The dark triad personality traits are three closely related yet independent personality traits that all have a somewhat malevolent connotation. The three traits are Machiavellianism (a manipulative attitude), narcissism (excessive self-love), and psychopathy (lack of empathy).
The dark triad has traditionally been assessed with three tests different tests, each of which had been developed individually.
Most commonly, the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) was used as the measure of narcissism, the MACH-IV for machiavellianism and the Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (SRP) for psychopathy.
Format differences between these (multiple choices versus scale rating) complicated administration and analysis.
This is a popular term was coined in 2002 by Paulhus and Williams. Dark Triad refers to three unusually negative personality traits—narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism.
The latter two share more traits with each other than with narcissists. Generally, the term refers to individuals with “subclinical” symptoms, meaning that they may not necessarily fully have narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) or anti-social personality disorder (ASPD). Machiavellianism arose out of Machiavelli’s philosophy and is not a mental health disorder.
- Narcissism is characterized by the pursuit of ego gratification, vanity, and a sense of superiority, grandiosity, dominance, and entitlement.
- Machiavellianism is marked by manipulation – a calculating, duplicitous and amoral personality, focused on self-interest and personal gain.
- Psychopathy is distinguished by callousness, impulsivity, and enduring antisocial and bold behavior.
The Short Dark Triad was developed in 2011 by Delroy Paulhus and Daniel Jones to provide a more uniform assessment and also to trim down the total length.
lets understand more about What Is the Dark Triad Personality deeply and how to tell people if they have such kind of personality traits.
What Is the Dark Triad Personality?
Are people inherently good or inherently evil? If you’re trying to avoid a philosophical or existential debate it is easiest to say, it depends on the person. That is, there is no one-size-fits-all template for the traits of all humankind.
However, psychologists have been able to associate certain behaviors with traits that can be major red flags for someone’s personality. Those traits are known as the Dark Triad.
The dark triad is composed of narcissism, subclinical psychopathy, and Machiavellianism. This trio of negative or dark personality traits are distinct from one another, however, they also have the ability to overlap and present in one individual.
Individuals manifesting the dark triad personality type1 have been associated with tendencies toward violence and criminal activity. Even when they don’t slip to those extremes, the trio usually spells self-serving, manipulative, and low-empathy behavior.
What are Personality Traits?
Personality traits are a construct used by psychologists1 to attempt to understand the differences in people’s thoughts and behaviors by assigning each to a specific trait.
People that are assigned a trait are generally expected to behave in a way associated with that trait consistently over time and in lots of varying situations.
Often psychologists will use a template of five personality traits, which are commonly known as the big five. These traits include openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.
After analyzing behavior, psychologists will score an individual either high or low on each of the core traits and build an outline of their personality type.
Here is How to tell someone if they have Dark Triad Personality.
What Is the Light Triad?
The dark triad personality type has been attracting lots of attention from researchers in recent years, this makes sense due to its potential impact on criminology and understanding antisocial behavior.
There is a yin to its yang, however.
The light triad personality, proposed even more recently, is the opposite of the dark triad. Where the composing personality types of the dark triad are types concerned only with the self, the light triad types are Kantianism, Humanism, and Faith in Humanity.
These personality types are inherently concerned with other people. Kantianism is the belief that other people are ends themselves, not means to justify ends.
This personality trait loves others and works to benefit them instead of only making choices that benefit themselves.
Humanism is the value of the worth of people. And faith in humanity is the belief that people are inherently good and will do well unto others.
If you’re worried about the potential pitfalls of not being able to detect dark triad personalities you may encounter in your day to day life, you can perhaps take solace in the belief that you may be just as many light triad personalities to balance them out.
Read : How to Deal with Narcissistic Personality Disorder Partner in Relationship
What Are Dark Traits?
Dark traits are those generally associated with negative human behaviors. Don’t get them confused with specific actions, such as deception and greed—dark traits are actually associated with categories that are a bit broader.
In non-clinical terms, dark traits are the personality types exhibited by people who are generally deemed antisocial.
Below, we’ll go through the specific traits that are indicative of the dark triad.
The Light Triad vs. Dark Triad of Personality
Why are dark triad people so seductive? Why do they get all the research attention? I asked my colleague David Yaden in his office.
Immediately his ears pricked up, and he asked me to send him papers on the dark triad, remarking that he hadn’t heard of the dark triad but that it sounded fascinating (thus proving my point).
When I went back to my office, I emailed some papers to David and my colleague Elizabeth Hyde.
In a quick email response, David simply wrote back, “Light triad”? Now my ears pricked up. Was there such a thing? Had it been studied?
The dark triad has already been well-studied. First discovered by Delroy Paulhus and Kevin Williams in 2002, the dark triad of personality consists of narcissism (entitled self-importance), Machiavellianism (strategic exploitation and deceit) and psychopathy (callousness and cynicism).
While these three traits had traditionally been studied mostly among clinical populations (e.g., criminals), Paulhus and Williams showed that each of these traits are clearly on a continuum—we are all at least a little bit narcissistic, Machiavellian and psychopathic.
Trait One: Narcissism
Of the three dark traits that make up the dark triad personality, narcissism is probably the most commonly misdiagnosed. Often people will point to individuals who exhibit selfish behavior and call them narcissists.
If this were the case we would all be narcissists at times. However, the clinical definition of narcissism goes a bit further.
Narcissism is a concern with one’s self to the extreme. While everyone will be guilty of putting their own needs first from time to time, narcissists will do this almost as a rule.
Psychologists work to determine if an individual is a true narcissist by grading them on a four-part scale known as the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI).
This scale assesses an individual’s self-absorption, superiority, authority, and exploitativeness (meaning they will exploit others for their own gain).
Often, narcissists will have a difficult time forming and maintaining relationships with others since that would require them to consider someone’s needs outside of their own.
Read : 7 social signs of a female narcissist and how to deal with them
Trait Two: Subclinical Psychopathy
To understand what subclinical psychopathy is, first you need to understand psychopathy.
Psychopathy, like narcissism, is a word that is thrown around more often than is actually appropriate, at least in a clinical sense.
A true psychopath is someone who exhibits antisocial behaviors. Namely, they show a lack of empathy or remorse and typically have dampened impulse control.
It’s important to note that these aren’t one-off occurrences—they are typically unrelated to the instances that you can name from common everyday life experiences.
For true psychopaths, this lack of empathy and remorse form the rule and is not the exception to their behavior.
Subclinical psychopathy and psychopathy may be closer than you think. Some psychologists even suggest that there isn’t actually a qualitative difference between the two.
That is, the behaviors of a psychopath and a subclinical psychopath are the same.
The difference is instead quantitative. True clinical psychopaths are those whose abnormal or anti-social behavior permeates most or every area of their lives.
A subclinical psychopath on the other hand is an individual who exhibits these same behaviors, but the effect on their lives is lessened because the rate and extremity of the behaviors is lower.
Trait Three: Machiavellianism
Machiavellianism, as its name suggests, can be summed up as a personality type that incorporates the ideas put forth by Niccolo Machiavelli.
Niccolo Machiavelli was a Renaissance philosopher who described how a head of state ought to behave in one of his most acclaimed works, “The Prince.”
One of the main themes of the book is that the ends justify the means—and it’s that very theme that underscores Machiavellianism as a personality type.
Those who exhibit Machiavellianism are highly manipulative. Societally, they are often viewed as adept liars, however, their deception often runs much deeper.
Machiavelli notes in “The Prince,” a true Machiavellian personality inherently understands the importance of appearing forthcoming while using deceit to obtain what they want.
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How to Recognize a Dark Triad Personality
Due to the deceitful nature of the dark triad personality traits, it is inherently difficult to diagnose.
Many individuals who exhibit these traits are often master manipulators and excellent liars who are well-versed in telling people what they want to hear.
In a clinical setting, psychologists can assess1 how individuals score on the big five personality traits and compare these to known associations with dark triad personalities.
There can be attempts to detect levels of the individual traits that make up the triad as well as a twelve-point scale used to measure all three at once.
On a personal level, recognizing someone as having a dark triad personality can be exceedingly difficult.
However, certain red flags such as constant lying or displays of apparent interest in only themselves can be good indicators they exhibit at least one of the requisite traits.
Being in a relationship with an individual who has the Dark Triad Personality
It can be quite dangerous to be in any kind of relationship with an individual who has the Dark Triad Personality. Whether it be your friend, work colleague, business partner, family member, or romantic lover, these kinds of people are hardwired to exploit.
They will do so without hesitation, hurting you in the process, regardless of how much you help or want them to change.
Sure, we cannot totally disregard the possibility that people with the Dark Triad Personality may be able to change. However, the likelihood of this happening is pretty tiny and not worth the trouble.
It is essential to understand that the personality traits that make up the Dark Triad Personality are deeply ingrained in the person’s psyche and nature, so they will automatically be highly resistant to any sort of chance for change.
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Do Dark Triad Personality individuals effortlessly conceal their true nature?
While many researchers consider narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy three different traits with overlapping characteristics, others believe the commonalities propose an underlying personality construct that has yet to be fully comprehended.
Another thing to consider with this being the case, how can tell that individuals’ with the Dark Triad Personality actually have it? Do they easily conceal their true nature?
Many physical and behavioral cues have been proven to be associated with the Dark Triad Personality in research trials. However, when you first meet someone with this underlying personality, you will not recognize that they have the antagonistic trio of attributes.
You might actually be swooned by them. Individuals with these traits can excel at masking their true nature, especially when first meeting someone.
Honestly, it can be challenging to recognize a person with a dark triad personality because they’re charismatic and charming. Indeed, they can be the masters of flattery and can make a person feel like they’re unique and fortunate to be in the presence of a person of eloquent taste, brilliance, and compassion.
Do Dark Triad Personality individuals effortlessly conceal their true nature?
While many researchers consider narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy three different traits with overlapping characteristics, others believe the commonalities propose an underlying personality construct that has yet to be fully comprehended.
Another thing to consider with this being the case, how can tell that individuals’ with the Dark Triad Personality actually have it? Do they easily conceal their true nature?
Many physical and behavioral cues have been proven to be associated with the Dark Triad Personality in research trials. However, when you first meet someone with this underlying personality, you will not recognize that they have the antagonistic trio of attributes.
You might actually be swooned by them. Individuals with these traits can excel at masking their true nature, especially when first meeting someone.
Honestly, it can be challenging to recognize a person with a dark triad personality because they’re charismatic and charming.
Indeed, they can be the masters of flattery and can make a person feel like they’re unique and fortunate to be in the presence of a person of eloquent taste, brilliance, and compassion.
Protect Yourself
If you think you may be involved with a Dark Triad personality, seek psychotherapy. Don’t be afraid to talk to others about your experience. Covering up bad behavior is a common, but dangerous form of denial.
Learn about narcissistic abuse, subtle forms of abuse, abusive relationships, and narcissistic relationships.
Learn How to Be Assertive and read Dealing with a Narcissist. Violence is preceded by emotional abuse. If you’ve been threatened with violence, don’t wait for it to happen or trust that it won’t be repeated!
