Behavioral and Brain Sciences

Table of Contents - 2006 - Volume 29, Issue 03  

Behavioral and Brain Sciences (2006), 29:3:224-225 Cambridge University Press
Copyright © 2006 Cambridge University Press
doi:10.1017/S0140525X06229054

Open Peer Commentary

Cruelty may be a self-control device against sympathy

George Ainslie a1 george.ainslie@va.govhttp://www.picoeconomics.com
a1 Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Coatesville, PA 19320.

Article author query
ainslie g   [PubMed][Google Scholar] 

Abstract

Dispassionate cruelty and the euphoria of hunting or battle should be distinguished from the emotional savoring of victims' suffering. Such savoring, best called negative empathy, is what puzzles motivational theory. Hyperbolic discounting theory suggests that sympathy with people who have unwanted but seductive traits creates a threat to self-control. Cruelty to those people may often be the least effortful way of countering this threat.