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Sadism is the tendency to derive pleasure from the pain or suffering of others. Some people with sadistic personalities may inflict pain on others, while other sadists merely witness and enjoy it vicariously. Sadists may inflict pain by physical force, such as through violence, or psychological force, as in emotionally abusive relationships. In social settings, they may seek to control others and enjoy humiliating or demeaning them.
Sadism is considered a “dark” personality trait. Psychologists have recently coined the term “Dark Tetrad” to describe a personality that includes sadism, psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism. Researchers have found these four traits appear together in individuals more often than would be expected were they unrelated constructs.
The term “sadism” derives from the 18th-century French novelist the Marquis de Sade, whose stories of degradation and graphic sexual acts, along with his own sexual crimes, landed him in prison.
Sadism can be physical and/or sexual, but it can also be inflicted verbally and via emotional manipulation and humiliation.
Some suggest that adverse experiences in childhood, such as physical or sexual abuse, may make individuals more prone to sadistic behavior. Others look to social explanations, such as the consumption of violent movies or video games, that allow an individual to explore the link between the suffering of others and pleasure.
Sadism exists on a spectrum, so its prevalence is a matter of definition. When sadistic personality disorder was still considered a psychiatric condition, researcher James Reich found that 8.1 percent of participants in his study would meet the criteria (Reich, 1993). Studies of sexual sadism include between 2 to 30 percent of the population, depending on the criteria. The trait is hard to measure because some individuals may not admit to sadistic impulses, while others may consciously work to refrain from acting on them.
A lack of guilt and difficulty empathizing with others is a hallmark of sadism and other dark tetrad traits. Some research has shown that individuals with lower levels of sadistic personality traits, sometimes called everyday sadists, do feel some degree of guilt when sadistic acts are committed.
Sadism is not a psychiatric disorder at present. In 1987, Sadistic Personality Disorder was added to the DSM-III-R. Just seven years later, it was removed from the updated DSM-IV, as the American Psychological Association believed it overlapped with enough other conditions, like antisocial personality disorder, that it no longer warranted its own diagnostic condition.
Sadism does not have to be sexual, but that is one of the ways it manifests. Sadistic sexual activity is not necessarily malevolent. Most people active in BDSM (Bondage/Discipline, Dominance/Submission, and Sadism/Masochism) communities report being satisfied with their sexual experience. When sadistic acts or fantasies are taken to a non-consensual realm, it may represent sexual sadism disorder.
There is no standard treatment for sadism. Therapy may help people with sadistic tendencies examine their thoughts and behaviors and identify and redirect them when they arise in the course of life. Therapy may also help people with sadistic tendencies improve their understanding and use of empathy.
Sadistic traits include:
- A lack of empathy: While most people would find the suffering of others painful, a sadist will experience a degree of pleasure and may even try to exacerbate it. A common example of a lack of empathy is the practice of victim-blaming, which psychologists have linked to sadistic personalities.
- Cruelty: A sadistic person will not hesitate to tighten the screws on someone in pain. In relationships, a sadist may use physical violence to establish dominance. Children who kill animals for fun may be exhibiting sadistic behavior, particularly if it’s repeated.
- A lack of guilt: Those with sadistic personality traits don’t exhibit guilt when they’ve harmed someone else and can come off as callous.
- Social humiliation or bullying: People with sadistic personalities may humiliate targets by making them the butt of jokes. While many people engage in playful put-downs, a sadistic person will escalate to the point of hostility through sarcasm, criticism, or bullying.
- Unusually harsh treatment of someone under their control: Sadists in positions of power may be particularly demanding of those under them, may humiliate them in front of their colleagues, or take pleasure in setting them up with tasks they will inevitably fail at. They may intimidate or terrorize colleagues in order to get their way.
- A fascination with violence, torture, or weapons.
• American psychologist Theodore Millon argues that there are four subtypes of sadism in his 2011 book Disorders of Personality.
• Spineless sadism: Spineless sadists lack courage and are insecure. They exploit those who are weaker than they are, which bolsters their self-esteem.
• Tyrannical sadism: Tyrannical sadists seek and deploy power, which they use to abuse others. They are destructive and unmerciful to those they abuse.
• Enforcing sadism: Enforcing sadists enjoy punishing those they believe deserve it, whether because they have broken the law or a social code. Enforcing sadists may look for roles of authority in society through which they can inflict such punishment.
• Explosive sadism: Explosive sadists are highly reactive. When their temper boils over, they may blow up and seek to inflict pain as a source of vengeance.
Sadism has traditionally been believed to be more common among men than women, though there is little research to confirm this belief broadly. In studies of those with sexual sadism disorder, some research has found a correlation between testosterone levels and sexually sadistic behavior or fantasies
