If you’ve ever suspected that your crypto-obsessed friend might be a psychopath, you may be on to something.
Digital-asset holders tend to exhibit higher levels of “dark” personality traits such as narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadism, according to a recent academic paper by researchers at the University of Toronto and the University of Miami published in the journal PLOS One.
“The results presented here suggest that cryptocurrency ownership is associated with several nonnormative and arguably maladaptive characteristics,” the report said, adding that “individuals who had purchased crypto were, on average, more likely to believe conspiracy theories, support extremist groups, and share populist sentiments.”
The study, which surveyed 2,001 American adults, noted that crypto owners tend to score higher on measures of need for chaos, paranoia, schizotypal attributes, dogmatism, victimhood mentality, and psychological reactance, which is a clinical term for motivations triggered by feelings that personal freedoms have been lost. Just under 30% of survey respondents said they own, or have owned, crypto.
It almost goes without saying that there are plenty of examples of “dark” personality traits in the traditional corporate world as well. While this study is the first of its kind to draw inferences between cryptocurrency holders and psychological traits, others have provided links between psychopathy and abusive corporate leadership. A 2014 paper published in Elsevier found a significant positive relationship between employees’ ratings of psychopathy traits in their supervisors and the workers’ self-reported psychological distress and job satisfaction.
By: Teresa Xie
Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-08-30/crypto-owners-more-likely-to-have-psychopathic-traits-study-says