Why Do Some People Enjoy Humiliating Others? Inside the Psychology of Everyday Sadism

One thing I've come to realize is that people who thrive on trolling, abusing, and humiliating others on social media are often fighting battles within themselves. More often than not, such behavior stems from unresolved childhood trauma, deep rooted insecurities or low self-esteem. Instead of confronting their own pain, they find temporary satisfaction in bringing others down, hoping it will somehow make them appear stronger, wiser, or more perfect.The truth is, people who are genuinely happy and secure with themselves don't wake up every day looking for strangers to insult or bully. They have no need to seek validation by destroying someone else's confidence.What's even more interesting is that if you take a closer look at the lives of some of these individuals or get to know them beyond the keyboard you'll often discover that the image they project online is far from reality. Behind the fake confidence is often a miserable lifestyle, broken relationships, unfulfilled dreams, and a life built on appearances. In many cases, the "perfect life" they flaunt is nothing more than a scam. So before allowing the words of a troll to affect you, remember this; people who are truly at peace with themselves don't spend their time tearing others apart. Their character speaks through kindness, while bitterness always finds a way to expose itself.

YEET Magazine — Psychology & Human Behaviour

Why Do Some People Enjoy Humiliating Others? Inside the Psychology of Everyday Sadism

Some people enjoy humiliating others because the pleasure of cruelty is a real psychological phenomenon. Researchers call it everyday sadism — one of the four traits in the Dark Tetrad, alongside narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism. Unlike psychopathy, which is marked by callousness, or Machiavellianism, which is calculated and strategic, sadism involves a motivation that is appetitive: cruelty pursued for its own sake.

The behavior is not confined to extreme cases. It appears in workplaces, online spaces, and everyday social dynamics, wherever cruelty is subtly rewarded or unaccountable.

Table of Contents

• What Everyday Sadism Actually Is
• The Dark Tetrad: Sadism's Place Among Aversive Traits
• Pleasure, Boredom, and Sensation-Seeking
• The Digital Disinhibition Effect
• Why Humiliation Functions as Dominance
• Frequently Asked Questions

What Everyday Sadism Actually Is

Everyday sadism describes the tendency to derive pleasure from others' discomfort in trivial, everyday contexts — not only in extreme or sexualized scenarios. It includes behaviors like trolling, bullying, and gratuitous cruelty that serve no strategic purpose [citation:3].

Research has demonstrated that individuals high in sadistic traits will engage in gratuitous harm — such as killing insects — for personal gratification, with medium-to-large effect sizes across behavioral measures. Subsequent replications have confirmed these behavioral trends across multiple cultural contexts [citation:13].

The Dark Tetrad: Sadism's Place Among Aversive Traits

The Dark Tetrad includes narcissism, psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and sadism. Sadism's distinctive trait is the intrinsic pleasure derived from others' discomfort [citation:3].

Research has found that sadism predicted proactive aggression more strongly than psychopathy, even after controlling for narcissism and Machiavellianism, reinforcing its unique motivational profile [citation:13]. In other words, sadism is not just a side effect of other dark traits. It has its own distinct psychological signature.

Pleasure, Boredom, and Sensation-Seeking

Research links everyday sadism to sensation-seeking and boredom-proneness, suggesting that cruelty can function as a self-stimulating behavior for individuals who find normative experiences underwhelming [citation:3].

Emerging evidence suggests that everyday sadists exhibit a preference for high-arousal states and low empathy, consistent with profiles of callous-unemotional traits. Neurobiological findings, although still limited, suggest possible involvement of dopaminergic reward pathways, paralleling mechanisms observed in other appetitive behaviors such as gambling or risk-taking .

This means the pleasure of humiliation is not metaphorical. It is a reward signal in the brain, reinforced over time.

The Digital Disinhibition Effect

Online environments create a fertile space for sadistic gratification: the emotional impact on victims is visible, yet accountability remains low [citation:3].

Research has found a strong correlation between sadism and trolling, with sadistic individuals deriving enjoyment from upsetting others in anonymous digital settings, even after controlling for empathy and psychopathy [citation:13]. The screen removes the social cost of cruelty while preserving the reward.

Why Humiliation Functions as Dominance

Humiliation is a dominance display. It communicates that the humiliator has power over the humiliated, and it reinforces that hierarchy in the eyes of observers.

For people high in sadistic traits, this dominance display is doubly rewarding: it asserts status and it produces the emotional reaction they find pleasurable. The combination creates a feedback loop that reinforces the behavior.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is everyday sadism the same as psychopathy?

No. They are distinct traits in the Dark Tetrad. Psychopathy is marked by callousness and emotional detachment. Sadism involves the intrinsic pleasure of cruelty for its own sake [citation:3].

Can someone be a sadist without being violent?

Yes. Everyday sadism operates in socially mediated behaviors like trolling, bullying, and humiliation. Physical violence is not required [citation:3].

Why do people troll online?

Research shows a strong link between sadism and trolling. The anonymity and low accountability of online spaces make cruelty rewarding without consequence [citation:13].

Is sadism treatable?

There is limited research on treatment for subclinical sadism. Interventions targeting emotional regulation and moral disengagement may help, but the field is still developing [citation:13].

The Bottom Line

Some people enjoy humiliating others because everyday sadism is a real psychological trait, reinforced by pleasure, boredom, and low accountability. Understanding it does not excuse it, but it does explain why cruelty persists even when it serves no strategic purpose.

Sources: Deviant Behavior (Taylor & Francis) ; Taylor & Francis Online .