The Dark Triad and aggression among drug abstainers: a moderated mediation model of self-control and physical exercise.

BACKGROUND: Drug addiction is a significant public health concern, and aggression is common among people with drug addiction. Despite mounting evidence showing that the Dark Triad is a risk factor for aggression, the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this relationship are less known. This study tested the mediation effect of self-control in the association between the Dark Triad and aggression and whether this mediation was moderated by physical exercise. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in two compulsory drug rehabilitation centers in Nanning, China. A convenience sample of 564 drug abstainers completed a questionnaire to assess their Dark Triad, self-control, aggression, and physical exercise levels. Mediation and moderation analyses were carried out in SPSS macro-PROCESS. RESULTS: Self-control partially mediated the positive association between the Dark Triad and aggression. Physical exercise moderated the indirect effect of the Dark Triad on aggression via self-control, with the effect decreasing with the increase in physical exercise levels. CONCLUSIONS: This study offers fresh insights into the underlying mediating and moderating mechanisms between the Dark Triad and aggression. The findings provide important practical implications for future intervention and prevention programs to address aggression among drug abstainers, which may be realized through strengthening self-control and physical exercise.

Personality and motivation of physical activity in adolescent girls: effects of perceived parental support and social physical anxiety.

In the present study, we investigated the relationship between personality and motivation for physical activity while introducing perceived parental support and social physical anxiety in adolescent girls (N = 318, Mage: 16.19 ± 0.51 years). The present study was a retrospective correlational study that was conducted to analyze of a path model. Dark triad traits: Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy, student's motivation for physical activity, social physique anxiety, and participants' perceptions of parents' behaviors were measured. The findings indicated that psychopathy and Machiavellianism were directly and indirectly associated with motivation for physical activity, but Narcissism could only directly predict the motivation for physical activity. Also, need-thwarting (the most), need-supportive and social physical anxiety could predict motivation for physical activity. This model of the result suggests that among adolescent girls, dark triad personality could, directly and indirectly, predict motivation with need-supportive and need-thwarting and also social physical anxiety. It seems that the sense of importance and more attention to oneself in adolescent girls, which exists in the narcissistic personality, can directly lead to more motivation for physical activity. Also, the duplicitous ways of Machiavellian people in pursuing their motives were confirmed in this research.

The links of subjective and psychological well-being with the Dark Triad traits: A meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to investigate the specific links that the Dark Triad traits have with subjective and psychological well-being through a meta-analysis of the existing literature. BACKGROUND: Over the past few years, associations between the Dark Triad traits and well-being have been a stimulating but understudied topic in personality research. METHOD: Cross-sectional, correlational studies examining these relationships were searched in the PsycINFO, PubMed, and Web of Science databases. Meta-analyses were performed at the dimension- and facet-level to account for the multidimensional structure of the Dark Triad traits. RESULTS: A total of 55 studies were included (n = 26,252). In general, grandiose narcissism and boldness/dominance related to higher well-being, while vulnerable narcissism, antagonism, disinhibition, and Machiavellianism related to lower levels of well-being. Age and gender moderated few of these associations. CONCLUSIONS: We recommend including multidimensional measures of the Dark Triad traits as an essential step to move the field forward.

Is the link between the Dark Tetrad and the acceptance of sexual violence mediated by sexual machismo?

Previous studies have established relationships between the Dark Tetrad traits and sexual violence and its acceptance through myths about this type of violence. Sexual violence is positively associated with machismo, with sexist beliefs having been found to be linked with the Dark Tetrad and with the acceptance of sexual violence. Using a community sample comprising 362 adults between the ages of 18 and 70 (M = 35.6, SD = 14.3) and three self-report measures, this cross-sectional study aimed to explore the mediating role of sexual machismo in the relationship between each of the Dark Tetrad traits and the acceptance of sexual violence, both in the overall sample and by gender, as well as whether a significant variance in this acceptance is explained by the "dark" traits, sexual machismo, and gender. In the regression, sexual machismo (the male) gender, and only Machiavellianism were uniquely associated with the acceptance of sexual violence, and sexual machismo partially mediated the associations between the Dark Tetrad and the acceptance of sexual violence. These findings indicate that being male and higher in sexism is more closely linked with the acceptance of sexual violence than most Dark Tetrad traits. Moreover, the associations between the Dark Tetrad, sexual machismo, and the acceptance of sexual violence were stronger in men, consistent with the notion that these traits facilitate a "male" exploitive mating strategy, which likely also extends to victim-blaming and positive attitudes about sexual violence more broadly. Lastly, the results emphasize the pervasiveness of beliefs about male superiority over women and its relationship with victim-blaming even in women.

A look through dark-colored glasses: The Dark Tetrad and affective processing.

The Dark Tetrad personality traits (i.e., narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadism) have been continuously linked to various deficits in affective reactivity. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship of the Dark Tetrad and processing of emotional pictures. A total of 144 participants (56.9% female, Mage = 22.18, SDage = 2.26) completed measures of the Dark Tetrad, and rated pictures selected form the International Affective Picture System (IAPS), classified in accordance with their norms into highly arousing positive and negative. Affective processing measures included participants' valence and arousal ratings, while cognitive processing was measured my means of the response latency for each response. The results showed that the dark traits were related only to valence, but not arousal ratings. Higher narcissism and lower sadism were associated with more positive valence ratings of positive pictures, and higher sadism was associated with more positive ratings of negative pictures. Moreover, higher Machiavellianism predicted faster assessment of valence and arousal of both positive and negative pictures, and higher sadism predicted slower assessment of negative pictures' valence. Obtained results indicate that deficiencies in affective processing are more pronounced in sadism compared to other dark traits, while Machiavellianism is associated with advantages in cognitive processing, highlighting their significance and uniqueness in the Dark Tetrad constellation.

Dark Triad personality traits and realistic and symbolic COVID-19 threat: The role of conspiracy mentality.

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly altered global social dynamics through extensive containment measures. Understanding how individuals perceive the virus, distinguishing between realistic and symbolic threats, and considering the influence of personality traits is essential for effective public health messaging and interventions. This study explores the linkage between personality traits and perceived COVID-19 threats, mediated by conspiracy mentality, across diverse international contexts. Online survey data were collected in June 2021 from 13,645 participants across seven European countries, the US, and Colombia. The study explores how individuals with different Dark Triad traits perceive the threat of COVID-19, and whether conspiracy mentality mediates these perceptions. The findings reveal distinct associations. Machiavellianism and narcissism were linked to lower perceived COVID-19 threat, while psychopathy was associated with greater perceived threat. Additionally, individuals with higher conspiracy mentality endorsed greater perceived threat related to COVID-19. This study highlights the influence of Dark Triad personality traits on how individuals perceive the threats posed by COVID-19, with conspiracy mentality mediating this relationship. Understanding these associations provides valuable insights into psychological factors affecting COVID-19 perception, informing future research and public health strategies.

Functional and dysfunctional impulsivity mediates the relationships between 'Dark Triad' traits and cyberbullying perpetration.

BACKGROUND: Cyberbullying perpetration and victimisation have been associated with psychological distress, including depression and suicidal ideation. Prior studies have shown that the 'Dark Triad' personality traits (narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy) are associated with greater likelihood of perpetration, yet there is a research gap regarding potential mediators of this relationship. AIMS: To test whether functional and dysfunctional impulsivity act as mediators between Dark Triad traits and cyberbullying perpetration. METHODS: A cross-sectional online study was conducted, in which a sample of 141 university students (63% male) from Malaysia were recruited by online and local poster advertising inviting them to complete a questionnaire containing a series of psychometric scales, including measures of 'Dark Triad' personality traits, impulsivity and cyberbullying perpetration. RESULTS: A relationship between cyberbullying perpetration and higher psychopathy scale scores was mediated by dysfunctional, but not functional, impulsivity. The relationship between cyberbullying and narcissism scores was not mediated by impulsivity. Higher Machiavellianism scores were similarly associated with cyberbullying, but there was no correlation at all between Machiavellianism and impulsivity scores. CONCLUSION: Our findings add to the literature by showing that not only Dark Triad scale scores are associated with cyberbullying, but that difficulty in refraining from or controlling impulsive behaviours (dysfunctional impulsivity) may be a key component in this relationship. Given that our sample was of generally well-functioning people, our findings may not extend to those with serious cyberbullying problems. Yet, they provide avenues for identifying people at risk of such behaviours before problems become well-established and call for more nuanced approaches towards understanding and intervening with problematic cyberbullying.

The Dispositional Essence of Proactive Social Preferences: The Dark Core of Personality vis-à-vis 58 Traits.

Individuals differ in how they weigh their own utility versus others'. This tendency codefines the dark factor of personality (D), which is conceptualized as the underlying disposition from which all socially and ethically aversive (dark) traits arise as specific, flavored manifestations. We scrutinize this unique theoretical notion by testing, for a broad set of 58 different traits and related constructs, whether any predict how individuals weigh their own versus others' utility in proactive allocation decisions (i.e., social value orientations) beyond D. These traits and constructs range from broad dimensions (e.g., agreeableness), to aversive traits (e.g., sadism) and beliefs (e.g., normlessness), to prosocial tendencies (e.g., compassion). In a large-scale longitudinal study involving the assessment of consequential choices (median N = 2,270; a heterogeneous adult community sample from Germany), results from several hundred latent model comparisons revealed that no meaningful incremental variance was explained beyond D. Thus, D alone is sufficient to represent the social preferences inherent in socially and ethically aversive personality traits.

Ambition and Its Psychopathologies.

ABSTRACT: Ambition is a uniquely human, complex personality trait. Although the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition mentions ambition only once, in a peripheral comment concerning narcissistic personality disorder, psychopathological states associated with ambition are commonly encountered in everyday life. Ambition has been linked to narcissism, power, and dominance, but it is distinct from each of these concepts. Although the development of ambition is most strongly influenced by social, cultural, and demographic factors, evidence suggests that genetic and biological factors also contribute.This article describes how ambition-related psychopathologies can manifest as 1) misalignment of ambitions and capabilities; 2) "blind ambition"; 3) distortions associated with bipolar and other mood disorders; 4) amalgams of ambition with Machiavellian traits, psychopathy, narcissism, and sadism (i.e., dark triad/tetrad traits); and 5) amotivation/apathy syndrome deficits associated with general medical and psychiatric conditions.The field requires more robust measures for assessing ambition, further delineation of ambition-related psychopathologies, and effective treatments for these conditions.

Lighten the darkness: Personality interventions targeting agreeableness also reduce participants' levels of the dark triad.

OBJECTIVE: Previous research suggests that people want to change their big five traits-and moreover, they may be able to do so. This paper extends these findings in three ways. First, I examined the extent to which people want to change their levels of the dark triad-Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy. Second, I tested whether desires to change the dark triad predicted actual changes in the corresponding traits across approximately four months. Finally, participants received an intervention designed to change their big five personality traits. Consequently, I tested whether this intervention could also facilitate changes in the dark triad. METHOD: The present study was a 16-wave, weekly, intensive longitudinal design (N = 467). RESULTS: Results revealed that participants generally did not want to change their levels of the dark triad. Nevertheless, individual variance in desires to change the dark triad did predict actual changes in the dark triad across four months. Moreover, interventions targeting agreeableness spurred changes in all three dark triad traits. CONCLUSIONS: This research suggests that taking small steps to become more agreeable may also reduce individuals' levels of the dark triad. These findings may have implications for future research, as well as therapeutic treatments.

Rethinking aversive personality: Decomposing the Dark Triad traits into their common core and unique flavors.

OBJECTIVE: To explain and predict unethical behavior, much attention has been devoted to the "Dark Triad of Personality", a set of three socially aversive personality traits: Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy. Despite its popularity, research on the Dark Triad has been beset by recurring concerns surrounding the distinctiveness of its components. Herein, we propose an alternative theoretical view that conceptualizes the Dark Triad traits as specific manifestations of the common core of aversive traits (conceptualized as the Dark Factor of Personality, D) flavored by unique, essentially non-aversive characteristics. METHOD: In two studies (total N > 1000), we test this idea by examining the conceptual and empirical overlap and specificity of the Dark Triad traits vis-à-vis D and each other. RESULTS: Findings support the conceptualization of the Dark Triad traits as flavored manifestations of D and also reveal a marked discrepancy between the current conceptualization of the Dark Triad traits and the empirical structure of its subdimensions. In fact, evidence clearly failed to support the existence of a triad of traits. CONCLUSION: Conceptualizing single aversive traits as a conjunction of core D aspects and essentially non-aversive characteristics (admiration; disinhibition vs. planfulness; vulnerability vs. boldness) holds promise to move the field forward.

No mercy for victims: Exploring the link between dark personality traits, aggressive video game behavior, and severe traffic violations.

This study investigates the relationship between dark personality traits, aggressive behavior in violent video games, and severe traffic violations among 200 driving offenders from Tehran, Iran, participating in a rehabilitation program. Participants engaged in a computerized shooting decision task, where their tendency to shoot unarmed targets (innocent victims), compared to armed targets (criminals), was used as an indicator of aggressive behavior toward innocent victims. Additionally, they completed self-report measures of narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadism to evaluate the impact of Dark Tetrad personality traits on their behavior. Bivariate analyses revealed associations between Dark Tetrad personality traits and aggressive behavior in the video game with serious traffic offenses. Multivariate analyses identified Machiavellianism, sadism, and aggressive behavior in video games as significant predictors of severe traffic offenses. The results suggest that dark personality traits and aggressive behavior in video games may aid in better identifying road traffic offenders with the most severe violations. Potential implications for preventing repeated traffic offenses by tailoring rehabilitation programs are discussed.

Trait Machiavellianism and Agentic Career Success: A Multi-Measure, Multi-Criteria, Multi-Source Analysis.

The Five-Factor Machiavellianism Inventory (FFMI) was specifically designed to rectify validity concerns with traditional measures of Machiavellianism. In this study with 550 career targets and 1,127 knowledgeable informants at work from a broad range of occupations and organizations we tested whether the FFMI outperforms traditional measures of Machiavellianism in the prediction of agentic career success using a multifaceted range of proximal and distal career outcomes. Apparent sincerity is a social skill that enables individuals to instill trust and confidence while disguising other intentions. We tested whether apparent sincerity partially mediates the relation of the FFMI with career success. We controlled for gender, human capital, and kind of employment. The results show that the FFMI was a better predictor of agentic career success than traditional Machiavellianism scales. Apparent sincerity partially mediated the FFMI-career success relation. Agency directly and indirectly predicted career success. Planfulness indirectly predicted career success. Antagonism neither directly nor indirectly predicted career success. These results support that the FFMI covers with its dimensions the full range of trait Machiavellianism with reference to criterion validity.

Test-Retest Reliability and Construct Validity of the Brief Dark Triad Measurements.

Despite the widespread use of the Dirty Dozen (DD) and Short Dark Triad (SD3) as inventories for antagonist personality constructs, appropriately powered studies on their test-retest reliability (rtt) are lacking. We report the 12-day rtt-s of the DD and SD3 scales. Leveraging the test-retest data, we also calculated their convergent and discriminant correlations while controlling for measurement error. Median rtt-s were .87 and .90 (N = 500) for the DD and SD3 scales, respectively, substantially higher than their internal consistencies. Convergent correlations were .77, .63 and .64 for Machiavellianism, Narcissism and Psychopathy, respectively. Discriminant correlations between the Machiavellianism and Psychopathy scales had a median of .65, pointing to their being effectively indistinguishable traits in the SD3 and DD. The DD and SD3 items had median rtt-s of .69 and .71, respectively. We emphasize the importance of the rtt for scale development and validation.

Factor Structure of the FFM ATM: Antagonism, Emotional Stability, Impulsivity, and Agency.

The Dark Triad (DT) refers to three socially aversive personality constructs: psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism. In response to concerns with existing self-report questionnaires measuring these constructs, we created the Five Factor Model Antagonistic Triad Measure (FFM ATM), which uses 46 items to assess multidimensional, faceted versions of the three DT constructs. The current pre-registered study used two large samples (Ns = 600 and 1,247) to explore the structure of the FFM ATM using bass-ackward factor analyses. Participants completed the FFM ATM as well as measures of the five-factor model, aggression, antisocial behavior, and other criteria. A series of factor analyses identified four meaningful and replicable factors (i.e., Antagonism, Emotional Stability, Impulsivity, and Agency). The authors discuss the item composition of each of these factors, their relations to relevant criteria, and implications of conceptualizing the Antagonistic Triad as combinations of elemental traits (factors) as opposed to the multidimensional constructs of psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism.

Revisiting the vulnerable dark triad hypothesis using a bifactor model.

Miller et al. (2010) previously suggested that borderline pathology, vulnerable narcissism, and Factor 2 psychopathy share a common "Vulnerable Dark Triad" (VDT) core. The present study (N = 1,023 community participants) aims to test that hypothesis using exploratory and confirmatory bifactor analyses. We found support for a bifactor model that obtained satisfactory fits and other adequate validity indices, which included a general VDT factor and three group factors (Reckless, Entitled, Hiding). The general VDT factor was mostly saturated with borderline symptoms items reflecting self-hatred and worthlessness, which did not form a group factor; these results add to previous research suggesting that features of borderline pathology may represent the core of personality pathology. The three group factors had distinctive relationships with Dark Triad traits, pathological trait domains, and aggression. In contrast with the three group factors, the general VDT factor more strongly incremented the prediction of negative affectivity and hostility; the group factors more strongly incremented the prediction of grandiosity, egocentrism, callousness, Machiavellianism, and direct (physical/verbal) aggression. Alignment of the retained bifactor model with influent models of personality pathology and conceptual/methodological implications of the present results for research on the hypothesized VDT are discussed, as well as some clinical implications of the findings.

The dark triad and subjective well-being: The mediating role of cognitive-emotional regulation strategies.

The dark triad (DT) is composed of psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism. These traits have usually been correlated with maladaptive strategies of emotion regulation. In turn, these types of strategies have shown a negative relationship with the components of subjective well-being (SWB): affective well-being (AWB) and cognitive well-being (CWB). The principal objective of the present study was to analyze the possible mediating role of adaptive and maladaptive cognitive-emotional regulation strategies in the relationship between the DT and SWB components. For this purpose, a community sample of 678 participants (Mage  = 35.03; 53.1% women) completed the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWB), the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), the Cognitive Emotional Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ-36), and the Short Dark Triad (SD-3). The results showed a good fit with the model in which Machiavellianism was indirectly and negatively related to CWB through the effect of maladaptive strategies and AWB, and indirectly and positively related to CWB through the effect of adaptive strategies and AWB. Narcissism was indirectly positively related to CWB through the effect of adaptive strategies and AWB. Finally, psychopathy was indirectly negatively associated with CWB through the effect of adaptive strategies and AWB. Limitations and clinical implications of this research are discussed.

Why do followers feel inauthentic and withdraw? The joint effect of leader Machiavellianism and perceived collectivistic work climate.

OBJECTIVE: Although past research has shown the negative consequences of state inauthenticity (i.e., the experience of inauthenticity), what triggers state inauthenticity remains to be better understood. We focus on leader Machiavellianism (Mach), defined as the extent to which leaders engage in unethical and manipulative behaviors to attain their goals, as a predictor of follower state inauthenticity. Drawing on the social misfit argument, we examined a model in which leader Mach, jointly with a perceived collectivistic work climate, determines follower state inauthenticity and subsequent work withdrawal. METHOD: We used a vignette-based lab study (303 participants from the United States) and a daily diary field study (476 daily responses from 69 participants recruited from China). RESULTS: Across two studies, we found that follower state inauthenticity mediated the relationship between leader Mach and follower work withdrawal. The positive relationship between leader Mach and follower state inauthenticity was strengthened by a perceived collectivistic work climate. CONCLUSIONS: The present research underlines the importance of the social environment in influencing follower state inauthenticity at work and shifts research attention from the consequences of state inauthenticity to its predictors.

Assessing Deception Differences with Mimicry Deception Theory.

Mimicry Deception Theory (MDT) argues that deception varies along a long- to short-term continuum. Long-term deception involves complex deception, community integration, slow resource extraction, and low detectability, whereas short-term deception is the opposite. To date, no self-report scale exists that assesses a dispositional orientation toward long-term deception. Across four studies, we developed and validated a Mimicry Deception Scale (MDS) to assess individuals' dispositional orientation toward long-term deception. Using theoretically driven items, we found a reliable four-factor structure through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Further, MDS components were strongly correlated and had acceptable internal consistency. For convergent validity, long-term MDS positively correlated with Machiavellianism, conscientiousness, and planning. Finally, the test-retest reliability of the MDS was acceptable, and the complexity facet of the MDS predicted successful lying over time. The findings have implications for how to profile, identify, and recognize patterns of deception, especially with respect to long-term patterns using self-report.

The Dark Tetrad, Intimate Partner Violence and the Mediating Role of Moral Disengagement.

PURPOSE: Research suggests that physical, psychological, and/or sexual focussed Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is related to the dark triad (DT) traits of Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism. This study extends these findings by considering the addition of everyday sadism into the four-dimension dark tetrad (DTET), testing the possibility that moral disengagement (MD) mediates the relationship between these variables. It was also examined whether the DTET provided incremental validity to the more general personality traits Honesty-Humility, Emotionality, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Openness (HEXACO) to predict IPV. METHOD: Males and females (N = 416) from the general population completed five questionnaires in an online survey (HEXACO-60, MMEA, PMDS, CTS2S, SD4). RESULTS: A principal component factor-analysis found that sexual IPV did not load as an individual factor and distinct form of violence on the CTS2S scale so was excluded from this study. Four hierarchical multiple regressions were conducted, using the demographics, HEXACO and either the DTET traits or an overall DTET variable as predictor variables, and either physical or psychological IPV as the dependent variables. Only psychopathy predicted physical and psychological IPV; MD mediated the relationship between psychopathy and psychological IPV. Although the DTET added incremental validity over HEXACO to predict physical IPV, HEXACO low Agreeableness was the strongest predictor of psychological IPV. CONCLUSIONS: Those higher in psychopathy may show different offending trajectories for physical and psychological IPV dependent upon the use of MD processes. Despite the DTET adding incremental validity over the HEXACO dimensions, some HEXACO elements better explain the relationship between personality and psychological IPV than the DTET.