Summary: Physical touch can deepen closeness and lower stress, yet not every affectionate gesture is genuine. New research shows that people who score high on the “dark triad” traits — narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism — are more likely to use touch in romantic relationships as a tool for control or manipulation rather than as mutual comfort.
The study found notable gender patterns: women with dark triad traits tended to avoid being touched yet still used touch instrumentally, while men with anxious attachment patterns used touch primarily to seek reassurance. These findings show that behaviors that outwardly appear loving can sometimes serve self‑centered or coercive aims.
Key Facts:
- Manipulative touch: Individuals high in narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism are more likely to use physical contact to influence or control romantic partners.
- Gender differences: Women with dark triad characteristics reported greater discomfort with receiving touch but also greater use of touch for manipulative purposes; men’s use of touch was more closely tied to relationship anxiety and reassurance-seeking.
- Clinical relevance: Recognizing when touch is used coercively can help clinicians and couples develop strategies to encourage healthy, reciprocal physical affection and reduce emotional harm.
Source: Binghamton University
Although a hug can calm you, lower stress, and trigger oxytocin — the so‑called “love hormone” — new research from Binghamton University (State University of New York) shows that touch is not always benign. For some partners, physical contact functions as a way to control or manipulate.
Richard Mattson, a psychology professor at Binghamton University, and his student collaborators report in Current Psychology that people who score high on the dark triad traits are more prone to using touch in self‑serving ways. Their paper investigates how attachment style and dark personality traits interact to shape both aversion to touch and coercive touch behaviors in romantic relationships.
“Our contribution goes beyond identifying problematic touch: we link these behaviors to the personalities that tend to employ them in romantic contexts,” Mattson explains. He emphasizes that when touch becomes a means to an end, its potential benefits for health and well‑being are lost, and the act can harm the receiving partner.
Relationship researchers often highlight the positive effects of affectionate touch, such as emotional connection and stress relief. Mattson and his team deliberately focused on the opposite side of the coin to understand when touch may be used against a partner’s interests despite appearing similar on the surface to affectionate contact.
The researchers surveyed over 500 college students in romantic relationships about how comfortable they were with touch, how they avoided touch when uncomfortable, and whether they used touch in ways that benefited themselves rather than their partner. Measures included personality traits associated with the dark triad and attachment orientations (avoidant and anxious).
Their analysis showed that an antagonistic interpersonal style — the shared component of narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism — predicted both greater aversion to being touched and an increased tendency to engage in coercive touch. Attachment insecurities (avoidant and anxious patterns) were linked indirectly to these touch outcomes through dark triad traits.
Gender differences were apparent: for women, dark triad traits fully explained how attachment insecurity related to touch aversion and coercive touch. For men, attachment orientations had more direct effects on touch behavior, with anxious men more likely to use touch to obtain reassurance. Men who were uncomfortable with closeness avoided touch regardless of other personality features.
Mattson notes that individuals high in dark triad traits often report shorter, more troubled romantic relationships, and sometimes greater relationship conflict or violence. By identifying how these traits affect the exchange of affection through touch, the study points to a mechanism that helps explain relationship difficulties associated with dark personalities.
These findings have practical implications for therapy and interventions. Educating couples and clinicians about the potential misuse of touch could inform strategies to encourage healthy, consensual, and reciprocal physical affection. In some contexts, deliberate, supported use of touch might offer inexpensive, frontline benefits for people who have not learned adaptive ways to give and receive comfort.
Key Questions Answered:
A: The study found that dark triad traits — narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism — are linked to using touch more for control and less for mutual comfort.
A: Yes. Men with relationship anxiety tended to use touch to seek reassurance, while women high in dark triad traits were more likely to dislike being touched yet still use touch manipulatively.
A: Understanding manipulative uses of touch can help clinicians develop interventions that teach partners to use physical affection in healthy, reciprocal ways and reduce emotional harm.
About this dark triad and manipulation research news
Author: John Brhel
Source: Binghamton University
Contact: John Brhel – Binghamton University
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access. “The dark side of touch: how attachment style impacts touch through dark triad personality traits” by Richard Mattson et al., published in Current Psychology. DOI: 10.1007/s12144-025-08282-0
Abstract
The dark side of touch: how attachment style impacts touch through dark triad personality traits
Research indicates that while intimate touch often promotes relationship well‑being, individual differences mean touch can also be aversive or used coercively. Dark triad traits — Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism — may help explain these differences but have been understudied in this context.
In a sample of 526 college students in romantic relationships, the authors examined whether dark triad traits predicted touch aversion and coercive touch, and whether attachment insecurities (avoidant, anxious) acted as upstream influences. Results showed that an antagonistic interpersonal style, represented by common variance among the dark triad traits, was associated with both greater aversion to touch and more coercive touch behaviors.
Avoidant and anxious attachment orientations indirectly predicted touch outcomes through dark triad traits. Gender differences emerged: for women, dark triad traits fully mediated the relationship between attachment insecurity and touch outcomes, while for men attachment orientations had more direct effects. The findings expand models of intimate touch by highlighting dark triad traits as key contributors to both touch aversion and coercion and by situating these traits within an attachment framework.