sadism

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what is meant by sadism

-- mohandas.p (pmd57@hotmail.com), May 07, 2004

Answers

You will find an "official" definition, I belive, in the DSM. Generally, it means taking pleasure -- particularly, though not exclusively, sexual pleasure -- in inflicting pain or harm on others.

-- Christopher Green (christo@yorku.ca), May 07, 2004.

Hi Mohandas, While concepts like sadism and masochism (ostensibly enjoying harming yourself) are useful, there may be difficulty applying them appropriatly in some cases. The definitions of sadism and masochism, when applied to humans, are typically based on inferred intentions (i.e., they intended to do harm) and inferred emotions (i.e., they enjoyed harming). Not only can emotions and motives be hidden from observers, but they can also be complex (e.g., simultaneous or alternating ambivalent emotions or multiple motives for a give activity). You may also want to be careful about making absolute inferences about mental processes (e.g., psychopaths do not care about anyone but themselves, or psychopaths are completely lacking in empathy). Typically, personality traits and abilities come in degrees. A psychopath may care for some people (e.g., their mother) or some animals (e.g., their pet dog). I hope this helps. Paul

-- Paul Kleinginna (pkleinginna@georgiasouthern.edu), May 08, 2004.

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