“Similar souls wander in the similar places. They may not know each other, but often they touch the same winds, they step on the same leaves, their looks are lost in the same horizons.”

Mehmet Murat ildan

A study published in Personality and Individual Differences proposed that people who possess antagonistic personality traits (e.g. a cruel disregard for others and an inflated sense of superiority) are more likely to empathize with individuals who intentionally (but not unintentionally) harm others. 

This study was carried out by William Hart, Charlotte Kinrade, Gregory K. Tortoriello, Kyle Richardson and Christopher J. Breeden at the University of Alabama, Department of Psychology.

If the success of films like Pulp Fiction, Taxi Driver and Fight Club have made one thing clear, it’s the undeniable attraction to the anti-hero. Despite their violent and questionably moral behavior, audiences tend to become enthralled by these characters and invested in their triumph over others.

While rooting for such characters is not unusual, some individuals may identify and feel socially connected to these antagonists and their plight.

How a sense of similarity impacts antagonistic individuals

 Based on previous studies, Dr. Hart and his team of researchers suspected that identifying with an individual who intentionally harms others may occur in those higher in antagonistic personality. 

An antagonistic personality can be defined by traits such as narcissism, impulsivity and callousness. Someone who displays these traits is primarily concerned with their own self-interests and is more likely to manipulate and exploit others to achieve their goals. 

The study at hand proposed that antagonistic individuals will empathize more with those who exhibit intentionally cruel behavior. This is known as the “darkness tolerance” which is linked to research that suggests people tend to be more tolerant of individuals who share similar characteristics. 

The researchers began their experiment by instructing participants to fill out surveys measuring antagonistic personality. On a five-point scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree, participants were asked to respond to statements such as “I never get tired of pushing people around” and “I purposely flatter people to get them on my side”. 

Next, participants were divided into two conditions. In the intentional condition, participants read and responded to hypothetical scenarios involving someone who intentionally harmed another person. 

In the unintentional condition, the hypothetical scenarios involved someone who didn’t intend to harm someone but unwittingly did. 

Following this, each participant rated the extent to which they thought the agent in the scenario was (a) morally wrong, (b) should be punished, and (c) should feel guilty. 

The participants also rated the extent to which they (a) felt similar to the agent, (b) could get along with the agent, and could relate to the agent (c) actions, (d) goals, and (e) thoughts. 

Lastly, participants rated the extent to which they felt positive affect (e.g. cheerful) and negative affect (e.g. outraged) while reading the scenarios. 

The researchers found that individuals who scored higher on measures of antagonistic personality displayed more tolerance (i.e. less moral outrage) and more positive affect when reading the scenarios involving intentional harm. 

This may have occurred because antagonistic individuals feel more similar to individuals who engage in harmful and malevolent behavior. In turn, this feeling of similarity is perceived as pleasant, giving the participant a sense of self-validation, resulting in a higher tolerance towards the agent’s actions. 

As expected, those lower in antagonistic personality displayed higher moral outrage and more negative affect towards the scenarios involving intentional harm.  

Interestingly, those higher in antagonistic personality displayed enhanced moral outrage when reading scenarios depicting unintentional harm. 

Since antagonistic individuals are less likely to relate to someone who causes harm accidentally, they are less likely to tolerate their behavior. In addition, studies have shown that antagonistic individuals often possess impaired moral judgement.

In sum, the researchers found support for their hypothesis that individuals higher in antagonistic personality are more likely to tolerate and possess positive feelings towards individuals who intentionally harm others. This can be explained by the findings that people are more lenient towards those they feel similar to. 

Conversely, antagonistic individuals feel higher moral outrage to those who harm unintentionally. This is partially explained by their lack of relatedness to these individuals, as well as their moral judgement deficiencies.