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The affective and cognitive empathic nature of the dark triad of personality

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Abstract

The dark triad represents the most prominent, socially aversive personalities (viz., Psychopathy, Narcissism, and Machiavellianism) characterised by a common underlying deficit in empathy. Although, evidence shows that empathy can be further divided into cognitive and affective systems, this two-dimensional conceptualisation had not been considered when examining the empathic impairments of the complete dark triad. The present study aimed to determine whether the dark triad is associated with deficits in cognitive or affective empathy as measured through self-reports and facial expressions tasks. The sample comprised 139 university students. All dark triad personalities were associated with deficits in affective empathy, but showed little evidence of impairment in cognitive empathy. The facial expression tasks provided further support for the affective nature of the dark triad’s empathic deficits. Finally, the results emphasised the importance of primary psychopathy, as the main predictor of empathic deficits within the dark triad.

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... Although research has demonstrated robust negative relationships between the dark personalities and empathy, findings are inherently limited [45]. Consequently, the identified empathic deficits associated with the Dark Triad cannot be reliably acknowledged as either being cognitive or affective. ...
... In the research carried out by Wai and Tiliopoulos [45] in 2012, which was the first study in which empathic deficits were examined in a two-dimensional key and toward all three components of the Dark Triad, it is expressed that the definition of cognitive empathy is the ability to discriminate the moods of others without, however, being affected by those emotions; "this, as a skill", the authors continue, "provides an individual with the ability to understand important information about the feelings of others, it can also be of great help to those personalities who exhibit manipulative traits" [40]. ...
... Further explored was how all Dark Triad traits are associated with reduced cognitive empathy, although this was determined only through psychopathy scores once shared variance was accounted for [48]. "In other cases", the authors continue, "cognitive empathy does not appear to be a source of deficit for the Dark Triad, and in the particular case of narcissism it even appears to exceed thresholds considered normotypical; this could mean that narcissists possess better abilities in understanding the thoughts and intentions of others" [45]. ...
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This literature review aims to analyze studies published by researchers on the topic of the relationship between the psychological constructs of the Dark Triad and Cognitive Empathy. This study hypothesizes how having good cognitive empathic skills could benefit people who demonstrate Dark Triad traits, as this could facilitate the implementation of manipulative strategies. Through the process of identifying studies via databases and registers, 23 studies were included in this literature review, and the results and theories brought forward by the researchers find more agreement regarding the individual components of the Dark Triad than the whole construct: narcissism seems to have, for the most part, relatively small and typical positive correlations (more than 50% of correlations), Machiavellianism has relatively small and typical negative relationships (about 80% of correlations), and psychopathy has relatively large negative relationships (about 90% of correlations). This study conveys that Machiavellians and psychopaths, having reduced empathic abilities, use manipulation techniques that do not have to do with empathy (for example seduction, intimidation etc.), while narcissists would be, among these three dimensions, those most likely to understand others’ states of mind and thus be able to use this knowledge to their advantage—although there are doubts about the veracity of the statements and answers given by narcissists in the tests administered to them. This literature review could be a valid aid to professionals dealing with people who exhibit Dark Triad traits; understanding how those exhibiting Dark Triad traits manage their empathic abilities, the areas in which the various dimensions show deficits or not, and how they act to implement their manipulative and controlling tactics could aid in the development of more effective helping strategies to be utilized in therapy settings.
... Psychopathy is characterized by low empathy as well as high impulsivity and thrill seeking (Paulhus & Williams, 2002), whereas narcissism is characterized by vanity, entitlement, and egoistic admiration of one's own characteristics (Muris et al., 2017). Dark Triad traits have been linked to aggression, limited self-control, and limited empathy, which can be harmful to interpersonal relationships (Jonason & Tost, 2010;Jones & Paulhus, 2010;Wai & Tiliopoulos, 2012). For instance, one study looking only at women found links of Dark Triad traits with increased destructive behavior and forms of control in romantic relationships (Brewer et al., 2018). ...
... This is in line with findings linking Dark Triad variables to more frequent, intense, and hostile conflicts as well as destructive behavior in ongoing relationships and after separation (Baum, 2004;Brewer et al., 2018;Ehrenberg et al., 1996;Horan et al., 2015). Higher aggression and limited self-control and empathy may lead to an increased risk of escalating conflicts following separation (Jonason & Tost, 2010;Jones & Paulhus, 2010;Wai & Tiliopoulos, 2012). Higher scores on the Dark Triad might increase the use of manipulative behaviors to resolve child-related conflicts in court (Clemente et al., 2020). ...
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Objective The aim of this study was to uncover patterns of parental postseparation conflict and to investigate possible links to the personality factors of the Dark Triad (i.e., Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy). Background Studies revealed different postseparation coparenting patterns that explain why some parents face long‐lasting conflicts after separation. However, the role of legal disputes and links to parental personality traits have mostly been neglected so far. Method The analyses included 486 separated parents from the German Family Panel “pairfam” in year 2020–2021. We aimed to identify postseparation patterns of conflict, including coparenting and legal conflict, by using latent profile analysis. Possible links between latent profiles and the Dark Triad were assessed. Results Three postseparation conflict profiles were found: a cooperative, a parallel‐derogating, and a conflictual profile. Links between these profiles and the Dark Triad could be found for narcissism, with membership to the conflictual profile being more likely with higher narcissism values. Conclusion The findings show that a significant proportion of separated families is affected by postseparation conflict and that parents' personality plays a role here. Implications The results indicate that interventions targeting families affected by postseparation conflict should take parental personality traits into account.
... Authors such as Decety (2010), from the neurodevelopmental perspective, state that empathy arises from the second year of life, a period in which the child begins to be aware of the experiences, intentions and emotions of others. According to the social nature of this function, it has been catalogued as a multidimensional ability that comprises affective and cognitive characteristics (Wai & Tiliopoulos, 2012); the former is defined as the ability to share emotions with other people, implies the ability to feel what the other feels and is characterized by a visceral, automatic response (De Ridder et al., 2015). Specific impairment in this domain is evidenced by low abilities to experience concern or compassion for others who have negative feelings (Anastassiou-Hadjicharalalambous & Warden, 2008). ...
... On the other hand, cognitive empathy (CE) is the ability to understand the mental states of others, without having emotional contagion, i.e., rationally knowing what they feel and why, but without emotional involvement (Wai & Tiliopoulos, 2012) and includes the ability to decode and label emotions (Milone et al., 2019). The structures linked to this subtype are found in prefrontal areas also involved in Theory of Mind (Walter, 2012), a function that assists the empathic capacity in the attribution of emotions and understanding of the emotional state of others (Zabala et al., 2018). ...
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La evidencia sobre las relaciones entre la agresión y la empatía no están claras en la literatura. Un metaanálisis reciente indicó que las asociaciones son limitadas, mientras que reiteradas investigaciones de los últimos años han reportado correlaciones positivas y negativas. Esta revisión sistemática busca establecer la evidencia actual sobre diferentes estudios que se han llevado a cabo sobre las relaciones entre la conducta agresiva de tipo proactivo y reactivo y la empatía, desde los subdominios cognitivo y afectivo, en adolescentes, jóvenes y adultos jóvenes. Método: Revisión sistemática de acuerdo con las directrices PRISMA. Resultados: se encontraron 8 artículos que cumplían los criterios de inclusión y exclusión descritos y se reportan las discrepancias entre las asociaciones de las dos variables abordadas. Conclusión: parece haber cierto grado aceptación en el papel inhibidor de la empatía frente a la agresión, de manera relevante el de la empatía afectiva. No se encontraron resultados concluyentes de la empatía cognitiva con los diferentes tipos de agresión.
... The research gap in the present study is that empirical and theoretical studies on problematic social network use in Iran are very limited, and some research variables have not been studied at all. It is clear that the dark triad traits correlate with low levels of empathy and the experience of negative emotions, especially high scores in psychological disorders cause the experience of negative emotions (27). ...
... high on the psychopathy scale exhibit impulsive, antisocial, selfish behaviors, seek stimulation, and show no signs of remorse, empathy, or guilt(8,27). These psychological traits may increase the tendency towards problematic internet use. ...
Article
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Despite the information dissemination and communication facilities provided by these networks, they have also brought about damages. The purpose of the current research is to investigate the relationship between problematic social media use and dark personality traits with the mediating role of emotion regulation and self-compassion among adult Instagram users in Tehran. The methodology of this study is descriptive-correlational, employing a structural equation modeling approach. The population of the study consisted of all adult Instagram users (ages 18 to 80) in Tehran in the year 2022. The sample size was 306 individuals, selected through convenience sampling. The questionnaires used in this research were the Mobile Social Networking Addiction Questionnaire by Khajeh Ahmad and colleagues (2016), Dark Personality Traits by Jonason and Webster (2010), Emotion Regulation by Gratz and Roemer (2004), and Self-Compassion by Neff (2003). Analysis of the findings was conducted using structural equation modeling by AMOS-22. Findings showed that problematic social media use among adult Instagram users has a positive and significant relationship with dark personality traits (P<0.01). Self-compassion also has a negative and significant relationship with dark personality traits (P<0.01). Emotion regulation was found to have a positive and significant relationship with dark personality traits (P<0.01). Therefore, it can be concluded that self-compassion and emotion regulation are two important components in predicting the problematic use of Instagram by users.
... In line with this, the Dark Triad of Psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and Narcissism might all very well be negatively correlated with empathizing, hence with either or with both cognitive empathy and affective empathy Turner et al., 2019). Note that whether or not this implicates a deficit that is specific to affective empathy (e.g., Blair, 2008;Jonason & Krause, 2013;Wai & Tiliopoulos, 2012) is itself contingent on identifying such a negative correlation with affective empathy, in contrast to identifying a plausible positive correlation with cognitive empathy (e.g., Jonason & Kroll, 2015;Turner et al., 2019;Wai & Tiliopoulos, 2012). ...
... In line with this, the Dark Triad of Psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and Narcissism might all very well be negatively correlated with empathizing, hence with either or with both cognitive empathy and affective empathy Turner et al., 2019). Note that whether or not this implicates a deficit that is specific to affective empathy (e.g., Blair, 2008;Jonason & Krause, 2013;Wai & Tiliopoulos, 2012) is itself contingent on identifying such a negative correlation with affective empathy, in contrast to identifying a plausible positive correlation with cognitive empathy (e.g., Jonason & Kroll, 2015;Turner et al., 2019;Wai & Tiliopoulos, 2012). ...
Article
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Do the Dark Triad and empathy (both cognitive and affective) appear in the same plane, at an angle of 180 degrees to each other? In order to test this hypothesis, we recruited both adolescents presenting with high-functioning ASD and those who were “neurotypical”. Each adolescent provided their self-report on the Basic Empathy Scale and the Dark Triad Dirty Dozen (DTDD), which could be cross-referenced with a parent’s report regarding their child on the Adolescent Empathy Quotient and the DTDD. In all, 120 individuals participated in this study. A major contribution of the present study is in promoting the use of Smallest Space Analysis (SSA) to provide a 2D spatial representation of the correlation matrix of these measures. Our regional analysis of the 2D representation not only reveals that the Dark Triad and empathy are at an angle of 180 degrees to each other but also to suggest that even when there are discrepancies between self-report and parent-report regarding empathy, these are nevertheless aligned within the same 2D space.
... Semua ciri kepribadian ini memiliki kecenderungan untuk menjadi eksploitatif dan agresif, dan kurangnya rasa bersalah saat menyebabkan kerugian orang lain (Jones & Paulhus, 2011;Jones, & Paulhus, 2010). Individu dengan kepribadian ini menunjukkan ketidakpedulian antagonis dan manipulatif (Jones & Figueredo, 2013) serta rasa empati yang rendah (Wai & Tiliopoulos, 2012). Penelitian Garcia dan Sikstrom (2014) menemukan individu dengan kepribadian psikopat dan narsistik cenderung terlibat dalam perilaku sosial yang jahat seperti promosi diri, sikap emosional yang dingin, sikap bermuka dua, dan agresivitas, yang diwujudkan dalam update status Facebook mereka. ...
... Dark triad personality merupakan kecenderungan kepribadian yang menjurus pada perilaku jahat yang distruktif terdiri dari machiavellianism, narsistik, dan psikopati (Ang, Tan, & Mansor, 2011;Paulhus, & Williams, 2002;Christie, Geis, & Berger, 1970). Ketiga tipe kepribadian di atas menunjukkan kecenderungan perilaku manipulatif, eksploitatif, agresif, rendahnya perasaan tidak bersalah, rendahnya empati, dan antagonistic core of callousness (Jones & Figueredo, 2013;Wai & Tiliopoulos, 2012;Jones & Paulhus, 2011;Jones, & Paulhus, 2010). ...
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Currently, cyberbullying remains a problem globally. This issue is prevalent among teenagers. Several studies have explored this problem, but none have attempted to test the theoretical model of the dark triad personality, empathy, and emotional regulation on cyberbullying. This research aims to test a model involving cyberbullying, dark triad personality, empathy, and emotional regulation as mediators. A total of 309 out of 1205 high school students from two private schools (207 students) and one public school (102 students) in Yogyakarta voluntarily participated in this study. Purposive sampling was used to recruit respondents. The cyberbullying scale (α = .932), dark triad personality scale (α = .752), empathy scale (α = .785), and emotional regulation scale (α = .915) were used to collect data. Content validity and internal consistency reliability were applied. Data analysis was conducted using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with Amos 12 software. The results of this study indicate that the model of dark triad personality, empathy, and emotional regulation as mediators of cyberbullying behaviour produces a well-fitting model with its empirical data (CMIN=.747, p=862, RMSEA= .000, GFI= .999). Emotional regulation and empathy partially mediate the influence of psychopathy and narcissism on cyberbullying behaviour. Psychopathy is the only personality trait of the dark triad that directly or indirectly affects cyberbullying. The implications of the research are the need to develop interventions to reduce the dark triad personality traits and enhance empathy and emotional regulation in adolescents, in order to avoid cyberbullying behavior.
... Whereas individuals scoring high on conscientiousness are more likely to systematically process information and therefore consider the benefits and costs of their behavior, individuals scoring high on emotionality or on socially aversive traits tend to process information rather automatically than systematically. Emotionality thus increases the likelihood that one's feelings will be used as a cue for one's behavior; 'dark' politicians use negative campaigning because it makes them feel good: People with an aversive personality show less affective empathy (Wai and Tiliopoulos, 2012), and they tend to take pleasure in others' misfortune which could be due to their lack of empathy (e.g., James et al., 2014). ...
Article
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Most scholars agree that candidates’ use of negative campaigning is based on rational considerations, i.e., weighing likely benefits against potential costs. We argue that this perspective is far too narrow and outline the elements of a comprehensive model on the use of negative campaign communication that builds on personality traits, values, social norms, and attitudes toward negative campaigning as complementary mechanisms to classical rational choice theory. We test our theoretical assumptions using candidate surveys for twelve state elections in Germany with more than 3,100 candidates. Our results strongly suggest that negative campaigning goes beyond rational considerations. Although benefit–cost calculations are the primary driver of the decision to attack the opponent, other factors are also important and enhance our understanding of why candidates choose to engage in negative campaign communication. Our findings have important implications for research on candidate attack behavior.
... In contrast, subclinical psychopathy involves superficial rela tionships for personal advantage and a lack of empathy when harming others in various contexts of domestic, academic, or work life (LeBreton et al., 2006). These individuals often use their understanding of interpersonal relationships to control and act selfishly due to their lack of emotional understanding, and may be charming and skilled at manipulating others, especially seeking out the weaknesses of others (Wai & Tiliopoulos, 2012). ...
Article
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Several investigations have addressed the study of dark triad traits only as specific factors and without taking into account countries where these tendencies can be expressed in culturally diverse ways. The present study aimed to analyze and compare quantitative models of the general tendency of dark personality traits using the bifactor model and a network comparison network across four countries: United States, Peru, Serbia and Germany. A total of n = 2715 adults (59% female, M = 31.04) participated considering open-access data and Peruvian data collection. The well-known dark triad instruments such as the Short Dark Triad and Dirty Dozen scales were used. The results revealed that a bifactor model of the Dark Triad exhibited satisfactory fit indices, and the estimated networks reflected a unique and stable structure of positive correlations of aversive traits in general and in specific clusters. The Machiavellianism domain of the Dirty Dozen scale was the most consistent measure of centrality (expected influence and bridge-expected influence) and predictability that favored interconnectedness with the other traits in the overall multicultural network. Finally, structural differences in dark trait connections were identified in all countries except among European countries.
... While very low levels of empathy tend to be a marker of 'dark' personality traits such as Machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy (Wai & Tiliopoulos, 2012), low empathy trauma workers appear to thrive while helping victims and their families in highly distressed circumstances. The 'low reactivity' profile experienced similarly favorable job performance and personjob fit as the 'other-focused' profile, and even had significantly lower emotional exhaustion than the 'other-focused' profile as well as the lowest mean level of turnover intentions overall. ...
Article
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Trauma work involves intervening with others enduring acute pain and suffering, often with heavy psychological and physical health impacts. An important question is whether dispositional empathy helps or hurts trauma workers in their occupational functioning. The current study addresses this gap in the research literature by using a person-centered approach to examine the empathy profiles and professional outcomes of a broad sample of trauma workers ( n = 315). We measured their trait empathy and organizational outcomes (occupational burnout, person-job fit, turnover intentions, job performance), and found three distinct empathy profiles which differed significantly in their occupational functioning. A ‘self-focused’ empathy profile (dominated by high personal distress responding) reported the worst functioning; an ‘other-oriented’ profile (high on perspective taking and empathic concern) had more positive functioning, and an unexpected ‘low reactivity’ profile (a full SD below the general population on empathy facets) showed the lowest exhaustion. Exploratory analyses revealed that first responders (e.g., police, firefighters, EMTs, paramedics) were overrepresented in the ‘low reactivity’ profile, while psychology-related professions (e.g., psychologists, counsellors, social workers) were underrepresented in that profile. The significance of these results, as well as their implications for empathy research and vocational counselling in the field of trauma work, are discussed.
... Empathic ability is a multidimensional construct [22,23] comprised of three primary components: cognitive (i.e., understanding the psychological and emotional states of others), affective (i.e., experiencing the emotional states of others), and motor (i.e., synchronizing body language to mirror/match others). For example, de cits in affective, but not cognitive empathy, have been associated with certain dark personality traits [24]. Individuals with impairments in affective empathy are also more likely to exhibit aggression and antisocial behavior [25]. ...
Preprint
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Empathy explains one’s ability to understand and feel the emotional experiences of another person. Because it helps relating to others, typically people assume empathy is a good quality to have; however, this may be debatable. The current study investigates the relationships empathy may have with the varying ways individual adjust or react psychologically following highly stressful life experiences, namely depressive symptoms, resiliency, and posttraumatic growth. College students ( N = 403) participated in an online study and completed a series of scales assessing these variables. Results of hierarchical regression analyses revealed that, after controlling for confounding variables, empathy was not associated with resiliency, but was positively associated with both posttraumatic growth and depressive symptoms. The results highlight the double-edged sword effect of empathy, such that being empathic toward others could increase depressive feelings while also increasing a sense of personal growth, and yet, it may not contribute to the perceived ability to bounce back or recover after adversity. Future research should elucidate the independence between resilience and empathy, and investigate ways to prevent highly empathetic individuals from experiencing depressive effects, in addition to assisting them to grow, as a certain level of depressive symptomatology may indicate healthy adaptation after experiencing trauma.
... Los resultados de esta revisión evidenciaron que las personas con TPN presentan deficiencias en la atribución de estados mentales y en la empatía emocional. Estos resultados están en línea con hallazgos previos que respaldan la idea de que el TPN se asocia con dificultades para comprender las emociones de otros y experimentar empatía emocional (Wai y Tiliopoulos, 2012;Cooper et al., 2021;Cavalcanti et al., 2022). Además, Herpertz y Bertsch (2014) encontraron que los pacientes con trastorno narcisista de la personalidad se caracterizan por una deficiencia en el reconocimiento del miedo facial y la empatía emocional, similar a los psicópatas. ...
Article
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For decades, it has been suggested that people with cluster B personality disorders experience difficulties in social cognition. However, empirical findings related to this idea have been mixed and inconsistent. The aim of the present study was to systematize the existing findings on the relationship between empathy, the attribution of mental states, and Cluster B personality disorders in adults. A systematic review was carried out following the PRISMA protocol and using the Scopus and PubMed databases. Twenty-two studies were selected. The results reveal that, for borderline personality disorder, there are contradictory outcomes regarding its association with empathy and the attribution of mental states. Narcissistic personality disorder was associated with alterations in both socio-cognitive processes. Antisocial personality disorder was related to difficulties in emotional recognition, although its relationship with empathy and the attribution of mental states is not clear. Histrionic personality disorder presented difficulties in emotional recognition and in Theory of Mind. Future research should clarify these differences and better understand the socio-cognitive processes in individuals with personality disorders.
... Although some previous evidence has shown that these traits can have positive implications for individuals (e.g., Wai and Tiliopoulos, 2012), the behaviours elicited by Dark Tetrad personalities can often be detrimental to other people, leading these traits being viewed as socially adverse (Chabrol et al., 2017;Judge et al., 2009). All these personalities are in fact united by the lack of a fundamental interpersonal dimension, namely empathy (Baron- Cohen, 2011). ...
... The term empathy is often used intuitively in everyday language to describe the sharing of Despite a general lack of empathy being considered a defining trait of psychopathy (Soderstrom, 2003), there is ongoing debate about the extent to which each of the two domains of empathy are impaired. A commonly proposed theory is that psychopathic individuals lack affective empathy, but exhibit normal cognitive empathy (Blair, 2008a;Wai & Tiliopoulos, 2012). This could explain their inability to empathize with others emotionally, yet still being able to charm and manipulate them, as this requires the understanding of others' thoughts and feelings. ...
Thesis
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Psychopathy is a personality construct that has witnessed a surge in research interest since its initial conceptualization more than eight decades ago. Throughout this period, a prominent area of focus has been on socio-emotional deficits. Yet, the current body of research exhibits considerable heterogeneity, leaving conflicting results and multiple unanswered questions. In an effort to reconcile contradictory findings, explore socio-emotional deficits more holistically, and advance the conceptualization of psychopathy, this dissertation was conducted along with three studies. The first study (Chapter 2: Study I) within this doctoral thesis is a comprehensive meta-analysis that synthesized the bulk of evidence concerning the relationship between psychopathy and both empathy and alexithymia. A total of 72 articles comprising more than 15,000 participants from 19 different countries were included in the analyses. The results suggest deficits not only in affective and cognitive empathy, but also in the understanding of one’s own emotions, i.e., alexithymia. Notably, the pooled correlations varied across psychopathy factors in terms of magnitude and direction, underscoring the importance of recognizing psychopathy as a multidimensional construct. The second study (Chapter 3: Study II) explored whether alexithymia serves as a mediator in the relationship between psychopathy and empathy deficits, as well as between psychopathy and emotion dysregulation. This was tested across two diverse samples, one drawn from the general population and the other from a German forensic hospital. The results of our path analyses suggest that alexithymia contributes to the lack of empathy and emotion dysregulation in psychopathic individuals. However, these findings were again specific to certain psychopathy factors (i.e., meanness and disinhibition), with boldness indicating adaptive features by being linked to lower levels of alexithymia and fewer socio-emotional deficits overall. In a final study (Chapter 4: Study III), we investigated the potential for overcoming psychopathy-related empathy deficits through explicit instructions to engage in affective perspective taking. To this end, we tested 87 participants from the community, using an experimental paradigm while simultaneously recording their physiological arousal. Although we observed a disconnect between behavioral and physiological measures of empathic concern, our results imply that empathy is not an automatic response in individuals with pronounced levels of meanness, leading to diminished empathic concern. Yet, this can be overcome when individuals are instructed to engage in affective perspective taking. Consequently, psychopathy does not appear to indicate a fundamental inability to empathize, but rather reflects a reduced propensity to do so automatically. Taken together, the findings presented in this dissertation advance our comprehension of the various socio-emotional impairments in psychopathy. Specifically, four key conclusions can be drawn. Firstly, affective deficits in psychopathy are substantial, including not only impairments in sharing the emotions of others, but also in understanding one’s own feelings. Secondly, these deficits extend to cognitive empathy. Thirdly, empathic concern does not appear to be absent in individuals with psychopathy per se, but instead does not occur automatically, which may be due to a lack of motivation. Lastly, psychopathy is a multidimensional personality construct that must be viewed as a constellation of distinct traits in order to truly capture all its intricacies. As such, this dissertation offers significant implications for future research and clinical practice.
... Part of this empirical research highlights the points in common across the elements of the Dark Tetrad. Dark traits partially overlap because they all involve a low degree of honesty and humility, and they are all associated with a deficit in empathy (Wai and Tiliopoulos, 2012;Lee et al., 2013;Book et al., 2016). Notwithstanding, most of the studies also emphasize the independent nature of the dark traits. ...
Article
Purpose Literature on psychology highlights four traits that shape an amoral and antisocial personality: Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy and sadism. Together, these personality traits form the Dark Tetrad. In this study, the standard intertemporal utility maximization model is reassessed from the point of view of a representative economic agent endowed with the Dark Tetrad personality traits. Design/methodology/approach The approach followed in this paper consists of identifying how each of the Dark Tetrad traits might be logically associated with the dynamic utility problem, as well as exploring, in the context of the model, the implications, for consumption and utility, of admitting the presence of such traits in individuals’ personalities. Findings It is found that, typically, dark personalities penalize consumption growth, even when such traits are interpreted directly and positively contributing to the utility of the agent. It is also found that in economies with two or more interacting agents, the dark traits might have a mutually destructive nature. Originality/value Economics is going through a smooth revolution in the direction of becoming an eminently behavioral science. Most of the traditional economic models, based on the idea of the hyper-rational agent, are being replaced or complemented by a different view of the homo-economicus, in which, among other things, personality matters. This paper offers a novel contribution in this direction.
... Nonetheless, evidence regarding grandiose narcissists' ability to accurately process emotionrelated information has been mixed. Some studies report de cits and biases (Czarna et al., 2023;Tardif et al., 2014;Wai & Tiliopoulos, 2012), while others report intact or even superior abilities (Konrath et al., 2014;Ritter et al., 2011). Meta-analyses show that grandiose narcissism is negatively associated with selfreported cognitive and a ective empathy. ...
Chapter
This book provides a cutting-edge overview of emotion science from an evolutionary perspective. Part 1 outlines different ways of approaching the study of emotion; Part 2 covers specific emotions from an evolutionary perspective; Part 3 discusses the role of emotions in a variety of life domains; and Part 4 explores the relationship between emotions and psychological disorders. Experts from a number of different disciplines—psychology, biology, anthropology, psychiatry, and more—tackle a variety of “how” (proximate) and “why” (ultimate) questions about the function of emotions in humans and nonhuman animals, how emotions work, and their place in human life. This volume documents the explosion of knowledge in emotion science over the last few decades, outlines important areas of future research, and highlights key questions that have yet to be answered.
... Machiavellianism is asserted to manifest itself with manipulativeness, cynicism, coldness and immoral behaviors (Jones and Paulhus, 2009) enabling to act as socially skillful chameleons unlike narcissists and psychopaths (Kessler et al., 2010;O'Boyle et al., 2012). High level of Dark Triad traits is associated with inappropriate reactions in interpersonal relations that has a potential to decrease prosociality and relationship satisfaction (Wai & Tiliopoulos, 2012;White, 2014;Goetz & Meyer, 2018;Brewer et al., 2023;Douglass et al., 2023). ...
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Purposes of this study are to examine the effects of Dark Triad (narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy) on motivation to achieve power and motivation to achieve power on Social Value Orientation. Data is collected white collar employees of the companies operating in Turkiye with an online survey using convenience method for sampling. To measure research variables, Dirty Dozen Dark Triad Inventory, Motivation to Achieve Power Inventory and 9-item Triple Dominance Measure is used. CFA is performed to confirm the scales and examine their factor structures. The goodness of fit indices indicated an acceptable model fit. Path analysis is performed to examine the hypothesized structural model for effects of dark triad on motivation to achieve power. Results indicated narcissism has a significant and positive effect, Machiavellianism has a significant and negative effect on motivation to achieve power. On the other hand, psychopathy is found to have an insignificant effect on motivation to achieve power. Logistic regression analysis is conducted to examine if motivation to achieve power effect likelihood of occurring different types of social value orientation. Results suggested otherwise. The implications of the results are discussed and future research areas are suggested.
... Narcissistic attitudes and behaviour, and disregard for others are positively related to low empathy (Wai & Tiliopoulos, 2012), physical aggression (Reidy, Zeichner, Foster, & Martinez, 2008), externalising outcomes (Vize, Collison, Crowe, Campbell, Miller, & Lynam, 2019), striving for dominance (Bradlee & Emmons, 1992), pursuit of status (Zeigler-Hill, Vrabel, McCabe, Cosby, Traeder, Hobbs & Southard, 2019), and, above all, interpersonal strategies characterised by Machiavellian manipulation and psychopathic ruthlessness (Paulhus, 2014). Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and subclinical psychopathy are considered to constitute the Dark Triad of antisocial personality traits (DT; Paulhus & Williams, 2002). ...
Article
The prognostic and mediational influences of basic and aversive personality traits, and social rank styles on individuals’ attitudes towards conspicuous consumption (ATCC, an indirect measure of the actual behaviour) were examined via path analysis[1]. The model (n=400, mean age=22.3) emphasised the direct and indirect effects of Extraversion, and the indirect effects of Neuroticism and Agreeableness which were sequentially mediated by all Dark Triad traits, and by two individualistic social rank styles: Dominant Leadership and Ruthless Self‑advancement. Dark Triad traits occupied the central position in the model connecting basic personality traits with social rank styles, and ultimately with ATCC. Machiavellianism was the only Dark Triad trait directly linked with ATCC, Dominant Leadership, and Ruthless Self-advancement. Narcissism exerted the main mediating effect on Dominant Leadership, while Machiavellianism and Psychopathy mediated the negative influence of Extraversion and Agreeableness on Ruthless Self-advancement. Both Dominant Leadership and Ruthless Self-advancement were directly predictive of ATCC. As two basic prosocial personality traits (Conscientiousness and Openness) and one prosocial rank strategy (Coalition Building) did not enter the model, we conclude that, from the present perspective, positive ATCC is linked to uncooperative and self-centred mindsets striving for superior positions in the social hierarchy. [1] The path analysis model upholds the dark side of affinity for conspicuous consumption. The model connects the personal traits domain with the personal strategies domain. Social rank styles are differentiated by basic and aversive personality traits. Each social rank style has a specific trajectory predictive of ATCC.[1] The path analysis model upholds the dark side of affinity for conspicuous consumption. The model connects the personal traits domain with the personal strategies domain. Social rank styles are differentiated by basic and aversive personality traits. Each social rank style has a specific trajectory predictive of ATCC.
... Rivista di psichiatria 2024; 59: [45][46][47][48][49][50][51] sistent, it is not built upon occasional episodes. Indoctrinated by a parent, the child, actively refuses the other and aims to destroy that relationship; 2. the refusal is "unjustified" (the alienation is not a reasonable response to the alienated parental behaviour, with whom the child previously usually had a good relationship); 3. it is the partial result of the influence that the alienating parent exerts on the minor. ...
Article
Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) is a term addressed to describe negative, psychopathological feelings, thinking and behaviours, including hostility and fear, exhibited by children who have been alienated from one parent by the other parent. Despite its relevance in the clinical psychology field, theoretical and empirical contributions to understanding and deepening the many facets of this concept are still few. In particular, literature aimed at disentangling the alienating parent's psychological characteristics is scarce and fragmented. Our contribution encompasses a narrative review of scientific literature since the term PAS was coined in 1987 by Gardner, to delineate narcissistic proneness in alienating parents. Namely, considering the narcissistic drift the western society is going toward, we hypothesised that narcissism has a pivotal role in parents' alienating behaviours against the alienated ones. Firstly, the elements that emerged from our literature search confirmed our theoretical hypothesis, in terms of the likely role of narcissism/narcissistic marked traits in alienating parents. In the second section, we contextualised the phenomenon in a psychodynamic/psychoanalytic theoretical framework. Finally, based on previous findings/considerations, the developmental trajectories of children with PAS have been traced. An improved theoretical knowledge of this phenomenon, also in terms of the psychopathology associated with its genesis, means to refine the diagnostic and treatment tools to prevent it.
... This means that pre-service teachers with high perspective-taking ability may hold the belief that person-centered behavior is effective because it aligns with students' needs and desires, leading to more positive APBS. However, whether the ability to recognize others' feelings and needs actually results in prosocial behavior or is utilized to manipulate them for personal goals or self-gratification largely depends on specific social and antisocial personality traits, such as affective empathy or narcissism (Brazil et al., 2023;Wai & Tiliopoulos, 2012). Therefore, it is possible that the association between perspective-taking and relational competence among pre-service teachers is moderated by their empathic concern. ...
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Building positive teacher-student relationships (TSR) is a central task for teachers. According to the person-centered approach, teachers create positive relationships by treating students with unconditional positive regard, empathic understanding, and genuineness. Numerous studies demonstrate the impact of person-centered teacher behavior for students’ achievement and well-being. The effectiveness of person-centered behavior is supposed to be determined by underlying attitudes. Accordingly, person-centered attitudes should receive greater focus in both teacher education and TSR research. However, a suitable measurement instrument is currently lacking. Therefore, the APBS instrument was developed, a theoretically-grounded self-report questionnaire that measures pre-service teachers' attitudes on person-centered behavior toward students. In previous studies, the suitability of the test's content and internal structure were empirically examined using EFA. The present study investigated the internal structure using CFA, as well as the associations with external variables, in a sample of N = 1284 pre-service teachers from German universities (Mage = 23.3, SDage = 5.2; 79.8% female). Different factor models were tested and compared. The model with four first-order factors (unconditionality, empathic understanding, trust, genuineness) along with the APBS higher-order factor showed the best fit (χ²/df(1504.868/520) = 2.894, p < .001; CFI = .968; RMSEA = .038). Both the four first-order scales (ωt* = .81-.90), and the second-order scale (ωt* = .95) exhibited satisfactory internal consistency. In addition, structural regression and mediation analyses revealed mostly theory-consistent relationships with respondents' attachment representation, empathy and relational competence. In summary, the findings support the intended interpretation of APBS test scores. The questionnaire can be used as a measurement instrument in TSR research and as a self-exploration tool in teacher education.
... Research predicts that women, with each of these triadic personality traits, are more likely to control relationships (Brewer & Abell, 2017). Studies conducted have shown that the variable of dark personality traits is associated with many behavioral and psychological problems including the inclination towards substances , impulsivity and thrill-seeking (Crysel et al., 2013), swearing and aggression (Sumner et al., 2012), lack of empathy (Wai & Tiliopoulos, 2012), and emotional coldness (Jonason et al., 2012), each of which also affects marital relationships. ...
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Objective: The purpose of the current study was to investigate the mediating role of dark personality traits in explaining the structural relationships between the desire to control others and women's sense of happiness. Methods: The research method was descriptive correlational with a structural equation modeling approach. The population of the study comprised all married women in Tehran in the year 2021. The sample size was 448 participants, selected through purposive convenience sampling and assessed using the Taghizadeh and Shadmehri Happiness Scale (2016), the Graham-Kwan and Archer Controlling Behaviors Scale (2005), and the Johnson and Webster Dark Personality Traits Scale (2010). Data analysis was performed using structural equation modeling. Findings: The analysis indicated that the structural model of the study fits well with the collected data, and dark personality traits significantly and negatively mediate the relationship between the desire to control others and women's sense of happiness. Conclusion: Thus, it can be stated that the higher the desire to control others and the presence of dark personality traits, the lower the sense of happiness, which can be a useful insight in couples' counseling.
... Adult Psychopathy and children's psychopathic traits have various similarities, allowing researchers to assess the risk of developing psychopathy in adulthood. For instance, psychopathy is inaccurate in interpreting facial expressions, especially in identifying happiness, fear and anger that appear in facial emotions as well as presenting disruptive and antisocial behaviours [8][9][10]. ...
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In this work, we investigated the role of parenting style and childhood friendship in predicting the risk of adulthood psychopathy. This paper concluded that negative parenting, parental psychopathic traits and antisocial friendship played a vital role in shaping the antisocial behaviour of their offspring. Additionally, there was an inconsistent relationship between parental psychopathic traits (mainly focusing on conduct problems and callous-unemotional traits), negative parenting and offsprings psychopathic traits, highlighting the importance of sensitive caring from parents before adolescence. However, childrens empathy levels have a moderating effect on their perceptions of parenting which directly affected the development of psychopathic traits. Likewise, childhood friendship can either alleviate or induce childrens antisocial behaviour, and opposite-sex friends were found to be positively correlated with disruptive behaviours. Unexpectedly, the quality of friendships, peer pressure, and positive parenting have a profound impact and they interrelate with one another in the formation of individual behaviours. By considering these factors collectively, this work gained the capacity to predict the probability of children developing psychopathy, and potentially utilize this knowledge for intervention purposes.
... In contrast, and perhaps because they reflect low levels of certain facets of agreeableness, the Dark Triad traits tend to be negatively correlated with emotion identification (e.g., Jonason & Krause, 2013;Lyons et al., 2010;Pajevic et al., 2018;Wai & Tiliopoulos, 2012). However, there is some nuance, with research suggesting that the exploitative or manipulative components of these traits might actually be positively correlated with emotion recognition, because these facets capture the motivation to manipulate others (e.g., Konrath et al., 2014). ...
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People vary in the effectiveness with which they can change the way that others feel, yet we know surprisingly little about what drives these individual differences in interpersonal emotion regulation success. This paper provides a framework for describing ‘success’ in interpersonal emotion regulation and synthesizes extant theory and research regarding how personality and cognitive ability relate to interpersonal emotion regulation success. In doing so, our review brings together work from several related fields to offer an integrative framework to generate and guide future research that aims to understand why some people are proficient at influencing the emotions of others and why some are not, often suffering additional unintended consequences, such as diminished work or relationship success.
... Whereas research focusing on narcissism invariably reports a decline in AE, the results are less clear when it comes to CE (e.g., Wai and Tiliopoulos, 2012;Vonk et al., 2013;Pajevic et al., 2018;Turner et al., 2019;di Giacomo et al., 2023). Jonason and Krause (2013) observed that narcissism correlates with decreased affective empathy and difficulties in emotion recognition. ...
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Introduction While the relationship between narcissism and empathy has been well-researched, studies have paid less attention to empathic accuracy, i.e., appreciating the precise strength of another person’s emotions, and self-other distinction, in terms of the disparity between affective ratings for self and other in response to emotive stimuli. Furthermore, empathic responses may vary depending on whether the pain is physical or social. Methods We investigated empathic accuracy, affective empathy, and the distinction between pain, emotion and intensity ratings for self and other, in high (n = 44) and low (n = 43) narcissism groups (HNG and LNG, respectively) selected from 611 students, in response to both types of pain. Participants watched six videos where targets expressed genuine experiences of physical and social pain, and rated the perceived affect and pain experienced by the person in the video and their own empathic emotional responses. Results and discussion The HNG displayed lower affective empathy and empathic accuracy than the LNG for both pain types. Within the HNG there was higher empathic accuracy for social vs. physical pain, despite reduced affective empathy for social pain, in contrast to the LNG. In addition to this paradox, the HNG demonstrated greater differences between ratings for the self and for target others than the LNG, suggesting that narcissism is associated with higher self-other distinction in response to viewing other people describing social pain.
... In fact, when exposed to a social context where negative events and threatening statements are being made, individuals high on psychopathy consider interpersonal aggression as morally acceptable (Marsh & Cardinale, 2014). Research has also shown that when viewing angry or fearful faces, individuals with psychopathic tendencies actually experience positive affect (Wai & Tiliopoulos, 2012). This combined evidence suggests that when individuals high in psychopathy are embedded in contexts characterized by coworker conflict and supervisory abuse, they likely act on their socially aversive tendencies and find personal gratification vis-à-vis retaliation. ...
Article
There is an inherent interest in the implications of psychopathic employees, although attention, to date, is more pronounced in public media than in the scientific literature. In this study, we use behavioral threshold theory to propose a curvilinear relationship between employees' psychopathy and their counterproductive work behavior (CWB). Our predictions were corroborated across three studies involving two countries while controlling for narcissism and Machiavellianism. Specifically, we find that the destructive nature of psychopathy is amplified with accelerated levels of CWB among individuals high on psychopathy. These results address mixed and unexpected findings in the literature, thereby offering a more nuanced understanding of the psychopathy–CWB relationship. Drawing additionally on trait activation theory, we examine the moderating effects of social context as manifested in relationship conflict with coworkers and abusive supervision. Results support the moderated hypotheses such that the psychopathy–CWB curvilinear relationship is stronger in negative social environments for both self‐rated and other‐rated CWB assessments. As the relationships between individuals' dark traits and behavioral outcomes are likely more complex than simple linear relations, we advocate future research to combine complementary theoretical lenses for improved theoretical precision.
... Psikopati düzeyleri yüksek olan bireyler, başkalarının iyiliğini düşünmemekle birlikte kendi amaç ve istekleri doğrultusunda değillerse diğer insanlara zarar vermekten veya ahlaki kurallara karşı gelmekten kaçınmamaktadırlar (Matthews, 2014). Dolayısıyla, kişilerarası ilişkilerde uygunsuz tepkiler de bulunabilirler (Wai & Tiliopoulos, 2012). Diğer bir karanlık kişilik özelliği olarak ele alınan narsisizm ise, kibir veya kişinin kendi niteliklerine yönelik benmerkezci hayranlığı nedeniyle tatmin arayışı içerisinde bulunmakta (Muris, Merckelbach, Otgaar & Meijer, 2017) ve diğer bireylerle ilişkiler üzerinde çeşitli olumsuz etkiler gösterebilmektedir (Campbell, Miller & Buffardi, 2010). ...
Article
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Bu çalışmanın amacı, yetişkin bireylerin cinsiyet ve kronolojik doğum sırasına göre kişiliğin karanlık yönlerini (Makyevlizm, psikotizm ve narsizim) incelemektir. Araştırmanın çalışmanın grubunu 104’ü (%34.8) erkek, 195’i (%65.2) kadın, toplam 299 yetişkin oluşturmaktadır (Yaşort=34.32, ss=9.46) . Çalışma kapsamında araştırmacılar tarafından oluşturulan Kişisel Bilgi Formu ve Kişiliğin Karanlık Yönü Ölçeği veri toplama aracı olarak kullanılmıştır. Verilerin analizinde SPSS 22.0 paket programından yararlanılmıştır. Verilerin istatistiksel olarak analizinde, çok faktörlü MANOVA yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Verilerin analizi sonucunda elde edilen bulgulara göre, yetişkinlerin cinsiyetlerine göre Makyavelizm, psikopati ve kişiliğin karanlık yönüne ilişkin toplam puanları erkekler lehine farklılaşırken; narsisizm puanı anlamlı bir biçimde farklılaşmamaktadır. Diğer taraftan kronolojik doğum sırasına göre, yetişkinlerin kişiliğin karanlık yönü toplam puanı ve alt boyutlarından elde edilen puanların anlamlı olarak farklılaşmadığı görülmektedir. Son olarak, cinsiyet/kronolojik doğum sırası etkileşimine göre yetişkinlerin toplam kişiliğin karanlık yönü puanları ve alt boyutları açısından anlamlı bir fark elde edilememiştir. Elde edilen bulgular alan yazını ışığında tartışılmış, yorumlanmış ve önerilerde bulunulmuştur.
... Although reduced trait empathy is not a defining characteristic for borderline personality disorder (BPD), several studies have shown borderline personality features (BPF) in nonclinical samples to be negatively associated with empathy (Dittrich et al., 2020;Dziobek et al., 2011;Grzegorzewski et al., 2019;Salgado et al., 2020;Wang et al., 2021). Some of the variance in associations between aversive personality traits and empathy (e.g., Dinsdale & Crespi, 2013;Fertuck et al., 2009;Jonason & Krause, 2013;Kılıç et al., 2020;Minzenberg et al., 2006;Salgado et al., 2020;Vonk et al., 2013) may be due to differences in affective and cognitive empathy, with individuals high in narcissism, for example, showing deficits in affective but not cognitive empathy (Wai & Tiliopoulos, 2012). Studies have also shown dissociations of cognitive and affective empathy in patients with BPD as well (Pourmohammad et al., 2022). ...
Article
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Although empathy is not a defining feature of borderline personality disorder, there is a growing body of work suggesting deficits in some components of empathy toward humans. There is no research investigating the link between borderline personality features (BPF) and empathy toward animals, which may be less threatening to individuals that struggle in interpersonal relationships and fear rejection. We examined BPF and self-reported distress and viewing times of photographs depicting dogs and children in twelve adverse circumstances in a college student sample (N = 464) with trait empathy as a mediator in Study 1. BPF predicted distress to dog but not child photos. There were significant indirect effects of BPF on distress to dog and child photos through personal distress. In Study 2 (N = 524), we further examined the processes underlying these associations by modelling a serial mediation of BPF with distress to dog and child photos through anxious and avoidant attachment to trait empathy toward animals and humans. We replicated the finding that BPF predicted distress to dog but not child photos. BPF predicted both anxious and avoidant attachment styles, which negatively predicted empathy for humans and animals. Empathy for humans mediated the associations with distress for child photos whereas empathy for animals mediated the associations with distress for dog photos. Further research is needed to determine the causal pathways between BPF, attachment, and empathy to animals and humans.
Chapter
This chapter describes the worst bad leader, ones from the dark triad, with zero degrees of empathy. The dark triad consists of corporate psychopaths, malignant narcissists, and Machiavellians. These toxic dark side leaders cause considerable damage to their subordinates because they lack empathy with them. The chapter describes what empathy is along with the behavior and characteristics of these leaders and the outcomes for their subordinates and organizations.
Article
Psychopathy has traditionally been defined through the presence of antisocial traits but could be defined through the deficit of prosocial traits. In a deficit model, honesty is the inverse of interpersonal manipulation, empathy is the inverse of callous affect, and conscientiousness is the inverse of erratic lifestyle. However, there is no theoretical inverse of antisocial behavior (ASB). We propose that this inverse is rule governance (RG). After defining the psychopathy deficit model, we introduce RG as the inverse of ASB. Because psychopathic individuals ignore socially defined prescriptive rules (social norms) and focus on short-term (impulsive) gains, variations in RG are theoretically responsible for the observed integration of ASB within psychopathy. Thus, a lack of RG theoretically drives ASB. From a practical standpoint, the measurement of deficits in RG should be able to capture nuanced characteristics of psychopathy, especially subclinical psychopathy, that traditional models may lack.
Article
Nowadays, with the widespread use of the Internet, cyberbullying has become a pervasive threat to people. This study aimed to create a structural model of cyberbullying based on dark personality traits, with empathy as a mediating factor among students. A total of 360 students of the Mohaghegh Ardabili University were included using the multistage random sampling method. Data were collected using the Cyber-Bullying/Victimization Experiences Questionnaire, Dark Triad Personality Scale, and Questionnaire Measure of Emotional Empathy. Collected data were analyzed using Pearson's correlation test and structural equation modeling in SPSS and AMOS 24. The direct route of Machiavellianism and psychopathy was positively significant for cyberbullying and negatively significant for empathy. Empathy also has a direct negative effect on cyberbullying. Furthermore, there was an indirect effect of Machiavellianism and psychopathy on cyberbullying through empathy. Dark personality traits including Machiavellianism and psychopathy are significant risk factors for cyberbullying, with these traits indirectly contributing to cyberbullying through empathy deficits.
Article
This study discusses the implementation of Islamic-based empathic communication in the GCKI (Indonesian Smart Communication Movement) program as a strategy for handling bullying cases at Al-Basyariah High School Bogor. Using a case study method, this study analyzes how empathic communication, both cognitive and affective, can be applied in an educational context to create a more inclusive and safer environment for students. Cognitive empathic communication theory emphasizes understanding the perspective of others, while affective empathic communication focuses on emotional resonance and concern for the feelings of others. The Islamic approach reinforces the moral and ethical values that underlie social interaction, emphasizing the importance of compassion, justice, and mutual respect. The results of the study show that the application of Islamic-based empathetic communication in the GCKI program at Al-Basyariah High School in Regency Bogor succeeded in reducing bullying incidents, increasing students' awareness of the impact of bullying, increase students' awareness of the impact of negative behavior, as well as build solidarity among them. This finding is expected to be a reference for other schools in developing more effective anti-bullying programs.
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The current study aimed to identify emotional manipulation and its relationship with symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder among couples, and whether there are statistically significant differences according to the variables of gender, age, duration of marriage, and educational level. The study sample consisted of (924) husbands and wives, selected in the accessible method. The results of the study showed a moderate level of emotional manipulation, and symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder among couples. To add, it indicated that there are statistically significant differences in the level of emotional manipulation, and symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder among couples according to the variables: the gender in favor of males, the duration of marriage in favor of less than (10) years, the educational level in favor of secondary or less and the absence of a statistically significant difference according to the age variable. Moreover, the results revealed a positive and statistically significant relationship between emotional manipulation and symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder among couples. In light of the study results, the researchers recommend the need to organize lectures and seminars to educate couples about the negative effects of emotional manipulation and symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder in the marital relationship. Keywords: Emotional manipulation, Symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder, Couples.
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Increasing the willingness to reduce animal product consumption has the potential to contribute to ameliorating the impact of animal agriculture on the environment, as well as foster healthier diets and improve the lives of farmed and wild animals. Reduction of animal product consumption is a prosocial behaviour (PSB), and factors that are considered to influence it are empathy and selfishness. In this research, animal-oriented empathy examined empathy specifically for animals. Animal oriented empathy and three types of selfishness: adaptive, egoistic, and pathological were measured to determine if they could predict willingness to reduce animal product consumption. PSB is also influenced by motivations and motivations can lead to willingness. The three most common motivations to reduce animal product consumption: animal welfare, the environment, and health were examined to determine whether they predict willingness. A sample of 492 Australian adults completed questionnaires via the Zoho survey platform, and the data underwent a hierarchical regression. Higher pathological selfishness predicted a greater willingness to reduce animal product consumption, as did environmental and animal welfare motivations. However, higher health motivation predicted a lower willingness to reduce animal product consumption. Interpretation of the perplexing results in relation to pathological selfishness suggested further research. The practical value of utilising environmental and animal motivations to increase willingness to reduce animal products whilst bringing attention to the health issues was also discussed.
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DIT ARTIKEL IS IN VERKORTE VORM IN TIJDSCHRIFT VOOR KLACHTRECHT VERSCHENEN Je zou op het eerste gezicht denken dat onderzoek en beslissen niet veel met elkaar te maken heeft, maar dat is schijn. In beide gevallen gaat het immers om het adviseren over, oordelen over of zelfs het nemen van beslissingen over individuele zaken. Dat moet altijd zijn gebaseerd op zo veel mogelijk objectieve kennis. Ambtenaren zijn dus net zo goed onderzoekers: zij moeten hun werk – het toepassen van het recht (wetten en beginselen) baseren op feiten en omstandigheden – de ‘voorlopige waarheid’. Deze moeten zij naast de regels en beginselen van het geldende recht leggen. Alleen dan komen rechtvaardige beslissingen tot stand die leiden tot duurzaam vertrouwen in de overheid. Empathie en empathisch luisteren zijn populair. Of het nu gaat om de omgang met beklaagden, slachtoffers en getuigen in metoo of de omgang met burgers die aanvragen doen bij de overheid of een bezwaarschrift indienen: het wordt gezien als een panacee voor hardheid, gebrek aan begrip en verkeerde oordelen. Maar is dat terecht? In dit artikel beschrijf ik dat dat een misverstand is. In veel opzichten is empathisch luisteren een partijdige manier van luisteren, gericht op het maken van verbinding en erkennen van de emotie van anderen: ‘ik begrijp je en sta naast je!’ Dat is niet onbelangrijk, maar een oordeel, advies of beslissing kan hierop alleen niet worden gebaseerd. Veel mensen vallen voor het woord empathie, terwijl zij niet goed weten wat het is en wat het doet. Het kan juist leiden tot ‘te veel’ willen helpen uit medelijden. Bovendien is niet iedereen in staat en/of bereid tot empathie en empathisch luisteren. Het kan gemakkelijk worden ingezet om mensen te manipuleren. Dit is een groot risico bij populaire benaderingen als de informele aanpak, prettig contact en maatwerk. Om die reden pleit ik voor onderzoekend luisteren of investigative interviewing volgens het PEACE-model. Dat is een onpartijdige, actieve (en begripvolle) manier van luisteren. Daar is aansluiten bij emotie en verbinding maken weliswaar een aspect van. Echter, onderzoekend luisteren is is gericht op kennisvergaring: informatie over relevante feiten, omstandigheden en gebeurtenissen. Uit internationaal onderzoek weten we dat voor burgers onpartijdigheid de belangrijkste waarde is voor de overheid, zeker aan de ‘uitvoeringskant’. Hoewel zij in individuele gevallen graag willen dat de overheid voor hen partij kiest, zien zij dat dit in algemene zin juist leidt tot willekeur en onrecht.
Thesis
Youth and adults with antisocial behavior present a significant mental health concern. Elevated callous-unemotional (CU) traits, characterized by deficient empathy and remorse, distinguish clinically important subgroups of antisocial individuals who present with more severe behavior and distinct cognitive-affective characteristics that may help to explain the underlying causes of their antisocial behavior and inform more effective treatments. Specifically, two mechanisms theorized to underlie the development of elevated CU traits by way of atypical empathy development are deficient reactivity to and recognition of others’ emotions. Though a substantive literature base reports associations between CU traits and emotional processing deficits, significant inconsistencies remain. Specifically, though the association between CU traits and emotional hyporreactivity is found across development, it is less consistent across female samples. In addition, the association between CU traits and emotional recognition deficits is found to waver across age, with findings most consistently reported in younger samples and dissipating-to-disappearing in adolescent-to-adult samples. Thus, the current study utilized multilevel meta-analyses of emotional reactivity and recognition findings that controlled for moderators (sex, age) to clarify past inconsistencies. A four-level meta-analysis of emotional reactivity showed that CU traits were negatively associated with reactivity to broad emotional (r = -.25, p <.0001, k = 106, n = 332) and distress stimuli (r = -.24, p <.0001, k = 82, n = 207), and there was no moderation by age or sex. In addition, a three-level meta-analysis of emotional recognition showed that CU traits were negatively associated with recognition accuracy of broad facial emotions (r = -.10, p <.0001, k = 95, n = 248) and those depicting distress (r = -.10, p <.0001, k = 59, n = 125), and there was partial moderation by age (rs = .003, pbroad < .05, pdistress = .15), such that the association between CU traits and broad recognition deficits weakened as samples got older. These results elucidate the etiology of CU traits, including support for pervasive emotional processing deficits, stronger for hyporreactivity, in both sexes that may change (i.e., recognition abilities) with age, and have implications for improving treatments for both youth and adults with elevated CU traits.
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Psychopathy is a severe personality disorder marked by a wide range of emotional deficits, including a lack of empathy, emotion dysregulation, and alexithymia. Previous research has largely examined these emotional impairments in isolation, ignoring their influence on each other. Thus, we examined the concurrent interrelationship between emotional impairments in psychopathy, with a particular focus on the mediating role of alexithymia. Using path analyses with cross-sectional data from a community sample (N = 315) and a forensic sample (N = 50), our results yielded a statistically significant mediating effect of alexithymia on the relationship between psychopathy and empathy (community and forensic) and between psychopathy and emotion dysregulation (community). Moreover, replacing psychopathy with its three dimensions (i.e., meanness, disinhibition, and boldness) in the community sample revealed that boldness may function as an adaptive trait, with lower levels of alexithymia counteracting deficits in empathy and emotion dysregulation. Overall, our findings indicate that psychopathic individuals’ limited understanding of their own emotions contributes to their lack of empathy and emotion dysregulation. This underscores the potential benefits of improving emotional awareness in the treatment of individuals with psychopathy.
Article
Bu araştırmanın amacı, öğretmen adaylarının aile katılımına yönelik tutumlarının yordanmasında karanlık dörtlü kişilik özelliklerinin ve algılanan empatik ve sosyal öz-yeterlik düzeyinin rolünü incelemektir. Çalışma kapsamında, 416 öğretmen adayından gönüllülük esasına dayalı olarak veri toplanmıştır. Çoklu hiyerarşik regresyon analizinin ilk aşamasında, öğretmen adaylarının sahip olduğu sosyodemografik özellikler (cinsiyet, sınıf düzeyi, gelir düzeyi) kontrol değişkeni olarak tanımlanmış, ikinci aşamada öğretmen adaylarının karanlık dörtlü kişilik özellikleri (makyavelizm, narsisizm, psikopati ve sadizm) ve üçüncü aşamada empatik öz-yeterlik ve sosyal öz-yeterlik değişkenleri regresyon denklemine dâhil edilmiştir. Üç aşamalı hiyerarşik regresyon analizinin sonucunda, öğretmen adaylarının aile katılımına yönelik tutumlarının anlamlı yordayıcıları sadizm, psikopati ve sosyal öz-yeterlik değişkenleri olmuş, bu üç değişken aile katılımına yönelik tutumları orta düzeyde bir etki büyüklüğüyle açıklamıştır. Bulgular öğretmen adaylarının eğitiminde uyumlu kişilik özelliklerinin ve sosyal becerilerin desteklenmesinin önemine işaret etmektedir.
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Infidelity is shown as one of the most common reason for ending relationships. Attitude towards infidelity is one of the strong predictors of infidelity. Although it is known that personality traits play an important role in predicting the attitude towards infidelity, there is not enough research on what these personality traits are and the factors that moderate this relationship. In this study, it is aimed to understand the role of social media use in the relationship between dark triad personality traits and attitude towards infidelity. The sample of the study consists of a total of 587 people, 369 women and 218 men. Demographic information form, Short Dark Triad Scale (SD3), Attitude Towards Infidelity Scale and Social Media Usage Scale were applied to the participants. The data obtained from the study were analyzed with the SPSS 26 package program and the SPSS Process plugin. According to the results of the analysis, the use of social media does not have a moderating role between the dark triad personality traits and the attitude towards infidelity. On the other hand, dark triad personality traits predict attitude towards infidelity.
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This chapter reviews Machiavellianism literature between 1975 and 1985.
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The authors hypothesized that both narcissism and high self-esteem are associated with positive self-views but each is associated with positivity in different domains of the self. Narcissists perceive themselves as better than average on traits reflecting an agentic orientation (e.g., intellectual skills, extraversion) but not on those reflecting a communal orientation (e.g., agreeableness, morality).In contrast, high-self-esteem individuals perceive themselves as better than average both on agentic and communal traits. Three studies confirmed the hypothesis. In Study 1, narcissists rated themselves as extraverted and open to experience but not as more agreeable or emotionally stable. High-self-esteem individuals rated themselves highly on all of these traits except openness. In Study 2, narcissists (but not high-self-esteem individuals) rated themselves as better than their romantic partners. In Study 3, narcissists rated themselves as more intelligent, but not more moral, than the average person. In contrast, high-self-esteem individuals viewed themselves as more moral and more intelligent.
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The processing of emotional expressions is fundamental for normal socialisation and interaction. Reduced responsiveness to the expressions of sadness and fear has been implicated in the development of psychopathy (R. J. R. Blair, 1995). The current study investigates the sensitivity of children with psychopathic tendencies to facial expressions. Children with psychopathic tendencies and a comparison group, as defined by the Psychopathy Screening Device (PSD; P. J. Frick & R. D. Hare, in press), were presented with a cinematic display of a standardised set of facial expressions that depicted sadness, happiness, anger, disgust, fear, and surprise. Participants observed as these facial expressions slowly evolved through 20 successive frames of increasing intensity. The children with psychopathic tendencies presented with selective impairments; they needed significantly more stages before they could successfully recognise the sad expressions and even when the fearful expressions were at full intensity were significantly more likely to mistake them for another expression. These results are interpreted with reference to an amygdala and empathy impairment explanation of psychopathy.
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Of the offensive yet non-pathological personalities in the literature, three are especially prominent: Machiavellianism, subclinical narcissism, and subclinical psychopathy. We evaluated the recent contention that, in normal samples, this ‘Dark Triad’ of constructs are one and the same. In a sample of 245 students, we measured the three constructs with standard measures and examined a variety of laboratory and self-report correlates. The measures were moderately inter-correlated, but certainly were not equivalent. Their only common Big Five correlate was disagreeableness. Subclinical psychopaths were distinguished by low neuroticism; Machiavellians, and psychopaths were low in conscientiousness; narcissism showed small positive associations with cognitive ability. Narcissists and, to a lesser extent, psychopaths exhibited self-enhancement on two objectively scored indexes. We conclude that the Dark Triad of personalities, as currently measured, are overlapping but distinct constructs.
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Two experiments examined narcissism and comparative self-enhancement strategies. Participants either completed an interdependent (Experiment 1) or an independent (Experiment 2) achievement task and then received bogus success or failure feedback. Across experiments, narcissistic individuals self-enhanced. Nonnarcissists, however, showed more flexibility in self-enhancement. They did not self-enhance when doing so meant comparing themselves favorably to a partner (a comparative strategy). Otherwise, they did self-enhance, particularly when estimating the importance of the task (a noncomparative strategy). These findings are discussed from a narcissistic self-enhancement perspective and a strategic flexibility perspective.
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Two studies were conducted to uncover the factor structure of the Self-Report Psychopathy (SRP-II) scale in non-forensic samples. In Study 1 (N=289 students), the full 60 items yielded two large factors explaining 21% of the variance. The first factor was a combination of anti-social behavior, impulsivity, and interpersonal manipulation. The second factor resembled the Big Five factor of emotional stability. These factors do not correspond well with the traditional Behavior and Personality factors found in forensic work. Study 2 (N=356 students) examined the 31 items conceptually assigned to the Personality and Behavior factors by Hare, Harpur, and Hemphill (1989). Correlations with a comprehensive battery of delinquent behaviors indicated that only the Behavioral factor was predictive. The SRP-II total score (either 60 or 31 items) remains valid but its factor structure in non-forensic samples does not parallel that of the standard forensic instrument, the PCL-R.
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Deficits in the ability to perceive and experience affect are associated with psychopaths. However, past research is inconsistent, perhaps because it measures psychopathy homogeneously rather than using the two-factor structure. This study considered psychopathic-like-traits in college students as heterogeneous (primary and secondary), and evaluated their relationship to the processing and experience of positive (PE) and negative affect (NE). Results generally indicated that primary psychopathic-traits were positively correlated with accuracy of perception of fearful faces and PE, and negatively associated with NE, while secondary psychopathic-traits were not related to emotional recognition or PE, but positively associated with NE.
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Describes the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and its relationships with measures of social functioning, self-esteem, emotionality, and sensitivity to others. 677 male and 667 female undergraduates served as Ss. Each of the 4 IRI subscales displayed a distinctive and predictable pattern of relationships with these measures, as well as with previous unidimensional empathy measures. Findings provide evidence for a multidimensional approach to empathy. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).
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Discusses the development of a 64-item self-raport measure of empathy, constructed by comparing the responses of group with high- and low-rated empathy, using the combined MMPI-CPI item pool. After providing evidence concerning the scale's reliability and validity, an attempt is made to show its relevance for specifically moral conduct by relating empathy scale scores to real life indexes of socially appropriate behavior and to certain previously well-validated measures of personality. (39 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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Investigated the question of whether any facial expressions of emotion are universal. Recent studies showing that members of literate cultures associated the same emotion concepts with the same facial behaviors could not demonstrate that at least some facial expressions of emotion are universal; the cultures compared had all been exposed to some of the same mass media presentations of facial expression, and these may have taught the people in each culture to recognize the unique facial expressions of other cultures. To show that members of a preliterate culture who had minimal exposure to literate cultures would associate the same emotion concepts with the same facial behaviors as do members of Western and Eastern literate cultures, data were gathered in New Guinea by telling 342 Ss a story, showing them a set of 3 faces, and asking them to select the face which showed the emotion appropriate to the story. Ss were members of the Fore linguistic-cultural group, which up until 12 yr. ago was an isolated, Neolithic, material culture. Results provide evidence in support of the hypothesis. (30 ref.)
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The present study examined antisocial dispositions in 487 university students. Primary and secondary psychopathy scales were developed to assess a protopsychopathic interpersonal philosophy. An antisocial action scale also was developed for purposes of validation. The primary, secondary, and antisocial action scales were correlated with each other and with boredom susceptibility and disinhibition but not with experience seeking and thrill and adventure seeking. Secondary psychopathy was associated with trait anxiety. Multiple regression analysis revealed that the strongest predictors of antisocial action were disinhibition, primary psychopathy, secondary psychopathy, and sex, whereas thrill and adventure seeking was a negative predictor. This argues against a singular behavioral inhibition system mediating both antisocial and risk-taking behavior. These findings are also consistent with the view that psychopathy is a continuous dimension.
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Psychopathy is a complex personality disorder of unknown etiology. Central to the disorder are anomalies or difficulties in affective processing. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to elucidate the neurobiological correlates of these anomalies in criminal psychopaths during performance of an affective memory task. Compared with criminal nonpsychopaths and noncriminal control participants, criminal psychopaths showed significantly less affect-related activity in the amygdala/hippocampal formation, parahippocampal gyrus, ventral striatum, and in the anterior and posterior cingulate gyri. Psychopathic criminals also showed evidence of overactivation in the bilateral fronto-temporal cortex for processing affective stimuli. These data suggest that the affective abnormalities so often observed in psychopathic offenders may be linked to deficient or weakened input from limbic structures.
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Prior studies provide consistent evidence of deficits for psychopaths in processing verbal emotional material but are inconsistent regarding nonverbal emotional material. To examine whether psychopaths exhibit general versus specific deficits in nonverbal emotional processing, 34 psychopaths and 33 nonpsychopaths identified with Hare's (R. D. Hare, 1991) Psychopathy Checklist--Revised were asked to complete a facial affect recognition test. Slides of prototypic facial expressions were presented. Three hypotheses regarding hemispheric lateralization anomalies in psychopaths were also tested (right-hemisphere dysfunction, reduced lateralization, and reversed lateralization). Psychopaths were less accurate than nonpsychopaths at classifying facial affect under conditions promoting reliance on right-hemisphere resources and displayed a specific deficit in classifying disgust. These findings demonstrate that psychopaths exhibit specific deficits in nonverbal emotional processing.
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Empathy is an essential part of normal social functioning, yet there are precious few instruments for measuring individual differences in this domain. In this article we review psychological theories of empathy and its measurement. Previous instruments that purport to measure this have not always focused purely on empathy. We report a new self-report questionnaire, the Empathy Quotient (EQ), for use with adults of normal intelligence. It contains 40 empathy items and 20 filler/control items. On each empathy item a person can score 2, 1, or 0, so the EQ has a maximum score of 80 and a minimum of zero. In Study 1 we employed the EQ with n = 90 adults (65 males, 25 females) with Asperger Syndrome (AS) or high-functioning autism (HFA), who are reported clinically to have difficulties in empathy. The adults with AS/HFA scored significantly lower on the EQ than n = 90 (65 males, 25 females) age-matched controls. Of the adults with AS/HFA, 81% scored equal to or fewer than 30 points out of 80, compared with only 12% of controls. In Study 2 we carried out a study of n = 197 adults from a general population, to test for previously reported sex differences (female superiority) in empathy. This confirmed that women scored significantly higher than men. The EQ reveals both a sex difference in empathy in the general population and an empathy deficit in AS/HFA.
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Current research on prosocial behavior covers a broad and diverse range of phenomena. We argue that this large research literature can be best organized and understood from a multilevel perspective. We identify three levels of analysis of prosocial behavior: (a) the "meso" level--the study of helper-recipient dyads in the context of a specific situation; (b) the micro level--the study of the origins of prosocial tendencies and the sources of variation in these tendencies; and (c) the macro level--the study of prosocial actions that occur within the context of groups and large organizations. We present research at each level and discuss similarities and differences across levels. Finally, we consider ways in which theory and research at these three levels of analysis might be combined in future intra- and interdisciplinary research on prosocial behavior.
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Three empathy questionnaires were correlated with scores on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI), and the predicted negative relationship was observed in two of the three cases. In addition, the Exploitiveness/Entitlement (E/E) subscale of the NPI was inversely related to all three empathy scales and directly related to another hypothesized measure of narcissism. Unexpected negative correlations between the E/E subscale and social desirability scales were interpreted as evidence of E/E subscale sensitivity to the manipulative dimension of narcissistic relationship styles. These data further support the construct validity of the NPI in general and of the Exploitiveness/Entitlement subscale in particular.
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Empathy is a multidimensional construct consisting of cognitive (inferring mental states) and emotional (empathic concern) components. Despite a paucity of research, individuals on the autism spectrum are generally believed to lack empathy. In the current study we used a new, photo-based measure, the Multifaceted Empathy Test (MET), to assess empathy multidimensionally in a group of 17 individuals with Asperger syndrome (AS) and 18 well-matched controls. Results suggested that while individuals with AS are impaired in cognitive empathy, they do not differ from controls in emotional empathy. Level of general emotional arousability and socially desirable answer tendencies did not differ between groups. Internal consistency of the MET's scales ranged from .71 to .92, and convergent and divergent validity were highly satisfactory.
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To facilitate a multidimensional approach to empathy the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) includes 4 subscales: Perspective-Taking (PT) Fantasy (FS) Empathic Concern (EC) and Personal Distress (PD). The aim of the present study was to establish the convergent and discriminant validity of these 4 subscales. Hypothesized relationships among the IRI subscales between the subscales and measures of other psychological constructs (social functioning self-esteem emotionality and sensitivity to others) and between the subscales and extant empathy measures were examined. Study subjects included 677 male and 667 female students enrolled in undergraduate psychology classes at the University of Texas. The IRI scales not only exhibited the predicted relationships among themselves but also were related in the expected manner to other measures. Higher PT scores were consistently associated with better social functioning and higher self-esteem; in contrast Fantasy scores were unrelated to these 2 characteristics. High EC scores were positively associated with shyness and anxiety but negatively linked to egotism. The most substantial relationships in the study involved the PD scale. PD scores were strongly linked with low self-esteem and poor interpersonal functioning as well as a constellation of vulnerability uncertainty and fearfulness. These findings support a multidimensional approach to empathy by providing evidence that the 4 qualities tapped by the IRI are indeed separate constructs each related in specific ways to other psychological measures.
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(from the chapter) This chapter discusses the personality construct of narcissism. In this chapter we focus on issues and assumptions involving the conceptualization and assessment of narcissism in nonclinical populations, outline some current theoretical and measurement issues, and propose some important future directions for research on narcissism. In his review of theory and research on narcissism, Pulver concluded that narcissism ranks among psychoanalysis's most important contributions—but also among its most confusing. Although clinical psychology continues to be the wellspring of theory and data on pathological narcissism, interest in narcissism has spread to other areas in the social and behavioral sciences. Emmons described two trends in the study of narcissism. First, he noted that narcissism is sometimes discussed as a social or cultural tendency. The second trend Emmons noted is research in social psychology on "self-serving" biases and processes, such as those exemplified in Greenwald's classic essay, "The Totalitarian Ego." In this view, we are all a little narcissistic, taking credit for successes and shunning responsibility for failures. A third trend in theory and research on narcissism has developed largely in the 20 years since Emmons's work. Growing out of the work in psychoanalysis, clinical psychology, and social psychology, this newest trend involves the study of the narcissistic personality type, or individual differences in narcissistic style at the subclinical level.
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In this paper, we examine the relationship between people's actual interpersonal sensitivity (such as their ability to identify deception and to infer intentions and emotions) and their perceptions of their own sensitivity. Like prior scholars, we find the connection is weak or non-existent and that most people overestimate their social judgment and mind-reading skills. Unlike previous work, however, we show new evidence about who misunderstands their sensitivity and why. We find that those who perform the worst in social judgment and mind-reading radically overestimate their relative competence. We also find origins of these self-estimates in general narcissistic tendencies toward self-aggrandizement. We discuss evidence from two studies, one involving the Interpersonal Perception Task (the IPT-15) and another focusing on inferences about partners after a face-to-face negotiation exercise. In both cases, actual performance did not predict self-estimated performance but narcissism did.
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This study compared the findings from a sample of non-criminals with high and low psychopathy levels to published findings with criminal psychopaths and non-psychopaths. Congruent to findings with criminal psychopaths, participants with high psychopathy traits (High-P) compared to those with low psychopathy traits (Low-P) performed significantly worse on the Iowa Gambling Task, a task sensitive to orbital frontal cortex dysfunction. Moreover, the High-P group also evidenced a lack of empathy, a hallmark feature of psychopathy. These findings could not be explained by differences in estimated IQ or performance on a task sensitive to an executive functioning deficit. The discussion focuses on possible differences between non-criminal and criminal psychopaths, concluding criminal psychopaths manifest more extreme degrees of the interpersonal-affective and antisocial features of psychopathy.
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Forty-eight female subjects observed a confederate steal money from them. When accused of stealing, the confederate either expressed remorse or did not express remorse. Subjects were then given the opportunity to aggress against the confederate. More aggression was directed against a non-remorseful than against a remorseful confederate. There was also a significant interaction effect of the remorse manipulation and subject's level of Machiavellianism. High Machs aggressed more against a remorseful confederate than did low Machs. High Machs were more suspicious of the remorseful confederate's sincerity. High Machs also tended to show less aggression than low Machs toward the non-remorseful wrongdoer.
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The hypotheses of this investigation were based on conceiving of facial mimicry reactions in face-to-face interactions as an early automatic component in the process of emotional empathy. Differences between individuals high and low in emotional empathy were investigated. The parameters compared were facial mimicry reactions, as represented by electromyographic (EMG) activity, when individuals were exposed to pictures of angry or happy faces. The present study distinguished between spontaneous facial reactions and facial expressions associated with more controlled or modulated emotions at different information processing levels, first at a preattentive level and then consecutively at more consciously controlled levels: 61 participants were exposed to pictures at three different exposure times (17, 56, and 2350 ms). A significant difference in facial mimicry reactions between high- and low-empathy participants emerged at short exposure times (56 ms), representing automatic, spontaneous reactions, with high-empathy participants showing a significant mimicking reaction. The low-empathy participants did not display mimicking at any exposure time. On the contrary, the low-empathy participants showed, in response to angry faces, a tendency to an elevated activation in the cheek region, which often is associated with smiling.
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The purpose of the study was to explorecognitive and affective empathy in aggressiveboys. A difference between aggressive boys andtheir non-aggressive peers was anticipated,particularly in affective empathy. Fifty-twoboys (25 aggressive and 27 non-aggressive) werecompared for levels of aggression and forcognitive and affective empathy as expressedduring a group interview involvingbibliotherapy. Results confirmed the mainhypothesis; that is, aggressive boys showed alower level of affective empathy, although thegroups did not differ in cognitive empathy. Theproportion of affective empathy amongnon-aggressive boys was double that amongaggressive children. Affective empathy seems toincrease with age, although this result wasinconsistent. The aggressive boys also showed ahigher level of endorsing aggression. Thediscussion focuses on implications forcounseling aggressive boys.
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This study investigates the ability of psychopathic individuals to process facial emotional expressions. Psychopathic and comparison individuals, as defined by the Hare Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R), were presented with a standardized set of facial expressions depicting six emotions: happy, surprised, disgusted, angry, sad and fearful. Participants observed as these facial expressions slowly evolved through 20 successive frames of increasing intensity. The dependent variables were latency in responding as measured by frame and number of errors. The psychopathic individuals showed selective impairment for the recognition of fearful expressions. The results are interpreted with reference to the Violence Inhibition Mechanism model of psychopathy and the suggestion that psychopathic individuals present with amygdala dysfunction.
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We investigated individual differences in empathy and emotion recognition. Emotion recognition was operationalized as accuracy on the six emotions composing Ekman’s Pictures of Facial Affect. Facets of empathy were measured with the Empathy Quotient (EQ) and the empathic concern factor of the Interpersonal Reactivity Scale. Two aspects of emotion recognition were investigated: exposure length (50 ms and 2000 ms) and emotion type (fear). Both empathic concern and the EQ were related to accuracy at the brief exposure, however empathic concern accounted for the EQ findings. The EQ was connected to accuracy at the long duration, especially the “social skills” factor. Empathic concern was unrelated to fear recognition, whereas the EQ was highly related. These findings extend previous research by showing that empathy subtype predispositions are differentially related to expression recognition.
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This study investigated the relationships between psychopathy (primary and secondary), Machiavellianism, global empathy, and Theory of Mind (ToM) using three behavioural ToM tasks in order to test for ToM deficits/differences in facial expressions, in the eye region, and in vocal affect. In addition, stimuli were categorised in terms of emotional valence (positive, neutral, and negative). Primary psychopathy, secondary psychopathy and Machiavellianism were positively associated with global empathy deficits and ToM deficits in relation to overall scores on the ToM tasks as well as ToM deficits to specific categories of emotional valence.
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This study investigated the relationships between psychopathy (primary and secondary), Machiavellianism, trait emotional intelligence and empathy, using an image task that required an appropriate empathic response to the emotional displays of others (happy, sad and neutral). Results indicated that primary psychopathy and Machiavellianism were positively associated with the experience of positive affect from sad stimuli, while secondary psychopathy and Machiavellianism were positively associated with the experience of negative affect in response to neutral stimuli, and the opposite pattern was found for trait emotional intelligence. Regressional analyses demonstrated that secondary psychopathy, Machiavellianism, trait emotional intelligence and state anxiety are important predictors when stimuli are ambiguous.
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Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) factors were correlated with empathy and social desirability to clarify the unexpected findings of a previous investigation. Statistical controls for the complex nature of the NPI revealed the Exploitativeness/Entitlement (EE) dimention to predict less emotional and cognitive empathy, more interpersonal distress, less social responsibility and lower social desirability scores. In contrast, Leadership/Authority was associated with less interpersonal distress, as was the Superiority/Arrogance factor, and also greater social responsibility. EE therefore may operationalize a maladaptive trait characterized by a socially undesirable and irresponsible interpersonal insensitivity. Other NPI dimensions may record more adaptive self-functioning.
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The accuracy of perception of emotional faces was studied in individuals scoring low and high on psychopathic personality characteristics. Since psychopathy is characterised by a lack of fear, impaired recognition of fearful facial expression was expected in individuals with high psychopathic personality characteristics. 525 Healthy students completed the Behavioural Inhibition Scale and the Behavioural Activation Scale (BIS/BAS). 16 Subjects scoring high on psychopathic personality characteristics (weak BIS/strong BAS) and 16 subjects scoring low on psychopathic personality characteristics (strong BIS/weak BAS) were selected. A morphing task was used to measure the accuracy of facial emotional perception. As hypothesised, the group scoring high on psychopathic personality characteristics was less accurate in the recognition of fearful faces compared to the group scoring low on psychopathic personality characteristics. These findings suggest that low fear responsivity commonly observed in psychopathy is associated with a fear recognition deficit.
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The EMG activity associated with static and dynamic facial expressions (morphs with happy or angry emotions) were compared. We hypothesized that dynamic faces would (a) enhance facial muscular reactions and (b) evoke higher intensity ratings. Our analysis showed that dynamic expressions were rated as more intense than static ones. Subjects reacted spontaneously and rapidly to happy faces with increased zygomaticus major EMG activity and decrease corrugator supercilii EMG activity - showing greater changes in response to dynamic than to static stimuli in both muscles. In contrast, angry faces evoked no alteration of EMG activity in zygomaticus muscles and only small changes in the corrugator muscle EMG, and there was no difference between the responses to static and dynamic stimuli. It may be concluded that the dynamic property facilitates processing of facial expressions of emotions.
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The current study investigates the associations of Machiavellianism (Mach) with trait and ability emotional intelligence (EI), and theory of mind (ToM) in 109 primary school children. Consistent with previous research with adults, negative associations were found between Mach and social and emotional understanding. Subsequent multiple regression analyses for girls showed that being more adept at emotional and social understanding does not lead them to manipulate others in social encounters. This was not the case for boys. These findings are discussed in relation to other social and individual difference variables that impact on Mach, particularly amongst boys.
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Although deficits in several cortical and subcortical structures have been found in psychopaths, it remains unclear whether the neuropathology differs between subgroups of psychopaths (i.e., unsuccessful and successful). Using both traditional and novel image analyses methods, this study aims to reveal gross and subtle morphological changes in the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala in unsuccessful and successful psychopaths. Volumetric segmentation, cortical pattern matching, and surface-based mesh modeling methods were used to examine prefrontal and amygdala structures in 16 unsuccessful psychopaths, 10 successful psychopaths, and 27 controls. Significant reduced gray matter volume and cortical thickness/surface shape in the middle frontal, orbitofrontal cortex and the amygdala were found in unsuccessful psychopaths but not successful psychopaths, compared with controls. This study provides the first evidence of greater prefrontal and amygdala structural deficits in unsuccessful psychopaths, which may predispose them to poor behavioral control and impaired decision-making, thus making them more prone to convictions.
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The Self-Assessment Manikin (SAM) is a non-verbal pictorial assessment technique that directly measures the pleasure, arousal, and dominance associated with a person's affective reaction to a wide variety of stimuli. In this experiment, we compare reports of affective experience obtained using SAM, which requires only three simple judgments, to the Semantic Differential scale devised by Mehrabian and Russell (An approach to environmental psychology, 1974) which requires 18 different ratings. Subjective reports were measured to a series of pictures that varied in both affective valence and intensity. Correlations across the two rating methods were high both for reports of experienced pleasure and felt arousal. Differences obtained in the dominance dimension of the two instruments suggest that SAM may better track the personal response to an affective stimulus. SAM is an inexpensive, easy method for quickly assessing reports of affective response in many contexts.
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The present study had the goal to assess whether individuals mimic and show emotional contagion in response to relatively weak and idiosyncratic dynamic facial expressions of emotions similar to those encountered in everyday life. Furthermore, the question of whether mimicry leads to emotional contagion and in turn facilitates emotion recognition was addressed. Forty-one female participants rated a series of short video clips of stimulus persons expressing anger, sadness, disgust, and happiness regarding the emotions expressed. An unobtrusive measure of emotional contagion was taken. Evidence for mimicry was found for all types of expressions. Furthermore, evidence for emotional contagion of happiness and sadness was found. Mediational analyses could not confirm any relation between mimicry and emotional contagion nor between mimicry and emotion recognition.
Article
In human interactions, frequently one individual becomes 'infected' with emotions displayed by his or her partner. We tested the predictions by Hatfield et al. (1992) (Primitive emotional contagion. Review of Personal and Social Psychology 14, 151-177) that the automatic, mostly unconscious component of this process, called 'primitive emotional contagion', is repeatable and fast, that stronger facial expressions of the sender evoke stronger emotions in the viewer and that women are more susceptible to emotional contagion than men. We presented photos from the Pictures of Facial Affect (Ekman and Friesen, 1976). (Pictures of Facial Affect. Consulting Psychologists Press, Palo Alto) on a PC varying the affective content (happy and sad), the expressive strength and the duration of presentation. After each photo, subjects rated the strength of experienced happiness, sadness, anger, disgust, surprise, fear and pleasure. Feelings of happiness or sadness were significantly, specifically and repeatedly evoked in the viewer - even with presentations lasting only 500 ms. Stronger expressions evoked more emotion. The gender of the viewer had weak effects. We hypothesize that this fast and repeatable reaction is likely to have a 'prewired' neural basis. We propose that the induction of emotional processes within a subject by the perception of emotionally expressive faces is a powerful instrument in the detection of emotional states in others and as the basis for one's own reactions. Detailed knowledge of emotional reactions to faces is also valuable as a basis for psychiatric studies of disorders in affect and/or communication and in studies using functional imaging (fMRI or PET) where faces are increasingly used as stimuli.
Article
Empathy is a lay term that is becoming increasingly viewed as a unitary function within the field of cognitive neuroscience. In this paper, a selective review of the empathy literature is provided. It is argued from this literature that empathy is not a unitary system but rather a loose collection of partially dissociable neurocognitive systems. In particular, three main divisions can be made: cognitive empathy (or Theory of Mind), motor empathy, and emotional empathy. The two main psychiatric disorders associated with empathic dysfunction are considered: autism and psychopathy. It is argued that individuals with autism show difficulties with cognitive and motor empathy but less clear difficulties with respect to emotional empathy. In contrast, individuals with psychopathy show clear difficulties with a specific form of emotional empathy but no indications of impairment with cognitive and motor empathy.
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