Abstract
The current study is the first attempt to examine the association between the Dark Triad of personality (i.e., Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) and corruption through a mediator—belief in good luck. Based on Ajzen's theory of planned behavior, we assumed that individuals with Dark Triad would be more likely to engage in corruption as a result of belief in good luck. In Study 1, a set of hypothetical scenarios was used to assess the bribe-offering intention and the corresponding belief in good luck. Results indicated that while the Dark Triad of personality positively predicted bribe-offering intention, it was mediated by the belief in good luck in gain-seeking. In Study 2, we presented participants with some hypothetical scenarios of bribe-taking and the corresponding belief in good luck. Findings revealed that the Dark Triad of personality was positively related to bribe-taking intention; the relationship between narcissism and bribe-taking intention, and that between psychopathy and bribe-taking intention was mediated by the belief in good luck in penalty-avoidance. However, this belief in good luck did not mediate the relationship between Machiavellianism and bribe-taking intention. These results hold while controlling for demographic variables, dispositional optimism, and self-efficacy. Taken together, this study extended previous research by providing evidence that belief in good luck may be one of the reasons explaining why people with Dark Triad are more likely to engage in corruption regardless of the potential outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.
Highlights
The Dark Triad Predict Corruption in corruption more often than others? Though previous research tried to uncover the occurrence of corruption at both macro (Treisman, 2000; Blackburn and Forgues-Puccio, 2009) and micro level (Jaber-López et al, 2014), and found that corruption was a result of interactions among various variables, yet to date, little research has explored the wider range of personality traits potentially associated with corrupt behaviors
In Study 1, we explored the correlations between each Dark Triad trait and bribe-offering intention, and constructed mediation models to verify the assumption that belief in good luck in seeking gains would mediate the effect of the Dark Triad traits on bribe-offering intention
Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy were positively correlated with both belief in good luck and bribe-offering intention
Summary
It is commonly defined as deviant behavior that deliberately breaks legal or moral norms and abuses public authority or resources for personal gain (He, 2000; Lindgreen, 2004; Rabl and Kuhlmann, 2008). It impairs political stability, damages economic growth, misallocates public resources, hinders normal upward social mobility, increases social inequality, undermines people’s trust in government, and lowers moral standards in a society (He, 2000; Lu and Gunnison, 2003; Alesina and Angeletos, 2005; Sobhani and Bechara, 2011). The first purpose of this study is to examine whether people with Dark Triad are more likely to engage in corruption
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