Life
Your Coffee Order May Reveal You're A Psychopath
Do you prefer your coffee black, or with milk and sugar? It might seem like just a simple question of taste, but it turns out that your coffee order is a lot more revealing than you may think. A new study from Innsbruck University in Austria concludes that your preference for either sweet or bitter coffee can be a signal of specific personality traits. In fact, how you order your coffee may reveal if you have psychopathic tendencies.
Researchers conducted a survey in which 1,000 people were asked about their preferences in regards to sweet, salty, sour, or bitter foods. They were also asked to fill out four different personality questionnaires, which measured their levels of aggression or agreeableness with varying scenarios like "I tend to be callous or insensitive" and "I tend to want others to pay attention to me."
Their conclusion? Those who preferred bitter foods and drinks tended to have darker personality traits, like “Machiavellianism, psychopathy, narcissism, and everyday sadism.” So basically, if you're a cream and sugar kind of person, you're OK. But if you prefer your coffee black ... well, you may have some aggressive tendencies.
Agreeableness, or the extent as to which a person is sympathetic and cooperative, was also negatively correlated with bitter taste preferences. Hey, they said it, not me!
It's unclear why people with these traits were associated with bitter-tasting items, but researchers suggested that eating that kind of food may be a "thrill." "For people with sadistic traits, eating bitter foods may be compared to a roller coaster ride, where people enjoy things that induce fear," study author Christina Sagioglou said.
While it's interesting to think that your taste preferences may be correlated with your personality, I personally would take this study with a grain of salt. A study of 1,000 people is hardly indicative of the entire coffee-drinking population. But also because being a dedicated member of the I Can't Function Without Coffee Club (yes, that is our official name), I can safely say that while I typically prefer milk and sugar, I've also experienced points of exhaustion where I'd take coffee pretty much any way I can get it — black and sugarless, or otherwise. I'm pretty sure that doesn't make me a psycho; just a busy, working adult.
In any case, life's too short to overthink your coffee orders. I say forget the study and drink your cup of joe whichever way you please, Machiavellian tendencies be damned!
