The Four Shades of Dark

People since time immemorial have been fascinated by the problem of evil; some consider it a philosophical (why does evil exist?) and religious problem (Why does god allow evil if he is omnipotent and benevolent?) while some others have taken a more scientific approach. Embed from Getty Images Prominent psychologists from Roy Baumeister to Simon Baron-Cohen have written about evil and I first got drawn into psychology when I read ‘The anatomy of human destructiveness‘ by Erich Fromm in 1992, while still in college. As a matter of fact Fromm first came up with the term ‘malignant narcissism’ which was a sort of predecessor to the modern theory of an evil personality. The modern theory of evil personality has recognized the existence of a dark triad- Narcissism,  Machiavellianissm and Psychopathy, and recent studies and conceptualization have extended this to include a fourth trait called Sadism to make it a dark tetrad. Research has shown that these four traits are moderately correlated to each other but are separate constructs. But first lets understand what we mean by these terms. Sadism: Everyday sadism, includes but is not limited to sadism in a sexual context. Put simply, it is a tendency to take pleasure in inflicting pain on others, either directly or vicariously. Normally, if we hurt someone else we feel guilt and shame and distress etc; sadists instead become addicted to such hurting others events as they feel diminished negative affect ...
Source: The Mouse Trap - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: personality Erich Fromm evil Machiavellianism narcissism psychopathy sadism Source Type: podcasts