People behave more sadistically when they ’re bored

This study “points to a potential cause of child maltreatment that has not so far been considered in empirical research” they write. However, a weakness of these studies was that they were all correlational and based on self-report. So the team then looked at what impact experimentally-induced boredom might have on sadistic behaviour. These studies of more than 4,000 people produced some fascinating if also disturbing results. In one, 129 participants came into the lab, handed in their phones and anything else that might be distracting, and were put into a cubicle to watch either a 20-minute film of a waterfall (this was designed to make them feel bored) or a 20-minute documentary about the Alps. In the cubicle with them were three named cups, each holding a maggot, and a modified coffee grinder. The participants were told that while watching the film, they could shred the maggots if they wished. (In fact, if a maggot was put through the grinder, it was not harmed). The vast majority did not grind any. However, of the 13 people that did, 12 were in the boring video group. And the team found a link between worm-grinding and reporting feeling pleasure/satisfaction. “In this way, we document that boredom can motivate actual sadistic behaviour,” they write. In subsequent experimental online studies, the researchers looked at how levels of underlying, trait sadism might influence sadistic behaviour while bored. These studies again involved participants watching bo...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Morality Personality Source Type: blogs