Examining the association between the dark triad personality traits and cardiovascular reactivity to acute psychological stress.

STFU and follow: Trait activation of dark triad responses to leader profanity across 19 countries

Growing interest in the career preferences of dark personalities has led to empirical investigation into the relationship between Dark Triad traits and vocational interests. However, little research has examined this relationship at the facet level. This study uses network analysis to investigate the relationships between seven facets of Dark Triad traits (psychopathic Boldness, Meanness, and Disinhibition; Machiavellian View and Tactics; and Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry) and vocational interests. Undergraduate students ( N = 609) completed facet-level measures of the Dark Triad and, two weeks later, a vocational interest inventory assessing SETPOINT ( Health S cience, Creative E xpression, T echnology, P eople, O rganization, I nfluence, N ature, and T hings ) interest dimensions. Network analysis revealed differential relationships of Dark Triad facets to SETPOINT interests. In addition, network centrality (expected influence and strength) and bridge centrality indices (bridge expected influence) were computed. Influence (interest in leading and influencing others in business, politics, and legal domains) emerged as the most central variable, and the bridge node linking Dark Triad and vocational interest constructs. This implies that dark personality facets are most likely to co-occur with interest in leadership positions, especially in business and politics. Findings suggest network analysis as a promising approach for understanding the relationship between dark personality traits and vocational interests. • Network analysis examined Dark Triad facet–vocational interest relationships. • Interests were conceptualized using the SETPOINT model. • Patterns of partial correlations differed across different Dark Triad facets. • Influence interest dimension emerged as the most central node and the bridge node. • Findings provide nuanced insights into dark vocational preferences.

Revisiting the Short Dark Tetrad in Brazil: Evidence for a five-factor model using network psychometrics

The rise of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) has expanded the landscape of cyberbullying, necessitating an examination of the psychological and demographic factors underlying these behaviors. This two-wave longitudinal study (N = 1,019) investigated the associations between Dark Tetrad, gender, age, and GAI-involved cyberbullying (GAICB) over a 6-month interval. Hierarchical linear regressions indicated that psychopathy and male gender were longitudinal predictors of GAICB at Time 2, even after controlling for baseline behaviors at Time 1. While sadism was significant in the baseline model, its effect became nonsignificant after accounting for prior GAICB. Machiavellianism, narcissism, and age showed no significant effects. These results suggest that psychopathy and gender may be associated with AI-driven aggression, warranting further research into targeted prevention strategies.

Purpose: This paper presents a systematic literature review of research examining the relationship between personality traits and green consumption behaviour. The objective is to synthesize the fragmented findings within this domain, identify the primary personality frameworks and traits under investigation, analyze the key relationships and contingencies, and propose a robust agenda for future research. Methodology: A systematic review was conducted using major academic databases Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed. After a structured screening process against predefined inclusion criteria, a final corpus of 139 research papers and articles were selected for in-depth analysis and synthesis. Findings: The review reveals that the Five-Factor Model of personality dominates the field. Openness to Experience and Agreeableness emerge as the most consistent and robust positive predictors of various forms of green consumption. The findings for Conscientiousness are more nuanced, while Extraversion and Neuroticism show weak and inconsistent relationships. The analysis also uncovers significant heterogeneity in the conceptualization and measurement of green consumption, ranging from general attitudes and purchase intentions to specific self-reported and actual behaviours. Furthermore, the review highlights a growing body of literature exploring mediating mechanisms (environmental concern, green self-identity) and moderating factors (demographic, contextual, and cultural variables) that shape these personality-behaviour links. Emerging research on other frameworks, such as the Dark Triad, is also identified. Originality Value: This review provides a comprehensive and systematic synthesis of the literature on personality and green consumption. By identifying key trends, methodological inconsistencies, and critical knowledge gaps, it offers a clear roadmap for future theoretical and empirical advancements. The findings also hold practical value for marketers and policymakers seeking to design more effective, personality-informed strategies to promote sustainable consumer behaviour.

ABSTRACT Grounded in Moral Foundations Theory and the Theory of Planned Behavior, this study examined how empathy, Dark Triad traits, and religiosity relate to attitudes toward Physician-Assisted Dying (AID). We surveyed 300 Romanian adults aged 18–60 (M = 27.49; 83.33% women). Results showed that higher religiosity was associated with less favorable attitudes toward AID, supporting a sanctity-based moral perspective. Empathy did not significantly predict attitudes, and religiosity did not moderate the empathy – AID relationship. Machiavellianism was negatively associated with support for AID, while narcissism showed a positive association. Age was negatively related to AID support. Overall, findings emphasize religiosity as a key factor shaping attitudes toward AID in a highly religious cultural context and reveal nuanced links between specific dark personality traits and end-of-life moral judgments. The study adds to the limited Eastern European research and highlights the value of integrating moral, cultural, and personality perspectives when examining public views on AID.

ABSTRACT Deepfake pornography represents a rapidly expanding form of image-based sexual abuse (IBSA), yet little is known about the psychological factors that predict individuals’ willingness to create such material. This study examined whether rape myth acceptance (RMA) and Dark Tetrad traits (Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy, and sadism) predicted heterosexual men’s proclivity to create deepfake pornography. Using an online self-report survey of 213 heterosexual men recruited from an Australian university and the surrounding community, participants completed measures of RMA, dark personality traits, and hypothetical scenarios assessing the likelihood of creating deepfake pornography. Hierarchical regression models showed that RMA attitudes that minimise or excuse harm significantly predicted proclivity to create deepfake pornography, whereas victim-blaming attitudes and dark personality traits did not. A Friedman test demonstrated that participants were significantly more willing to create deepfake pornography when the target was a celebrity rather than a personally known individual. These findings highlight the central role of harm-minimising and excusal attitudes in enabling engagement with technologically manipulated sexual abuse, underscoring the need for prevention and intervention strategies targeting attitudinal change. PRACTICE IMPACT STATEMENT This study highlights the need for prevention and intervention programmes to address beliefs that minimise or excuse harm in deepfake pornography. Effective strategies should challenge myths that downplay the seriousness of digitally manipulated sexual abuse and emphasise the real psychological and social harms experienced by victims.

ABSTRACT Dark Triad traits have been increasingly studied due to their relevance for understanding emotional and behavioral adjustment. However, little is known about how these traits operate in vulnerable youth populations, particularly adolescents living in residential care. This study examined the direct and indirect effects of Dark Triad traits on psychological adjustment among institutionalized adolescents, considering the roles of coping strategies and social support. Participants were 433 adolescents aged 12 to 18 years (M = 15.33; 45% boys and 55% girls) from 46 Portuguese residential care institutions. Adolescents completed self-report measures assessing Dark Triad traits, coping strategies, perceived social support, and psychological adjustment. Correlational analyses and path analysis were conducted to test relationships between variables, and sex differences were also explored. Results showed that psychopathy had the strongest association with psychological adjustment, mainly through avoidant coping strategies. Machiavellianism and narcissism presented weaker effects. Problem-focused coping and higher levels of social support were associated with better psychological adjustment, whereas avoidant coping was consistently related to greater difficulties. Some patterns varied by sex. These findings highlight the importance of promoting adaptive coping strategies and strengthening social support in residential care settings to improve psychological outcomes among at-risk youth.

Dark shadows of screen: How Dark Tetrad traits, social identity, and binge-watching fuel digital fatigue.

(A)moral underpinnings of militant extremist thinking pattern: The role of moral foundations and Dark Tetrad

The role of fear of failure in the relationship between the Dark Triad personality traits and academic burnout.

Understanding the mind of the modern workers through the short Dark Tetrad and Light Triad traits: The good, the bad and the situational

The subclinical personality traits of Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy, and everyday sadism (i.e., the Dark Triad/Tetrad) have been linked to a range of antisocial and deceptive behaviours. With increasing concern about integrity in higher education, it is important to understand how these traits relate to academic misconduct with AI-assisted misconduct becoming more commonplace. This systematic review and narrative synthesis examined evidence from 23 studies that investigated associations between dark traits and dishonest academic practices, including plagiarism, exam cheating, contract cheating, academic dishonesty, and AI-assisted cheating. Psychopathy showed the most consistent pattern of associations across misconduct behaviours. Machiavellianism was associated with some forms of dishonesty, such as plagiarism and cheating, but was not consistently associated with contract cheating. Narcissism showed weaker and more context-dependent associations. Everyday sadism was examined in comparatively few studies. Preliminary evidence linked sadism to some forms of academic dishonesty, including lying in academic contexts and AI assisted misconduct, but the small evidence base means that conclusions about its contribution to the Dark Tetrad framework remain tentative. Further research is needed before stronger conclusions can be drawn about sadism's role in academic misconduct. Future directions and implications, including suggestions for replication and expansion, are discussed.

ABSTRACT This study tested whether parental Dark Tetrad traits and Life History Strategies (LHS) predict perceived Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) and adult child estrangement. In 252 U.S. Prolific participants, a Fast Life History Strategy (FLHS) strongly predicted both PAS and estrangement. Psychopathy was associated with higher PAS and greater estrangement, while narcissism unexpectedly predicted lower levels. Age, female gender, and higher education were linked to reduced estrangement but minimally affected PAS. Findings support LHS as a framework for family dynamics and indicate that dark personality traits differentially relate to perceived parental alienation versus adult child estrangement. Implications for intervention are discussed.

Introduction A selfish approach in the workplace can have harmful effects on employees and the organization. Employee egoism has received limited attention in the workplace context. Only one measure had been used to verify this phenomenon, but it was not designed for business and had some methodological limitations. This study aimed to operationalize workplace egoism and presented a measure for its verification. Methods The construct, convergent and criterion validity, as well as internal consistency of the Egoism at Work Attitude Questionnaire (EWAQ), were examined on the three samples that consisted of Polish employees. Results An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) involving 800 employees from Poland revealed a one-factor structure of the EWAQ, which explained 66.99% variance in the egoism attitude in the workplace. In a sample of 754 employees, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) confirmed the good construct validity and internal consistency of EWAQ, with a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.89. These values align with Bagozzi and Heatherton’s (1994) criteria for the magnitude of factor loadings, average variance extracted, and composite reliability, which corroborate the good convergent validity of this tool. The criterion validity of the EWAQ was confirmed in two samples of Polish employees, showing correlations with dark triad traits, instrumental ethical climate, and indicators of occupational well-being. Discussion The EWAQ is a psychometrically sound measure of egoistic attitudes at work and is recommended for use among Polish employees.

Emotional regulation is crucial for psychological well-being, influencing how individuals manage their emotions and adapt their behavior in various situations. Emotional regulation strategies can function either as protective factors or as risks in the development of psychopathologies such as depression and anxiety. Individual characteristics-specifically, the traits of the Dark Tetrad (narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadism)-are generally associated with emotional difficulties and an increased risk of psychopathology. The aim of this study is to examine how emotional regulation strategies mediate the relationship between these dark traits and emotional distress. A sample of 464 participants was assessed on Dark Tetrad traits, cognitive emotional regulation strategies, and emotional symptomatology. Four mediation models were developed to investigate whether emotional regulation strategies mediate the relationship between each Dark Tetrad trait and anxious-depressive symptomatology. The results indicate that psychopathy and Machiavellianism exhibit direct effects on symptomatology, suggesting partial mediation through maladaptive strategies, whereas sadism and narcissism show no direct association with symptoms. Overall, narcissism is associated with adaptive emotional regulation, while Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadism are linked with dysfunctional strategies that heighten vulnerability to psychopathology. These findings highlight emotional regulation strategies as mediators and have important implications for designing interventions aimed at improving emotional regulation in individuals with high levels of dark traits.

ABSTRACT Psychopathy, malignant narcissism (MN), and sadism (SD) are normally viewed as separate constructs in both clinical and academic settings, though there is substantial overlap in their defining features. Psychopathy is not a formal diagnostic category in contemporary classification systems but is widely treated as a dimensional forensic and personality domain used to describe severe antagonistic personality configurations. This article argues that maintaining strict boundaries among these concepts is unnecessary and obscures their shared motivational core. We propose that psychopathy should be understood as the primary explanatory framework, with MN and SD representing characteristic expressions rather than independent entities. Examination of dominant clinical and theoretical formulations indicates that MN largely reiterates core psychopathic features, with SD serving as its most distinctive element. When SD is ego-syntonic and experienced as rewarding, it can be coherently situated within psychopathy, at which point MN contributes little unique nosological or explanatory value. Drawing on psychometric, clinical, and forensic research, we argue that sadistic motivation is central to the most dangerous forms of psychopathy, while narcissistic traits reflect a specific affective and interpersonal presentation. From this perspective, the Dark Triad and Dark Tetrad become redundant. Clarifying psychopathy in motivational and affective terms may improve diagnostic precision, inform treatment planning, and strengthen forensic risk assessment.

Studies have considered the roles of antecedents of organizational pride. However, they have not yet investigated the personality and motivational factors and potential interactions between the ethical environment, personality traits, and employees' needs in explaining organizational pride. This study fills the gap within the person-organization fit approach by examining the relationship between dark triad personality traits and organizational pride, mediated by the opportunities to satisfy the need for power and moderated by perceptions of an instrumental ethical climate. The cross-sectional research included 1,000 participants (mean age = 41.06; 54.9% men and 45.1% women) employed on a full-time, permanent contract in companies of various sizes in Poland. A positive relationship between narcissism and organizational pride was found (B = 0.30, p = 001), as was a negative relationship between Machiavellianism and organizational pride (B = - 0.26, p = 003), and between psychopathy and organizational pride (B = - 0.29, p = 001). Perception of the instrumental climate moderated the relationship between narcissism and the opportunities to satisfy the need for power (t = 3.19; p = 009), Machiavellianism and the opportunities to satisfy the need for power (t = 2.93.; p = 003), psychopathy and the opportunities to satisfy the need for power (t = 2.94; p = 033), as well as opportunities to satisfy the need for power and organizational pride (t = 5.57; p = 000). Indirect positive relationships between narcissism and Machiavellianism and organizational pride, mediated by opportunities to satisfy the need for power and amplified by a perception of an instrumental ethical climate, were confirmed. The beneficial function of an instrumental ethical climate and opportunities to satisfy the need for power of narcissistic and Machiavellian employees' organizational pride were discussed. Practical implications were formulated regarding the recruitment and selection of work candidates and their development in terms of dark triad features and their congruency with instrumental ethical climate and possibilities to satisfy their need for power.

The study examined the relationship between Dark Triad personality traits, namely Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy, and risk-taking behavior among young adults. In addition, the study also explored whether gender differences existed in Dark Triad traits and risk-taking. A quantitative correlational research design was employed, and data were collected from 150 young adults using standardized self-report measures. Pearson correlation analysis and independent samples t-tests were used to analyze the data and test the hypotheses. The findings revealed that psychopathy was the only significant positive predictor of risk-taking behavior (r = .48, p < .001). Machiavellianism and narcissism, on the other hand, did not significantly correlate with risk-taking behavior, indicating that people who possess these traits may exhibit more deliberate and self-protective behavioral patterns as opposed to impulsive risk-taking. The findings emphasize the need of distinguishing the Dark Triad traits while studying personality-related risk behaviors among young adults.