When is your pain my gain? The use of perspective taking by everyday sadists

TY - JOUR

T1 - When is your pain my gain? The use of perspective taking by everyday sadists

AU - Lui, Lasse F.

AU - Sassenrath, Claudia

AU - Pfattheicher, Stefan

PY - 2020/12

Y1 - 2020/12

N2 - Findings from previous literature suggest that taking the perspective of a suffering victim is an important factor for a sadistic individual to experience pleasure. In the present study (N = 387, with a priori preregistered hypotheses, analyses, and sample size), we examined the impact of perspective taking in everyday (non-clinical) sadists from the general population. Specifically, we tested how everyday sadists' emotional reactions were affected by different perspective-taking instructions when exposed to another person's misfortune. Results revealed that individual differences in everyday sadism predicted the tendency to experience pleasure from another's misfortune. Further analysis of the interaction between individual differences in everyday sadism and perspective-taking instructions indicated that instructions to take a suffering other's perspective (compared to receiving no instructions) significantly reduced everyday sadists' tendency to derive pleasure from said suffering. In sum, the present research contributes to a better understanding of sadistic tendencies and the possible role of perspective taking in reducing sadistic pleasure among everyday sadists.

AB - Findings from previous literature suggest that taking the perspective of a suffering victim is an important factor for a sadistic individual to experience pleasure. In the present study (N = 387, with a priori preregistered hypotheses, analyses, and sample size), we examined the impact of perspective taking in everyday (non-clinical) sadists from the general population. Specifically, we tested how everyday sadists' emotional reactions were affected by different perspective-taking instructions when exposed to another person's misfortune. Results revealed that individual differences in everyday sadism predicted the tendency to experience pleasure from another's misfortune. Further analysis of the interaction between individual differences in everyday sadism and perspective-taking instructions indicated that instructions to take a suffering other's perspective (compared to receiving no instructions) significantly reduced everyday sadists' tendency to derive pleasure from said suffering. In sum, the present research contributes to a better understanding of sadistic tendencies and the possible role of perspective taking in reducing sadistic pleasure among everyday sadists.

KW - Emotion

KW - Empathy

KW - Perspective taking

KW - Sadism

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85087379968&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.paid.2020.110213

DO - 10.1016/j.paid.2020.110213

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:85087379968

SN - 0191-8869

VL - 167

JO - Personality and Individual Differences

JF - Personality and Individual Differences

M1 - 110213

ER -