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Your Pain, My Gain: The Interpersonal Context of Sadism

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The Psychology of Love and Hate in Intimate Relationships

Abstract

We conceptualize sadism as an instrumental form of hate wherein harmful intentions are directed toward the other in the service of increasing one’s own positive affect. United by this common goal, sadistically motivated behaviors exist on a continuum. Whereas the DSM-5’s sexual sadism disorder represents an extreme manifestation, more mundane examples include behaviors such as pranking, hazing, and internet trolling. With this diversity in mind, we will explore proximal and distal contributors to the development of sadistic tendencies, focusing on key issues such as the mechanism through which others’ suffering comes to be seen as a source of positive affect. Because the flagrantly gratuitous nature of sadism makes it a target of censure, practitioners must often conceal it, collectivize it (i.e., make it public and normative), or rationalize it (by framing it as “revenge,” for example). Disturbingly, intimate relationships allow for innovative application of these diversion strategies, so “loved ones” may make particularly vulnerable targets for sadistically motivated behavior.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks to John K. Rempel for his helpful comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, St. Jerome’s University, Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G3, Canada

    Christopher T. Burris & Rebecca Leitch

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  1. Christopher T. Burris
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  2. Rebecca Leitch
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Correspondence to Christopher T. Burris .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Psychology, Hawaii Pacific University, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

    Katherine Aumer

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Burris, C.T., Leitch, R. (2016). Your Pain, My Gain: The Interpersonal Context of Sadism. In: Aumer, K. (eds) The Psychology of Love and Hate in Intimate Relationships. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-39277-6_6

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