The cunning way psychopaths use hugs to control themselves

This is the opposite of a “feel good” moment.

While hugging appears to be an expression of affection, psychopaths use hugging and other forms of physical contact to control their partners, according to a disturbing new study published in Current Psychology.

“Not all forms of touch are benign,” study author Richard Mattson, a professor of psychology at Binghamton University in New York, said in a recent press release.

For example, a partner who hugs his or her partner during an argument may be trying to establish authority through the psychological “hug.”

Researchers and a team of students have set out to expand research on how people “leverage touch” to promote relationship health, according to a news release.

However, while most of these studies have focused on the benefits of positive contact between people, Mattson wanted to explore “manipulative uses of touch as well as individuals’ preferences not to be touched.”

“The novelty of our work is not just identifying problematic touch use, but also linking these behaviors to the types of people who tend to use touch with romantic partners,” he said. “In these relationships, not only do you get no benefit from the contact, but on the other hand, they are powerful, so they can actually be used to serve themselves at the expense of the relationship partner.”

To determine how bad actors might use certain touches for nefarious purposes, Mattson and his team surveyed 500 college students in relationships. According to the release, they asked subjects a series of questions, including their overall comfort level with being touched, the extent to which they avoid touch due to discomfort, and “their use of touch in ways that are detrimental to others.”

Participants also received a questionnaire to assess their levels of three “Dark Triad” traits – psychopathy, narcissism and Machiavellianism.

The team found that participants with psychopathic traits were more likely to use certain actions – including holding their partner’s arms, shoulders or the back of their head – to manipulate their partners in the relationship.

Research shows that this type of manipulative human contact can “increase perceived ownership of items” and “promote subordinates’ compliance.”

Results also differed by gender. Women who exhibit Dark Triad traits feel uncomfortable with their own physical contact but are more likely to use touch to manipulate others.

Of course, not all forms of contact are so Machiavellian. The study authors note that for men, comfort with being touched is linked to relationship insecurity, with men who feel their romantic foundations are shaky being more likely to seek reassurance from their partners through touch.

Meanwhile, “participants who were uncomfortable with intimacy did not like themselves to be touched, regardless of other personality traits,” according to the study.

Ultimately, Mattson believes the Sensitivity study could help shed light on how certain personality traits manifest themselves in relationships through touch, potentially helping them develop “clinical” solutions for people with healthy ways to embrace intimacy issues.

“In these cases, can we use touch to provide first-line, inexpensive interventions for people who have not yet learned to use touch in healthy, reciprocal ways, but instead rely on touch for control or self-protection?” he asserts.

This is especially important given that people with Dark Triad traits often experience more trouble in relationships, including frequent arguments and even violence.