What kind of people “fight”? The study found higher levels of psychopathy, sadism and narcissism
One such harm is “catfishing” – when someone creates or steals an identity to deceive and exploit others.
In a study conducted by myself and Cassandra Lauder at Federation University, we wanted to find out what psychological traits are common in people who engage in catfishing behavior. We examined the perpetration of catfishing behavior in nearly 700 adults.
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We found a group of psychological traits that are associated with catfishing – known as the “dark tetra” of personality. These include psychopathy, sadism, narcissism and Machiavellianism.
So what are these traits and how can you spot a potential romance scam?
What is catfishing again?
What differentiates catfishing from phishing and other online scams is the length of time the catfish tries to deceive and exploit its targets. This often involves forming long-term relationships—some reports say these relationships last more than a decade.
In many of these scams, the goal is often financial exploitation. According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), in 2019 Australians reported just under 4,000 romance scams costing more than A$28 million. In 2021, that number was just over $56 million.
However, not all catfish scams involve financial exploitation. In some cases, there appears to be no real reason why the victim-survivor has been psychologically exploited and manipulated—a form researchers have called social catfishing.
The experience of catfishing can cause significant psychological and financial damage to the victim-survivor.
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The “Dark Tetrad”
In our study, we recruited a sample of 664 participants (55.8% male, 40.3% female, 3.9% other/missing) via social media. Participants were asked to indicate how often they engage in a range of behaviors associated with catfishing. This included “organising online scams” and “providing inaccurate personal information online to attract friends or romantic partners”.
We also assessed participants on a wide range of personality traits often associated with antisocial behavior, known as the “dark tetra” of personality.
That was included
We found that people who engaged in cathartic behavior had higher levels of psychopathy, sadism, and narcissism. Sadism was a particularly strong predictor of catfishing behavior.
We also found that men are more likely to fight than women.
It is worth noting that the participants in this research filled out the questionnaire themselves, that is, the data is called “self-report” during the research. As we asked people if they engaged in socially undesirable behaviors such as interpersonal manipulation, exploitation, and deception, the key issue is that people may not be completely honest when they answer the survey. This can lead to bias in the data.
We addressed this by measuring participants’ “social desirability”—the extent to which a person hides their true self in order to look good to others. We used this measure for all of our findings to reduce this potential bias.
According to previous research, those who went into combat cited motivations such as loneliness, dissatisfaction with appearance, identity exploration, and escape.
Knowing why people may catfish can be empowering for catfishing victims-survivors. Although the above motives may certainly still play a role, our findings add to the story.
6 signs of a possible romantic scam
We found that people who engage in cathartic behavior are more likely to be callous, selfish, lack empathy, and, more importantly, enjoy harming others. This suggests that not all catfish are indifferent to the damage they cause. For some, harm may indeed be the goal.
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There are other practical ways to identify a possible online romance scam. I have been researching antisocial online behaviors for nearly a decade. Based on The Psychiatry Podcast and in collaboration with Federation University’s Cyberpsychology and Healthy Interpersonal Processes Laboratory, here are six signs of a possible catfishing scenario:
- They will contact you first. It is unusual for the victim-survivor to make the first contact. Catfish are usually the first to appear.
- They are too good to be true. Great profile? Check. Looks good? Check. Maybe even educated and rich? Check. Catfish want to look good and lure you in.
- Love bombing. Prepare for the pedestal you’re about to step on. Catfish shower you with compliments and protests of love. It’s hard not to be flattered by all that attention. It may also be that the term of endearment is common – so the catfish does not need to remember these different names.
- They never call me. There’s always something that gets in the way of phone calls, video calls, and meetings.
- Strange communication. Typos, delayed or unclear responses may occur. Something is a little off in this communication.
- They ask for money. Money is not always the goal of catfish. But any of the above signs along with asking for money should be a red flag. Don’t make a decision before talking to someone—a trusted friend or family member. Outsiders often see the situation more clearly than those involved.
This article has been republished The conversation Licensed under Creative Commons. Read the original article.
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