The Sadistic Personality
Who they are and what drives them
When we consider what personifies a sadistic personality we might initially think of the most extreme example of a psychopathic sexually sadistic serial killer, like Ted Bundy. Or perhaps more benign images of a dominant in S&M bondage role play comes to mind. Indeed, the expression of sadism can span the titillating to the barbaric, suggesting it is a multi- dimensional spectrum disorder like narcissism, as opposed to a unitary perspective which designates a condition as a single distinct disorder that gives rise to varied mental states.
In my experience as a trauma therapist, I lean towards the spectrum model, as it allows one to consider a collection of behaviors of varying degrees and intensity that can assist with gauging if one has traits, as opposed to the full-blown disorder. A spectrum model is also useful in assessing one’s capacity for benefiting from treatment and what type of treatment if any is applicable.
Indeed, throughout the years I’ve encountered inconceivable histories of systemic abuse, perpetrated by sadistic personalities. The sadist can take the form of pimps, bullies, maternal narcissists, pedophiles, perfidious siblings, and pillars of the community. Whatever personae they assume, the sadist has a predilection for cruelty. Knowing they have caused suffering is the catalyst for their pleasure. The sadist is fulfilled if there is demonstrable proof that their actions have caused physical or mental harm.
While there is no known ratio for nature versus nurture when it pertains to the etiology of mental disorders, it is theorized that a sadistic personality is rooted in severe abuse during childhood, especially the early stages of sexual development. Likewise, if a child has continual exposure to sexual activity that involves enjoyment coupled with afflicting pain, sadistic proclivities can ensue. The child can learn through observation that the suffering of others procures pleasure for the perpetrator. Also being on the receiving end of relentless physical, sexual and psychological abuse can lead to the child identifying with the aggressor as a way to mitigate victimization and seek mastery. Additionally or alternatively, sadism can be attributed to a neuropsychiatric defect which like psychopathy, fuels the need to destroy (H. Cleckly).
The possibilities regarding why one becomes a sadist are numerous but hypothetical. Many people endure horrific abuse and do not derive gratification from exacting on others the harm they endured. Why one person develops sadistic proclivities while another with a similar history does not, is subject to countless psychological, environmental, and physiological variables.
What is irrefutable is that the primary motivation of the sadist is to glean joy from the torment they know they’ve caused.
The fervent glint in the eyes of the sadist when they have succeeded in tormenting and humiliating another is substantiated by a study by professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Chicago, Jean Decety, who addressed the neural mechanisms occurring in sadists when inflicting pain.
This brain scan study of sex offenders revealed that sadists reveal greater activation in the amygdala and insula, the areas of the brain responsible for emotional response and awareness, compared to other offenders. Decety’s study confirms the most important qualifier that differentiates the sadist from other dark triad personalities such as narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy, albeit researchers have suggested that the Dark Triad be accompanied by the related trait, sadism. (Međedović and Petrović (2015), Erin Buckels, Jones, and Paulhus (2013)) as the element of sadism is a strong indicator of malignancy on the narcissism spectrum.
Naturally, one can possess the ‘perfect storm’ of all the dark traits or a combination of them. Although these dark traits are closely linked, the singular need to derive perverse enjoyment from inflicting pain distinguishes the sadist from a psychopath who may simply be indifferent. That is, unless they happen to be a psychopath with sadistic traits.
Based on the sexual brutality in the Marquis de Sade’s novels (The 120 Days of Sodom, The Crimes of Love, and Justine) Psychiatrist Richard von Krafft-Ebing coined the term sadist, in his seminal textbook Sexual Psychopathy (1886). Categorized as a paraphilic disorder, sexual sadism can involve whipping, bondage, imprisonment and biting. The intention of the sexual sadist is to cause some form of mental or physical injury.
When sexual gratification from victim suffering is sadistic, “There is a sexual transformation of anger and power so that aggression itself becomes eroticized.” (N. Groth, 1979)
Sexual arousal through inflicting pain is distinct from the hostility and aggression of sadists who derive pleasure from hurting others through nonsexual means. Generalized sadism is distinct from the mental disorder of sexual sadism in that emotional, as opposed to sexual cruelty, is the preferred means of expressing sadistic impulses.
Certainly, it’s no surprise that individuals can be sadistic in their everyday interactions with others without needing to get sexual gratification from cruelty. For example, many of us have had the misfortune of encountering cyber trolls who anonymously leave disparaging comments. Sadistic gratification through cyber-bullying and violent video gaming (Greitemeyer, 2015) is a common occurrence, and as a study conducted in 2017 (Sest & March) revealed, a combination of traits of sadism and psychopathy are typical of internet trolls.
As far as gender goes sadism exists in both sexes, but may seem less obvious in women due to gender stereotypes and culturally prescribed roles. In my article, Malevolence Knows No Gender I emphasized how “the collective one-dimensional stereotypical portrayal of women as nurturing pacifists” obfuscates female expressions of aggression, inclusive of violence and sadism. Given these biases, casting aspersions that assign calculated deliberate malevolence to the ‘fairer sex’ is akin to sacrilege. Yet the torture and sexual humiliation of prisoners at Abu Ghraib in Iraq, by unrepentant American female soldiers, exemplifies the reality of sadistic proclivities in women. By the same token, Ilse Koch known as the ‘bitch of Buchenwald’ and SS guard Hermine Braunsteiner were described by concentration camp survivors as even more sadistic than their male counterparts.
Perhaps even more perfidious is the guise of maternal benevolence that conceals sadistic brutality. SNL’s Darrel Hammond has publicly revealed an extensive history of extreme systemic torment at the hands of his mother, which resulted in years of psychiatric hospitalizations and sundry misdiagnosis. The true source of his demons was overlooked by mental health professionals until he finally met a psychiatrist who identified how the most unimaginable sadistic abuse perpetrated by his mother was the basis for his torment. Sadly, the collective disbelief of these stories of sadistic maternal abuse, even within the psychiatric community, contributes to widespread inadequately treated mental illness in victims.
Although we all have dark inclinations and even sadistic impulses, as the founder of analytical psychology Carl Jung imparted, it is the denial of our shadow nature that leads to perilous consequences.
Unfortunately there can be no doubt that man is, on the whole, less good than he imagines himself or wants to be. Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual’s conscious life, the blacker and denser it is. If an inferiority is conscious, one always has a chance to correct it. Furthermore, it is constantly in contact with other interests, so that it is continually subjected to modifications. But if it is repressed and isolated from consciousness, it never gets corrected. ~ Carl Jung “Psychology and Religion” (1938)
Unbeknownst to us, our repressed lower impulses take over, igniting unscrupulous behavior and rampant projections. Never receiving conscious examination and assimilation, these base impulses intensify. Accordingly, examining our capacity for everyday sadism is not just a responsible step towards intentionally understanding our inhumane proclivities, it is also a step towards greater psychological integration.
The Short Sadistic Impulse Scale (SSIS; O’meara et al., 2011) offers statements designed to measure sadistic inclinations. Simply asking yourself if it is like you or unlike you to enjoy seeing people hurt, have humiliated others to keep them in line, or sometimes get so angry you want to hurt people, offers insight into aggressive impulses. Such a practice allows for responsible handling of those parts previously disowned and denied.
Naturally, it is not likely that one with a sadistic personality disorder or sexual sadism disorder would engage in such self-examination. Due to comorbidity with other personality disorders, the absence of anxiety, distress, or remorse along with the pleasure derived from sadistic acting out would preclude introspection. Even though Jung has stated that a healthy man doesn’t torture and generally those who do are tortured themselves, there are clearly those who neither strive to be healthy or humane. They prefer to inflict pain and reap the delight of causing others anguish.
In a world rife with such people the best we can do is responsibly engage with the potential for evil within ourselves and come to recognize its camouflage of charm, goodness, and virtue so that we can shield ourselves and each other from becoming marks for sadistic abuse. The less naive we are about the dark side of the human condition the more we can contain its proliferation and reap the benefits of psychological wholeness and maturity.