Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Bullying02:04

Bullying

8.4K
A modern form of aggression is bullying. As you learn in your study of child development, socializing and playing with other children is beneficial for children’s psychological development. However, as you may have experienced as a child, not all play behavior has positive outcomes. Some children are aggressive and want to play roughly. Other children are selfish and do not want to share toys. One form of negative social interactions among children that has become a national concern is...
8.4K
Functionalism01:11

Functionalism

546
William James, John Dewey, and Charles Sanders Peirce were instrumental in founding functional psychology, which draws heavily from Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. This theory suggests that individual traits, including behaviors, are adapted to their environments through natural selection. At the heart of functionalism is the concept of adaptation, meaning that a trait enhances an individual's chances of survival and reproduction.
James envisioned psychology's...
546
Horney's Sociocultural Approach01:27

Horney's Sociocultural Approach

552
Karen Horney's psychoanalytic theories emphasize the potential for self-realization and the importance of addressing social and cultural, rather than biological, factors in personality development. She challenged traditional Freudian views, particularly Freud's concept of "penis envy," which she argued stemmed from cultural influences rather than inherent biological differences. Horney believed that any sense of inferiority in women was a result of societal conditioning, such as...
552
Group Polarization01:01

Group Polarization

34.3K
Group polarization is the strengthening of an original group attitude following the discussion of views within a group (Teger & Pruitt, 1967). That is, if a group initially favors a viewpoint, after discussion the group consensus is likely a stronger endorsement of the viewpoint. Conversely, if the group was initially opposed to a viewpoint, group discussion would likely lead to stronger opposition.
34.3K
Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective01:23

Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective

106
In a study where individuals posing as strangers offered compliments and proposed casual sex to students, the responses differed significantly based on gender. Not a single woman accepted the proposal, while 70% of the men agreed. This outcome provides a useful scenario to explore through the lens of evolutionary psychology and social learning theory, highlighting the diverse perspectives on human sexual behaviors.
Evolutionary psychology provides one explanation for these findings, suggesting...
106
Attribution Theory00:56

Attribution Theory

13.0K
Behavior is a product of both the situation (e.g., cultural influences, social roles, and the presence of bystanders) and of the person (e.g., personality characteristics). Subfields of psychology tend to focus on one influence or behavior over others. Situationism is the view that our behavior and actions are determined by our immediate environment and surroundings. In contrast, dispositionism holds that our behavior is determined by internal factors (Heider, 1958).
13.0K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Co-Designing a Social Media and Anxiety Survey: Reflections on the Importance of Centring Mental Health Lived Experience Expertise.

Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy·2026
Same author

Why might members of racially minoritized groups seek anonymity when interacting with White people online? Codeswitching, emotional labour and burnout.

The British journal of social psychology·2026
Same author

Stable profiles of contact and prejudice: Few people report co-occurring increases in intergroup contact and decreases in prejudice over time.

Journal of personality and social psychology·2025
Same author

Choosiness as a Predictor of Sexual (In)frequency in Single Heterosexual Adults.

Archives of sexual behavior·2025
Same author

Interpersonal Goal Contagion Through Social Media Posts.

Cyberpsychology, behavior and social networking·2025
Same author

Editorial: Internet deviance.

Frontiers in psychology·2024

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 12, 2025

Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses
06:42

Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses

Published on: September 28, 2018

11.7K

A functionalist approach to online trolling.

Lewis Nitschinsk1, Stephanie J Tobin2, Eric J Vanman1

  • 1School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.

Frontiers in Psychology
|October 27, 2023
PubMed
Summary

People high in sadism and psychopathy may troll online due to toxic motivations for anonymity. These motivations, rather than just personality traits, better predict online trolling behavior.

Keywords:
anonymitymotivationsonlinepsychopathysadismtrolling

More Related Videos

Integrating Computerized Linguistic and Social Network Analyses to Capture Addiction Recovery Capital in an Online Community
08:53

Integrating Computerized Linguistic and Social Network Analyses to Capture Addiction Recovery Capital in an Online Community

Published on: May 31, 2019

5.2K
Peering into the Dynamics of Social Interactions: Measuring Play Fighting in Rats
15:01

Peering into the Dynamics of Social Interactions: Measuring Play Fighting in Rats

Published on: January 18, 2013

15.4K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 12, 2025

Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses
06:42

Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses

Published on: September 28, 2018

11.7K
Integrating Computerized Linguistic and Social Network Analyses to Capture Addiction Recovery Capital in an Online Community
08:53

Integrating Computerized Linguistic and Social Network Analyses to Capture Addiction Recovery Capital in an Online Community

Published on: May 31, 2019

5.2K
Peering into the Dynamics of Social Interactions: Measuring Play Fighting in Rats
15:01

Peering into the Dynamics of Social Interactions: Measuring Play Fighting in Rats

Published on: January 18, 2013

15.4K

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Cyberpsychology
  • Social Media Research

Background:

  • Online trolling is frequently associated with personality traits like sadism and psychopathy.
  • Limited research explores the specific motivations driving individuals with these traits to engage in online trolling.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether individuals high in sadism and psychopathy are motivated by the affordances of online environments, such as anonymity, to express malevolent aspects of themselves through trolling.
  • To examine the role of toxic anonymous motivations as a potential mediator between personality traits and trolling behavior.

Main Methods:

  • A functionalist approach was used, analyzing data from 515 university undergraduates.
  • Participants responded to vignettes depicting trolling, rated acceptability, and self-reported past trolling behavior.
  • Measures of psychopathy, sadism, and toxic anonymous motivations were administered.

Main Results:

  • Toxic anonymous motivations were found to partially mediate the link between psychopathy and sadism, and online trolling behavior.
  • This suggests that the desire for anonymity plays a significant role in enabling trolling.

Conclusions:

  • While personality traits are linked to trolling, toxic motivations for anonymity may be a more direct predictor of who engages in online trolling.
  • Understanding these motivations is crucial for addressing online malevolent behavior.