(ORDO NEWS) — Sadism – harming others for one’s own pleasure – is often seen as a “dark” personality trait. Scientists have tried to figure out what can make a person sadistic and have come to the conclusion that even viewing cruel pictures can do this.
A new scientific article reveals a factor that, according to researchers, plays a “critical but underestimated” role in the manifestation of sadistic behavior: simple boredom.
A new study suggests that the desire to harm appears when there is nothing else to do. This is true even for those who scored low on the overall sadism scale.
The authors of the new work analyzed nine studies on the topic. One study, for example, found that the sadistic behavior of military personnel towards other soldiers was associated with greater boredom during military service.
In addition, an experiment was carried out. 129 participants were invited to the laboratory, they gave the scientists their phones and everything that could distract them.
After that, people were put into a booth to watch a 20-minute film. One of the suggested films was very boring. Together with the people in the booth were three cups, each with a larva. Also nearby was a modified coffee grinder.
The participants were told that while watching the movie, they could grind up the larvae if they wanted to. The vast majority of volunteers did not, however, there were 13 people who still grinded the larvae.
And 12 of them were the ones who watched the boring movie.
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