–perpetrator constellations of sexual assault. Results obtained in the ESM study (Study 4) indicate that the relation of everyday sadism, sadistic pleasure, and victim blaming holds in everyday life and is not significantly moderated by interpersonal closeness to the blamed victim or impactfulness of the incident. Overall, the present article extends our understanding of what determines innocent victims’ derogation and highlights emotional mechanisms, societal relevance, and generalizability of the observed associations beyond the laboratory.

AB - Past research on determinants of victim blaming mainly concentrated on individuals’ just-world beliefs as motivational process underlying this harsh reaction to others’ suffering. The present work provides novel insights regarding underlying affective processes by showing how individuals prone to derive pleasure from others’ suffering—individuals high in everyday sadism—engage in victim blaming due to increased sadistic pleasure and reduced empathic concern they experience. Results of three cross-sectional studies and one ambulatory assessment study applying online experience sampling method (ESM; overall N = 2,653) document this association. Importantly, the relation emerged over and above the honesty–humility, emotionality, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness personality model (Study 1a), and other so-called dark traits (Study 1b), across different cultural backgrounds (Study 1c), and also when sampling from a population of individuals frequently confronted with victim–perpetrator constellations: police officers (Study 1d). Studies 2 and 3 highlight a significant behavioral correlate of victim blaming. Everyday sadism is related to reduced willingness to engage in effortful cognitive activity as individuals high (vs. low) in everyday sadism recall less information regarding victim–perpetrator constellations of sexual assault. Results obtained in the ESM study (Study 4) indicate that the relation of everyday sadism, sadistic pleasure, and victim blaming holds in everyday life and is not significantly moderated by interpersonal closeness to the blamed victim or impactfulness of the incident. Overall, the present article extends our understanding of what determines innocent victims’ derogation and highlights emotional mechanisms, societal relevance, and generalizability of the observed associations beyond the laboratory.

KW - empathic concern

KW - everyday sadism

KW - harm

KW - sadistic pleasure

KW - victim blaming

KW - Crime Victims/psychology

KW - Cross-Sectional Studies

KW - Sadism/psychology

KW - Humans

KW - Pleasure

KW - Personality Disorders/psychology

KW - Personality

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85158872907

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DO - 10.1037/pspp0000464

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 37079847

AN - SCOPUS:85158872907

SN - 0022-3514

VL - 126

SP - 105

EP - 127

JO - Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

JF - Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

IS - 1

ER -

I Like It Because It Hurts You: On the Association of Everyday Sadism, Sadistic Pleasure, and Victim Blaming

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Keywords

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