Peer-reviewed scientific paper: Internet Trolls are Narcissistic, Machiavellian, psychopathic, and sadistic

POSTED BY: MAL4PREZ
UPDATED: Saturday, June 21, 2025 15:19
VIEWED: 18404
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MAL4PREZ

Wednesday, February 19, 2014 7:21 AM

Quote:
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.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886914000324

You gotta buy the rest of the paper to get the details, but it is discussed in a Slate post:

Quote:
That’s bad, but it’s nothing compared with what a new psychology paper has to say about the personalities of trolls themselves. The research, conducted by Erin Buckels of the University of Manitoba and two colleagues, sought to directly investigate whether people who engage in trolling are characterized by personality traits that fall in the so-called Dark Tetrad: Machiavellianism (willingness to manipulate and deceive others), narcissism (egotism and self-obsession), psychopathy (the lack of remorse and empathy), and sadism (pleasure in the suffering of others).

It is hard to underplay the results: The study found correlations, sometimes quite significant, between these traits and trolling behavior. What’s more, it also found a relationship between all Dark Tetrad traits (except for narcissism) and the overall time that an individual spent, per day, commenting on the Internet.

In the study, trolls were identified in a variety of ways. One was by simply asking survey participants what they “enjoyed doing most” when on online comment sites, offering five options: “debating issues that are important to you,” “chatting with others,” “making new friends,” “trolling others,” and “other.” Here’s how different responses about these Internet commenting preferences matched up with responses to questions designed to identify Dark Tetrad traits:

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/climate_desk/2014/02/
internet_troll_personality_study_machiavellianism_narcissism_psychopathy.html

BYTEMITE

Wednesday, February 19, 2014 7:23 AM

*hand steeple*

Excellent.

Look at it this way, if we didn't have gadflies, we would never be stung into reconsidering our course.

CHRISISALL

Wednesday, February 19, 2014 7:37 AM

Well, this certainly explains.... ahh, I won't go there....

JONGSSTRAW

Wednesday, February 19, 2014 8:38 AM

Machiavellian? I like the sound of that!

MAL4PREZ

Wednesday, February 19, 2014 8:43 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by chrisisall:
Well, this certainly explains.... ahh, I won't go there....

The inner eye in my brain thanks you very much. It does not need to see any of that kind of thing. :/

*-------------------------------------------------*
What trolls reveal about themselves when they troll:
http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=18&tid=57532
*-------------------------------------------------*

FREMDFIRMA

Wednesday, February 19, 2014 1:29 PM

They needed a study to figure this out ?
*blink, blink*

Reeeeaaallllyyy...

-F

BYTEMITE

Wednesday, February 19, 2014 7:58 PM

The key determinant of both psychopathy and trollishness appears to be a measure of are they an asshole Y/N

It's nice to know some facts are simple and some universal truths are blatantly obvious. They built this city on rock and troll, and the more you interact with the internet, the more your own behaviour will adapt.

Beware, internet IS trolls.

OONJERAH

Thursday, February 20, 2014 1:22 AM

Internet is a wide variety of people, not necessarily smart,
with something to say, not necessarily interesting.

If I tire of trolls, there are moderated forums.

In my youth, an eon before the internet, people who enjoyed
socializing, conversation & attention were considered healthy.

Those who did not were labeled undersocialized, antisocial,
likely a sociopath.

Labels are great weapons.

BYTEMITE

Thursday, February 20, 2014 2:16 AM

Wait.

Basement dwellers like me are sociable?

There's a different between making noise and being capable of human connection you know.

MIKER

Sunday, May 25, 2014 8:02 AM

Hey MAL4PREZ:

Mistakes do happen but not this time. When I did mistake your post for being hostel towards me, (the other post) you could have just pointed it out. After all you did recognize it as being a mistake and not directed at you? It does get a little confusing all these posts and all. So why did you respond the way you did????

I see with you, it is self praise your into. I love reading how you have my personality figured out. How you are so hip to me. So, your the groups psychoanalyst. I have enjoyed watching you slink in and out of conversations. Reappearing long enough to school the rest of us on our delusions or ignorance as perceived by you, only to disappear again. A bit of a narcissist huh.

"Again I can do nothing but point and laugh. I have not argued with "Miker" before tonight. On purpose. To flush you out".

This is a quote from you and appears to me to be narcissistic and even sadistic behavior. What do you think, your the expert?

"Sig undergoes an extreme change in personality after I poke her/it about her years-old symbiosis with Rap".

Another quote from you. You're so hip to us all. Yep, the psychoanalyst. I love the way you explain to the other participants in the thread what you are up to and how you have proceeded so brilliantly, because with you, that's what its really about is it not?

Which is why you have this link in your signature:

http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=18&tid=57532
"Peer-reviewed scientific paper: Internet Trolls are Narcissistic, Machiavellian, psychopathic, and sadistic".

Yeah, you have to show all how you are so brilliant and can stalk your victim coming in for the kill with your super wit to expose our psychosis. You pick something here someone said and pick something there someone said, because really, offering some new insight into the discussion is not what you are about. Coming to the rescue is. Trying to be everyone's champion is. After the setup of pretending to offer some new truth( which is usually little more than something you have cut and pasted ), you character assonate the one you have picked for that particular performance.

"Trolls are Narcissistic", and judging from what you have written in the posts I am responding to, I would say that title fits you just fine.

Your problem is, you have no arrows in you quiver.

Nope, not impressed at all.

"Again I can do nothing but point and laugh. I have not argued with "Miker" before tonight. On purpose. To flush you out".

That quote is pretty sadistic don't ya think? Both narcissistic and sadistic. Quite a combo.

My turn to flush you out. How do you like it? I waited for you to respond to this post in the other thread, but like I say above in this post, your style is to post and run, in and out. Your little quote here is just a small part of the smart ass posts about me in the other thread. Now this post will show up every time you send someone hear with your signature. You want to play, OK.

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