Samuel Chiltern answered
I think the broad diagnosis you are looking for is called sadistic personality disorder.
This condition is no longer medically recognised under this name, however, and is now usually referred to as a Personality disorder not otherwise specified.
People Who Enjoy Seeing Others Suffer
Sadists are people who enjoy watching the suffering of others, whether animals or people. They will also enjoy committing acts that cause suffering to others, and might use both physical and emotional cruelty.
Not all sadists use physical aggression, however, and some will simply exhibit anti-social behaviour and gain pleasure from humiliating others in public. Sadistic personality disorder is typically found to co-exist with many other personality disorders in most individuals, and for this reason it can be very hard to distinguish separately.
Most psychologists think that sadism is linked to a person's upbringing - and it's believed that negative experiences during childhood or teenage years could lead to the onset of the condition.
There is also believed to be a possibility that a person could be conditioned into sadism, if they are continually exposed to a particular stimulus whilst simultaneously experiencing sexual pleasure or happiness.
The technical term for somebody who actively performs acts of animal cruelty is a zoosadist. This behaviour is considered to be one of the three indications of a sociopath, as set out in the Macdonald Triad.
Although no direct correlation has been found so far, the FBI (among other agencies) has pointed out the tendency for serial rapists and murderers to have a history of animal cruelty. Research has so far shown that those who torture animals also demonstrate a lot of aggression towards humans.
This condition is no longer medically recognised under this name, however, and is now usually referred to as a Personality disorder not otherwise specified.
People Who Enjoy Seeing Others Suffer
Sadists are people who enjoy watching the suffering of others, whether animals or people. They will also enjoy committing acts that cause suffering to others, and might use both physical and emotional cruelty.
Not all sadists use physical aggression, however, and some will simply exhibit anti-social behaviour and gain pleasure from humiliating others in public. Sadistic personality disorder is typically found to co-exist with many other personality disorders in most individuals, and for this reason it can be very hard to distinguish separately.
Most psychologists think that sadism is linked to a person's upbringing - and it's believed that negative experiences during childhood or teenage years could lead to the onset of the condition.
There is also believed to be a possibility that a person could be conditioned into sadism, if they are continually exposed to a particular stimulus whilst simultaneously experiencing sexual pleasure or happiness.
The technical term for somebody who actively performs acts of animal cruelty is a zoosadist. This behaviour is considered to be one of the three indications of a sociopath, as set out in the Macdonald Triad.
Although no direct correlation has been found so far, the FBI (among other agencies) has pointed out the tendency for serial rapists and murderers to have a history of animal cruelty. Research has so far shown that those who torture animals also demonstrate a lot of aggression towards humans.
