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posted by martyb on Saturday November 03 2018, @01:21AM   Printer-friendly
from the dark-observations dept.

Are You Really a Psychopath If You Drink Black Coffee?

A study has linked bitter taste preferences to antisocial personality traits. But there's more to the headlines than meets the eye.

Do you drink your coffee black? According to quite a few headlines circulating online right now, that might make you a psychopath. The same goes for people who enjoy other bitter foods and beverages, like tonic water, kale, broccoli rabe, and radishes.

We were, of course, curious to know more, so we dug up the original study on which these claims are based. We also looked at some of the other research on taste preference and personality traits. It turns out, a fondness for bitter foods is linked to some pretty dark characteristics. But it’s also not as straightforward as some articles have made it out to be.

That study in the news right now—the one linking coffee to psychopathic personality traits[0]—was actually published in 2016, in the journal Appetite. The study authors, from the University of Innsbruck in Austria, wrote in their introduction that “some connection between taste preferences and personality has been established, yet the evidence is still scarce.”

[...] But back to the results: The researchers found that bitter taste preferences were “positively associated with malevolent personality traits,” especially everyday sadism and psychopathy. “Taken together, the results suggest that how much people like bitter-tasting foods and drinks is stably tied to how dark their personality is,” they wrote.

[...] a person’s taste preference explained less than 5% of his or her likelihood of having dark personality traits. “This is a very small percent in psychological research,” Meyers says.

In other words, “you are more likely to learn whether a person has aggressive or psychopathic tendencies in a restaurant by watching how they treat you or their waiter,” Meyers says, “compared to watching how much they enjoy their bitter foods and drink.”

[...] They do point out that a preference for bitter taste might be a useful “real-world behavioral correlate” of antisocial personality traits, similar to unusually intense eye contact. Nowhere in their study do they say, however, that liking bitter beverages automatically makes you a sadist or a psychopath.

So while these findings may make for fascinating conversation around the office coffee machine, they’re certainly no reason to start shunning your coworker who likes her brew black. And, by the way, coffee is good for you! And that’s especially true when you go easy on the cream and sugar.

I suppose one should question whether those traits are truly "anti" social, or merely asocial. Always, question authority.

[0Individual differences in bitter taste preferences are associated with antisocial personality traits (DOI 10.1016/j.appet.2015.09.031$)]


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  • (Score: 2) by Azuma Hazuki on Saturday November 03 2018, @02:43AM (6 children)

    by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Saturday November 03 2018, @02:43AM (#757173) Journal

    I like (diet) tonic water, and have a taste for bitter vegetables and herbs because of spending childhood in a majority-Chinese town and learning a bunch of medicinal lore. But black coffee, straight? Ugh, no. In the morning I'll have it with stevia and cinnamon, but prefer some half and half in it once my fasting window's over. Can't imagine drinking it straight.

    5% is a rather small correlate, as the summary says. I'm good at detecting scary people, and one of them *did* like extremely strong black coffee, but there are way better tells.

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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Saturday November 03 2018, @07:17AM (4 children)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Saturday November 03 2018, @07:17AM (#757214) Journal

    I became a tonic water lover in Africa. I was invited aboard a British ship, and was offered gin and tonic. I accepted - and felt like the temp had fallen several degrees. I failed to make any real connection at that time, but found tonic water sold from coin-operated machines. Tried the tonic water instead of Coke, and again, I felt cooled. Finally got around to reading the ingredients, asked a few questions, and found that quinine is great for heat stress.

    For the flavor, I can take or leave tonic water. But, all through the summer, there is always tonic water near at hand. Also keep quinine tablets in my toolbox. If/when I begin to get heat cramps, two or three of them under my tongue, and the cramps go away.

    • (Score: 4, Insightful) by SpockLogic on Saturday November 03 2018, @02:45PM (3 children)

      by SpockLogic (2762) on Saturday November 03 2018, @02:45PM (#757292)

      My late father maintained that he only drank gin and tonic to ward off malaria. "Its the quinine in the tonic water'" he would say. I called BS. Mind you he never did get malaria, so there is that.

      I like strong black coffee with sweet sticky donuts. Does that make me half a psychopath. ;-)

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      • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday November 03 2018, @03:58PM (1 child)

        by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Saturday November 03 2018, @03:58PM (#757302) Journal

        You're probably a little like me. Were you born of a mixed marriage? My father was male, and mother was female. I believe the psycho came from my mother's side, and the path came from my fathers side. Of course, I would have to submit to research to establish that as fact. But, sticky buns and coffee might induce me to submit to research.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 03 2018, @05:30PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 03 2018, @05:30PM (#757338)

          So a psychopath with a #eatliver hashtag? Paging the FBI @FBI pleas se investigate this likely Russian hitman.

      • (Score: 1) by maggotbrain on Saturday November 03 2018, @08:23PM

        by maggotbrain (6063) on Saturday November 03 2018, @08:23PM (#757371)

        That's why I drink gin and tonics. But you also need a lemon or lime in the drink to ward off scurvy as well. It works for me. Never had scurvy or malaria since I've been drinking them. Your Dad's a wise man!

  • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Saturday November 03 2018, @09:20PM

    by Gaaark (41) on Saturday November 03 2018, @09:20PM (#757384) Journal

    I drink tonic water for my restless leg (quinine is a muscle relaxant) and I love the extremes in beer (Extreme IPA's to Porters on the other end)(or used to when I drank...sigh...).

    But no, I'd say I'm no psychopath.

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