A new study has revealed that the average crypto investor has psychopathic tendencies with little regard for those around them.
Yikes, apparently the mula for human empathy just plummeted.
Researchers from The Queensland University of Technology surveyed 556 participants who identified as crypto investors and found they showed signs of the ‘dark tetrad’.
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In psychology, ‘dark tetrad’ refers to someone who displays narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy.
According to 10 News, lead researcher of the study and senior lecturer at the university Dr Di Wang said that digital currency fanatics share many concerning personality traits, making it easier for them to exploit people.
Dr Wang said: “Dark tetrad traits are ‘dark’ because of their ‘evil’ qualities: Extreme selfishness and taking advantage of others without empathy.
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“The dark tetrad are also often related to risk-taking behaviours.
“To them, perhaps both the pleasure from seeing another’s pain and the fear of missing out are related to selfishness."
Dr Wang also identified two prevalent reasons why cryptocurrency attracts users, the first idea being the ‘appeal’ of high-risk rewards.
In his article that Wang published alongside Dr Brett Martin and Dr Jun Yao, they wrote:
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“We identified two main areas of appeal. First, the high risks and high potential returns of crypto trading make it attractive to the kind of people who like gambling.”
They also said the second reason was that crypto is not monitored by traditional lawmakers, alluring many ‘dark tetrad’ personalities as they distrust the government.
Last year another study published in Personality and Individual Differences revealed those who align with the ‘dark tetrad’ personality are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories.
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Doctoral candidate in the department of psychology at the University of Oregon Cameron Kay said those who display such antisocial behaviours believe they don’t have control, which has led them to be sceptical against the establishment.
He said: “In plain terms, it seems like disagreeable people, who score high in these traits, are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories.
“They are prone to odd beliefs. They don’t feel like they are in control of their lives. They are robbed of their agency and have an innate distrust of other people and organisations like the government.”
Kay also added his research intended to uncover why people believe in conspiracies while helping combat the spread of misinformation.
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“The long-term goal is to come up with ways to decrease conspiracist ideation among people with these personality traits,” he said.
Featured Image Credit: Alamy. Lions Gate Films/Columbia TriStar/Film Distributors International/AlamyTopics: Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, Science, Money