Machiavellian Personality Traits Research Articles

The influence of dark triad-specific personality traits (Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy) on parenting styles, and parental competence in raising and educating children

This study aims to determine the existence of an association between the Dark Triad personality traits, parental competence, and parental styles. The parentsʼ personality traits, particularly those of the Dark Triad, may serve as predictors of the child's level of development, educational path choices, academic outcomes, well-being, and overall development. It is of utmost importance to identify these traits to better understand the parents’ behaviour and the potential harm the parent's strategies may inflict on the child. The Dark Triad-specific personality traits can lead to authoritarian, selfish, lacking empathy, and even manipulative behaviors that can significantly and negatively impact a child's life. The research sample includes 609 respondents who fulfil the role of parent. The results revealed that parents' Machiavellian personality traits may be associated with an authoritarian or permissive parenting style, but not with a democratic parenting style. Also, the level of parental competence varies depending on the background of the parents and may be influenced by their psychopathic personality traits.

Assortative mating and the dark triad: Evidence from the UK, Fiji, and meta-analytic review

The ‘dark triad’ represents the socially aversive personality traits of Machiavellianism, subclinical narcissism (henceforth, ‘narcissim’), and subclinical psychopathy (henceforth, ‘psychopathy’). There is evidence of assortative mating suggesting romantic partners are more similar than chance for these traits at the start of relationships (initial assortment) and not becoming alike with time (convergence), that people seek out partners to whom they are similar (active assortment), and that partner resemblance is not explained by social stratification processes (social homogamy). As the literature relates primarily to Eastern European and North American populations, we present studies from the UK (N = 104 couples) and Fiji (N = 99 couples). These showed significant positive assortment for each dark triad trait (other than psychopathy in the Fijian sample), and suggest the effects are explained by initial and active assortment and not by convergence or social homogamy. We also submitted the literature to meta-analytic review (Machiavellianism: k = 10, N = 1302; narcissism: k = 14, N = 1645; psychopathy: k = 13, N = 1989) and observed positive within-couple correlations of small (narcissism, psychopathy) to medium (Machiavellianism) effect size for each of the dark triad traits.

The Spanish Short Dark Tetrad (SD4): Association With Personality and Psychological Problems.

The Short Dark Tetrad (SD4) is a recently developed instrument for assessing the "dark" personality traits of psychopathy, narcissism, Machiavellianism, and sadism. We aimed to examine the SD4's psychometric properties, adapting it into Spanish and exploring its structure, gender invariance, reliability, concurrent validity, and nomological network. A sample of 668 adults (Mage = 26.36, SD = 10.64, 69.2% females) completed the SD4 and other self-report questionnaires. The results demonstrated sound indices of reliability and concurrent validity, an adequate four-factor structure, and support for gender invariance. Furthermore, most of the findings about the nomological network were in line with prior hypotheses: All four SD4 scales were associated with low levels of agreeableness and antagonism; psychopathy was also related to low conscientiousness, disinhibition and impulse-control problems; narcissism was positively associated with extraversion and negatively associated with internalizing symptoms; Machiavellianism was uncorrelated with impulsivity-related problems, which made it distinct from the psychopathy profile; finally, sadism showed a similar pattern of associations to psychopathy, albeit less strongly linked to impulsivity problems and externalizing behavior. Overall, the SD4 presents sound psychometric properties, although the overlap between psychopathy and sadism warrants some caution.

The dark side of going green: Dark triad traits predict organic consumption through virtue signaling, status signaling, and praise from others

The current study sought to test whether the dark triad personality traits of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy can be indirectly linked to organic food consumption through consumers’ levels of virtue signaling, status consumption, and praise from others. Based on a survey (N = 337) and structural equation modeling, we found consistent evidence for the notion that the links between each dark triad trait and (a) organic food purchase intentions, and (b) willingness to pay (WTP) for organic foods are mediated by status consumption and praise from others. Additionally, virtue signaling mediated this interplay for people who exhibit high (vs. low) degrees of narcissism and Machiavellianism, but not those who exhibit high (vs. low) degrees of psychopathy. Given that sustainability-related responses are typically portrayed as prosocial and positive, these results paint a more complex picture, with our findings linking organic consumption to a set of dark personality traits.

Testing Gender Differences: The Dark Triad and Motives for Deceptive Impression Management

This study examined the effect of the dark triad personality traits of Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy on motives for deceptive impression management in consideration of gender differences. An online survey was conducted with 121 Japanese university students (57 men, 64 women), who completed the Short Dark Triad-Japanese version and the Acting in Daily Life Scale. Multiple-group structural equation modeling results were as follows: (a) Men with high Machiavellianism scored lower on relationship maintenance and relationship acquisition than women with high Machiavellianism did; (b) narcissism was positively associated with relationship acquisition in men, whereas in women, narcissism was negatively associated with difficult situations; and (c) in both men and women, psychopathy was negatively associated with relationship acquisition. The findings suggest that the effects of the dark triad of personality on deceptive impression management in daily life are gender-specific and dependent on cost estimates.

Dark Personality Traits and Online Behaviors: Portuguese Versions of Cyberstalking, Online Harassment, Flaming and Trolling Scales.

The main objective of this study is to assess moderation effects of online behaviors between personality traits and addiction to Internet. To this end, four instruments were validated for Portuguese version through confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory factor analysis (Study 1) Multiple regression analysis was applied to examine the personality predictors of specific online behaviors while controlling for gender and age; and moderation effects were assessed (Study 2). Results showed good psychometric properties for the four validated scales. Machiavellianism is positively associated with all the dimensions of this study. Psychopathy is positively associated with total Cyberstalking, Cyberstalking Control, Flaming and Trolling. Narcissism is positively associated with all the dimensions, except Online Harassment and Flaming. Machiavellianism is positively associated with Addiction to Internet through Cyberstalking, Flaming and Trolling. Psychopathy is positively associated with Addiction to Internet through Cyberstalking Control and Flaming. Narcissism is also positively associated with Addiction to Internet through Cyberstalking and Trolling. This study demonstrates that dimensions of the dark triad of personality play an important role in Internet addiction through online behaviors. The results of this study have theoretical and practical implications: on the one hand, they reinforces the findings of other studies showing that dimensions of the dark personality triad play an important role in Internet and social network addition, contributing to the literature; and, on the other hand, on a practical level, they allow to conduct awareness campaigns in communities, schools, and work to understand that one can be exposed to unpleasant situations due to behaviors that some people with personality traits of Machiavellianism, narcissism and/or psychopathy that may cause problems affecting the mental, emotional and psychological health of others.

Dark personalities and online reviews: A textual content analysis of review generation, consumption and distribution.

This research examined the relationship of dark personality traits of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy with online review generation, consumption, and distribution. Using TripAdvisor.com as a primary platform of data collection, we collected online reviews of 670 hotels located in New York City posted between 2003 and 2020. Reviews posted after March 2020 were excluded from consideration owing to the circumstantial effects of COVID-19 impacting data differently. Using Pennebaker, Francis & Booth's (2001) closed vocabulary lexical definitions of Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count, we studied linguistic styles of review posters as a correlate of DT traits. Our results evidenced that individuals with dark personality traits are naturally more predisposed towards being dissatisfied and prone to negative online reviews but differences in the three dark personality traits were determined in terms of review consumption and distribution. This study opens avenues for scholarly debate on how personality theories can inform tourist behavior and furnish important insights for practitioners in the tourism and hospitality industry.

Coping with Dark Leadership: Examination of the Impact of Psychological Capital on the Relationship between Dark Leaders and Employees’ Basic Need Satisfaction in the Workplace

In leadership research, the Dark Triad of personality has become a topic of great interest. This construct includes the personality traits of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and subclinical psychopathy and is associated with several negative outcomes for organizations and followers’ satisfaction. In contrast, the construct of psychological capital, which includes hope, resilience, self-efficacy, and optimism, is positively related to extra-role organizational citizenship behaviors and employee performance. Therefore, the question arises whether people can benefit from psychological capital when confronted with a manager that exhibits dark personality traits. Subsequently, the purpose of this study is to examine the potential impact of psychological capital on the relationship between the Dark Triad traits of managers and the work-related basic need satisfaction of employees. Thus, a dataset of 469 employees was analyzed. Regression analyses demonstrated that the Dark Triad of personality and psychological capital both work as predictors of work-related basic need satisfaction. When controlling for mediating effects, psychological capital appeared as a partial mediator of the relationship between the managers’ dark traits and the employees’ basic need satisfaction in the workplace. The theoretical and practical implications of the results, as well as suggestions for future research, are discussed.

MACHIAVELISM AS THE ANTECEDENT OF NEPOTISM: AN EMPRIC RESEARCH

People or organizations initiate to obtain or multiply resources. One of the personal initiatives is to increase resources by establishing marriage or kinship or using social networks. It is possible to evaluate nepotism as an effort of social networks to increase resources. Nepotism is often handled through a human resource management and cultural perspective. This research differs from the previous researches due to the combination of nepotism and behavioral traits of personality. In this research, it is aimed to examine the effect of Machiavellianism, which has become famous for its fundraising strategy on nepotism. The research focuses on combining the concepts of non-clinical Machiavellian personality traits influencing the recruitment process and promotion from human resource management functions. The universe of the research consists of companies serving in the energy sector in Adana. Questionnaire technique has been used as data collection method in the research. 243 participants have been reached through the convenience sampling technique. It has been seen that there is a positive and significant relation between Machiavellianism, nepotism in promotion and nepotism in recruitment. This research does not examine the outputs of employees who do not have social networks in organizations but deals with the Machiavellian tendencies to take advantage of nepotism only in terms of personality psychology.

Catching the catfish: Exploring gender and the Dark Tetrad of personality as predictors of catfishing perpetration

Catfishing, the act of deceiving and exploiting another person online, can have significant negative impact on the target. To date, limited research has explored individual differences in perpetration of catfishing. We address this paucity by adopting an evolutionary psychology theoretical framework (the “cheater strategy” hypothesis) and exploring the utility of gender and the "Dark Tetrad" personality traits of psychopathy, sadism, Machiavellianism, and narcissism to predict catfishing perpetration. A sample of 664 participants (55.8% men, 40.3% women) with an average age of 28.84 years (SD = 9.60) were recruited via social media and completed an anonymous online questionnaire which comprised measures of personality and catfishing behaviours. Combined, the variables explained 62.6% of variance in catfishing perpetration. Results partially supported the hypotheses, with only psychopathy, sadism, and narcissism emerging as positive predictors of catfishing perpetration. Findings of the current study indicate that evolutionary psychology may be a useful theoretical framework when exploring antisocial online behaviours. Further, these findings provide crucial information regarding the psychological profile of a “catfish” and may have important practical implications by informing the prevention and management of this online behaviour.

Understanding the Performance Effects of “Dark” Salesperson Traits: Machiavellianism, Narcissism, and Psychopathy

People with the personality traits of Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy (i.e., the “dark triad”) are prevalent in the sales profession. Yet research into sales performance drivers tends to focus on positive personality traits. The authors examine the dark triad's effect on salesperson performance and reveal some conditioning factors that influence these links. A longitudinal study that pairs surveys and objective performance data from a national insurance agency reveals the complex effects of dark triad traits on performance over time. Another study, based on data from a direct sales organization and employing social network analysis, relies on partial least squares structural equation modeling to determine the role that the social structure plays in conditioning the relationship between dark triad traits and performance. The results yield insights into both the challenges and the opportunities that dark traits present for managers and scholars.

Türk Edebiyat Dizgesinde Çeviri Bir Mektup Roman: Lady Susan

İngiliz ve dünya edebiyatının saygın ve merkezi konumlu yazarlarından biri olan Jane Austen, yarattığı güçlü kadın karakterleri, yaşadığı toplumun üst ve üst-orta sınıflarının birbirleriyle ilişkilerini keskin bir gözlemle eserlerine yansıtması ve bunu yaparken üst sınıflara uygun kibar ve süslü bir dil kullanımı ile tanınan, roman türünün gelişmesine oldukça katkıda bulunmuş, öncü bir isimdir. Austen’ın eserleri gerek İngiliz edebiyat dizgesinde gerek çeviriler aracılığıyla Türk edebiyat dizgesinde yüksek okunurluk düzeyinde varlığını sürdürmektedir. Yazarın Türkçeye çevrilen eserleri de kaynak dizgede edindiği sağlam konumuna benzer bir şekilde erek dizgede de yerini almıştır. Bu çalışmada, Austen’ın aynı zamanda bir mektup roman örneği olan Lady Susan (1871) adlı az bilinen romanı ve onun iki farklı çevirisi incelenmiştir. İncelemenin sorunsalını, mektup romana ait başlıca özellikler, gücünü dilbazlığından alan “entrikacı” başkahramanın manipülatif dil kullanımı gibi özelliklerine kaynak dizgede nasıl yer verildiği ve iki farklı çeviri sayesinde eserin bu özelliklerinin nasıl çevrildiği oluşturmaktadır. Mektup roman, okurlarına, aynı zamanda roman karakterleri olan mektup yazarlarının gerçek motivasyonlarını rahatlıkla anlayabilme imkânı sağlamaktadır. İnceleme sonucunda romanın odak noktasındaki başkahramanın makyavelist denilebilecek kişilik özelliklerinin, yazar tarafından nasıl işlendiği ortaya çıkmaktadır. Bu bağlamda bu çalışmanın iki amacı vardır: Öncelikle metnin temel özelliklerinin mektup roman örneği çerçevesinde ele alınarak irdelenmesi ve ardından yazarın üslubunun nasıl çevrildiğinin olası “Deyiş Kaydırmaları”yla ortaya konmasıdır. Dolayısıyla, çevirilerin incelenmesinde Anton Popoviç’in “Deyiş Kaydırması” kavramına yer verilecektir.

Entitlement mediates the relationship between dark triad traits and academic misconduct

The Dark Triad personality traits of psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and narcissism are positively related to engagement in academic misconduct (e.g., plagiarism and cheating) by higher education students. This study examined whether feelings of entitlement in an academic context mediated the relationship between Dark Triad personality traits and academic misconduct. Students from three universities (N = 387) completed measures of the Dark Triad, academic entitlement (entitled expectations and externalized responsibilities), and academic misconduct behaviors. One of the two facets of academic entitlement, externalized responsibilities, mediated the relationship between all three dark triad traits and academic misconduct. These results suggest that academic misconduct may be reduced by modifying academic entitlement beliefs among students.

Win At Any Cost: Examining Personality Correlates of Achievement in Adolescent Athletes

Achievement in sports is often attributed to being highly competitive or doing “whatever it takes” to win as opposed to being agreeable. The current consensus is that these traits, manifested as hypercompetitiveness, Machiavellianism, and agreeableness, tend to be highly related within adult populations and athletes. Machiavellianism, the “whatever it takes' ' attribute and hypercompetitiveness have been found to be positively correlated with one another while both are negatively correlated with agreeableness. Previous studies have failed to examine the same phenomenon in individual-sport adolescent athlete populations, in addition to how these trends may influence athletic achievement. In this study, a random sampling of an adolescent athlete population was given a battery of personality scales: The Hypercompetitive Attitude Scale, the MACH-IV, and an IPIP Agreeableness Measure. The participants’ highest national rankings in their sport were also examined. Previous findings in adult populations were replicated in this study, as Machiavellianism and hypercompetitiveness were found to have a strong negative correlation with agreeableness(r= -0.678, p= 0.000039, and r= -0.690, p= 0.000025, respectively). Machiavellianism displayed a moderate, positive correlation with hypercompetitiveness(r= 0.496, p= 0.005312). However, the differences in Machiavellianism and hypercompetitiveness between those who had achieved a rank of at least top 15 in the country and other participants were not found to be statistically significant. These results show that athletic achievement in adolescents was not significantly affected by the personality traits of Machiavellianism and hypercompetitiveness. Additional research is needed to discover what personality traits constitute a champion. 

Dark traits, social loafing and team member exchange: who slacks and when?

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the workplace team member self-reported social loafing (SL) in relation to the dark triad personality traits of Machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy. The moderating effect of team member exchange (TMX), a social contextual factor, on each proposed dark trait-SL relationship was also examined. A person X situation interactionist perspective was adopted.Design/methodology/approachAmerican employees were recruited to complete surveys consisting of previously published, validated and reliable scales. Correlations and hierarchical regressions were used to test the study hypotheses.FindingsAs hypothesized, all positive dark trait-SL relationships were supported. TMX moderated the Machiavellianism-SL and psychopathy-SL relationships, as hypothesized. Unexpectedly, TMX was not found to moderate the narcissism-SL relationship.Originality/valueFindings imply increased managerial monitoring costs when supervising employees with elevated levels of dark traits. This is especially so when workers are assigned to team tasks and SL is a concern. To alleviate loafing tendencies, the nurturing of high-quality TMX relations among employees with elevated levels of traits Machiavellianism and psychopathy likely moderates the positive Machiavellianism- and psychopathy-SL relations. The emerging SL literature that accounts for both personality and situation, the dark trait-deviant workplace behavior literature stream and research evidencing the ability of TMX to remedy problematic characteristic behaviors are all extended by the present research.

What’s up with anti-natalists? An observational study on the relationship between dark triad personality traits and anti-natalist views

ABSTRACT In the past decade, research on the dark triad of personality (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) has demonstrated a strong relationship to a number of socially aversive moral judgments such as sacrificial utilitarian decisions in moral dilemmas. This study widens the scope of this research program and investigates the association between dark triad personality traits and anti-natalist views, i.e., views holding that procreation is morally wrong. The results of this study indicate that the dark triad personality traits of Machiavellianism and psychopathy are strongly associated with anti-natalist views. Further, depression is found to be both standing independently in a relationship with anti-natalist views as well as functioning as a mediator in the relationships between Machiavellianism/psychopathy and anti-natalist views. This pattern was replicated in a follow-up study. These findings add to the literature on dark triad personality traits and their relationship to moral judgments, suggesting that personality and mood play a substantive part in variation in anti-natalist views in a lay population.

An unjustified bad reputation? The Dark Triad and support for populism

While research concludes that populist leaders stand out for their “dark” personalities, studies on the psychological underpinnings of citizens’ populist attitudes are scant and inconclusive, with some agreement on the association between disagreeableness and populist attitudes. By bringing the Dark Triad personality traits of narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism into the picture, we aim to answer whether populist citizens -like populist leaders-score higher in this dark traits, and whether the addition of the Dark Triad helps to better understanding the populist personality. Using an online Spanish sample, our analyses find that using the Dark Triad does indeed add to our understanding of populist attitudes. In opposition to widespread intuitions about the character of populists, we find that psychopathy and Machiavellianism are negatively associated with support for populism, with only narcissism being positively related to the people-centric dimension of populist attitudes.

MAKYAVELİST KİŞİLİK ÖZELLİKLERİNİN TÜKETİCİLERİN ETİK DIŞI DAVRANIŞLARINA ETKİSİ

According to the Machiavellian thinking, all the tools that people will use to achieve someof their objectives are actually ethical. Consumers with this understanding are also said to beconsidered ethical in demonstrating some of the behaviors that appear unethical in their purchasing,using and disposal processes. From here, the study was carried out to determine the effect ofMachiavellian personality traits on consumers' unethical behavior and to reveal whether theMachiavellian personality traits and ethical behavior of consumers differ in terms of demographicfactors. In this context, data was collected by applying a questionnaire form created by using thescales used in the literature to 384 consumers determined by easy sampling method. According to thefindings obtained from the data subjected to the necessary analyzes for the purpose of the study, itwas determined that the Machiavellian personality traits had a positive and significant effect on theunethical behavior of consumers. According to the findings of the research, both Machiavelliancharacteristics and unethical consumer behaviors differ according to gender, age, education level andmonthly income.

Knowledge sabotage as an extreme form of counterproductive knowledge behavior: the role of narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and competitiveness

PurposeThis study empirically tests the impact of the Dark Triad personality traits (narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy) and co-worker competitiveness on knowledge sabotage.Design/methodology/approachA model was constructed and tested by means of Partial Least Squares with data from 150 participants recruited via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk.FindingsThe individual personality traits of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy are significant predictors of individual knowledge sabotage behavior, whereas co-worker Machiavellianism and psychopathy trigger co-worker knowledge sabotage. Out of the three Dark Triad traits, individual and co-worker psychopathy emerged as the strongest knowledge sabotage predictor. Co-worker competitiveness has a positive effect on co-workers’ knowledge sabotage behavior. There is a relatively strong relationship between co-worker and individual knowledge sabotage which suggests that knowledge sabotage is a form of contagious workplace behavior. Individuals underestimate their negative behavior and traits and/or overestimate those of their fellow co-workers.Practical implicationsManagers should realize that the Dark Triad personality traits could predispose certain individuals to engage in extremely harmful counterproductive knowledge behavior. They need to ensure that individuals with these traits are not hired or are identified during their probation periods. It is recommended that organizations include knowledge sabotage measures in their periodic employee surveys. Organizations should help their employees objectively re-evaluate their own traits and knowledge behavior as well as those of their colleagues to ensure that their reciprocating knowledge behavior is more aligned with the reality in their organization.Originality/valueThis study offers a reliable and valid quantitative survey instrument to measure the presence of knowledge sabotage.

The Relationship Between Academics’ Dark Triad Traits and Their Organizational Commitment in Physical Education and Sport

The results of the recent studies on “dark triad” have caused this concept to become popular among the educational sciences. As the importance of these personality traits comes from the possibility of having an impact on students’ learning. Many researchers believe that teachers ‘personality traits may affect students’ learning processes in the future. So the main aim of this research is to examine the relationship between the dark triad traits of the academics and the organizational commitment dimensions. In the study conducted in the relational survey model, the Dark Triad Traits Scale developed by Paulhus & Williams (2002) and the Organizational Commitment Scale developed by Allen & Meyer (1990) were used as data collection tools. The sample of the research consists of 372 academics determined by random method. In the analysis of the data obtained from the scales, Pearson correlation coefficient was calculated to determine the level of relationship. As a result of the research, while a very low inverse relationship was determined between the emotional commitment of academics and personality traits of Machiavellianism and psychopathy, a moderate direct relationship was found between continuance commitment and the personality traits of Machiavellianism and psychopathy.