Dark triad

Illustration of the triad

The dark triad is a psychological theory of personality, first published by Delroy L. Paulhus and Kevin M. Williams in 2002,[1] that describes three notably offensive, but non-pathological personality types: Machiavellianism, sub-clinical narcissism, and sub-clinical psychopathy.[2][3][4][5] Each of these personality types is called dark because each is considered to contain malevolent qualities.[2][6][7][8]

All three dark triad traits are conceptually distinct although empirical evidence shows them to be overlapping. They are associated with a callous–manipulative interpersonal style.[9]

High scores in these traits have been found to statistically increase a person's likelihood to commit crimes, cause social distress, and create severe problems for organizations, especially if they are in leadership positions.[15] They also tend to be less compassionate, agreeable, empathetic, and satisfied with their lives, and less likely to believe they and others are good.[16] However, the same traits are also associated with some positive outcomes, such as mental toughness and being more likely to embrace challenges.[17]

A factor analysis found that among the big five personality traits, low agreeableness is the strongest correlate of the dark triad, while neuroticism and a lack of conscientiousness were associated with some of the dark triad members.[12] Research indicates that there is a consistent association between changes in agreeableness and the dark triad traits over the course of an individual's life.[18]

  1. ^ "Dark Triad". Psychology Today United Kingdom. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Paulhus, Delroy L; Williams, Kevin M. (December 2002). "The Dark Triad of personality: Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and Psychopathy". Journal of Research in Personality. 36 (6). Maryland Heights, Missouri: Elsevier: 556–563. doi:10.1016/S0092-6566(02)00505-6. S2CID 6535576.
  3. ^ Regoli, Robert M.; Hewitt, John D.; DeLisi, Matt (2011). Delinquency in Society: The Essentials. Burlington, Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett Learning. p. 99. ISBN 978-0-7637-7790-6.
  4. ^ Campbell, W. Keith; Miller, Joshua D. (2011). The Handbook of Narcissism and Narcissistic Personality Disorder: Theoretical Approaches, Empirical Findings, and Treatments. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. p. 154. ISBN 978-1-118-02924-4.
  5. ^ Leary, Mark R.; Hoyle, Rick H. (2009). Handbook of individual differences in social behavior. New York City: Guilford Press. p. 100. ISBN 978-1-59385-647-2.
  6. ^ Chamorro-Premuzic, Tomas; von Stumm, Sophie; Furnham, Adrian (2011). The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Individual Differences. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. p. 527. ISBN 978-1-4443-4310-6.
  7. ^ Horowitz, Leonard M.; Strack, Stephen (2010). Handbook of Interpersonal Psychology: Theory, Research, Assessment and Therapeutic Interventions. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 252–55. ISBN 978-0-470-88103-3. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
  8. ^ Lacey, David (2009). Managing the Human Factor in Information Security: How to Win Over Staff and Influence Business Managers. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. p. 248. ISBN 978-0-470-72199-5.
  9. ^ Jones, Daniel N.; Paulhus, Delroy L. (2010). "Differentiating the dark triad within the interpersonal circumplex". In Horowitz, Leonard M.; Strack, Stephen N. (eds.). Handbook of interpersonal theory and research. New York City: Guilford Press. pp. 249–67. ISBN 978-0-470-88107-1.
  10. ^ Kohut, Heinz (1977). The Restoration of the Self. New York City: International Universities Press. ISBN 978-0-8236-5810-7.
  11. ^ Wall, H. J., Campbell, C. C., Kaye, L. K., Levy, A., & Bhullar, N. (2019). Personality profiles and persuasion: An exploratory study investigating the role of the Big-5, Type D personality and the Dark Triad on susceptibility to persuasion. Personality and Individual Differences, 139, 69-76.
  12. ^ a b Jakobwitz, Sharon; Egan, Vincent (January 2006). "The dark triad and normal personality traits". Personality and Individual Differences. 40 (2). Amsterdam, Netherlands: Elsevier: 331–339. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2005.07.006.
  13. ^ Frick, Paul J.; White, Stuart F. (April 2008). "Research Review: The importance of callous-unemotional traits for developmental models of aggressive and antisocial behavior". Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 49 (4). Hoboken, New Jersey: Wiley-Blackwell: 359–375. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2007.01862.x. PMID 18221345.
  14. ^ Skeem, Jennifer L.; Polaschek, Devon L. L.; Patrick, Christopher J.; Lilienfeld, Scott O. (15 December 2011). "Psychopathic Personality". Psychological Science in the Public Interest. 12 (3). Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications: 95–162. doi:10.1177/1529100611426706. PMID 26167886. S2CID 8521465.
  15. ^ O'Boyle Jr, Ernest H.; Forsynth, Donelson R.; Banks, George C.; McDaniel, Michael A. (2012). "A Meta-Analysis of the Dark Triad and Work Behavior: A Social Exchange Perspective". Applied Psychology. 97 (3): 557–579. doi:10.1037/a0025679. PMID 22023075. Retrieved 2021-10-25.
  16. ^ Kaufman, Scott Barry; Yaden, David Bryce; Hyde, Elizabeth; Tsukayama, Eli (12 March 2019). "The Light vs. Dark Triad of Personality: Contrasting Two Very Different Profiles of Human Nature". Frontiers in Psychology. 10: 467. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00467. PMC 6423069. PMID 30914993.
  17. ^ "Mental Toughness: A Personality Trait that is Relevant across Achievement Contexts and Mental Health Outcomes". In T.K. Shackelford & V. Zeigler-Hill (2018). The SAGE Handbook of Personality and Individual Differences. SAGE Publications. June 2018.
  18. ^ Klimstra, Theo A.; Jeronimus, Bertus F.; Sijtsema, Jelle J.; Denissen, Jaap J.A. (April 2020). "The unfolding dark side: Age trends in dark personality features". Journal of Research in Personality. 85: 103915. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2020.103915.