Dark triad

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The dark triad or dark triad (English Dark Triad ) refers to the personality traits of narcissism , Machiavellianism and (subclinical) psychopathy and their interrelationships. The concept was coined by the Canadian psychologists Delroy L. Paulhus and Kevin M. Williams in 2002. The three characteristics are conceptualized differently and independently of one another ; although there is empirical evidence of an overlap. They are associated with a callous, manipulative interpersonal style .

Excessive expression of these characteristics is especially important in personnel psychology when selecting and evaluating executives. On the one hand, these “dark characteristics” of people are considered undesirable in society, and on the other hand, they seem to have more complex relationships with professional success. Many women also find them sexually attractive to men . The research is carried out both dimensionally (the three characteristics can appear in a person together and in certain combinations) as well as typological (definable types are assigned to people). This construct is about the subclinical forms of personality types, i.e. the personality traits of people with whom we deal every day. They are "normal" properties, not clinically relevant.

The three personality types

The three types differ mainly in their strategies and motives.

The narcissist can be described in the following sentence: “The others are there to admire me.” This personality type of the Dark Triad considers itself to be something better and is mainly characterized by self-exaggeration. He thinks he deserves fame.

The Machiavellian in one sentence: "The end justifies the means". People of this type reveal a manipulative style of behavior. There are no limits for the Machiavellian to achieve his goals. When he deals with other people, he primarily sees their usefulness in achieving his goals. He is considered hypocritical , dishonest, opportunistic , promiscuous and extroverted . The Machiavellian lacks empathy.

The Machiavellist pursues his goals rationally and calculatively, without taking others into account. He knows what is socially regarded as “good”, but only behaves if it helps him to be successful personally. Compared to the narcissist, the Machiavellist is more realistic about himself. Men are more likely to be Machiavellians than women.

The psychopath in one sentence: "The other as an object". He is distinguished by his reckless behavior. In contrast to the other two personality types, he also has the fact that he is not afraid of consequences, which makes him cold-blooded. People with this personality type are more likely to commit criminal offenses. His character is mainly characterized by high impulsiveness and low empathy .

A conclusion from all three shows that they are all selfish and raise their own good above that of the others. The three types differ mainly in their motivation. The narcissist is about admiration, the Machiavellist wants to achieve his goals, and the psychopath is about the act itself.

(Mis) adjustment? There are indications that the properties of the Dark Triad represent a mismatch to society, as well as assumptions that these properties are adaptive , i.e. advantageous.

Even in childhood, Machiavellians cannot feel empathy and show behavioral disorders. Antisocial behavior is primarily predicted by psychopathy. Narcissism and psychopathy are associated with higher levels of impulsiveness and risk behavior. High scores in the Dark Triad are related to antisocial tendencies such as u. a. Dishonesty and aggressiveness combined.

Nevertheless, the properties of the Dark Triad have existed for a long time and across many nations, which is why one must ask oneself whether these properties are possibly also adaptive. Evolutionary psychologists in particular take this perspective . They view the properties as an ecological niche that individuals choose to adapt to the environment and thrive. Evolutionary psychologists assume that undesirable behaviors can also be adaptive. The Machiavellians, for example, have developed a successful strategy so that they can manipulate to achieve their goals without being caught often. People with characteristics of the Dark Triad are undesirable, but they can be very successful in certain areas of life, such as in some career paths or in sexual life. Furthermore, there is a connection between the Dark Triad and traits such as resilient self-worth, emotional stability and sexual success.

Dark tetrad

In psychology, after the dark triad , the term dark tetrad was introduced as a derivation of the term for further differentiation , which, in addition to narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy, also includes sadism , and the four components of which are highly correlated and together form a destructive and exploitative personality strategy.

See also

Publications

  • Heidrun Schüler-Lubienetzki, Ulf Lubienetzki: Difficult people in the workplace. Springer, Berlin 2015, pp. 31 ff, ISBN 978-3-662-46441-0 (2nd, extended edition 2017, ISBN 978-3-662-50454-3 ).
  • DARK TRIAD (THE DARK TRIAD OF PERSONALITY). On: psychologie.uni-graz.at ; last accessed on October 1, 2016.
  • Fanny Jiménez: Why radically inconsiderate people get ahead . On: WELT.de as of December 7, 2015; last accessed on October 1, 2016.
  • Lutz Becker: The dark triad of power . On: harvardbusinessmanager.de from July 1, 2011; last accessed on October 1, 2016.
  • Sandra Kruse: The Dark Triad in the Service Context : Influence on Emotional Work and Consequences for Employees , Springer Gabler, Wiebaden 2016, ISBN 978-3-658-12109-9 (Master thesis Friedrich Schiller University Jena [2016], XI, 102 Pages from the publisher's page on the author Sandra Kruse ).
  • Mörzinger Daniela: The development of an implicit procedure for capturing the dark tetrad . Vienna 2012, (Diploma thesis University of Vienna, Faculty of Psychology, 2012, 68 pages, abstract graphic representations ).
  • Christina Sagioglou: Hostility: Sensory Triggers, Corresponding Taste Preferences, and its Perseverance in Evaluations of Scientific Misconduct , Innsbruck 2015, OCLC 970539199 (Dissertation University Innsbruck 2015, 115 sheets, English).

Individual evidence

  1. ^ DL Paulhus, KM Williams: The Dark Triad of Personality . In: Journal of Research in Personality . Volume 36, 2002, pp. 556-563. doi : 10.1016 / s0092-6566 (02) 00505-6 .
  2. ^ Daniel N. Jones, Delroy L. Paulhus: Differentiating the Dark Triad Within the Interpersonal Circumplex . In: Horowitz, LM, Strack, S. (Eds.): Handbook of interpersonal theory and research . John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ 2010, ISBN 978-0-470-47160-9 , pp. 249-267 ( wiley.com ).
  3. ^ Heinz Schuler: Psychological personnel selection: aptitude diagnostics for personnel decisions and career advice. Hogrefe, 2014 p. 114 ff
  4. ↑ a b c d P. K. Jonason, P. Li. Norman, David M. Buss: The costs and benefits of the Dark Triad: Implications for mate poaching and mate retention tactics . In: Personality and Individual Differences. March 2010, Volume 48, No. 4, pp. 373-378.
  5. ^ Gregory Louis Carter, Anne C. Campbell, Steven Muncer: The Dark Triad personality: Attractiveness to women. In: Personality and Individual Differences. Volume 56, January 2010, pp. 60-61.
  6. ↑ a b c d Delroy L. Paulhus, Kevin M. Williams: The Dark Triad of personality: Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. In: Journal of Research in Personality. 2002, No. 36, pp. 556-563 ( ResearchGate ).
  7. ↑ a b c d Daniel Goleman: Social intelligence who can approach others, has more from life (= Knaur. Volume 78088). Knaur-Taschenbuch-Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-426-78088-6 .
  8. ^ A b Gregory Louis Carter, Anne C. Campbell, Steven Muncer The Dark Triad personality. ... 2010, p. 58.
  9. ↑ PsycNET. Retrieved February 23, 2019 .
  10. ^ ScienceDirect. Retrieved February 23, 2019 .
  11. ↑ Christopher T. Barry, Patricia K. Kerig, Kurt K. Stellwagen, Tammy D. Barry (Eds.): Narcissism and Machiavellianism in Youth: Implications for the Development of Adaptive and Maladaptive Behavior. American Psychological Association, Washington (DC) 2010, ISBN 978-1-4338-0845-6 .
  12. ^ A b c Peter K. Jonason, Gregory D. Webster: A protean approach to social influence: Dark Triad personalities and social influence tactics . In: Personality and Individual Differences. March 2012, Volume 52, No. 4, pp. 521-526.
  13. ↑ Peter K. Jonason, Norman P. Li, Emily A. Teichner: Who is James Bond ?: The Dark Triad as to Agentic SocialStyle. In: Individual Difference Research. 2010, Volume 8, No. 2, pp. 111-120 ( PDF file ).
  14. ↑ Susanne Wedlich: The sadist among us . Section: Who chases vermin through the coffee grinder? On sueddeutsche.de - Psychologie from October 22, 2013.
  15. ↑ Daniela Mörzinger: The development of an implicit procedure for capturing the dark tetrad . Diploma thesis, University of Vienna - Faculty of Psychology 2012.
  16. ↑ German for example: "Hostility, sensory triggers with corresponding taste preferences and perseverance in misconduct in scientific research."