The role of gender in the relations among Dark Triad and psychopathy, sociosexuality, and moral judgments

Abstract

The Dark Triad (D3) traits of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy have been linked to a range of moral behavior, and to sociosexuality and sexual behavior, particularly in males. The current study examined whether males and females differ with respect to relations among D3 traits and dimensions of psychopathy from the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (TriPM), sexual behavior, sociosexuality, tendency towards infidelity, and moral judgments, using a community sample. D3 and TriPM measures were generally more strongly correlated with sexual behavior for males in ways that might increase numbers of matings and sexual partners, but were more strongly correlated with intention towards infidelity and sociosexual attitudes for females—in ways that might facilitate extra-pair mating. Sociosexuality and self-reported sexual behavior showed a strong pattern of overall and gender-specific relations to moral judgments. D3 and psychopathy measures were also related to everyday moral judgments, although generally less so than were sociosexuality and sexual behavior. These results clearly point to the importance of taking gender into account when considering the relations between D3 traits, sexual behavior, sociosexuality, and moral judgments.