Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Bullies May Enjoy Inflicting Pain

Brain scans show agressors feel reward watching others suffer

By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff

Posted Nov 7, 2008 12:33 PM CST

(Newser) – Bullies appear to enjoy seeing other people in pain, Reuters reports. Researchers in Chicago took brain scans of two sample groups of teens while showing them videos of one person hurting another. When showed violence, one group of teens, who were diagnosed with aggressive-conduct disorder and had recently attacked schoolmates, had consistent activity in the brain’s reward centers.

The other group, with no history of aggression, instead has activity in the medial prefrontal cortex—an area associated with self-regulation that is conspicuously inactive in the “bully” group. “It is entirely possible their brains are lighting in the way they are because they experience seeing pain in others as exciting and fun and pleasurable,” said one researcher.

[Images (2)]

[Quotes (1)]

Bullies may be wired to enjoy inflicting pain, a study suggests. (Shutterstock)

Bullies may enjoy watching others in pain, one study suggests. (Shutterstock)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

The reason we were surprised is the prevailing view is these kids are cold and unemotional in their aggression. This is looking like maybe they care very much.
- Benjamin Lahey, University of Chicago

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

Teen Faces Terror Charges for Blowup Doll Prank

He could get eight years in prison

(NEWSER) - An Indiana high school senior is facing up to eight years in prison for the egregious felony of… bringing a blowup doll to school. Tyell Morton planted the doll in the girl’s bathroom as a senior prank, but administrators didn’t think it was funny. All they saw on the security camera was a hooded figure take a package into the bathroom and leave without it. Soon, the Indiana State Police bomb squad had been called in to deal with the raunchy inflatable. More»

Gay Teen Jumps to Suspended Teacher's Defense

In viral video, Graeme Taylor cites suicide attempt at age 9

(NEWSER) - Video of a 14-year-old student’s incredibly eloquent defense of a suspended Michigan teacher is making waves on the web, the Detroit Free Press reports. The clip shows Graeme Taylor speaking at a school board meeting about his experience as a 9-year-old driven to a suicide attempt by bullying. Taylor spoke in defense of Jay McDowell, who was suspended for a day without pay after he asked two students to leave his classroom at Howell High School; one was wearing a Confederate flag belt buckle, the other was making anti-gay comments, notes New York magazine. More»

Bullied Girl Asked School for Help Before Suicide

Phoebe Prince said administrators didn't plan to intervene

(NEWSER) - Phoebe Prince, desperate to escape the bullies who tormented her daily, went to administrators at her high school for help—and was turned away. Prince told officials she was "scared and wanted to go home" because of a relentless campaign of bullying and beatings by schoolmates, the Boston Globe reports. She told a witness school authorities said they would do nothing and that "she was still going to get beat up." More»

There's No 'Mean Girl' Epidemic

It's just media sensationalism, and it's dangerous

(NEWSER) - Phoebe Prince’s bullying and suicide have led to an uproar about the “mean girls” lurking in schools everywhere—but is there really an increase in such incidents? “This panic is a hoax,” write Mike Males and Meda-Chesney Lind in the New York Times , citing numerous crime indexes, surveys, and statistics that show “violence by girls has been plummeting for years.” Stereotyping girls as bullies is prompting alarmism and, worse, punitive treatment that's tantamount to bullying itself. More»

To Halt Grinding, Schools Turn to... Burt Bacharach

Kids warned to dance like grandma's watchin'

(NEWSER) - With some schools having kids sign no-grinding dance contracts and others threatening to turn up the lights and play Burt Bacharach, the crackdown on grinding at school dances is getting more creative. Schools and parents fed up with teens' overtly sexual dance moves are turning to unconventional methods to stop kids from grinding, wearing teeny-tiny skirts, and removing their shirts, MSNBC reports. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Bullies May Enjoy Inflicting Pain