Incentivized sadism: The impact of intrinsic and extrinsic reward on sadistic aggression

In two studies (one correlational, one experimental; total N = 419), we tested whether dispositional sadism is related to the anticipation of experiencing pleasure (instead of guilt) during and after aggressing, and whether this anticipation motivates aggressive behavior. We also tested whether individuals higher in sadism are less likely to use dissonance reduction strategies for behaving aggressively (and feeling pleasure while doing so). Study 1 looked at how dispositional sadism is related to the anticipation of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards of behaving aggressively. Study 2 looked at whether offering a meager extrinsic reward for behaving aggressively (i.e., financial compensation) increased the experience of pleasure and decreased the experience of guilt during and after aggression - a dissonance reduction strategy - and whether this effect was reduced for people high (vs. low) in sadism. Results revealed that dispositional sadism positively predicts (1) the expectation of reward and lack of guilt after behaving aggressively (Study 1), (2) aggressive behavior in an animal-killing paradigm (Study 2), and (3) hedonic pleasure and lack of guilt while doing so (Study 2). Notably, these affective correlates of sadism were not maintained after aggression, suggesting that hedonic gains are short-lived. The effects of introducing a financial incentive for behaving aggressively were inconsistent across the main studies and a preliminary pilot study (reported in Supplementary Materials), and should be interpreted with caution. Overall, the current studies portray dispositional sadism as a trait primarily associated with intrinsic motivation for aggressive behaviour, driven by its emotional benefits - at least in the moment.