People with dark personality traits use touch to manipulate their partners
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 16-Nov-2025 03:11 ET (16-Nov-2025 08:11 GMT/UTC)
A hug can soothe your mind, reduce your stress and actually activate oxytocin, the “love hormone,” in your body. But new research from Binghamton University, State University of New York reveals that not all hugs are harmless – some partners use touch as a means of control.
People with “dark triad” personality traits – narcissism, psychopathy and Machiavellianism – are more likely to use touch to manipulate their partners, according to a new paper published in Current Psychology by Richard Mattson, professor of psychology at Binghamton University, and a team of students.To understand what drives changes in physical activity after cardiovascular diagnosis, scientists performed machine learning analyses on data from 295 adults over 60 years included in the UK Biobank who had been diagnosed with diseases of the heart and blood vessels. These data included brain scans and answers to health surveys and social background questionnaires.
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