The rise of Internet 3.0, the metaverse, and virtual realities is accelerating the shift from a physical economy to one that is digital, decentralized, and globally accessible. While the benefits and detriments of virtual assets like non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have received attention, individuals’ opinions about them remain polarized. This study investigates how personality traits shape users’ perceived value of NFTs. Using survey data from 805 respondents, we examine how the Big Five traits (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism) are associated with 14 value dimensions spanning technology, art, and product aspects. The findings indicate that perceptions of NFTs vary among users. Of note, individuals high in agreeableness and conscientiousness perceive NFTs more favorably across the spectrum of value dimensions, whereas those high in neuroticism exhibit opposite tendencies. Extraverted individuals are drawn to the subjective norms and financial gains related to NFTs, while those high in openness value their information transparency.
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Virtual Reality Applications and Impacts
Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification
Shane Littrell, Casey Klofstad, Joseph E. Uscinski
Cryptocurrency is a digital asset secured by cryptography that has become a popular medium of exchange and investment known for its anonymous transactions, unregulated markets, and volatile prices. Given the popular subculture of traders it has created, and its implications for financial markets and monetary policy, scholars have recently begun to examine the political, psychological, and social characteristics of cryptocurrency investors. A review of the existing literature suggests that cryptocurrency owners may possess higher-than-average levels of nonnormative psychological traits and exhibit a range of non-mainstream political identities. However, this extant literature typically employs small nonrepresentative samples of respondents and examines only a small number of independent variables in each given study. This presents the opportunity for both further testing of previous findings as well as broader exploratory analyses including more expansive descriptive investigations of cryptocurrency owners. To that end, we polled 2,001 American adults in 2022 to examine the associations between cryptocurrency ownership and individual level political, psychological, and social characteristics. Analyses revealed that 30% of our sample have owned some form of cryptocurrency and that these individuals exhibit a diversity of political allegiances and identities. We also found that crypto ownership was associated with belief in conspiracy theories, "dark" personality characteristics (e.g., the "Dark Tetrad" of narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadism), and more frequent use of alternative and fringe social media platforms. When examining a more comprehensive multivariate model, the variables that most strongly predict cryptocurrency ownership are being male, relying on alternative/fringe social media as one's primary news source, argumentativeness, and an aversion to authoritarianism. These findings highlight numerous avenues for future research into the people who buy and trade cryptocurrencies and speak to broader global trends in anti-establishment attitudes and nonnormative behaviors.
Investing in cryptocurrency has become more popular among Americans. Despite this, politicians and social scientists know almost nothing about the politics of cryptocurrency in the American public. By analyzing an original, nationally representative survey of 2500 American respondents, we create the first robust profile of the personalities, demographics, and political attitudes of cryptocurrency owners. We show that Americans who report hardship from inflation are more likely to own cryptocurrency, suggesting that when inflation is high, Americans may be more likely to use cryptocurrency as a medium of exchange and store of value. Americans who favor lower government spending and are more inclined toward conspiratorial thinking are also more likely to own cryptocurrency. Finally, there is a personality to cryptocurrency owners, with those open to new experiences more likely to own it and the conscientious less likely to own it. Our results have implications for how the American public may use cryptocurrency going forward.
Purpose The purpose of the research paper is to investigate the relationship between personality traits and investment decisions in the crypto market, including cryptocurrencies and NFTs. The study aims to explore the effect of dark personalities and the big five personalities on investment decisions in the crypto market. Design/methodology/approach The research was conducted through two online questionnaire studies. In Study 1, data were collected from the general public, while in Study 2, data were collected from crypto investors. The researchers analyzed the effect of dark personalities and the big five personalities on investment decisions in the crypto market. Findings The present research found that Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopath, sadism and extraversion have positive effects on having crypto investments. In addition, focusing on actual crypto investors, the present paper showed that personalities including Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopath, consciousness and extraversion have statistically significant effect on investment decisions such as making investments in Bitcoin. Originality/value The study is original in exploring the relationship between personality traits and investment decisions in the newly emerging crypto market, including cryptocurrencies and NFTs. The research provides insights into how different personality traits affect investment decisions in the crypto market, which can be valuable for investors in making informed decisions.
Abstract The accentuation of cryptocurrency, non‐fungible tokens and gamification of platforms has led to rewards being awarded, in the form of cryptocurrencies, that are formed by the platforms themselves and traded over the marketplace. These play‐to‐earn gamified platforms have witnessed a rise in participation, leading to increased investments by consumers, engagement, threats, and subsequent volatility. This paper tries to decipher consumer behaviour over the nascent gamified platform of a play‐to‐earn game, Axie Infinity, due to its fluctuating and subsequent depreciation of cryptocurrency, that act as rewards. This volatility from the resultant rewards over the platform brings about an uncertainty in the users' engagement, which has been part of our investigation in this study. The data was gathered through semi‐structured interviews of 20 participants picked from the official server of Axie Infinity on the social media platform of Discord. A thematic analysis based on a descriptive phenomenological approach was conducted on this data which generated findings that were centred around the continued use of action and rewards, resolution of participation through accumulation of rewards and optimism. The study contributes by highlighting and substantiating the component of optimism in the theory of reinforcement‐uncertainty, that characterises repetitive uncertain events, specifying it for uncertain rewards over investment risks that have been undertaken by consumers. Based on these findings, this study discusses how optimism is crucial in the continuation of engagement and outlines how it can be used in the facilitation of positive consumer behaviour over a gamified platform.
Relatively narcissistic people are attracted to cryptocurrencies, though it is unclear whether they are differentially attracted to cryptocurrencies over other investments. Furthermore, theoretically, only narcissistic admiration, rather than narcissistic rivalry, would be expected to associate with attitudes toward cryptocurrencies. Intelligence and financial literacy are also proposed individual difference predictors of attitudes toward investments. Consequently, we administered measures of narcissistic admiration and rivalry, a financial literacy test, and a battery of intelligence tests to a sample of young adults (N = 372). Based on a structural equation model, narcissistic admiration and narcissistic rivalry differentially predicted attitudes toward cryptocurrencies (admiration, positively; rivalry, negatively), but both failed to associate significantly with attitudes toward stocks. Furthermore, financial literacy was a unique, positive predictor of attitudes toward stocks, whereas intelligence was a unique, negative predictor of attitudes toward cryptocurrencies. Our findings support the notion that narcissism is differentially associated with attitudes toward cryptocurrencies, though only narcissistic admiration (positively), consistent with the hypersensitivities to reward theory. Finally, higher levels of intelligence, controlling for financial literacy and narcissism, associated negatively with attitudes toward cryptocurrencies, perhaps due to the influence of scepticism.
Benjamin Johnson, Tianze Sun, Daniel Stjepanović, Giang Thu Vu · 5 authors
The constant, substantial price fluctuations of cryptocurrency allow traders to engage in highly speculative trading that closely resembles gambling. With significant financial loss associated with adverse mental health outcomes, it is important to investigate the impact that market participation has on mental health. Therefore, we conducted interviews with 17 participants who self-reported problems due to trading. Thematic analysis was conducted revealing themes: (1) factors in engagement, (2) impacts of trading and (3) harm reduction. Factors in engagement captured factors that motivated and sustained cryptocurrency trading. Impacts of trading outlined how cryptocurrency trading positively and negatively impacted participants. Harm reduction described methods participants employed to reduce mental distress from trading. Our study provides novel insights into the adverse impacts of cryptocurrency trading across multiple domains, especially mental health, relationships and finances. They also indicate the importance of further research on effective coping strategies for distress caused by financial loss from trading. Additionally, our study reveals the significant role social environments play on participants' expectations and intentions regarding cryptocurrency trading. These social networks extend beyond real-life relationship to include celebrity and influencer endorsement. This encourages investigation into the content of cryptocurrency promotions and the influence they have on individuals' decision to trade.
Cryptocurrencies has been considered as both an investment tool and a great invention that will replace money and change the world order. Although crypto currency trading has been investigated in many aspects, the psychological dimension that directly affects investors has often been ignored. Control of cryptocurrency trading is in the hands of investors rather than a central authority or institution. Thus, the value of cryptocurrencies changes with the reactions of investors. This situation suggests that psychological factors may be more prominent in cryptocurrency trading. Cryptocurrency trading has many similarities with gambling and betting, such as risk taking, getting quick returns, extreme gains or losses. Some significant components of behavioral addiction are also seen in individuals who spend so much time with cryptocurrency trading. The purpose of this article is to provide a better understanding of the psychological effects of cryptocurrency trading, which has entered our lives over a relatively brief period of time and reached millions of investors.
The 2017 cryptocurrency parabolic craze drew significant attention, pushing blockchain projects to differentiate themselves from competitors. Within this scope, the present study employs the personality trait model to theoretically and empirically explore brand personality within the context of digital currencies, investigating its impact on its brand identity through the moderating effect of consumers' personality traits. The analysed data (n=237) were collected from Consensus 2019, which is the world's leading blockchain forum. Results revealed that within the context of cryptocurrencies, brand personality positively relates to brand identification, whereas the five personality traits (openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness, extroversion, and neuroticism) relate differently as moderators. This study is the first to explore brand personality and brand identification within the context of digital currencies. The findings indicate that crypto users link brand personality with brand identification differently depending on certain personality traits.
Personality Traits and Psychology
Digital Marketing and Social Media
Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification
Brett Martin, Polymeros Chrysochou, Carolyn Strong, Di Wang · 5 authors
Markets for cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin have experienced tremendous growth. Yet little research has examined why people want to buy cryptocurrencies that are risky investments. The present research studies a subset of people interested in cryptocurrencies. Specifically, we examine the effect of Dark Tetrad traits (Machiavellianism, subclinical narcissism, subclinical psychopathy, and subclinical sadism) on a person's crypto attitude and buying intention. The following mediators were examined as reasons for people buying crypto: (1) conspiracy beliefs (e.g., distrust of government), (2) positivity and (3) fear of missing out (FoMO). Importantly, we are not suggesting all crypto buyers exhibit Dark Tetrad traits. Based on a pre-registered survey of the main research question rather than hypotheses (N = 566), it was found that narcissism was positively associated with crypto attitude which was mediated by positivity. Machiavellianism was associated with buying intention which was mediated by conspiracy beliefs. Machiavellians were more distrustful of government which was associated with a greater desire to buy crypto. Psychopathy affected crypto judgments through FoMO and a negative effect on positivity. Sadism is associated with FoMO and a lack of positivity which affects crypto judgments.