Haters Gonna Hate, Trolls Gonna Troll: The Personality Profile of a Facebook Troll.

Haukur Freyr Gylfason,Anita Hrund Sveinsdottir,Rannveig Sigurvinsdottir,Vaka Vésteinsdóttir

doi:10.3390/ijerph18115722

Haukur Freyr Gylfason, Anita Hrund Sveinsdottir + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18115722

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Abstract

Personality factors, such as the Dark Tetrad personality factors (Machiavellianism, narcissism and sadism) relate to greater online trolling. Other personality factors, such as the Big Five Personality factors, honesty–humility and negative social potency, may also play a role in cyberbullying, which is an aggressive behavior similar to trolling. The purpose of this study was to predict Facebook trolling behavior based on personality factors. A total of 139 participants completed a survey on their online behavior and personality factors. Online trolling behavior positively correlated with sadism, psychopathy and Machiavellianism, and negatively correlated with agreeableness, conscientiousness and honesty–humility. A hierarchical linear regression showed that sadism, Machiavellianism and negative social potency were the only unique predictors of online trolling behavior. Trolling was unrelated to the frequency of Facebook use and the frequency of commenting. Enjoyment of trolling fully mediated the relationship between Machiavellianism and the trolling behavior. The results thus suggested that Facebook trolling behaviors may be motivated by enjoying the manipulation of others.

Highlights

Trolling can be defined as a deviant, malicious or antisocial online behavior [1,2] with motives to disrupt conversations and trigger conflict [1,2,3]
Negative social potency had a positive relationship with trolling
We found that the relationship previously identified between Machiavellianism and trolling behavior was fully mediated through trolling enjoyment

Summary

Introduction

Trolling can be defined as a deviant, malicious or antisocial online behavior [1,2] with motives to disrupt conversations and trigger conflict [1,2,3]. Because both involve aggressive online behavior, but their targets vary, as trolls aim to create disruption among strangers, but cyberbullies target victims they know personally [5]. Internet trolling is a surprisingly common behavior, as up to a quarter of Americans admit having committed malicious online activity against a stranger [6], 33% in Malaysia [7], 11%. Preventing and stopping trolling is important because its victims face a negative psychological impact which is comparable to that of cyberbullying and in-person harassment [10,11,12].

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