Patrick Bateman loves a good, hoppy IPA …
We all have our drink of choice.
Gin and tonic. Coffee stout. Big, blue pina colada served in a fish bowl with a fire element and not enough silly straws to satiate the bachelor party.
But, a new study from the University of Innsbruck in Austria suggests that if your favorite drink is a bitter one (think IPAs, negronis and boulevariers), you might be a little more than just a person with bad taste in booze … you might also be batshit insane. Same goes for people who like black coffee and tonic water.
The study found that the more a person craves bitter flavors, the darker, more malevolent personality they have. Fans of bitter drinks were found to exhibit more sadistic, narcissistic, aggressive and psychotic tendencies than people who preferred selections from the sweeter end of the food and drink spectrum.
To make that call, scientists surveyed 1,000 participants and asked them to rank a variety of foods on a six-point scale of personal preference. Once the foods were ranked, respondents then completed a personality questionnaire. The results of the two surveys were then compared against each other, revealing a strong correlation between psychotic tendencies and a preference for bitter flavors.
Researchers think this correlation exists because humans have naturally evolved to see bitterness as a warning sign, as bitter flavors generally denote toxicity or potentially poisonous substances. Effectively, people who prefer those face-puckering tastes may be deriving a secret, psychotic thrill from drinking something that might be dangerous to ingest.
That conclusion might sound like a reach, but it actually makes sense. Think about it: people who crave the nauseating flavor of vodka or whiskey are more likely to exhibit alcoholic tendencies, and alcoholics generally struggle with mental illness more than the general population. Of course, it's unfair to characterize these people as "psychotic," but available terminology to describe the mentally ill is sadly typically less than elegant.
That, and IPAs are disgusting. You really do have to be off your rocker to drink that stuff …
None of this necessarily means that just because your date orders an Aperol spritz that they're plotting to dispose of your body in a way that simultaneously covers up evidence yet also bears their signature murder mark … but according to this research, that's not entirely out of the question. Fun!
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