Editing Troll (slang) (section)

== Psychological characteristics ==
[[File:Aerger.jpg|thumb|''Aggravation'' by [[Briton Rivière]] (1896). Radford suggests that many trolls perceive themselves as [[jester]]-like figures, tormenting their targets from a position of relative safety.<ref name="Bad Clowns"/>]]
Researcher [[Ben Radford]] wrote about the phenomenon of [[clown]]s in history and the modern day in his book ''Bad Clowns'', and found that "bad clowns" have evolved into Internet trolls.<ref name="Bad Clowns">{{cite book |last=Radford |first=Ben |author-link=Ben Radford |year=2016 |title=Bad Clowns |publisher=[[University of New Mexico Press]] |location=[[Albuquerque]] |isbn=978-0826356666}}</ref> They do not dress up as traditional clowns but, for their own amusement, they tease and exploit "human foibles" in order to speak the "truth" and gain a reaction.<ref name="Bad Clowns"/> Like clowns in make-up, Internet trolls hide behind "anonymous accounts and fake usernames".<ref name="Bad Clowns"/> In their eyes, they are the [[Deception|trickster]] and are performing for a nameless audience via the Internet.<ref name="Bad Clowns"/> Studies conducted in the fields of [[human–computer interaction]] and [[cyberpsychology]] by other researchers have corroborated Radford's analysis on the phenomenon of Internet trolling as a form of deception-serving [[entertainment]] and its correlations to [[Aggression|aggressive behaviour]], [[katagelasticism]], [[Black comedy|black humor]], and the [[Dark tetrad]].<ref name="Dynel 2016"/><ref name="JournalofPersonality"/><ref name="Comput. Hum. Behav."/>

Trolling correlates positively with [[Sadomasochism|sadism]],<ref name="JournalofPersonality"/><ref name="Comput. Hum. Behav."/><ref name="SPSP.org"/><ref name="Cyberpsychology"/> [[Trait theory|trait]] [[psychopathy]],<ref name="JournalofPersonality"/><ref name="Comput. Hum. Behav."/><ref name="SPSP.org"/><ref name="Cyberpsychology"/> and [[Machiavellianism (psychology)|Machiavellianism]]<ref name="Coping with Internet Trolls">{{Cite web|url=https://psychcentral.com/blog/coping-with-internet-trolls/|title=Coping with Internet Trolls|last1=Glass|first1=Rachel Lee|last2=MA|date=2020-02-04|website=psychcentral.com|language=en-US|access-date=2020-04-20|last3=read|first3=CLC Last updated: 4 Feb 2020 ~ 2 min}}</ref> (see [[dark triad]]). Trolls take pleasure from causing [[pain]] and [[Suffering|emotional suffering]].<ref name="JournalofPersonality"/><ref name="SPSP.org"/><ref name="Cyberpsychology"/> Their ability to upset or harm gives them a feeling of power.<ref name="Coping with Internet Trolls"/><ref>Cheng, J., Bernstein, M., Danescu-Niculescu-Mizil, C., & Leskovec, J. (2017). Anyone Can Become a Troll: Causes of Trolling Behavior in Online Discussions. ''CSCW: Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work'', ''2017'', 1217–1230. https://doi.org/10.1145/2998181.2998213</ref> [[Psychological research]]es conducted in the fields of [[personality psychology]] and [[cyberpsychology]] report that trolling behaviour qualifies as an [[anti-social behaviour]] and is strongly correlated to [[sadistic personality disorder]] (SPD).<ref name="JournalofPersonality"/><ref name="SPSP.org"/><ref name="Cyberpsychology"/> Researches have shown that [[men]], compared with [[women]], are more likely to perpetrate trolling behaviour; these gender differences in online anti-social behaviour may be a reflection of [[gender stereotypes]], where agentic characteristics such as competitiveness and dominance [[Masculinity|are encouraged in men]].<ref name="Cyberpsychology"/><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Ferenczi |first1=Nelli |last2=Marshall |first2=Tara C. |last3=Bejanyan |first3=Kathrine |date=2017-12-01 |title=Are sex differences in antisocial and prosocial Facebook use explained by narcissism and relational self-construal? |journal=Computers in Human Behavior |language=en |volume=77 |pages=25–31 |doi=10.1016/j.chb.2017.08.033 |issn=0747-5632|doi-access=free }}</ref> The results corroborated that gender (male) is a significant predictor of trolling behaviour, alongside trait psychopathy and sadism to be significant positive predictors.<ref name="Cyberpsychology"/> Moreover, these studies have shown that people who enjoy trolling online tend to also enjoy hurting other people in everyday life, therefore corroborating a longstanding and persistent pattern of psychopathological sadism.<ref name="SPSP.org"/>

A [[Psychoanalysis|psychoanalytic]] and [[Sexology|sexologic]] study on the phenomenon of Internet trolling asserts that [[anonymity]] increases the incidence of the trolling behaviour, and that "the internet is becoming a [[Media (communication)|medium]] to invest our anxieties and not thinking about the repercussions of trolling and affecting the victims mentally and incite a sense of guilt and shame within them".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sinha |first1=Krittika |last2=Huma |first2=Fatima |last3=Baig |first3=Mirza Sarwar |date=June 2020 |title=Psychoanalytic review of the trolling culture regarding female body |url=https://zenodo.org/record/3929149 |journal=Indian Journal of Health, Sexuality & Culture |volume=6 |issue=1 |publisher=[[List of sexology organizations|Indian Institute of Sexology]] |pages=29–36 |doi=10.5281/zenodo.3929149 |doi-access=free |issn=2581-575X |access-date=31 January 2021}}</ref>