In psychology and everyday English, what do we call a person who enjoys experiencing pain or suffering themselves?

Introduction / Context:
This one word substitution question comes from basic psychology vocabulary. It asks for the term used to describe a person who takes pleasure in their own pain or suffering. It is important to distinguish between two related but opposite words: sadist and masochist. Exams often test these as a pair, so understanding the difference is crucial.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The stem describes a person who enjoys experiencing pain or suffering themselves.
• Option A: Sadist.
• Option B: Dipsomania.
• Option C: Masochist.
• Option D: Blogomaniac.

Concept / Approach:
A masochist is a person who derives pleasure, sometimes even sexual pleasure, from their own pain, suffering, or humiliation. In contrast, a sadist takes pleasure in inflicting pain or suffering on others, not on themselves. Dipsomania refers to an uncontrollable craving for alcohol. Blogomaniac is an informal term for someone obsessed with blogging or reading blogs. Therefore, for enjoying one own pain, the only accurate term is masochist.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Focus on the key phrase in the question: a person who enjoys pain.Step 2: Clarify whether the pain is their own or someone else pain. The question specifies experiencing pain themselves.Step 3: Recall that masochist refers to someone who takes pleasure in their own pain or humiliation.Step 4: Check sadist; a sadist enjoys causing pain to other people, so it does not match the stem, which is about self directed pain.Step 5: Check dipsomania and blogomaniac; both are about obsessions or addictions (alcohol and blogging respectively) and have nothing to do with enjoying pain. Therefore, masochist is the correct choice.

Verification / Alternative check:
Use each option in a sample sentence. He is a masochist; he seems to seek out situations where he is hurt, yet he smiles through them. This fits the definition in the stem. He is a sadist; he enjoys hurting others clearly does not show enjoyment of his own pain. Dipsomania is used in contexts like He suffers from dipsomania and cannot control his drinking. Blogomaniac would appear as She is a blogomaniac, constantly writing and reading blogs. Only masochist consistently matches enjoying one own pain.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Sadist describes the opposite direction of pleasure and pain: the sadist hurts others for gratification. Dipsomania is a form of alcohol addiction, unrelated to pain preference. Blogomaniac is just a humorous way to describe someone addicted to blogs. None of these gives the self directed pain seeking behaviour described in the question.

Common Pitfalls:
Students often confuse sadist and masochist because they are frequently mentioned together. A simple memory trick is: S in sadist for someone who inflicts Suffering on others; M in masochist for someone who accepts Misery or pain on themselves. Remembering this contrast will help you answer such questions quickly in any exam.

Final Answer:
The correct term for a person who enjoys experiencing their own pain or suffering is Masochist, so option C is correct.