Narcissism Personality Traits Research Articles

Predicting Online Gambling Addiction with the Dark Triad Traits

Gambling poses new risks for individuals due to technological developments and easier and faster access to online games. The increase in participation in online gambling activities such as betting and games of chance further increases the prevalence of gambling and the risk of addiction. Identifying risk groups and factors is critical to prevent these harmful activities with adverse psychosocial and economic consequences. This study aimed to investigate the effect of gender and dark personality traits on online gambling addiction. Data were obtained from 376 Turkish university students (M = 20.40, SD = 1.96). The current study revealed the tendency of men towards online gambling addiction. 93% of participants were above the addiction score threshold. The findings showed a positive association between narcissism and psychopathy and online gambling addiction and no relationship between Machiavellianism and this addiction. Narcissism and psychopathy personality traits were determined to be risk factors for online gambling addiction. Since this study identified that men and students with the personality traits of narcissism and psychopathy are prone to online gambling, interventions with these groups may help prevent the negative consequences of online gambling before they occur.

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.

The relationship between narcissistic traits and attitudes toward infidelity: A dyadic analysis.

Previous research suggested that narcissism is associated with infidelity and reduced commitment in relationships. However, the majority of studies supporting this association were conducted among individuals and did not examine dyadic paths and also conceptualized and measured narcissism as a global variable, lacking a nuance perspective of the two traits of narcissism (i.e., grandiose and vulnerable). The present study sought to examine attitudes toward infidelity from a dyadic perspective, using narcissism personality traits (grandiose and vulnerable) as predictors. The effect of narcissism personality traits on attitudes toward infidelity was investigated among 135 couples (N = 270) in enduring relationships. To assess whether attitudes toward infidelity were explained by grandiose narcissism and vulnerable narcissism, we used multivariate multilevel statistical model for matched pairs to evaluate the effect of each partner's characteristics on their own (actor effect) and their partner's (partner effect) attitudes. The results indicate that females' attitudes toward infidelity were positively associated with their own grandiose narcissism and vulnerable narcissism and negatively associated with their partner's grandiose narcissism. Males' attitudes toward infidelity were positively associated with both their own and their partner's vulnerable narcissism but not with their or their partner's grandiose narcissism. The results highlighted the importance of studying different aspects of narcissism in relation to dyadic processes within intimate relationships in general and regarding infidelity in particular. Our findings suggest that more or less favorable attitudes toward infidelity depend not only on the individual's narcissistic traits but on his/her partner's grandiosity and vulnerability as well. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

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.

Take your ethics and shove it! Narcissists' angry responses to ethical leadership

Evoking the agentic model of narcissism, the present study contributes to understanding the nuanced responses to ethical leadership that result from the non-normative, dark personality trait of narcissism. We draw from affective events theory to understand why narcissists respond to ethical leadership with feelings of anger, which then results in withdrawal behaviors. We establish internal validity by testing our model via an experimental design. Next, we establish external validity by testing our theoretical model in a field study of university employees. Together, results from the studies suggest anger mediates the positive relationship between narcissism and withdrawal under conditions of high ethical leadership. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our findings.

Planetary Health: We Need to Talk about Narcissism

Concepts of planetary health attempt to collectively address the biological, psychological, social, and cultural factors contributing to “Anthropocene Syndrome”, which encompasses the many wicked interrelated challenges of our time. It is increasingly evident that the wide array of causative factors is underpinned by attitudes, values, and worldviews. Emerging research suggests that certain dispositions or ‘traits’—observable along the continuum from individuals to large groups—may be central to the promotion of health of all systems, at all scales. Here in this viewpoint, we focus on the personality trait of narcissism in the collective context of planetary health. First described in 1852 by pioneering psychiatrist Joseph Guislain, the Mania of Narcissus refers to ‘the patient infatuated with his beauty, his charms, his wit, dress, talents, and birth’. We argue that Guislain’s observations are not restricted to the clinical setting, and that a larger-scale narcissism can interfere with the principles of planetary health. We propose that increasing narcissism, at scales ranging from the individual to the collective, is an important consideration in attitudes and behaviors that undermine health along the continuum of person, place, and planet. Despite a growing body of research directed at collective narcissism, and the role that empathy plays in healthy relationships between humans and nature, it is our contention that the role of narcissism and empathy are important but neglected aspects of the planetary health agenda.

Factors Affecting Customer Satisfaction and Repurchase Intention: A Study of Full-Service Trendy Restaurants in Vietnam

“Trendy restaurants” have emerged in the food and beverage industry as the popularity of social media arose rapidly. For consumers enjoy sharing pictures or videos taken in restaurants, providing trendy space turned out to be an effective way of customer engagement. A growing number of consumers all over the world are always sharing their experiences as well as using these platforms to discover food and beverage trends. Among different parts of the world, Vietnam has a significant number of consumers, especially younger age, are considering social media platforms as a powerful medium in their decision-making. In order to explore the factors behind customer satisfaction at trendy restaurants, this study investigates narcissism personality together with food/drink and service quality as potential predictors to satisfaction and repurchase intention in Vietnamese full-service trendy restaurants. Samples of 213 Vietnamese guests from trendy restaurants were surveyed. SPSS was used to analyze collected data and the findings point out that, in general, food quality, service quality and narcissism personality traits have significant impacts on customer satisfaction and repurchase intention. Customer satisfaction mediates the relationships between predictors and repurchase intention. The implications of these findings, limitations of the study and future research suggestions are also discussed

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.

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.

Xenophobia among University Students: Its Relationship with Five Factor Model and Dark Triad Personality Traits

<p style="text-align:justify">Xenophobia, being hostile to foreigners and feeling fear of them, is considered as hating and having prejudices against the people of other nations. It is noticed that with the increase of migration movements on a global scale in recent years, xenophobia has become one of the more critical subjects in the scientific world. Determining the relationships between xenophobic attitudes and personal traits is considered as one of the important steps in developing relationships especially among people from different cultures. By detecting positive personality traits and negative personality traits associated with xenophobia, interpersonal relationships can be developed. Accordingly, in the current study, it is aimed to determine the relationships between xenophobia and personality traits (neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness and conscientiousness, and Machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy). For this purpose, data were collected from 422 (342 females, 80 males) university students via the data collection tools, which are “Xenophobia Scale”, “Adjectives Based Personality Test” and “Dirty Dozen Scale”. The data were analyzed by stepwise regression technique. As a result of the analyzes, it has been observed that agreeableness, which is among the five-factor personality traits, and psychopathy and narcissism, which are among the dark triad-personality traits predicted xenophobia significantly. Accordingly, it was determined that the agreeable people had lower levels of xenophobic attitudes. Psychopathy and narcissism personality traits have been observed to lead to higher levels of xenophobic attitudes.</p>

Living with pathological narcissism: a qualitative study

BackgroundResearch into the personality trait of narcissism have advanced further understanding of the pathological concomitants of grandiosity, vulnerability and interpersonal antagonism. Recent research has established some of the interpersonal impacts on others from being in a close relationship with someone having such traits of pathological narcissism, but no qualitative studies exist. Individuals with pathological narcissism express many of their difficulties of identity and emotion regulation within the context of significant interpersonal relationships thus studying these impacts on others is warranted.MethodWe asked the relatives of people high in narcissistic traits (indexed by scoring above a cut-off on a narcissism screening measure) to describe their relationships (N = 436; current romantic partners [56.2%]; former romantic partners [19.7%]; family members [21.3%]). Participants were asked to describe their relative and their interactions with them. Verbatim responses were thematically analysed.ResultsParticipants described ‘grandiosity’ in their relative: requiring admiration, showing arrogance, entitlement, envy, exploitativeness, grandiose fantasy, lack empathy, self-importance and interpersonal charm. Participants also described ‘vulnerability’ of the relative: contingent self-esteem, hypersensitivity and insecurity, affective instability, emptiness, rage, devaluation, hiding the self and victimhood. These grandiose and vulnerable characteristics were commonly reported together (69% of respondents). Participants also described perfectionistic (anankastic), vengeful (antisocial) and suspicious (paranoid) features. Instances of relatives childhood trauma, excessive religiosity and substance abuse were also described.ConclusionsThese findings lend support to the importance of assessing the whole dimension of the narcissistic personality, as well as associated personality patterns. On the findings reported here, the vulnerable aspect of pathological narcissism impacts others in an insidious way given the core deficits of feelings of emptiness and affective instability. These findings have clinical implications for diagnosis and treatment in that the initial spectrum of complaints may be misdiagnosed unless the complete picture is understood. Living with a person with pathological narcissism can be marked by experiencing a person who shows large fluctuations in affect, oscillating attitudes and contradictory needs.

How much of the dark triad is accounted for by sexism?✰

This study explores the relationship between sexism (both hostile and benevolent) and the dark-triad personality traits of narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism, using the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory, the Short Dark Triad, and the Dirty Dozen. It also assesses whether the genders differed in dark-triad scores, as in other studies, and whether any gender differences are mediated by sexism scores. In bivariate correlations, sexism accounted for 12%-17% of dark triad scores. The magnitude of correlations between sexism and dark-triad scores were similar for men and women. Replicating earlier research, t-tests indicated that men had higher dark-triad scores than women. Analyses of covariance indicated that these gender differences in dark triad scores were substantially, though not completely, accounted for by hostile sexism. These findings demonstrated that sexist ideology substantially predicted dark-triad scores, suggesting sexism as one source of dark-triad traits. Though correlational, these findings are consistent with the idea that, the dark triad, unlike many other traits, is partly the result of sexism and the socially-supported, unearned male power and privilege that sexism reflects.

Start-up entrepreneurs’ personality traits. An exploratory analysis of the Italian tourism industry

ABSTRACT This study examines the personality traits of start-up entrepreneurs within the Italian tourism industry. The purpose is to investigate how the specific personality traits of narcissism, locus of control, and the Big Five (i.e. extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, openness to experience) influence the tourism start-up entrepreneur’s behaviour. After a review and assessment of the literature regarding entrepreneurs’ personality traits, the paper describes a quantitative analysis of eighty-nine Italian start-up entrepreneurs operating in the tourism sector. Two main results arose from the empirical analysis. Firstly, tourism entrepreneurs seem to be particularly narcissistic, extroverted and friendly (extraversion), disciplined (agreeableness), self-assured, efficient and organized (conscientiousness), unconventional (openness to experience), and proactive and vigorous (internal locus of control). Secondly, some personality traits are found to influence the efficiency and innovative capacity of entrepreneurs which ultimately lead to the success of start-ups. The paper further advances our understanding of tourism entrepreneurship by clarifying the relevance of specific personality traits that characterize start-up entrepreneurs in the tourism industry.

Relationships between the Big Five, narcissistic personality traits, and online sexual activities

Previous studies have noted that personality traits are important factors contributing to sexual experiences. Considering this, we examined the associations between the Big Five, narcissism, and sexual narcissism personality traits and multiple dimensions of online sexual activities (OSA). OSAs were classified as viewing sexually explicit material (SEM), seeking sexual partners, cybersex, and flirting. We measured OSA experience, the Big Five, narcissism, and sexual narcissism in 339 participants. The results demonstrated that men reported more OSA engagement than women. Extraversion, openness, neuroticism, narcissism, and sexual narcissism were associated with OSA. Two dimensions of sexual narcissism (sexual exploitation and grandiose sense of sexual skill) mediated the association between gender and OSA. Similarly, sexual exploitation and grandiose sense of sexual skill also mediated the association between narcissism and OSA. The findings indicate that personality traits influence multiple dimensions of OSA. Moreover, sexual narcissism, particularly dimensions of sexual exploitation and grandiose sense of sexual skill, influences OSA more extensively and contribute to gender difference in OSA.

‘I did it for the LULZ’: How the dark personality predicts online disinhibition and aggressive online behavior in adolescence

A large proportion of youth believe that the world of cyberspace provides them with a relatively safe and anonymous digital bubble ripe for uninhibited self-expression. At the same time, observers have noted an increase of individuals behaving in an unrestrained manner on the Internet, while researchers have reported elevated rates of cyber aggressive behavior. What remains unclear, however, is whether, and how, disinhibition might be related to cyber aggression. In an aim to explore the possible associations, a large sample (total N = 709) of high school (Mage = 15.56 years) respondents from New Zealand were recruited, and completed a survey featuring scales assessing personality and technology behaviors, attitudes, habits, and trends. The present study was designed to investigate whether the three dark personality traits of narcissism, psychopathy, and sadism would predict false self perceptions, and in sequence, online disinhibition and aggressive online behavior. All three dark personality traits, as well as false self, were positively associated with online disinhibition. Perceptions of false self were found to be a significant predictor of cyber aggression when mediated by online disinhibition. In the case of cyber aggression, however, psychopathy, sadistic traits, and online disinhibition were found to be significant predictors of this outcome. The results collectively provide a more nuanced understanding of how antisocial personality traits are associated with maladaptive identity formation (i.e., endorsement of false self beliefs) as well as maladaptive online behavior.

Using Tinder® to start a fire: Predicting antisocial use of Tinder® with gender and the Dark Tetrad

Online dating continues to grow in popularity and is associated with significant advantages; however, experiencing antisocial behaviours when online dating is a distinct possibility. The aim of the current study was to explore the utility of gender and the dark personality traits of narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadism in predicting perpetration of a range of antisocial behaviours on the popular dating app Tinder. It was hypothesised that the male gender and higher scores on these personality traits would predict perpetration of antisocial behaviours on Tinder. Participants (N = 587; 21% men, 79% women) completed an online questionnaire, including the Antisocial Uses of Tinder® Scale which was constructed to measure a range of antisocial behaviours. Exploratory and Confirmatory factor analyses revealed three forms of antisocial behaviours (General, esteem, and sexual) which explained over half of the variance (58.99%) of variance in the Antisocial Uses of Tinder® measure. Regression analyses were run for each form of antisocial behaviour, and the predictive utility of gender and the dark traits were found to differ across the antisocial behaviours. Results of the current study support an individual differences approach to exploring antisocial behaviours online, particularly when online dating.

The Effect of Pay Transparency on Narcissists: Can Personality Type Predict Reciprocity?

Government regulations and popular media push companies to be more transparent about employee wage information. Yet firms often attempt to keep this information secret because, when wage dispersion exists, transparency decreases total employee productivity. The fair-wage effort hypothesis (FWEH) models this phenomenon (Akerlof and Yellen 1990). Productivity decreases because, on average, when employees learn they are paid less than others, they engage in negative reciprocity. At the same time, on average, employees who learn they are paid more than others do not engage in positive reciprocity. I hypothesize and find that the personality trait of narcissism, particularly one of its three behavioral factors, entitlement and exploitiveness, moderates the strength of individual employees’ reciprocal responses (Ackerman et al. 2011). Narcissism increases negative reciprocity and decreases positive reciprocity. I test the hypotheses using an experiment on Amazon Mechanical Turk in which I manipulate pay levels and transparency.

Differences between individualist and collectivist cultures in emotional Facebook usage: relationship with empathy, self-esteem, and narcissism

Adolescents are one of the groups who most use social networks in an emotional way, to express their own emotions and to empathize with the emotions of others. Although personality factors; namely, empathy, self-esteem, and narcissism appear to play an important role in this usage, the contribution of cultural variables has yet to be examined. The aim of this study is to examine cross-cultural variations in Facebook usage and the relationship of those variations with empathy, self-esteem and narcissistic personality factors. Using a sample of 479 Spanish adolescents (220 females) and 405 Thai adolescents (224 females), the Use of Facebook Questionnaire was applied, and empathy, self-esteem and narcissism personality traits were measured. Findings suggested variations between Thai and Spanish samples at the intra- and inter-cultural level. The Thai sample had higher scores in Affective Empathy but lower scores in Cognitive Empathy, used Facebook more, and engaged in more emotional and empathic expression when using Facebook. Also, results also show interesting differences related with the interaction between gender and country. We discuss the results in relation to Hofstede’s criteria about the differences between Eastern and Western societies. We highlight the need for longitudinal studies about this topic.

On the impact of Honesty-Humility and a cue of being watched on cheating behavior

The present contribution examines two factors, as well as their interplay, prominently discussed in the literature on cheating: The basic personality trait of Honesty-Humility from the HEXACO personality model and cues of being watched when given the possibility to cheat. In two studies (Study 1 N = 192, Study 2 N = 957), we applied economically incentivized cheating paradigms (a dice-rolling paradigm and a coin-toss paradigm) and replicated the previously found negative relation between Honesty-Humility and cheating behavior. We further demonstrated that this relation holds beyond the dark personality traits of narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadism (i.e., the Dark Tetrad). In fact, Honesty-Humility fully absorbed the positive correlations of Dark Tetrad dimensions and cheating. However, we failed to obtain statistically significant results with respect to the other analyzed factor: manipulating being watched by presenting stylized watching eyes when individuals could cheat did not significantly affect cheating behavior. We further found no significant interaction between the personality factors and the presentation of stylized eyes. The findings are discussed with regard to current debates in the fields of cheating and personality as well as when being watched alters behavior.