Comprehensive Assessment of Sadistic Tendencies (CAST): Anonymous Research Dataset of Everyday Sadistic Personality Traits
Description
This dataset contains anonymous responses collected through the Comprehensive Assessment of Sadistic Tendencies (CAST), a self-report psychological assessment designed to measure everyday sadistic personality characteristics in non-clinical populations. The CAST evaluates individual differences in tendencies related to cruelty, aggression, emotional coldness, dominance, and enjoyment of others' suffering. The assessment was administered online through the Trait Profiler platform. The dataset includes total scores, subscale scores, demographic country information, response validity indicators, and administration metadata. No personally identifying information was collected. The dataset can be used for psychometric analysis, reliability studies, exploratory factor analysis, cross-cultural comparisons, personality research, and investigations into dark personality traits.
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Steps to reproduce
The data were collected using the Comprehensive Assessment of Sadistic Tendencies (CAST), a self-report psychological assessment designed to measure everyday manifestations of sadistic personality traits in non-clinical populations. Participants voluntarily completed the assessment through the online research platform Trait Profiler. The questionnaire was administered electronically and could be completed using a computer, tablet, or mobile device. Responses were automatically recorded and stored in a secure database for research purposes. The CAST consists of a series of statements describing attitudes, preferences, emotional reactions, and behaviors associated with sadistic tendencies. Participants indicated the extent to which each statement described them using a standardized response scale. Individual item responses were automatically scored according to predefined scoring rules implemented within the assessment platform. Upon completion, raw responses were converted into dimension scores and overall sadism scores through automated scoring algorithms. Data were exported from the research database into CSV format for statistical analysis and archiving. No experimental manipulation was performed. The dataset represents observational, cross-sectional self-report data collected at a single point in time.