The Dark Triad of Personality and Considering Cosmetic Surgery: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

This study is the first to directly investigate the relationship between the Dark Triad traits and considering cosmetic surgery. The sample consisted of 222 university students, aged between 18 and 37 (M = 24.59, SD = 4.17), from Tehran, Iran. Participants completed the Short Dark Triad scale and "consider" subscale of Acceptance of Cosmetic Surgery Scale. Descriptive statistics and evaluation of sex differences suggested that psychopathy was significantly higher in men and considering cosmetic surgery was significantly higher in women. Correlational analyses showed that psychopathy was associated with considering cosmetic surgery in men and women. Machiavellianism was associated with considering cosmetic surgery in women, but not men. Narcissism was not found to be related to considering cosmetic surgery. Findings of this study indicated that psychopathy is associated with considering cosmetic surgery. Moreover, sex moderated the relationship between Machiavellianism and considering cosmetic surgery. Implications of this exploratory study and future directions are discussed.

The relationship between personality traits and willingness to undergo cosmetic surgery in the non-clinical population – a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…When we turn to the personality traits of the Dark Triad model, we can see that narcissism is not correlated with the desire to undergo cosmetic surgery (Kalantar-Hormozi et al, 2016;Chegeni and Atari, 2017); the traits in this model that are associated with such interventions are psychopathy and Machiavellianism (Chegeni and Atari, 2017). A summary of the characteristics of the studies included in the review is given in Table 1.…”

Consideration of Cosmetic Surgery As Part of Women’s Benefit-Provisioning Mate Retention Strategy

“…The current study also adds to the growing literature on the psychology of cosmetic surgery (e.g., Kalantar-Hormozi et al, 2016 ; also see Sarwer et al, 1998 ). Chegeni and Atari (2017) , for example, documented that Machiavellianism is associated with considering cosmetic surgery in women, but not men. Paired with the current findings and previous reports on sex differences in cosmetic surgery settings ( Naraghi and Atari, 2016 ), it may be concluded that the motivations underlying cosmetic surgery differ between the sexes.…”

“…The current study did not investigate the potential role of personality and individual difference traits in moderating the association between mate retention behavior and consideration of cosmetic surgery. For example, the normative personality dimensions are associated with performance frequencies of mate retention behaviors ( Atari et al, 2017c ), and consideration of cosmetic surgery ( Swami et al, 2009 ; Chegeni and Atari, 2017 ). Individual differences therefore may co-vary with performance frequencies of mate retention behavior and consideration of cosmetic surgery.…”

Cosmetic Surgery in Iran: Sociodemographic Characteristics of Cosmetic Surgery Patients in a Large Clinical Sample in Tehran

“…1,[5][6][7] Moreover, normative personality traits (eg, agreeableness) and dark personalities (eg, Machiavellianism) can also influence the acceptance of cosmetic surgery. 8,9 It was found that 3 disciplines are needed to explore cosmetic surgery: psychology, sociology, and history. 10 Psychological and historical points of cosmetic surgeries are well studied.…”