Sadists can come from multiple clusters of traits, ranging both nature and nurture, while psychopathy is a specific list of traits with a tie to genetics. There's even sadists that, when the sexual glow is gone, feel guilt over their desires.
Anyone is capable of being a sadist, while psychopathy's a bit more strictly defined.
I'm intrigued by the relation of pain and sexual pleasure.
by ReaperFor others, it's a way to get information out of someone.
I'm sure a person who tortures someone for information is glad the son of a bitch is in pain. I believe a non-sadist would have trouble torturing people for whatever reason.
http://healthland.time.com/2012/05/14/understanding-the-psychopathic-mind/
So a sadist enjoys the pain you feel vs the psychopath doesn't even notice the pain. This is where I think there is a difference between psychopaths vs sociopaths.
by VoidSadists are people who feel psychological pain, and feel relieved when they make someone else feel the same kind of pain.
That's not true.
People hurt others for many different reasons and they don't all stem from psychological pain.
For some, hurting others is simply a way for both participants to mutually enhance the sexual experience (the masochist enjoys being hurt and the sadist enjoys hurting them). For others, it's a way to get information out of someone.
That's just two reasons that have nothing to do with psychological pain, and I'm sure there are many more.
by TurncoatAt the core, most people deep down relish harming another in some fashion. Sadists basically have that desire ramped up to 11, transferring that primal desire into a form of sexual pleasure.
Some may have overcome the stigma through psychological pain, but there's many others who found this desire without that being the cause.
So, wait, you're willing to accept that some people like hurting others purely for the pleasure of it (without there being any psychological pain) and yet, you're not willing to accept that when it comes to murder?
You kept going on to me about how there must be something deeper that's motivating me. Why would murder be any different from torture, other than the fact that the person is being killed?
Murder can be sexually pleasurable as well without any psychological pain.
A sadist it seems by definition can experience the pain of the victim, where as the psychopath cannot. But a sadistic psychopath may resort to inflicting pain to test for effects and responses while being able to appreciate the amount of pain the victim experiences. Exert power or control over another. Hmmm, but to appreciate the pain, I think it would really only work from the physical aspect via cognitive empathy as affective is lacking. Emotionally some things simply don't exist so cannot attributed to the experience in the same manner no matter how hard one tries. Just a guess though..
I said it before, something external is typically responsible for pushing them to the point of doing it. That's why asking about the past made sense, to figure out what aspects of nurture apply to your claim of it starting in childhood.
It's at their core, not the surface. Something typically has to instigate it.