Hedonism,Achievement, and Power: Universal values that characterize the Dark Triad

Using a sample of Swedes and Americans (N = 385), we attempted to understand the Dark Triad traits (i.e., Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) in terms of universal social values. The Dark Triad traits correlated significantly with all 10 value types, forming a sinusoid pattern corresponding to the value model circumplex. In regression analyses, Machiavellianism and narcissism were positively associated with the values Achievement and Power, while psychopathy was positively associated with the values Hedonism, and Power. In addition, the Dark Triad traits explained significant variance over the Big Five traits in accounting for individual differences in social values. Differences between the Swedish and the US sample in the social value Achievement was mediated by the Dark Triad traits, as well as age. Given the unique complex of values accounted for by the Dark Triad traits compared to the Big Five traits, we argue that the former account for a system of self-enhancing “dark values”, often hidden but constantly contributing in evaluations of others.     

Standing out and not fitting in: The Dark Triad traits and social values

ABSTRACT

We replicated and extended (N = 207) work on the social values (i.e., obedience, tradition, security, benevolence, universalism, self-direction, stimulation, hedonism, achievement, and power) linked to the Dark Triad traits (i.e., narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism). Each of the traits was positively associated with values of achievement and power. Psychopathy and narcissism were both negatively correlated with benevolence, and psychopathy and Machiavellianism were negatively correlated with obedience. Psychopathy was also negatively correlated with tradition. Sex differences in the values of tradition, benevolence, and power were mediated by psychopathy. We suggest that high rates of the Dark Triad traits facilitate, for men, holding social values that emphasize standing out whereas low rates facilitate, for women, fitting in.     

Different routes to limited empathy in the sexes: Examining the links between the Dark Triad and empathy

A fundamental observation regarding the Dark Triad traits (i.e., narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism) is that they are all associated with limited empathy. However, little is known about these relationships beyond some basics. In this study (N = 352), we asked three questions. What is the nature of the relationship between the Dark Triad traits and empathy? Does limited empathy account for sex differences in the Dark Triad? Are men and women low on empathy through different personality traits? The Dark Triad traits were all related to low levels of empathy even when controlling for the shared variance among the traits. Empathy rates mediated sex differences in different aspects of the Dark Triad but not others. Low empathy rates were related to narcissism in women but psychopathy in men, suggesting different routes to limited empathy for men and women high on the Dark Triad.     

Acquisitive or protective self-presentation of dark personalities? Associations among the Dark Triad and self-monitoring

The Dark Triad (narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy) is associated with interpersonal manipulation which requires skills in navigating through social situations. Thus, positive relationships between the Dark Triad and self-monitoring (acquisitive: perceptiveness, impression management; protective: protective variability, protective social referencing) were hypothesized and examined in an online-study (N = 408) with (canonical) correlations and factor analyses. Results indicated that narcissism was related especially to acquisitive, Machiavellianism to protective, and psychopathy to both forms of self-monitoring, which supports the view of distinct Dark Triad traits. Findings are discussed concerning different aspects of self-presentation.     

Valuing myself over others: The Dark Triad traits and moral and social values

In samples from America and Germany (N = 1353), we examined how the Dark Triad traits related to different value systems as measured by Moral Foundations and Social Values. Psychopathy was linked to diminished concerns for all Moral Foundations, Machiavellianism was linked to a moral flexibility, and narcissism was linked to a socially desirable form of morality. Machiavellianism and psychopathy scores were associated with a devaluing of collective interests, whereas narcissism was associated with a valuing of individual interests through the value of Self-Enhancement. Individual differences in a variety of values mediated part of the sex differences in the Dark Triad traits. We contend that what makes the Dark Triad traits unique and interesting is that they share a unique complex of values that might run counter to societal expectations for selflessness.     

The Dark Triad Traits,Humor Styles,and Schadenfreude: Others' Misery as the Devil's Laughing Stocks1

This research investigated the relationships of the Dark Triad traits, humor styles, and schadenfreude with 169 participants who completed the Short Dark Triad, the Humor Style Questionnaire, and a measure of schadenfreude. Significant correlations imply that those with salient dark traits (psychopathy, Machiavellianism, narcissism) elicit pleasure from others' misfortune. Additionally, schadenfreude can be a product of self-defeating and aggressive humor styles. Indirect effect analysis revealed the significance of the indirect effect of the measured aggressive humor style on the Dark Triad's direct effects on schadenfreude. These results imply that those with salient Dark Triad traits enjoy others' misery as a means to undermine them. Hence, individuals with salient Dark Triad traits tend to engage in downward social comparison.     

Competition,autonomy, and prestige: Mechanisms through which the Dark Triad predict job satisfaction

Organizational researchers increasingly recognize the need to consider the Dark Triad traits (i.e., psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and narcissism) when explaining undesirable work outcomes (e.g., counterproductive behaviors). However, little research has focused on the motivations of those who actually hold the traits. In this study (N = 361) we examined how the Dark Triad traits predispose individuals to perceive situations as competitive, prestigious, and comprised of restrictions (i.e., autonomy) which differentially predict job satisfaction. Individuals high on psychopathy and Machiavellianism perceived their workplaces as competitive, whereas individuals high on narcissism perceived their workplaces as prestigious and with fewer restrictions. Sex differences in perceptions were fully mediated by psychopathy and Machiavellianism. We discuss our results from an Evolutionary Industrial/Organization Psychology framework.     

The dark triad: Facilitating a short‐term mating strategy in men

This survey (N = 224) found that characteristics collectively known as the Dark Triad (i.e. narcissism, psychopathy and Machiavellianism) were correlated with various dimensions of short‐term mating but not long‐term mating. The link between the Dark Triad and short‐term mating was stronger for men than for women. The Dark Triad partially mediated the sex difference in short‐term mating behaviour. Findings are consistent with a view that the Dark Triad facilitates an exploitative, short‐term mating strategy in men. Possible implications, including that Dark Triad traits represent a bundle of individual differences that promote a reproductively adaptive strategy are discussed. Findings are discussed in the broad context of how an evolutionary approach to personality psychology can enhance our understanding of individual differences. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

黑暗人格三合一研究述评

如果说大五人格代表了特质论人格心理学对非临床人格的研究成果,近期出现的黑暗人格三合一则代表了对亚临床人格阴暗面的研究成果。黑暗人格三合一由马基雅维利主义、自恋和精神病态三种人格特质构成,这三种人格特质在西方文化中均属于反社会型人格特质。对黑暗人格三合一的研究发现:(1)马基雅维利主义、自恋和精神病态各自独立又相互交织;(2)它们的测量工具均较为成熟;(3)黑暗人格三合一不仅具有反社会性,也具有亲社会性;(4)黑暗人格三合一反映个体的快速生命策略;(5)遗传和环境因素在黑暗人格三合一的形成中发挥不同作用;(6)黑暗人格三合一是不同于大五人格的人格特质群。     

Creatures of the night: Chronotypes and the Dark Triad traits

In this study (N = 263) we provide a basic test of a niche-specialization hypothesis of the Dark Triad (i.e., narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism). We propose that in order to best enact a “cheater strategy” those high on the Dark Triad traits should have optimal cognitive performance and, thus, have a night-time chronotype. Such a disposition will take advantage of the low light, the limited monitoring, and the lessened cognitive processing of morning-type people. The Dark Triad composite was correlated with an eveningness disposition. This link worked through links with the “darker” aspects of the Dark Triad (i.e., Machiavellianism, secondary psychopathy, and exploitive narcissism); correlations that were invariant across the sexes. While we replicated sex differences in the Dark Triad, we failed to replicate sex differences in chronotype, suggesting eveningness may not be a sexually selected trait as some have argued but is a trait under natural selective pressures to enable effective exploitations of conspecifics by both sexes.     

How Alluring Are Dark Personalities? The Dark Triad and Attractiveness in Speed Dating

Dark Triad traits (narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism) are linked to the pursuit of short‐term mating strategies, but they may have differential effects on actual mating success in naturalistic scenarios: Narcissism may be a facilitator for men's short‐term mating success, while Machiavellianism and psychopathy may be detrimental. To date, little is known about the attractiveness of Dark Triad traits in women. In a speed‐dating study, we assessed participants' Dark Triad traits, Big Five personality traits, and physical attractiveness in N = 90 heterosexual individuals (46 women and 44 men). Each participant rated each partner's mate appeal for short‐ and long‐term relationships. Across both sexes, narcissism was positively associated with mate appeal for short‐ and long‐term relationships. Further analyses indicated that these associations were due to the shared variance among narcissism and extraversion in men and narcissism and physical attractiveness in women, respectively. In women, psychopathy was also positively associated with mate appeal for short‐term relationships. Regarding mating preferences, narcissism was found to involve greater choosiness in the rating of others' mate appeal (but not actual choices) in men, while psychopathy was associated with greater openness towards short‐term relationships in women. Copyright © 2016 European Association of Personality Psychology     

The Dark Triad and Disordered Gambling

Disordered gambling refers to persistent and recurrent patterns of problematic gambling behavior leading to clinically significant impairment or distress. The purpose of the present study was to examine the connections that the Dark Triad personality traits (i.e., narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism) had with disordered gambling in a sample of 572 undergraduate students (129 men, 443 women). Our analyses revealed that narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism were each related to disordered gambling. However, psychopathy was the only Dark Triad personality trait that had a unique association with the risk for disordered gambling when controlling for the other Dark Triad traits. The discussion focuses on the implications of these results for understanding the connections between psychopathy and disordered gambling.     

What have you done for me lately? Friendship-selection in the shadow of the Dark Triad traits

The current studies examined how the Dark Triad personality traits (i.e., Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) facilitate the strategic structuring of an individual's social environment in terms of same- and opposite-sex friends. In one study using normative questions (N = 267) and another using a budget-allocation task (N = 114), we found that the Dark Triad traits were associated with choosing friends for strategic purposes and to create a volatile environment. Narcissistic individuals reported relatively more reasons to form friendships, such as shared interests, makes me feel good, and intelligence. Women high in narcissism chose same-sex friends who were attractive and women high on Machiavellianism chose same-sex friends who have social status. Men high on psychopathy devalued traits associated with good social relationships in favor of friends who could facilitate their mating efforts and to offset risks incurred in their life history strategy. Results are discussed using the selection-manipulation-evocation framework for explaining how personality traits interact with social environments and integrated with findings from evolutionary biology.     

Positioning the Dark Triad in the interpersonal circumplex: The friendly-dominant narcissist,hostile-submissive Machiavellian,and hostile-dominant psychopath?

People scoring high on the Dark Triad traits narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy are believed to get ahead without getting along. The current work positions the Dark Triad into the interpersonal circumplex around Agency/Communion. Two studies (Ns = 184, 186) with self- and peer-ratings indicated that narcissism was inclined towards friendly-dominant, Machiavellianism towards hostile-submissive, and psychopathy towards hostile-dominant when using multiple regressions. The unique location of each Dark Triad member in the interpersonal circumplex is discussed.     

Environmental attitudes in China: The roles of the Dark Triad,future orientation and place attachment

Given the current environmental situation and social change in China, we explored the relationships between the Dark Triad traits (Machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy) and environmental attitudes (beliefs regarding environmentally related issues), and the mediating roles of future orientation (the tendency to plan for meeting long‐term objectives) and place attachment (the emotional connection with the place of residence) in these relationships. Using a national sample from all 31 provinces of mainland China (N = 998), we found that the psychometric structure of the Dark Triad was well confirmed under Chinese culture. The Dark Triad as a whole was negatively related to environmental attitudes, but narcissism was not significantly associated with environmental attitudes when the three Dark Triad traits were considered as the predictors simultaneously. Future orientation and place attachment mediated the association between the Dark Triad and environmental attitudes. These findings enrich our understanding of the relevant variables of environmental attitudes and provide references for China's government and other developing countries to improve environmental issues. The uniqueness of narcissism could expand the understanding of the commonality and diversity among the Dark Triad traits, and an efficient tool of the Dark Triad was provided under Chinese culture.     

Machiavellian flexibility in negative mate retention

Among the Dark Triad traits (psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism), Machiavellianism is uniquely associated with flexibility. This flexibility should result in the use of aggressive short‐term tactics only when they do not interfere with long‐term goals. Study 1 found that individuals high in Machiavellianism differed from those high in psychopathy with respect to retrospective accounts of negative mate retention tactics. Study 2 found an interaction between Machiavellianism and relationship type such that individuals high in Machiavellianism tempered the use of negative tactics for long‐term (but not short‐term) relationships. The findings highlight the flexibility of the Machiavellianism construct and its relevance to mating strategies among the Dark Triad.     

Birds of a “bad” feather flock together: The Dark Triad and mate choice

Previous research on the Dark Triad traits (i.e., Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism) has focused solely on the role the Dark Triad traits played in mate choice of actors. The current study (N = 336) extends this by manipulating the apparent levels of Dark Triad traits in targets and correlating mate choice in these targets with individual differences in the Dark Triad traits in actors. As expected, both sexes preferred partners low in the Dark Triad traits for long-term mating, while those high in these traits were preferred for one-night stands. However, women high in psychopathy considered the Dark Triad traits in potential male partners more physically attractive and desirable for an one-night stand, as well as a potential husband. Men who were high on psychopathy were likewise attracted to psychopathy in potential mothers. Our findings are discussed from an evolutionary personality paradigm.     

How “dark” personality traits and perceptions come together to predict racism in Australia

This study provided initial insights into the shape of racism in Australia from the perspective of personality psychology. In this study (N = 201) racism towards Anglo-Australians and Middle-Easterners was assessed in relation to the Dark Triad traits (i.e., psychopathy, narcissism, & Machiavellianism), social dominance, authoritarianism, and perceptions of whether the world was dangerous/competitive. While the groups did not differ in the Dark Triad traits, Middle-Easterners did see the world as more dangerous and were more authoritarian than Anglo-Australians. There was evidence of an in-group/out-group bias, but this was localized to ratings of Middle-Easterners. Racism towards Anglo-Australians by Middle-Easterners appears to be mostly associated with perceiving the world as a dangerous and competitive place whereas racism in the reverse appears to be associated with perceptions of dangerous world, authoritarianism, and social dominance. Importantly, the Dark Triad traits exerted little influence in predicting racism but did predict these proximal factors suggesting those who are racist are not necessarily “evil” but, instead, have some latent biases about how they see the world that lead to racist tendencies.     

The Dark Triad and dispositional aggression

Previous research has demonstrated that people who are callous are more likely to be interpersonally aggressive. The present study extends this finding to research on the “Dark Triad” traits (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy), which all share a common core of callousness and manipulation. Using crowd-sourcing and student samples, we examined the relationship between the Dark Triad traits with different facets of dispositional aggression. Results indicated that a common Dark Triad factor (i.e., callousness and manipulation) predicted a common aggression factor. However, the individual Dark Triad traits uniquely predicted different facets of aggression. Psychopathy positively predicted physical aggression, narcissism negatively predicted hostility, and Machiavellianism positively predicted hostility. Taken together, the findings shed light on the unique elements of the Dark Triad and their ability to predict unique forms of dispositional aggression.     

Dark traits: Sometimes hot,and sometimes not? Female preferences for Dark Triad faces depend on sociosexuality and contraceptive use

Although the Dark Triad personality (i.e., Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) has been researched widely, only few studies have investigated women's preferences for men who present high and low Dark Triad features. With an on-line two-alternative forced choice questionnaire we investigated the interaction between preferences of 1962 Finnish women for facial stimuli that differed in the intensity of the Dark Triad traits, accounting for mating context, contraceptive use, and sexual openness (sociosexuality). Among non-contraceptive-using women, unrestricted sociosexuality was positively correlated with preference for high narcissistic male faces, whereas in contraceptive-using women, sociosexuality correlated negatively with preference for high Machiavellian male faces. We suggest that i) facial cues to Dark Triad traits are detectable by women, but ii) their effect on the judgments of attractiveness may vary depending on sociosexuality and contraceptive use, and that iii) preference for narcissism follows similar variation trends as masculinity preference, depending on sociosexuality and the use of hormonal contraception.