From what I witness, the reasoning stems from a combination of things:
1) BOREDOM (due to personal lack of and then desperate search for an intelligible topic of conversation), and
2) INSECURITY.
But first I must say that Maribelclarissa did post an excellent and complete answer to this, a truly grand definition which spawns reflections of college for me now. So I’d like to elaborate on many of her angles presented and add in my own academic links and whatnot.
“Sometimes people do it out of spite, just because they can”: Spite directed exclusively toward a group or individual stems out of feelings of inadequacy and inferiority. The intense psychopathological phenomena of guilt feelings and inferiority feelings drive feelings of anxiety, which is really nothing more than fear that results in driven neglect of moral sense and consciousness. In most cases anxiety is the “B Side” of depression, but that moves onto another beast entirely.
Regardless, what manifests these emotional and scarring reactions?
It stems out of this inferiority complex because of that fear of conscience. Alfred Alder (1870 - 1937) is commonly referenced with the term “Superiority Complex.” This complex develops when a person attempting to conquer an inferiority complex by suppressing existing feelings. Accordingly, people desperately try to overcome feelings of inferiority in order to reach superiority. Bullying and spite gives sudden feelings of gratification and acheivement, though only instant and temporary; bullying and spite, however, only increase suppressed feelings of inferiority and shame and weakness and inadequacy and weakness.
Here’s more on Alfred Adler: http://www.muskingum.edu/~psych/psycweb/history/adler.htm
Maribelclarissa also opens another can of worms when she mentions “knowledge is power.” Oh yes, this statement is a double-edged sword too, though. So many fallacious or flawed arguments are judgemental and intellectually condescending while not conveying a point of any merit whatsoever. Think about this one: “Of course she does not know the slightest thing about true values or taste. Her husband doesn’t even own a car, so how could they know what would be the best option here?”
The appeal to arrogance is committed by any argument that assumes that someone or something is better simply because he or she or they are wealthier or else more educated. This produces a world of gossip in intself. And sites on Logical Fallacies or Faulty Arguments and Fallacies in Argumentation are abundant. Here are a few:
Logical Fallacies or Fallacies in Argumentation: http://www.carm.org/apologetics/fallacies.htm
Fallacies: http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/fallacies.html
Fallacies (the Nizkor Project): http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/
Logical Fallacies (the Owl at Purdue): http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/659/03/
And of course, Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logical_fallacy
Again, gossip is motivated by spite, which is motivated by a psychological feeling of inferiorty. These emotions completely nullify any practicality in bullies and spiteful people here, and here are some other great websites on this psychological component:
Inferiority Complex (Timothy Lin, Ph.D.): http://www.bsmi.org/download/lin/InferiorityComplex.pdf
Inferiority Complex (Science Daily): http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/i/inferiority_complex.htm
Individual Psychology (Alfred Adler): http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache:1K-4teuEsiUJ:www.psychology.ilstu.edu/catanzar/Psy420Lectures/Adler1_F04.ppt+psychology+emotional+inferiority&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=30&gl=us
Hopefully this helps to clarify some questions of why some people do what they do!
B David Ferrel
