THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DARK TRIAD AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

Abstract

Objectives. The presence of the so-called Dark Triad (Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and Psychopathy) can be toxic to those around, can lead to counterproductive behaviors and dysfunctional behaviors. On the other hand, people who are successful in personal and professional life are considered to have a high level of emotional intelligence, numerous studies showing that this is a predictor of good functioning and personal, social and organizational adaptation. This study investigates the relationship between the “dark side” of personality and emotional intelligence, and whether or to what extent Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and Psychopathy are negative predictors of emotional intelligence. Material and methods. One hundred and thirty-four individuals aged 21 to 71 years (M = 42.11, SD = 11.68; Females = 71.1%) took part in this study. The following tools were used: Narcissistic Personality Inventory, The Short Dark Triad Scale, Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale and Battery of Emotional Intelligence profile. Results. The regression coefficients were calculated, controlling the role of the other predictors (age, gender, marital status). Narcissism was not a predictor of emotional intelligence (r = .097, p> 0.01). Age and psychopathy were significantly negatively related with the criterion; the gender did not correlate and was removed from the regression model. Emotional intelligence and Machiavellianism did not correlate either positively or negatively, so this dimension cannot be predictor. Conclusions. As predictors of emotional intelligence, the three dimensions, although in many studies have been negatively correlated, in this study this is partially confirmed. Only psychopathy has a negative relationship, it predicts but to a small extent emotional intelligence. Keywords: dark triad, Psychopathy, Machiavellianism, Narcissism, emotional intelligence.