What do people get out of commiting acts of vandalism?

Marking ones territory. A thrill to some. Breaking a taboo, to like vandalism, gets some people off.

Like murdering a fry mascot in Nintendo MacDonald’s game.

I think they’re angry about something.

I’ve mostly seen it as expressions of anger or protest about feelings of powerlessness, being ignored, unfairness, and/or wanting to lash out or get back, or claim power outside “the system” (e.g. in the case of some graffiti). I can relate to that and actually see it as somewhat rational, though I don’t generally agree that it’s a wise or good thing to do in most cases. And vandalism often ends up damaging people who aren’t the people the vandal is really mad at.

Any seemingly irrational act can be reduced to one thing: raising self-esteem.

@Kropotkin It can? That seems like an odd notion to me, and I hardly relate to it enough to think what to test it with. Procrastination? Watching bad TV?

@Zaku You pretty much gave the context in your own answer. Feeling powerless, being ignored, etc. The vandalism is a self-esteem raising response to that.

“Watching Bad TV” is a bit of a value judgement.

For procrastination though, it’s probably a defence mechanism to set aside things that we might feel incapable of doing because of low self esteem, and instead spend time relaxing, doing other activities, or watching bad TV, precisely in order to forget about the thing that we feel like we might not be able to do.

Sometimes, it’s a way to exert control in a life you don’t feel in control of.

@Kropotkin Interesting perspective. I really like the take on procrastination! Still skeptical about “all” seemingly irrational acts.