Locating the Dark Triad in a Multidimensional Personality Space

Abstract

The Dark Triad traits of Psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and Narcissism should be clearly recognizable within a multidimensional personality space. Two such personality spaces were investigated in this study: HEXACO (Honesty-Humility, Emotionality, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness to Experience); and the Zuckerman-Kuhlman-Aluja Personality Questionnaire (ZKA-PQ) space (Extraversion, Neuroticism, Activity, Sensation Seeking, and Aggressiveness). Our sample comprised 289 participants (137 males, 145 females, 7 unspecified) who completed these three questionnaires: HEXACO–60, ZKA-PQ/SF, and the SD3, assessing the Dark Triad. We reduced the dimensionality of each space to that of a 2D representation using Smallest Space Analysis (SSA). Three research questions guided the data analysis: (a) Do the HEXACO and ZKA-PQ SSA spaces conform to the structure of a radex? (b) Will these spaces remain invariant following the entry of the Dark Triad traits into the analyses? (c) Where will the Dark Triad traits be located in each SSA space? For ZKA-PQ space, the structure was clearly indicative of a radex, both prior to entering the Dark Triad traits into the analysis, and subsequent to this. Psychopathy and Machiavellianism were in close proximity in the Aggressiveness region; Narcissism was positioned at the common origin. In contrast, HEXACO space did not conform to a radex; furthermore, the presence of the Dark Triad traits distorts this 2D SSA space.

Empathy and the Dark Triad

“…The Dark Triad and Empathy (both cognitive and affective) do appear in the same 2D space, at an angle of 180 degrees to each other. The pattern of correlation within the Dark Triad Dirty Dozen (DTDD) that we reported here, at least for an adult population, both matches that which we have recently reported (Naor-Ziv et al, 2022) using the Short Dark Triad (SD3), and is similar to the pattern of correlation reported by Dinić et al (2018) for their Serbian versions of the DTDD – though they reported a somewhat higher correlation between Narcissism (N) and Machiavellianism (M). Conceivably, this is due to the fact that they employed a 7-point scale (e.g., Martin, 1978).…”

“…Our regional analysis of the 2D representation not only reveals that the Dark Triad and empathy are at an angle of 180 degrees to each other but also suggests that even when there are discrepancies between self-report and parent-report regarding empathy (Johnson et al, 2009), these are nevertheless aligned within the same 2D space. Furthermore, while one can debate to what degree Psychopathy (P) and Machiavellianism are actually separable (Muris et al, 2017, p. 188; Rogoza et al, 2019, p. 174; Vize et al, 2018, p. 109), in the 2D SSA spaces presented here they are in close proximity but are not coincident (in line with Naor-Ziv et al, 2022).…”

“…Thus, if the Dark Triad and empathy lie within the same plane, at an angle of 180 degrees to each other, this establishes a common representation for both personality traits and trait empathy. This can bridge between the Empathizing-Systemizing space explored in one research literature on individual differences (e.g., Naor-Ziv et al, 2021) with the personality spaces explored in current personality research (e.g., Naor-Ziv et al, 2022).…”

Development and Validation of a New Measure of Triarchic Psychopathy, Derived from the Alternative Five Factor Model of Personality

“…Thornquist and Zukerman (1995) found psychopathy, using Hare's revised psychopathy checklist (PCL-R; Hare et al, 1991), to be related to increased sensation seeking and aggressiveness. Utilizing the dark triad (DT), psychopathy has been linked positively to aggressiveness, sensation seeking, and neuroticism (Aluja et al, 2022;Noar-Ziv, Glicksohn, and Aluja, 2022). While Moore, Ross, and Brosius (2020) report a strong association between DT psychopathy and triarchic psychopathy (r = .73), triarchic boldness has moderate positive associations with extraversion (FFM) and negative associations with neuroticism (FFM; Collison, Miller, & Lynam, 2021;Drislane et al, 2022;Stanley, Wygent, & Sellbom, 2013) which are not shown in FFM evaluations of DT psychopathy (Douglas, Bore, & Munro, 2012;O'Boyle et al, 2014;Veselka, Schermer & Vernon, 2012).…”

Civic Engagement and Personality: Associations with the Big Five and the Dark Triad

“…Moreover, these associations are somewhat different in comparison with the other two traits of the Dark Triad, i.e., Machiavellianism and psychopathy, since, in general, these seem to relate positively to neuroticism and negatively to conscientiousness, openness to experience, and agreeableness. In the case of extraversion, Machiavellianism seems to relate negatively and psychopathy positively [40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47]. Following this idea, the study by Pruysers et al [6] is the only one located that has analyzed the relationship of civic engagement with both the traits considered to be more general and the traits considered to be more socially undesirable.…”