Who exactly is investing in bitcoin? But it’s not about the gender of cryptocurrency investors or how much they earn. Scientists from the University of Toronto and the University of Miami decided to look into the psyche of blockchain fans! The conclusions? Blood-curdling! At least according to a famous economist.
Cryptocurrency investors – who are they?
The aforementioned study covered just over 2,000 adult Americans. Of that group, about 30% invested in cryptocurrencies. These people, mostly young men with higher education and income, were also characterized by… narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadism. Or at least that’s the conclusion someone who analyzes the report from both universities in a fairly general way will come to.
And here I come to the main problem. The above research results led Steve H. Hanke, an American economist and professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University, to formulate the thesis that “cryptocurrency holders show lower levels of analytical and scientific thinking and are more likely to exhibit psychopathy than the general population.”
The University of Toronto, however, has come to the defense of BTC fans, stating that Hawke is “misrepresenting the results” of the study.
It’s sad to see a supposed scientist spreading disinformation.
— said Shane Littrell, author of the study.
So what’s the deal? Does the study show that cryptocurrency investors are people you’d rather not have contact with? Yes and no.
While cryptocurrency ownership has been linked to potentially harmful behavioral tendencies such as problem gambling, its association with other, possibly negative, tendencies such as impulsivity, paranoia, and various forms of aggression is currently unproven
– we read in the article.
The study found that 30.22% of respondents stated that they “wanted others to admire them,” and 23.57% aspired to achieve “prestige or (high) status” in their lives. 15.80% of respondents stated that they tended to “not care about the morality of their actions,” and 14.55% admitted that they tended to show “no remorse.” In addition, 16.25% tended to be “heartless or insensitive.” As many as 46.95% stated that they “knew how to hurt someone with just words.”
The psychologist will tell you the truth!
Anyone who knows even a little bit about psychology knows that personality tests are necessary to determine whether someone is a narcissist or a psychopath. The answers to a few questions alone do not tell us much. Moreover, it should be remembered that some of the people tested may have wanted to think of themselves as tough and insensitive people. However, this does not mean that they are like that in everyday life.
Therefore, linking cryptocurrencies with psychopathy or narcissism is an exaggeration. As the author of the study quoted above wrote himself.
