Psychology Today: Internet Trolls Are Narcissists, Psychopaths, and Sadists

[RufusTFirefly]

Internet Trolls Are Narcissists, Psychopaths, and Sadists
A new study shows that internet trolls really are just terrible human beings.

In this month's issue of Personality and Individual Differences, a study was published that confirms what we all suspected: internet trolls are horrible people.

Let's start by getting our definitions straight. An internet troll is someone who comes into a discussion and posts comments designed to upset or disrupt the conversation. Often, it seems like there is no real purpose behind their comments except to upset everyone else involved. Trolls will lie, exaggerate, and offend to get a response.

What kind of person would do this?



Canadian researchers decided to find out. They conducted two internet studies with over 1,200 people. They gave personality tests to each subject along with a survey about their internet commenting behavior. They were looking for evidence that linked trolling with the Dark Tetrad of personality: narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadistic personality.

More here: Internet Trolls Are Narcissists, Psychopaths, and Sadists

[lunatica]

1. That could mean I work with a lot of trolls

I've never been around so many sociopathic, control freaks in my life. There's so much anality, as in anal behavior, that it's downright scary. Usually you just meet one in any office setting, and that's the one who turns out to be useful because of their need to fixate on details which can be very useful, but not where I work. If you put them in the same office they tend to have headbutting conflicts. And they tend to hate the behavior when it's in another person.

It's interesting to watch, but also scary.

[RufusTFirefly]

8. Perhaps.

Last edited Fri Sep 19, 2014, 07:20 PM - Edit history (1)

But it could also mean that trolls and your coworkers share certain antisocial characteristics. Offices are a veritable Petri dish for certain types of dysfunctional behavior.

[jaysunb]

15. I sometimes notice the same physical or personality types

among employees at small businesses, especially restaurant's. Knowing this has to be more than mere coincidence, I have actually (jokingly) asked if the same person did all the hiring and without fail the answer has been ,yes. I'm sure the same thing may be at play in office settings.
If certain sociopaths have worked themselves into a control or management position, it easy to see what will follow.....yes, it could be very scary.

[lunatica]

18. Ever since I've studied up a bit on sociopathic behavior

I definitely see it a lot at work. Especially among the managers and top people. They like their fiefdoms where they have all the control over everyone. They don't always play well together because they project their own agendas onto everyone else. They live, breath and work in a pecking order system and they all want to be at the top. Doing the job right takes a distance second place to having power.

[VanillaRhapsody]

53. wow....THAT sounds very familiar!

toxic environment...

[Sherman A1]

65. Indeed

and as unfortunate as is the reality of the description, it does most certainly sound very, very familiar.

[leftyladyfrommo]

67. They are awful to work for.

Their idea of management is a savage sort of dictatorship. God forbid anyone have a personality.

The banking industry is full of them. So is the mortgage banking industry where I worked.

[Veilex]

80. "They like their fiefdoms"

No doubt. A lot of those motivations fit in perfectly with the cult of machismo. Always be right. Always be stronger. Always be better than everyone else. It makes for quite a hostile work environment. There is only room for one at the top of the mountain... and it is a very cold and lonely place.

[VanillaRhapsody]

52. there was an article in Psychology today that explained why MOST of those that

got wealthy....are usually sociopaths...because they have no qualms about stepping on other people to get to the top. Being without empathy is a great competitive edge....

[leftyladyfrommo]

69. It's lonely at the top for a good reason.

Those SOB's are so awful no one wants anything to do with them.

[tblue37]

72. Let me redefine your neologism ("anality") for you for *this* particular context.

Anal behavior is closer to OCD than to trollishness, so let's go ahead and use your term "anality," but redefine it as "buttheadedness." Will you accept that interpretation?

On Edit: I forgot to add "a**holishness" to the new definition. Same general idea, of course, and also associated with the same part of the anatomy.

[lunatica]

73. Thanks for the constructive suggestions!

I was trying to express the concept of anal retentiveness and fixation on solutions which appears to be more akin to being cement brained regarding any kind of consideration that there are other ways of doing things than theirs. The buttheadedness comes into play when they are thrown together as co-equals. This means that there might actually be more than one way of doing things, theirs of course, because both have to admit to something they're fundamentally unable to accept. More normal people may not like doing it but we usually end up being worn down into acceptance of the inevitability that to suggest anything new to their thinking processes is uncomfortably akin to clashing wits with a wall.

It's the paradoxical unstoppable force meeting an immovable object and it's a process that is inevitably combustible. One sure outcome is the suffering that befalls everyone else in the mix because there is no compromise in sight. Ever.

[grahamhgreen]

87. Get a new job! I work around awesome people and I love it!!!!

[seabeyond]

2. oh oh oh and assholes. and cowards. and.... nt

[malaise]

3. No doubt but some are paid disruptors n/t

[KittyWampus]

6. probably, but I suspect very few are paid. I suspect most do it for lolz

[Boreal]

16. There are shitloads of paid trolls and shills

.gov, private contractors, big pharma, Hasbara (Israel) for some. I've encountered them for years. If their shilling fails, they resort to straight up trolling to disrupt threads. Some are are really obvious because they post almost exclusively in whatever subject they're working. The Hasbara's have software that alerts to subject and key words. I suppose others do as well. Rarely do I encounter the basement dweller who posts obscene links and writes foul insults. They usually get banned pretty quickly, anyway. The pros are smart enough to back off just enough not to violate terms of service.

[arikara]

96. Definitely, lots of paid trolls

I recently read an article by someone who was paid and left because they had a conscience and couldn't do it anymore. He said he was recruited by an acquaintance who knew he needed work, and they operated out of a nondescript temporary type office, that they moved around quite often. It was interesting, will try to find it again.

Monsanto, big pharma as in vaccines which seem to be a hot topic these days, Israel... I just tune them out or put them on ignore but unfortunately they must have some effectiveness if only to shut down legitimate debate with their stridency and obnoxiousness.

[Zorra]

7. They might be psychopaths as well.

[MerryBlooms]

17. I don't believe that makes them any less messed up... maybe even sicker. n/t

[malaise]

20. True

You have to be pretty messed up to take money to disrupt.

[MerryBlooms]

23. I think the internet has empowered ALL

the good, bad and ugly, humanity has to offer.
The good has to keep battling against the bad and ugly, and hopefully good comes out on top.

[malaise]

24. +1,000

[Veilex]

81. Or perhaps simply desperate for work?

I've seen some great personalities destroyed by being unemployed.
Ultimately, we've all got a need to eat and pay bills... a person who can't do that might be forced into such a paid-position.

[Cleita]

36. I think there is a difference.

The paid ones seem to try to derail an idea or trend but usually they aren't purposefully mean.

[malaise]

38. The paid ones will do anything to disrupt

and mean is mean

[cui bono]

58. But there are a lot of message boards where there is no reason for a paid disruptor

to go. They just do it for their own personal enjoyment there.

Paid disruptors would be on political boards or science boards mostly I suspect.

[malaise]

59. True n/t

[Generic Other]

92. My problem is discerning whether

a topic happens to be someone's passionate "issue," the subject that makes them go into rant mode if anyone brings it up. The Monsanto GMO threads, for example. I am reasonably certain that the anti-GMO folks are sincere. But the harder the pro side argues, the more I believe it is their master's voice I am hearing. Anyway, those folks will argue one blue in the fac, yet they don't bug me as much as those who try and squelch discussion.

It really is disgusting that we are forced to endure our own government flunkies pulling this crap on us. Why not instead come out and admit who they are and make a case for their point of view? Stealth, intrigue, underhandedness should not be the way our government functions...

[iemitsu]

98. I agree with your notion that we oughtn't to be governed

by manipulative propaganda, spread by our neighbors, who are paid with our tax dollars. That is not how a healthy community works.
These trolls remind me of the "Chinese Block Watch Woman", whose responsibility it was to hear and see everything that happened on her block and report it to the authorities.
I see evidence of the master's voice on threads about Fukushima, or the nuclear industry, too

[Generic Other]

89. What about the ones who post offtopic job offers or weight loss ads?

Are they the actual scammers or their paid shills? I see them on many articles posting the first comments about getting paid to work at home or trying quackberry juice to lose weight. I have wondered how they get paid -- by the post or the positioning of their message.

[No Vested Interest]

91. I make it a practice of reporting these as spam and removing them,

though I'm not certain that they are then removed from everyone's sight.
Just another annoyance in everyday use of the internet.

[Generic Other]

93. So if we want to get in on the $$$ where do we go?

We should be trolling them!!

[Dirty Socialist]

4. And It Goes without Saying

The vast majority of trolls are conservative.

[stillwaiting]

63. Did you know there are NO conservatives posting at DU? Absolutely NONE.

And, if you believe there are then you are part of the extremist, far-left, nutso fringe.

At least, that's what a very prolific poster recently posted here.

That argument strongly attempts to further the status-quo, neo-liberal, conservative economic agenda that seems to have infected the Democratic Party in far too many areas. Since there are some self-identified economic conservative DU posters as well this makes the poster's ramblings very suspect to me. They seem very agenda driven, and they do it heavy-handedly and absolutely.

[valerief]

76. Conservatism is a pretty hard sell to non-privileged people with two connecting neurons. nt

[KittyWampus]

5. the internet seems almost perfectly designed to enable such behavior.

[RufusTFirefly]

9. Yes. Although anonymity has obvious advantages in terms of privacy...

... it also provides a convenient cover for cowards who want to act like jerks.

Also, with no face to face contact, we are deprived of certain social signals from emotions and body language that might otherwise make us think twice before saying/posting certain things.

[RobertEarl]

10. Liars, too

They weasel their way into discussions and when caught they lie.

I used to put my trolls on ignore, but then they just kicked my threads, so now I get to see their posts and ignore them by posting around them except when I can catch them in a lie.

Otherwise they can just go suck eggs.

[SidDithers]

82. Sockpuppets and zombies, too...

Posters who post using multiple accounts at the same time. And posters who, when banned, come back over and over and over and over again. Don't forget that kind of liar.

They can all suck eggs.

Sid

[RobertEarl]

84. And they attack good Dems every chance they get

Even after they have been corrected about their lies, they still post their crap.

[herding cats]

11. Her follow up "Are You an Internet Troll?" was good, too!

Four simple questions to rate how much of a troll you are.

I have sent people to shock websites for the lulz.
I like to troll people in forums or the comments section of websites.
I enjoy griefing other players in multiplayer games.
The more beautiful and pure a thing is, the more satisfying it is to corrupt.

The first three statements measure enjoyment and experience with trolling, and the last one measures how closely someone identifies with the trolling "culture."

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/your-online-secrets/201409/are-you-internet-troll

I knew griefers were mentally messed up! They're as pathetic as forum trolls, just as I suspected.

[Boreal]

12. What is a griefer? n/t

[starroute]

19. Wikipedia: A griefer is a player in a multiplayer video game who deliberately irritates ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griefer

A griefer is a player in a multiplayer video game who deliberately irritates and harasses other players within the game, using aspects of the game in unintended ways. A griefer derives pleasure primarily or exclusively from the act of annoying other users, and as such is a particular nuisance in online gaming communities, since griefers often cannot be deterred by penalties related to in-game goals. ...

The term "griefing" dates to the late 1990s, when it was used to describe the willfully antisocial behaviors seen in early massively multiplayer online games like Ultima Online and first-person shooters such as Counter-Strike. But even before it had a name, griefer-like behavior was familiar in the virtual worlds of text-based Multi-User Domains (MUDs), where joyriding invaders visited "virtual rape" and similar offenses on the local populace. Julian Dibbell's 1993 article A Rape in Cyberspace analyzed the griefing events in a particular MUD, LambdaMOO, and the staff's response.

[Boreal]

27. I've never played an internet game

so that's all new to me. Thanks for providing that info.

What a loser someone has to be to get their jollies trolling in a game! Bizarre.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

33. The original Halo Blood Gulch map: All Blue team sniper rifles locked on the respawn points for Red.

[valerief]

77. I gather there are no Good Griefers.

[Adsos Letter]

79. !

[Simeon Salus]

13. It appears there's an entire political party which meets the criteria

And at least one news network.

The study correctly lists identifying characteristics of the rw online community represented by such as LGF, Breitbart, RedState, Drudge and Instapundit.

[Dont call me Shirley]

14. Psycho/sociopaths get enjoyment from harming others. They will not partake in reasoning.

Fits a troll's description.

[yuiyoshida]

21. I wonder what the percentage

vote Republican. 99.9 percent?

[ReRe]

61. 100%

... if they're old enough to vote.

[Android3.14]

22. Saving this link as the exit from a troll encounter

Interesting that those in the "debating issues" segment are on the positive side of most of those characteristics.

[KamaAina]

25. In other words, they're repukes.

[ncjustice80]

43. Ugh this is why I cut all the rethugs out of my life.

Anyone who would vote for the American Taliban has no place in my life! Does the research show the politcal affiliationsof trolls? I garuntee they re retjugs/teabaggers

[Spitfire of ATJ]

26. Want to know a secret?

I've been trolling for trolls for decades and the one thing to remember is they really believe there is power in posting.

Therefore, they are the most vulnerable to posts.

[valerief]

78. Ah, live by the sword...

[orpupilofnature57]

28. Internet Trolls my a-s, MSM ( Misanthrope Sycophant Monsters ) .

[randys1]

29. I suppose so, I mean we do know most american corps are run by sociopaths

[Iggo]

30. Smartasses.

Got it.

[merrily]

31. When it comes to political discussions, we think the people who

disagree with us, or with the majority view of the board, are trolls who are there only to disrupt the discussion. And no one has to reply to a troll.

Then there are the sociopaths in power who do things like lie us into war, violate our constitutional rights, torture people or send them overseas to be tortured by the likes of the Assad government. Don't feed the trolls.

[phil89]

32. Stigma inducing garbage. Author is NOT qualified to make these claims.

From her comments: "My PhD is in *computer science*. I study social networks and social media, often incorporating a lot of psychological concepts, but I am definitely not a psychologist. At its core, my research is on artificial intelligence and human-computer interaction." So, I wouldn't worry too much about what this person thinks on this topic, and her armchair diagnoses should be dismissed out of hand. But hey, at least we got some emotion stirring buzz words, right? "Psychopath! Narcissist! Machiavellianism!" All part of the "Dark Tetrad". Great job setting the profession back instead of moving us forward.

[NRaleighLiberal]

35. and so what do you think best describes the extreme website trolls?

[RufusTFirefly]

37. With respect, you're mistaking the author of the article with the authors of the research

By that token, every article written by a journalist is garbage.

Here's the bio for the study's senior author:

Delroy L. Paulhus is a personality psychology researcher and professor. He received his doctorate from Columbia University and has worked at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of California, Davis. Currently, Paulhus is a professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada where he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses.

Sounds qualified to me.

[IDemo]

50. Oh...

Nevermind!

[ReRe]

62. Methinks...

... you protestith just a schooch too much.

[NRaleighLiberal]

34. certainly describes some of our oft-returning trolls like library girl.

as well as pretty much the majority of those who comment on local news stories here on NC in the newspaper and local TV news websites.

[MannyGoldstein]

39. Well, good evening to you, too!

You're not so $!#^ing perfect yourself, either.

[NV Whino]

40. So, can we now call trolls…

… Narcissists, Psychopaths, and Sadists?

[Turbineguy]

41. Apt and timely

Thanks!

[JEB]

42. I just thought they were assholes, but

I don't have a degree in psychology.

[navarth]

44. Calling them assholes

only requires a high school diploma.

[JEB]

45. I got quite a ways further, but

assholes is still my go to term.

[Bobbie Jo]

47. I have a psych degree

...and I concur with your diagnosis.

[JEB]

48. Thank you.

[cwydro]

46. Pretty sure

I didn't need psych today to tell me that.

[hadrons]

49. add cowards to the profile too...

I remember the whole pornwikileaks thing when trolls were posting personal and private info about various former/current performers - confidential such that a large number were contacted (through IP addresses I believe) and threaten with legal action and I heard most were begging for forgiveness and crapping their pants over being held accountable for things they were OK with hiding behind a computer.

[cwydro]

54. All of them are cowards.

No doubt on that.

[VanillaRhapsody]

51. Ya Think?

[Douglas Carpenter]

55. let's understand that "troll" in this context does NOT mean an advocate for a contrary opinion

A person is NOT a "troll' because of their opinion about the NSA - one way or the other - or whether they are an enthusiastic supporter of President Obama or a left-wing critic of President Obama or even a conservative critic of President Obama. They are NOT a troll because they are more pro-business or radical leftist than other posters on DU. They are NOT a troll because they are somewhat more conservative or somewhat more liberal on social issues than other DU members. That is NOT being a troll.

As the above excerpt from the article says: An internet troll is someone who comes into a discussion and posts comments designed to upset or disrupt the conversation. Often, it seems like there is no real purpose behind their comments except to upset everyone else involved. Trolls will lie, exaggerate, and offend to get a response.

[RufusTFirefly]

56. Totally concur. Thanks for the clarification!

For those who think that the study is a condemnation of dissent of any kind, I don't think you need worry. The trolls in the study -- at least as I understand it -- are deliberately malicious. They are people who create chaos for chaos sake without any other goal in mind. Many of the DU posters that I most admire frequently go against the grain but they should by no means be considered trolls -- even though they may be branded as such by people who uncritically cling to the conventional wisdom and maintain a pathological fear of contrarian views.

[RobertEarl]

57. Calling out a few DU trolls...

[deafskeptic]

60. I believe it.

I remember one troll on a different forum for the deaf who showed up on my forum shortly after Obama became president.

He was so obsessed with Obama that he would dig up anything that would make Obama look bad. It got silly at times.

He couldn't pitch;we told him it's a good thing he's President instead of the major leagues; he was too black; not black enough. I was like oh, boy. Obama just can't win with you! I ended up defending Obama even though I don't agree with all of his polices.

Day in day out, he tried to ram the Tea Party down our throats, denied climate change despite claims of being a scientist. He would belittle liberal politicians and belittle liberals at the same time by calling people like Gore "your god".

The guy lied so much we had a hard time keeping his stories straight. Take for example, the degree of his hearing loss. He tried to pass himself off as being profoundly deaf but in time we found out that he actually has moderate loss in one ear and hearing is normal in the other ear.

Then there were stories of him stalking those who disagreed with him - online. I also can see him stalking others in rl.

Finally, he would post dead cat threads and he could not understand why no one else thought it funny that an ad showing that a cat losing his head was funny. He got upset because no one else shared his humor.

There's debate on whether he is a psychopath or psychotic. Whatever he is, I think he's dangerous. I have him on block on FB.

He was the worst troll but I remember the Horsemen (that's what a group of parents called themselves.) and I think all of those 4 parents were narcissistic and i think one of them may even have psychopathic traits. One of those parents sent nude pictures of herself and her daughters to some men there. I'm serious!

I decided to leave that forum as it was getting awfully negative at best and at worst, it had some pretty unhinged people posting there. I didn't agree with how they handled matters regarding one friend who posted there. That was the last straw for me.

[DhhD]

66. Sounds like troll a reading green eggs and ham to children on a congressional floor, while making

us pay the billions of dollars in losses. This GOP-guy had himself appointed a king-King Troll of human beings. This guy just received first prize for, pants on fire, for best liar of the year. IMO, he would like to push the button, after taking that 2:00AM call, at the White House.

[mark67]

64. Not everyone's a psychopath...

Some people are just frustrated and angry...others pathetic.

I've met a few in my lifetime, esp. in the military. The truly dangerous ones don't waste their time trolling internet sites.

[lumberjack_jeff]

68. And clever, too. We see what you did here. n/t

[mark67]

71. Not everything's a conspiracy, Lumberjack

I see what you did as well...

I just think that the term psychopath is being used with more and more frequency without people really understanding what it means...some people are just a**holes, including internet trolls. Understandably, Psychology Today has print to sell...

[lumberjack_jeff]

94. Ironically, the OP is a pitch-perfect example of trolling. n/t

[treestar]

70. one identifier is they use "the truth hurt, doesn't it?"

I questioned on of them saying why do you want the other person to be "hurt?" If they really found out the truth, they wouldn't be.

[valerief]

74. Is this article supposed to make me believe there aren't any

paid trolls?

Well, let's say there are both kinds. A generous conclusion would be the paid trolls can't get a better job. As for the unpaid trolls, they're a bunch of CEO-wannabes and pissed they're not.

[RufusTFirefly]

75. I think there's a distinction between trolls and shills

We tend to use the term troll here to encompass all sorts of disruptive behavior, including from posters (with a variety of motivations, paid and unpaid) who are attempting to undermine or discredit particular people or viewpoints. My take on the research that the Psychology Today article is referencing is that it deals primarily with troublemakers who don't have a set agenda other than to gain enjoyment out of being disruptive.

[valerief]

85. Good point. Shill is a better name for the paid disruptors. nt

[Veilex]

83. Indeed.

Then there are the unintentional trolls... the ones who actually think they're right, and often refuse to back down, no matter what.

[grahamhgreen]

86. Typical pink pony racist conspiracy theory, alerting!

[librechik]

88. don't forget dumb, uneducated and illogical

that's why they're fun to play with!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

90. One of the professional mailing lists I'm on used to have a troll

(a bona fide translator, too, who was capable of giving good advice on translation questions) who resorted to making nasty personal remarks about anyone who displayed any sentiments at all left of center.

He once found pictures of a colleague's family online, told him "you're one of those losers who had to go to Japan to get laid" and then wrote about how he'd like to "do" the colleague's daughters.

His favorite insults by far were over-the-top homophobic. You name the homophobic insult, he used it, including a few I hadn't seen before.

In revenge, one of the members of the list found a picture of the troll online, his personal website, where he was posed in undershirt and briefs (as in underwear briefs).

That slowed the troll down, but at one point, he actually bragged that he never bothered to argue with liberals. Instead, he said, he just spewed random craziness until they walked away. He considered this "winning."

Finally, some of us regular contributors made a privately shared decision to announce that we were putting the troll on "ignore" but to not go through with it.

It was amusing to see the troll try to goad us into responding with worse and worse insults until he quietly stopped trolling.

He later showed up on DU under another name, but I recognized his distinctly awful style, and anyway, he lasted about ten posts before being banned.

He has behaved himself in recent years, but he is one person I hope NEVER attends a translators' conference. So far, so good.

[Enthusiast]

95. Kicked and recommended a whole bunch!

Thank you, RufusTFirefly.

[RufusTFirefly]

97. As the leader of Freedonia, it was an honor. Besides, Chicolini was the first troll.

Last edited Sat Sep 20, 2014, 06:42 PM - Edit history (1)

Rufus T. Firefly: Hey! Do you want to be a public nuisance?
Chicolini: Sure! How much does the job pay?