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TheNextBattalion t1_j6zafpp wrote

We shouldn't be surprised, but the point was to demonstrate a link that can be cited medically. If it's confirmed, then clinicians can use catfishing as a sign of these psychiatric disorders.

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SagatisGod t1_j70r839 wrote

Catfishing should already exist as such. It's just impersonation and delusion

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Player7592 t1_j6z3eex wrote

>Results showed that people with higher levels of psychopathy, sadism and narcissism were more likely to perpetrate catfishing.

Least surprising finding ever.

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Gueulemer t1_j70ypj7 wrote

Saving you a click, this is the study:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0747563222004198

Abstract

Catfishing, the act of deceiving and exploiting another person online, can have significant negative impact on the target. To date, limited research has explored individual differences in perpetration of catfishing. We address this paucity by adopting an evolutionary psychology theoretical framework (the “cheater strategy” hypothesis) and exploring the utility of gender and the "Dark Tetrad" personality traits of psychopathy, sadism, Machiavellianism, and narcissism to predict catfishing perpetration. A sample of 664 participants (55.8% men, 40.3% women) with an average age of 28.84 years (SD = 9.60) were recruited via social media and completed an anonymous online questionnaire which comprised measures of personality and catfishing behaviours. Combined, the variables explained 62.6% of variance in catfishing perpetration. Results partially supported the hypotheses, with only psychopathy, sadism, and narcissism emerging as positive predictors of catfishing perpetration. Findings of the current study indicate that evolutionary psychology may be a useful theoretical framework when exploring antisocial online behaviours. Further, these findings provide crucial information regarding the psychological profile of a “catfish” and may have important practical implications by informing the prevention and management of this online behaviour.

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AdvonKoulthar t1_j7196nh wrote

It doesn’t seem to say anything regarding the fact that catfishing is frequently part of an actual scam, as opposed to just for laughs— which I think is an odd thing to simply not mention.

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Etiennera t1_j6z51jk wrote

Someone needs to explain to me why this requires a study and is not simply an exercise of comparing definitions.

I asked ChatGPT to do just that for big5:

Q: Correlate Catfishing to big 5 personality traits

A: Catfishing refers to the practice of creating a false online identity to deceive others for various reasons, such as for emotional manipulation or for financial gain. It is not directly related to the Big 5 Personality Traits, which are a widely researched and widely used model for describing human personality. The Big 5 Personality Traits are: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. However, it is possible that some individuals who engage in catfishing behavior may exhibit certain personality traits that contribute to their tendency to engage in this behavior. For example, they might score low on Conscientiousness, which is characterized by impulsiveness, and score high on Neuroticism, which is characterized by anxiety and insecurity.

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Bat_Fruit t1_j6z9arg wrote

I think you need the term Personality Disorder not traits.

Many personality disorders can manifest sadisim. Antisocial and narcissistic especially.

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AppropriateScience71 t1_j70u878 wrote

That’s wonderful and terrifying at the same time. And amazing! As are most things ChatGPT.

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Swarna_Keanu t1_j76swar wrote

Please don't use ChatGPT as an authority. That is - it can give you a summary, but not an answer. Especially in more obscure and more "current" research that is yet not "common" knowledge. Treat it as a worse version of wikipedia - as there is even less fact checking, please.

>Catfishing refers to the practice of creating a false online identity

Maybe they ought to rename it into CatGPT ;).

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Etiennera t1_j77x5ij wrote

I don't take anything as authority in fields that struggle with replication. That wasn't what I was getting at at all.

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palox3 t1_j70hs2j wrote

of course. all evil on the planet is done by psychopaths. if we would remove all psychopaths preventively, whole world would turn to paradise.

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Jazzpir t1_j71jxmp wrote

literally sound like the thing you hate

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chrisdh79 OP t1_j6z33r6 wrote

From the article: An online survey in Australia explored the links between “dark” personality traits and the perpetration of online “catfishing” (deceiving and exploiting another person). Results showed that people with higher levels of psychopathy, sadism and narcissism were more likely to perpetrate catfishing. The study was published in Computers in Human Behavior.

Catfishing is a form of online deception where someone steals or creates a fake identity to trick others into forming an online relationship, often with the goal of financial exploitation.

The word “catfishing” itself came from a 2010 documentary “Catfish”, telling a story about a young man starting a relationship with a young woman he met on Facebook, only to discover that most of the information about her was false. This popular documentary led many people to come forward and report going through similar experiences that included online scams, harassment, and stalking.

One avenue of research into the issue of catfishing is the study of personality traits of people who engage in such practices. The set of four personality traits called “the Dark Tetrad” is particularly important in this approach, as previous studies have linked all of these traits to proneness to deceptive and exploitative behaviors.

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TequillaShotz t1_j70nk20 wrote

Hard to take seriously a study that justifies itself with the questionable (albeit sourced) claim that "23% of women and 38% of men reported perpetrating catfishing behaviour"

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JackEddyfier t1_j71p39e wrote

>Catfishing, the act of deceiving and exploiting another person online, can have significant negative impact on the target.

Who knew? Deceiving and exploiting other people can have significant negative impact on the target.

>Machiavellianism, and narcissism to predict catfishing perpetration.

We already knew that.

>A sample of 664 participants

I'm pleased to see psychologists are no longer publishing results from Mickey Mouse studies with less than a few hundred participants. That's progress.

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n3w4cc01_1nt t1_j709zo2 wrote

They also have a poor sense of humor which is why they tend to repeat other peoples jokes. They also keep separate social circles for this reason.

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sanjsrik t1_j6zwcg2 wrote

Study shows there too many dumb studies.

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