Violent youths may enjoy causing and watching pain
Bullies get a kick out of giving pain
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Friday, 07, Nov 2008 01:17
Abnormally hostile youths may enjoy causing pain for others, according to University of Chicago research out today.
Brain scans of the aggressive adolescents revealed activation of the 'rewards section' of their brain when they were shown videos of someone inflicting pain on another person.
This section of the brain was not highlighted when youth without violent tendencies were shown the same clip.
Experiments compared two groups of adolescent boys, one with signs of unusually aggressive conduct – such as starting a fight or weapon use – and the other without any such tendencies.
The latter group activated the part of their brain related to empathy and self-control when viewing the video clips of someone enduring pain. By contrast the aggressive youths activated the area of their brain related to feeling rewarded.
This "suggested that they enjoyed watching pain," said Jean Decety, Professor in Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Chicago.
Disruptions to the natural impulse of some aggressive youths could be shown as a result.
This disruption could cause increased hostility, according to the globally recognised expert on empathy and social neuroscience.
"This work will help us better understand ways to work with juveniles inclined to aggression and violence", Mr Decety added.