Moving towards darkness: The personality-environment association between the Dark Triad and residential mobility

Abstract

Population migration, as one of the most significant activities in human history and current societies, can shape a mobile social ecology entwined with personality traits. In this research, we tested whether the Dark Triad personality traits would adaptively emerge in and self-select into a residentially mobile ecology across eight studies (total N = 6147). Studies 1–2 demonstrated the relationship between residential mobility and the Dark Triad traits. Personal residential mobility was positively related to the Dark Triad traits (Study 1b), and this relationship was detected by lay persons (Study 1a). Residents living in a country (Study 2a) or a province (Study 2b) with a high net population outflow reported a high level of the Dark Triad traits. Studies 3–4 explored the interplay of residential mobility and the Dark Triad traits. Studies 3a–3b revealed the shaping effect of residential mobility, showing that individuals with the mindset of residential mobility (vs. stability) tended to resort to the Dark Triad traits. In contrast, individuals who possess a high level of Dark Triad traits prefer a mobile lifestyle (Study 4a) and a residence with high outflow (Study 4b). Together, this research empirically illuminated the associations and the interactions between residential mobility and personality traits.