It’s good to be the king: How the Dark Triad traits facilitate dominance-attainment in men

Abstract

In this study (N = 300), we sought to determine what styles of social dominance are associated with Dark Triad traits (i.e., narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism). In particular, we examined relationships among the Dark Triad traits, dominance- and prestige-striving, as well as dominant leadership, coalition-building, and ruthless self-advancement. All three of the traits were correlated with dominance-striving, even when controlling for the shared variability among the traits. Prestige-striving was uncorrelated with Machiavellianism, and negatively correlated with psychopathy, and positively correlated with narcissism. Machiavellianism and narcissism were positively correlated with a dominant leadership style. Psychopathy was negatively correlated with coalition-building. Narcissism and psychopathy were positively correlated with ruthless self-advancement. The Dark Triad mediated sex differences in dominance-striving. These results add to a growing literature suggesting that the Dark Triad traits are characterised by an aggressive, goal-oriented approach to social influence.