Psychological Assessment of Internet Trolls

[Delta4Embassy]

Internet Trolls Are Narcissists, Psychopaths, and Sadists

"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, in fact, 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? Some Canadian researchers decided to find out.

They conducted two online studies with over 1,200 people, giving 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 traits: narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadism.

They found that Dark Tetrad scores were highest among people who said trolling was their favorite Internet activity. To get an idea of how much more prevalent these traits were among Internet trolls, see this figure from the paper:

Look at how low the Dark Tetrad scores are for everyone except the trolls! Their scores for all four traits soar on the chart. The relationship between trolling and the Dark Tetrad is so significant that the authors write in their paper:

"... the associations between sadism and GAIT (Global Assessment of Internet Trolling) scores were so strong that it might be said that online trolls are prototypical everyday sadists." [emphasis added]

Trolls truly enjoy making you feel bad. To quote the authors once more (because this is a truly quotable article): "Both trolls and sadists feel sadistic glee at the distress of others. Sadists just want to have fun ... and the Internet is their playground!"

The next time you encounter a troll online, remember:

1. These trolls are some truly difficult people.
2. It is your suffering that brings them pleasure, so the best thing you can do is ignore them."

 

[Hossfly]

Internet Trolls Are Narcissists, Psychopaths, and Sadists

"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, in fact, 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? Some Canadian researchers decided to find out.

They conducted two online studies with over 1,200 people, giving 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 traits: narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadism.

They found that Dark Tetrad scores were highest among people who said trolling was their favorite Internet activity. To get an idea of how much more prevalent these traits were among Internet trolls, see this figure from the paper:

Look at how low the Dark Tetrad scores are for everyone except the trolls! Their scores for all four traits soar on the chart. The relationship between trolling and the Dark Tetrad is so significant that the authors write in their paper:

"... the associations between sadism and GAIT (Global Assessment of Internet Trolling) scores were so strong that it might be said that online trolls are prototypical everyday sadists." [emphasis added]

Trolls truly enjoy making you feel bad. To quote the authors once more (because this is a truly quotable article): "Both trolls and sadists feel sadistic glee at the distress of others. Sadists just want to have fun ... and the Internet is their playground!"

The next time you encounter a troll online, remember:

1. These trolls are some truly difficult people.
2. It is your suffering that brings them pleasure, so the best thing you can do is ignore them."

They should be shot on sight.

 

[Correll]

It is certainly believable.

Too bad the actual study is not available.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

It is certainly believable.

Too bad the actual study is not available.

Typical of most science journals, they charge for access. Though usually the Abstract is sufficient.

"Abstract

In two online studies (total N = 1215), respondents completed personality inventories and a survey of their Internet commenting styles. Overall, strong positive associations emerged among online commenting frequency, trolling enjoyment, and troll identity, pointing to a common construct underlying the measures. Both studies revealed similar patterns of relations between trolling and the Dark Tetrad of personality: trolling correlated positively with sadism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism, using both enjoyment ratings and identity scores. Of all personality measures, sadism showed the most robust associations with trolling and, importantly, the relationship was specific to trolling behavior. Enjoyment of other online activities, such as chatting and debating, was unrelated to sadism. Thus cyber-trolling appears to be an Internet manifestation of everyday sadism."
Trolls just want to have fun

 

[Correll]

It is certainly believable.

Too bad the actual study is not available.

Typical of most science journals, they charge for access. Though usually the Abstract is sufficient.

"Abstract

In two online studies (total N = 1215), respondents completed personality inventories and a survey of their Internet commenting styles. Overall, strong positive associations emerged among online commenting frequency, trolling enjoyment, and troll identity, pointing to a common construct underlying the measures. Both studies revealed similar patterns of relations between trolling and the Dark Tetrad of personality: trolling correlated positively with sadism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism, using both enjoyment ratings and identity scores. Of all personality measures, sadism showed the most robust associations with trolling and, importantly, the relationship was specific to trolling behavior. Enjoyment of other online activities, such as chatting and debating, was unrelated to sadism. Thus cyber-trolling appears to be an Internet manifestation of everyday sadism."
Trolls just want to have fun

Most of the clown posse on this site sounds about right for this. As does Al.

You, delta, have many little odd pet issues you seem to really fixate on.

But I think you actually want to discuss them, creepy as they may be.

You are not a troll, IMO.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

It is certainly believable.

Too bad the actual study is not available.

Typical of most science journals, they charge for access. Though usually the Abstract is sufficient.

"Abstract

In two online studies (total N = 1215), respondents completed personality inventories and a survey of their Internet commenting styles. Overall, strong positive associations emerged among online commenting frequency, trolling enjoyment, and troll identity, pointing to a common construct underlying the measures. Both studies revealed similar patterns of relations between trolling and the Dark Tetrad of personality: trolling correlated positively with sadism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism, using both enjoyment ratings and identity scores. Of all personality measures, sadism showed the most robust associations with trolling and, importantly, the relationship was specific to trolling behavior. Enjoyment of other online activities, such as chatting and debating, was unrelated to sadism. Thus cyber-trolling appears to be an Internet manifestation of everyday sadism."
Trolls just want to have fun

Most of the clown posse on this site sounds about right for this. As does Al.

You, delta, have many little odd pet issues you seem to really fixate on.

But I think you actually want to discuss them, creepy as they may be.

You are not a troll, IMO.

I like sex. And suppose unlike most don't pretend I don't as with being able to discuss it like a grown up.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

Used to blame a lot of adult problems on potty training. I think it's more about sex and how anything involving our genitals is inexoribly linked with sexuality. I'm definitely a Freudian.

 

[Correll]

It is certainly believable.

Too bad the actual study is not available.

Typical of most science journals, they charge for access. Though usually the Abstract is sufficient.

"Abstract

In two online studies (total N = 1215), respondents completed personality inventories and a survey of their Internet commenting styles. Overall, strong positive associations emerged among online commenting frequency, trolling enjoyment, and troll identity, pointing to a common construct underlying the measures. Both studies revealed similar patterns of relations between trolling and the Dark Tetrad of personality: trolling correlated positively with sadism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism, using both enjoyment ratings and identity scores. Of all personality measures, sadism showed the most robust associations with trolling and, importantly, the relationship was specific to trolling behavior. Enjoyment of other online activities, such as chatting and debating, was unrelated to sadism. Thus cyber-trolling appears to be an Internet manifestation of everyday sadism."
Trolls just want to have fun

Most of the clown posse on this site sounds about right for this. As does Al.

You, delta, have many little odd pet issues you seem to really fixate on.

But I think you actually want to discuss them, creepy as they may be.

You are not a troll, IMO.

I like sex. And suppose unlike most don't pretend I don't as with being able to discuss it like a grown up.

LIking sex is one thing.

Wanting to discuss it with people who do not share your sexual interests or getting off on creeping people out is another.

BUT, it is not trolling.

 

[Correll]

Used to blame a lot of adult problems on potty training. I think it's more about sex and how anything involving our genitals is inexoribly linked with sexuality. I'm definitely a Freudian.

No offense meant, but I literally could not care less.

You might as well start a conversation about how paint drys at different levels of humidity.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

It is certainly believable.

Too bad the actual study is not available.

Typical of most science journals, they charge for access. Though usually the Abstract is sufficient.

"Abstract

In two online studies (total N = 1215), respondents completed personality inventories and a survey of their Internet commenting styles. Overall, strong positive associations emerged among online commenting frequency, trolling enjoyment, and troll identity, pointing to a common construct underlying the measures. Both studies revealed similar patterns of relations between trolling and the Dark Tetrad of personality: trolling correlated positively with sadism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism, using both enjoyment ratings and identity scores. Of all personality measures, sadism showed the most robust associations with trolling and, importantly, the relationship was specific to trolling behavior. Enjoyment of other online activities, such as chatting and debating, was unrelated to sadism. Thus cyber-trolling appears to be an Internet manifestation of everyday sadism."
Trolls just want to have fun

Most of the clown posse on this site sounds about right for this. As does Al.

You, delta, have many little odd pet issues you seem to really fixate on.

But I think you actually want to discuss them, creepy as they may be.

You are not a troll, IMO.

I like sex. And suppose unlike most don't pretend I don't as with being able to discuss it like a grown up.

LIking sex is one thing.

Wanting to discuss it with people who do not share your sexual interests or getting off on creeping people out is another.

BUT, it is not trolling.

I'm not a politician. Thus I don't author threads to be of appeal to the majority. I write things mostly for the teeniest minority of people actually interested in academic discussions instead of junior highschool level shits and giggles. If people don't like the material, don't read the post. Pretty simple really.

 

[Billo_Really]

Internet Trolls Are Narcissists, Psychopaths, and Sadists

"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, in fact, 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? Some Canadian researchers decided to find out.

They conducted two online studies with over 1,200 people, giving 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 traits: narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadism.

They found that Dark Tetrad scores were highest among people who said trolling was their favorite Internet activity. To get an idea of how much more prevalent these traits were among Internet trolls, see this figure from the paper:

Look at how low the Dark Tetrad scores are for everyone except the trolls! Their scores for all four traits soar on the chart. The relationship between trolling and the Dark Tetrad is so significant that the authors write in their paper:

"... the associations between sadism and GAIT (Global Assessment of Internet Trolling) scores were so strong that it might be said that online trolls are prototypical everyday sadists." [emphasis added]

Trolls truly enjoy making you feel bad. To quote the authors once more (because this is a truly quotable article): "Both trolls and sadists feel sadistic glee at the distress of others. Sadists just want to have fun ... and the Internet is their playground!"

The next time you encounter a troll online, remember:

1. These trolls are some truly difficult people.
2. It is your suffering that brings them pleasure, so the best thing you can do is ignore them."

Another thing trolls do, is they won't address specific points of a post, nor do they answer direct questions.

Those are red flags.

 

[Correll]

Internet Trolls Are Narcissists, Psychopaths, and Sadists

"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, in fact, 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? Some Canadian researchers decided to find out.

They conducted two online studies with over 1,200 people, giving 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 traits: narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadism.

They found that Dark Tetrad scores were highest among people who said trolling was their favorite Internet activity. To get an idea of how much more prevalent these traits were among Internet trolls, see this figure from the paper:

Look at how low the Dark Tetrad scores are for everyone except the trolls! Their scores for all four traits soar on the chart. The relationship between trolling and the Dark Tetrad is so significant that the authors write in their paper:

"... the associations between sadism and GAIT (Global Assessment of Internet Trolling) scores were so strong that it might be said that online trolls are prototypical everyday sadists." [emphasis added]

Trolls truly enjoy making you feel bad. To quote the authors once more (because this is a truly quotable article): "Both trolls and sadists feel sadistic glee at the distress of others. Sadists just want to have fun ... and the Internet is their playground!"

The next time you encounter a troll online, remember:

1. These trolls are some truly difficult people.
2. It is your suffering that brings them pleasure, so the best thing you can do is ignore them."

Another thing trolls do, is they won't address specific points of a post, nor do they answer direct questions.

Those are red flags.

Well, there are answers, and then their are "answers".

Screaming logical fallacies and personal attacks, even if they do reference the direct question can still be troll behavior.

 

[Billo_Really]

Well, there are answers, and then their are "answers".

Screaming logical fallacies and personal attacks, even if they do reference the direct question can still be troll behavior.

All the trolls I've seen, will not answer a direct question. If you ask them, "What is my point?" They won't even attempt to answer that.

To anyone who is serious about debating an issue, they would have no problem telling you what your point is. Because if they don't know, then they don't know what they are responding to. And if they don't know what they are responding to, then they don't know what they are talking about.

Trolls won't do this, because they have no intention of debating in the first place.

 

[Iron Head]

This is total bullshit from a known whack job. There is no such thing as "trolls". Rather, it is a fiction created by people to mask their own feelings of insecurity. People feel more comfortable if they can label things that they do not like. It is a rather simplistic behavior that betrays a simple mind.

 

[Iron Head]

Well, there are answers, and then their are "answers".

Screaming logical fallacies and personal attacks, even if they do reference the direct question can still be troll behavior.

All the trolls I've seen, will not answer a direct question. If you ask them, "What is my point?" They won't even attempt to answer that.

To anyone who is serious about debating an issue, they would have no problem telling you what your point is. Because if they don't know, then they don't know what they are responding to. And if they don't know what they are responding to, then they don't know what they are talking about.

Trolls won't do this, because they have no intention of debating in the first place.

Maybe you are just dumb to understand their point of view.

 

[Billo_Really]

Maybe you are just dumb to understand their point of view.

Apparently, you don't understand mine.

 

[Billo_Really]

This is total bullshit from a known whack job. There is no such thing as "trolls". Rather, it is a fiction created by people to mask their own feelings of insecurity. People feel more comfortable if they can label things that they do not like. It is a rather simplistic behavior that betrays a simple mind.

This subject hits a little too close to home, huh?

 

[Correll]

Maybe you are just dumb to understand their point of view.

Apparently, you don't understand mine.

Oh, I think he understands just fine.

He is just denying a reality he doesn't like.

 

[Correll]

This is total bullshit from a known whack job. There is no such thing as "trolls". Rather, it is a fiction created by people to mask their own feelings of insecurity. People feel more comfortable if they can label things that they do not like. It is a rather simplistic behavior that betrays a simple mind.

This subject hits a little too close to home, huh?

I was thinking the same thing when I read his post.

 

[Iron Head]

Maybe you are just dumb to understand their point of view.

Apparently, you don't understand mine.

You are not debating my point on your intelligence, or lack thereof. Therefore, YOUR behavior comports to that of a "troll".