People who do ‘business’ subjects at uni are more likely to be psychopaths

In American Psycho, Christian Bale’s investment banker character loves fine dining, designer clothes – and brutal murders.

But it turns out there might be a grain of truth to the idea that people drawn towards the world of business might be psychopaths.

Researchers from Aarhus University in Denmark got students in different subjects to complete personality tests – and found that psychopaths are more likely to enrol in degrees in business and economics.

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The tests measured the so-called ‘dark triad’ of personality traits – narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy – and 487 students took part.

Study co-author Dr Anna Vedel, ‘It is very likely that many people do much the same as I did when choosing their major and really take into account the personality they have and the personality they associate with specific academic disciplines or careers.

‘For “dark” personalities it may seem like some studies offer more opportunities for them.

‘That may be why they tend to enroll in, for example, economics more often than people with low scores on the dark triad.