Jesse Bering
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The Wisdom of Psychopaths
In this engrossing journey into the lives of psychopaths and their infamously crafty behaviors, the renowned psychologist Kevin Dutton reveals that there is a...
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I would not consider myself to be particularly spiteful or vindictive. I suffer fools rather lightly, in fact. And I can even see myself, in the context of some simpleminded conversation, giving that old line about “not wishing it upon even my worst enemy.” Yet, I’m also all too human, and there are a handful of people in this world who have angered me such that the thought of transferring my most feverish emotional and physical pains to them makes me grin from ear to ear.
When someone is jarringly rude, obnoxious, or unfair to me or to people I care about, I take a hidden pleasure in daydreams laden with retaliatory themes that, if committed to the screen, would make Quentin Tarantino cringe and look away. In fact, punitive thoughts such as these apparently “feel good” in a neurobiologically meaningful way. For example, in a 2004 study published in Science by University of Zurich researcher Dominique de Quervain and his colleagues, people asked to think about exacting revenge on an enemy experienced measurable pleasure: their dorsal striatum (the pleasure center of the brain) lit up in a PET scan while doing so.
But thinking about getting even is one thing; going ahead and actually doing it is a different psychological story. Recent findings by Colgate University psychologist Kevin Carlsmith and his co-authors, Timothy Wilson of the University of Virginia and Daniel Gilbert from Harvard University, reveal that actually inflicting revenge on someone who has wronged us leaves us feeling anything but pleasure.
In a series of studies published last year in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, these investigators explored the emotional costs of imposing retaliatory harm on a social transgressor. Undergraduate students played a computer game in which they were “cheated” by another player (actually, a research assistant) and then some were later given the opportunity to punish this rule breaker.
What did this person do that was so bad? Well, in this particular study, she (it was always a female cheater to standardize the procedure) led the other players to believe she was going to cooperate with them on a standard “prisoner’s dilemma” economic game. Participants were given $1.00 and were told that, on any given trial, they could donate a portion of this money to a collective kitty that would be distributed evenly, along with a 40 percent dividend, after each round of play. Thus, “the optimal group outcome was achieved when each individual cooperated, but each individual maximized his or her personal outcome by defecting.” The fictitious cheater was outrageously duplicitous, encouraging everyone else to give an equal amount on each trial so that they’d all walk away with an equitably fair share. At first she kept up with her end of the bargain. But then—that hussy—she defected. That is to say, this player started selfishly keeping her money, thus taking away the most loot overall.
If you were a naïve participant in one of these studies, the researchers would have randomly assigned you to one of several possible conditions. For example, as a “punisher,” you would have been given the opportunity to levy a punitive fine against the cheater at the end of the game, thus “teaching her a lesson.” Or, as a “witness,” you would simply observe as one of the other players imposed the fine. Alternatively, you could have found yourself in the control condition in which the cheater was never punished. The most important finding was that, contrary to what the non-punishing participants thought the punishers would feel (basically, that levying the fine against her would provide an unrivaled degree of pleasure and satisfyingly resolve the matter), the punishers in fact reported feeling the worst out of the bunch once they’d gotten even. That is to say, the non-punishers’ “affective forecasts” for the positive afterglow of retaliation were way off the mark. Furthermore, the punishers were still thinking about the cheater ten minutes later whereas those from the other conditions had moved on from this otherwise trivial social betrayal.
The authors summarize their findings this way: “[People] underestimate the extent to which punishment will make them ruminate about the [transgressor], and they fail to realize that this is especially true if they instigate the punishment, as opposed to seeing someone else do it.” The reason for this paradoxical finding, the authors argue, is that rumination prolongs the negative emotions that punishers are trying to escape in the first place—the act of having punished someone keeps us thinking about them.
Carlsmith and his coauthors stop short of explaining exactly why punishment makes us continue reflecting on this person we loathe, but to me it’s fairly obvious. You may think you’ve restored justice by inflicting the punishment. But from the other person’s perspective, you’ve gone overboard and now it’s their turn to punish you. So, guess what? Now you’ve made a real enemy and have to be vigilant about them returning the retaliatory favor. Evolutionary scholars reason that punishment is “costly” in this sense because it can rapidly escalate, placing you and your family (and thus your genes) in harm’s way.
Of course, if you’re an anonymous punisher that threat becomes minimized. Just have a look at websites such as bitterwaitress (check out “The Shitty Tipper Database”) or RateMyProfessors.com, where underappreciated restaurant servers and disgruntled students can body slam the reputations of their antagonists while wearing the mask of an encrypted IP address. (Or for a really depressing glimpse into human nature unfiltered by fears of revenge, have a peak at some of the spirited adolescent comments left on the average YouTube video.)
In a study published last year in the journal Evolution & Human Behavior, my graduate student Jared Piazza and I used a similar economic game as the one previously described. We discovered that undergraduate students were unwilling to punish another player for being selfish whenever they thought this person could identify them by name or when clues were made available that would allow the punished to track their punisher down after the study (for example, the neighborhood where the participant lived or what he or she was majoring in at the university). In contrast, students who were explicitly told their identities would be kept hidden from the selfish players chose to levy significantly harsher monetary fines against them.
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33 Comments
Add CommentI was treated really badly by a doctor I was seeing recently. I was so mad that I imagined myself knocking all the furniture over and tearing up the paper on the table, and pushing all of the displays in the office over. Because since I cannot afford to replace these things, or bail myself out of jail for assault, I just gritted my teeth, and stormed out, then punched the heck out of my car. I wanted to file a complaint against him; I wanted to scream and kick... But I didn't, and I'm glad because it's more important to move on to something positive, and not have to pay (emotionally & financially) for a moment of angry, albeit justified impulsiveness.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNonetheless, I hope karma gives him a hefty kick in the pants for me.
very clever, witty and insightful. Thanks for the article and the scholarly amusement.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIs there a difference among fantasy retribution, physical retribution, a pity response, and no response? What are the subsequent short and long term effects? Is catharsis good for ones adjustment? People who let slights pass like water off a ducks back appear to be better adjusted.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWell done, this is a good example of " Anger Management 101 "
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWell done, this is classic " Anger Management 101 " something we should all abide by; what a wonderful world it would be ........
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhat would be really interesting is to determine if there are any differences in effects between the relatively trivial social slights cited in the article, and true harm comitted against one or one's family.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisa worthwhile lesson for those among us that hold onto grudges, and then fantasize about inflicting revenge: the thought is pleasurable but the actual act simply lowers you to the same level as the Other. to punish them you sort of BECOME them. ok, a bit of pop psychology here from someone who barely passed abnormal psych many years ago ...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thissome culture take the attitude of if you are thinking about doing something violent it is the same as if you had done the thing you thought about doing. I would put it another way Romans 12:19 "do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for gods wrath, for it ius written : "it is mine to avenge;I will repay says the lord."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNIV
I have seen so many people get caught up in petty power struglles and games they play to get back get even or make things. Right we cannot. A another example of revenge the terrorist attacks or the Hitlers germany . People trying to make things right . When I say I am going to get even with some one I know who has done wrong I execute my judgement against Him/Her . I migth hurt innocents or esclate the situation. Thinking about making things right is nonproductive but many people are stuck in quiet anger fumming over the evils of others . Let god dela with ti . You will find the peole who do wrong or evil will work on the wrong person who has far more power and influence and thier luck will run out .
On the other hand, a Swiss brain imaging study published in the August 27, 2004 issue of Science "shows that punishing people when they behave unfairly activates the same reward circuitry of the brain that is fired up when sniffing cocaine or seeing a beautiful face":
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://sisu.typepad.com/sisu/2004/08/the_notion_that_1.html
"If you wouldn’t be biased in such cases—even unconsciously—then you must be made of wires and metal."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAnd even that wouldn't be a guarantee.
So the moral of the story is to screw other people over and depend on them not exacting revenge.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThat gives carte blanche to every jerk in the world. A wonderful scientific result.
Our overwhelming need for social or societal interaction (in all forms) has served as both carrot and stick by which we have been conditioned not to seek PERSONAL revenge.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPersonal revenge (and a possible spiral into counter-revenges) is destabilizing and disruptive to the 'organism' society and perpetrators have always been ostracized. This isolating behaviour by the group as punishment for vengeful squabbling has been observed in other primates too.
As the article rightly points out, individuals will extract revenge gladly if anonymity can be assured. Noticed how cruel children can be if they think they are unobserved?
There are also, as the article mentions, the vicarious pleasures of the passive observer - consider how popular public hangings were, and still are in various parts of the world.
Now the point I would like to make is that while the group may suppress the destabilizing actions of the individual revenge seeker it becomes a different matter entirely when the group itself seeks revenge...
I have no intention of beginning a political debate here, but it would be pertinent to consider the various attitudes to the revenge enacted by the USA (under the Bush administration) on much of the Middle East. Revenge for the cowardly and horrifying violence perpetrated by... a tiny (comparatively) group of people.
I recall television footage of ordinary citizens across the US frothing at the mouth and baying for blood - applauded by the wronged society.
Furthermore, it will be interesting to observe the future of revenge between groups, communities and nations as we truly enter into the age of the global village. Here consider the world's stern admonishment of Israel's recent violent foray, and how soon it's effect.
I end on a personal note: For myself, I utterly believe in revenge. When crossed, I will react with precision. Every time.
Only the self-deluded (is there a greater sin?) pathetically accept and bow down to cruelty by others, all the while taking comfort in the quaint notions of Karma or God. Cold comfort.
I must add that I believe it is utterly vital to one's sanity to extract APPROPRIATE revenge and then to LEAVE IT BE and MOVE ON.
Kindest regards,
Gabriel.
gabrielhbyrne@gmail.com
8 Glengariff Road,
Three Anchor Bay,
Cape Town,
South Africa.
Our overwhelming need for social or societal interaction (in all forms) has served as both carrot and stick by which we have been conditioned not to seek PERSONAL revenge.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPersonal revenge (and a possible spiral into counter-revenges) is destabilizing and disruptive to the 'organism' society and perpetrators have always been ostracized. This isolating behaviour by the group as punishment for vengeful squabbling has been observed in other primates too.
As the article rightly points out, individuals will extract revenge gladly if anonymity can be assured. Noticed how cruel children can be if they think they are unobserved?
There are also, as the article mentions, the vicarious pleasures of the passive observer - consider how popular public hangings were, and still are in various parts of the world.
Now the point I would like to make is that while the group may suppress the destabilizing actions of the individual revenge seeker it becomes a different matter entirely when the group itself seeks revenge...
I have no intention of beginning a political debate here, but it would be pertinent to consider the various attitudes to the revenge enacted by the USA (under the Bush administration) on much of the Middle East. Revenge for the cowardly and horrifying violence perpetrated by... a tiny (comparatively) group of people.
I recall television footage of ordinary citizens across the US frothing at the mouth and baying for blood - applauded by the wronged society.
Furthermore, it will be interesting to observe the future of revenge between groups, communities and nations as we truly enter into the age of the global village. Here consider the world's stern admonishment of Israel's recent violent foray, and how soon it's effect.
I end on a personal note: For myself, I utterly believe in revenge. When crossed, I will react with precision. Every time.
Only the self-deluded (is there a greater sin?) pathetically accept and bow down to cruelty by others, all the while taking comfort in the quaint notions of Karma or God. Cold comfort.
I must add that I believe it is utterly vital to one's sanity to extract APPROPRIATE revenge and then to LEAVE IT BE and MOVE ON.
Kindest regards,
Gabriel.
gabrielhbyrne@gmail.com
8 Glengariff Road,
Three Anchor Bay,
Cape Town,
South Africa.
Our overwhelming need for social or societal interaction (in all forms) has served as both carrot and stick by which we have been conditioned not to seek PERSONAL revenge.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPersonal revenge (and a possible spiral into counter-revenges) is destabilizing and disruptive to the 'organism' society and perpetrators have always been ostracized. This isolating behaviour by the group as punishment for vengeful squabbling has been observed in other primates too.
As the article rightly points out, individuals will extract revenge gladly if anonymity can be assured. Noticed how cruel children can be if they think they are unobserved?
There are also, as the article mentions, the vicarious pleasures of the passive observer - consider how popular public hangings were, and still are in various parts of the world.
Now the point I would like to make is that while the group may suppress the destabilizing actions of the individual revenge seeker it becomes a different matter entirely when the group itself seeks revenge...
I have no intention of beginning a political debate here, but it would be pertinent to consider the various attitudes to the revenge enacted by the USA (under the Bush administration) on much of the Middle East. Revenge for the cowardly and horrifying violence perpetrated by... a tiny (comparatively) group of people.
I recall television footage of ordinary citizens across the US frothing at the mouth and baying for blood - applauded by the wronged society.
Furthermore, it will be interesting to observe the future of revenge between groups, communities and nations as we truly enter into the age of the global village. Here consider the world's stern admonishment of Israel's recent violent foray, and how soon it's effect.
I end on a personal note: For myself, I utterly believe in revenge. When crossed, I will react with precision. Every time.
Only the self-deluded (is there a greater sin?) pathetically accept and bow down to cruelty by others, all the while taking comfort in the quaint notions of Karma or God. Cold comfort.
I must add that I believe it is utterly vital to one's sanity to extract APPROPRIATE revenge and then to LEAVE IT BE and MOVE ON.
Kindest regards,
Gabriel.
gabrielhbyrne@gmail.com
8 Glengariff Road,
Three Anchor Bay,
Cape Town,
South Africa.
I agree with JimC, this article, and likely the research it refers to, has as much scientific validity as a gossip column: little proper research and even less thought went into writing it.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI seldom seek revenge, but for another reason: That person has just blacklisted himself in my mind, he is no longer a favourite and it will take a long time and very good behaviour for him to redeem himself. I do not have to think about it anymore, my subconcious mind will take care of it automatically. Besides, people who have no respect for others only isolate themseves in this way.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAs the ancient [Greek?] saying goes, [something like] 'those whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make angry.'
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNo doubt the findings are true, but I believe they are also wrong--the study did not address aspects of justice and long-term effects.
Retaliation as revenge is well-known to be unfullfilling (at least to those with normal mental health, unlike sociapaths). However, if one knows that by inflicting the "revenge" that future victimization will be reduced it becomes clear that retaliation has very definate benefits that one can take solice, even pride, in achieving.
An extreme example is the rape victim or survivors of a murdered family member--if they testify at trial and can get the attacker incarcerated, they generally do feel a sense of justice and safety and do regain emotional equilibrium. Sure, they may have lost something, but their world regains a sense of order & fairness it lost with the transgression. Similarly, kids that retaliate at the bully that's harrassed them at school usually leads to their enhanced status & security (including their close friends) -- such factors undoubtedly outweigh the emotional trauma of doing whatever the deed was (assuming the bully is a true bully that only is inclined to attack a weaker person and not escalate their response to the retaliation).
"Revenge" under the right, socially approved, circumstances can be very rewarding. But in those circumstances that is usually referred to as "justice," which may be a bit more of a variation than this experiment intended? The distinction is unclear, but I believe significant.
On a related concept, what about if the experiment was repeated with those imposing the 'revenge' doing so again in a subsequent experiment involving different participants (especially the transgressor)? I bet they'd do just fine with minimal aftereffects--especially if they got some simple "counseling" after their first application of revenge.
To take another extreme example, in war killing is a hurdle most soldiers do not take easily, many will refuse (e.g. fire wide, etc. to miss). BUT, after breaching that threshhold, doing so again can become very easy (though doing so indiscriminately or in socially unacceptable areas they will still refuse). This specific [most extreme] issue, applicable to police, soldiers & that ilk is addressed at great length at: www.killology.com
Sissy:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBut is regular enforcement of social norms the same thing as enacting revenge? It's easy to see how the former would be adaptive, while the latter is but an unfortunate evolutionary by-product.
IOW, I don't think the two studies are necessarily mutually exclusive.
@sissy,
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYou've just referenced the same 2004 study as the author of this article.
I assume you're simply reminding that 'revenge = pleasure,' but this article goes further in stating that the post-revenge effects are actually displeasing. And that's 2007/08 research.
Also, more importantly, I can't even find the article/source that you quote from.
Gabrielhbyrne
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisLook at the mess in South Aferica . You are saying the means justifies the ends. Who do know who croosed you are you prepared to accept inncent loss of lives. Lastly who gives you the right to dish out life and death or pass judgement on others. I have see hundereds of creatures eaten alive by petty hatred. Some times they see the fruits of labors achiveed only to become depressed espondent when they see others lives ruien by thier actions to get even.
You see? There IS some wisdom in the bible. Tells you the same thing.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI mostly agree with you, but would like to add the following:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIf the revengeful deed could be carried out without any retribution, it would be most satisfying.
MS
If the vengeful deed could be carried out with the assurance that there would be no retribution, it would be most satisfying; because the fear of a backlash takes any edge off.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMS
I love double blind procedures! Eliminating bias and other confounds that interfere with good judgments is always a good thing (hurray for making psychology a science). They're doing double blinds with orchestra auditions so now women who play wind instruments are actually getting accepted by the same people who laughed them off the stage a year prior. I wonder how this research applies to law enforcement...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis article made me think of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. In the 1990's, I thought that Israel's 1:10 retaliation against Palestinian attacks was, well, a bit unbalanced. Now the latest Gaza war had 1:100 casualties. And Palestinians know where Israelis live...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI was scammed by a Dentist in Florida for all of my insurance benefits for one year and $1250 on top of that. This guy told me that my wife needed several procedures that, later to find out were not necessary, at the time I trusted him as a professional. So I decided to get even. I went to 4 different Walgreens and ripped out the subscriber tickets of about 127 magazines. I picked magazines like Lowrider and Tattoo monthly and almost every magazine that had nothing to do with a Dentist's lifestyle. I signed him up and checked "bill me later". Now his receptionist will have to make 127 phone calls to discontinue his subscription's, he will also look like a dumb ass to the rest of his partners in the Dentist's Firm. The magazines I picked were pure Florida white trash editions. And if his receptionist decides to give up on calling every magazine, see ya later credit score, pay up sucka or we will refer you to a collection agency, and you know collection agencies can disrupt the work day, try telling a collection agency "I didn't order these sir, you are mistaken". Yeah right! Pay up sucka! I must say, it felt pretty good getting even with this scam artist of a dentist! And I assure you, I checked and double checked that my wife did not need the procedures that this dirt-bomb made me pay for. So, here is a simple way for the working man to get back at the oppressors. I still feel warm and fuzzy right now! I have to go to work now, I'm deployed chasing drug runners in the Carribean, and thats no bullshit, Semper Paratus friends!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI think it is better for your mental health to drop the judgement against someone who has insulted, or made you angry . The end result is that they are stuck with what they did and you don't have to clutter your mind with processing the hurt or angry feelings. If this sounds simple, i didn't say it is always easy.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSo true, so true. When you do something to "get even" or punish someone for something they did to hurt you, they do stay on your mind wasting your time and energy and thoughts longer than is healthy. Plus, when it is someone such as a very cruel spouse, you can never truly get even with them because they are not capable of having the same feelings as the one they have hurt, therefore they would never feel the same amount of pain either.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHow do you protect yourself from a toxic person that won't keep their distance? It's not easy...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI think revenge for someone who truly deserves it may be a good thing, just in case karma is on vacation. Just be creative with your revenge and don't exact it for a year or two so the person won't know where it's coming from. Chances are if they did you wrong, they did others wrong, so they won't be sure where it comes from.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGetting even is tempting, in some cases, but I prefer getting ahead as my revenge of choice, spending no time thinking about things out of my control and spending all of my time thinking about things I can control.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI agree, getting even is unhealthy, taking too much time to think about something out of one's control. I prefer to spend energy on things I can control, thereby, getting me ahead. Win the race. Don't settle for a tie.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYour article is a true testament and cheery homage to all who are fortunate enough to live in the protective bubble of a tax paid academic gravy train . How sweet it must be to get paid for publishing anything that takes your fancy and allows for the sweet little role plays, word 'creativity' and verbal taffy pulls. Pick a word. Any word - which is better than picking none. What does 'revenge ' mean? Why, anything you & Lewis Carrol want it to mean.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFor the poor dodos who don't get it that easy, revenge takes on a different texture. For the victims of street crime, corporate thuggery, political assassination and a host of other goodies, revenge is not some game played in comfort of college lounges. It is actually tied in with real people doing real things and having ugly things done to them.
Your whingeing about some academic who may have got your nose out of joint about some imagined slight would be serious if it wasn't so plain silly.
Real people don't need to play with words. Their search however vain is for 'justice'. Look it up. Unfortunately, I was reading Scientific American when its content was a bargain.
Times change. Let us prey.