Do you think you’re a badass? Science may tell you otherwise.
a new studyPublished on PsyArXiv as a pre-print paper that has not yet been peer-reviewed, it has revealed the strict criteria for what makes a person a scoundrel.
More than 2,000 people took part in a questionnaire asking what they thought it meant to be a badass, allowing researchers to add to the dictionary definition.
Brianna K., a cognitive scientist at Yale University. The study, conducted by Nguyen and Michael Prinzing, a psychologist at Baylor University, presented respondents with scenarios about fictional characters to rate perceived levels of bullying.
Scientists found that people use two different criteria to attribute “badness” – one concrete and one abstract.
A scoundrel has either “external toughness”, “inner toughness” or both.
“External toughness” is more superficial, involving physical strength, “formidable presence” or both, while “inner toughness” involves moral resilience, strength of character, and courage. Internal toughness also includes resisting social pressure, doing the right thing, and facing difficult challenges.
Those who do not have the external, superficial traits can “still embrace the deep essence of evil” with internal qualities.
Adjectives used to describe a badass included “not afraid,” “tough,” “true,” “good,” “confident,” “brave,” “willing,” “independent,” “positive.” and “enabled”.
The dictionary definition of badass has negative connotations, but also good, which leads researchers to think that badass is a “deeply confused concept”.
For example, Dictionary.com defines scoundrel “A bad or slightly scary person” as well as “someone or something you admire or find impressive.”
Now, researchers can expand the definition as it has come to mean much more than its original meaning over time.
“Therefore, the original meaning may be very negative, but the broader meaning may also include some positive qualities,” the authors write in the paper.
He added, “Radically different types of people can be considered evil, from peaceful advocates to fierce warriors.”
Some examples of bad guys, according to the paper, include Genghis Khan, Mike Tyson, Nelson Mandela, Malala Yousafzai, as well as Navy SEALs.
The paper states, “Where a warrior like Genghis is a paragon of external cruelty, Malala is a paragon of this more abstract, internal cruelty.”
