Do you play Grand Theft Auto to relax? You might have Machiavellian traits, scientists say

Do drug deals, shootouts, and police raids sound like your idea of ​​a relaxing evening?

If so, scientists say you may have a dark personality.

A study from the University of Luxembourg found that people with a Machiavellian personality found violent games like GTA 6 more relaxing.

Researchers say this may be because the game satisfies their need for power and dominance.

But contrary to some claims, the study found no link between violent games and increased aggression.

Previous studies have raised concerns that playing violent video games leads to an increase in violent behavior.

To put this theory to the test in their new study, the researchers recruited 54 men between the ages of 18 and 60 who were randomly assigned to play either a violent or non-violent section of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End.

Saliva samples were taken before play, 25 minutes after play, and 20 minutes after play ended to examine how people's hormone levels reacted to the game.

Participants also took a “aggressive cognitions” test to see if they became more violent after playing the game.

Previous theories suggest that playing a violent game would cause the body to enter flight-or-flight mode, increasing levels of the “aggression hormones” cortisol and testosterone.

However, researchers have discovered that the opposite is actually true.

Lead author Gary Wagner said: “Despite previous research suggesting a link between playing violent video games and acts of aggression, our findings show that violent video games do not increase aggression and may also relax some players, depending on their personality.” .

Participants played 25 minutes of a violent or non-violent section of Uncharted 4 (pictured) and had their cortisol levels measured

People who played the violent section showed a significant decrease in cortisol and no increase in testosterone or aggressive cognition.

However, the study also found that people with a dark personality saw a much greater decrease in their cortisol levels.

The researchers tested people for each of the “Dark Quadrants” personalities: Machiavellianism, psychopathy, narcissism, and everyday sadism.

Machiavellian personality types respond positively to questions such as: “It is not wise to tell your secrets.”

People with these personality traits showed a greater-than-normal decrease in stress when playing the violent game, but they actually became more nervous when playing the non-violent part.

People with Machiavellian personalities, such as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho, have an intense desire for power or control and will use violence as a tool to achieve this.

However, narcissism, everyday sadism, and psychopathy had no effect on how people interacted with the game.

The researchers suggest that this is because people who score high in Machiavellianism tend to have a greater desire to assert control.

They write in their studies Published in the Journal of Physiology and BehaviorWagner and colleagues said: “PParticipants who tend to assert more control based on their personal characteristics and who are given the opportunity to do so in a violent game situation can satisfy their need for dominance and control.

“Participants with higher Machiavellianism scores also see aggression and use it as a tool to achieve their needs and goals in exercising power.”

The report's authors found that playing violent video games did not cause any increase in levels of aggression, despite widespread belief that this was the case (stock image)

Violence in video games has long been cited as a cause of real-life violent incidents.

Most famously, Wayne LaPierre blamed the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting on the perpetrator's obsession with violent games.

Likewise, Donald Trump blamed the 2019 El Paso shooting on social media and violent games, not America's lax gun regulations.

However, multiple studies have shown that there is no evidence of a link between on-screen violence and off-screen violence.

A 2021 study conducted in London found that violent behavior in teenage boys was not affected by exposure to violent video games.

The report's authors concluded that policies aimed at reducing children's exposure to violence in games are unlikely to reduce violence.

However, the NHS confirms that video game addiction can cause children to become violent.