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Is there a ‘‘dark intelligence’’? Emotional intelligence is used by dark
personalities to emotionally manipulate others
Ursa K.J. Nagler
a,
⇑
,1
, Katharina J. Reiter
a,
⇑
,1
, Marco R. Furtner
a
, John F. Rauthmann
b
a
Institute of Psychology, Leopold-Franzens Universität Innsbruck, Austria
b
Institute of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany
article info
Article history:
Available online xxxx
Keywords:
Emotional manipulation
Dark Triad
Narcissism
Machiavellianism
Psychopathy
Emotional intelligence
Social intelligence
abstract
Potential ‘‘darker sides’’ of socio-emotional intelligence (SEI) have been repeatedly noted. We examine
whether SEI is associated with emotional manipulation of others when used by dark personalities (Dark
Triad: narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy). In N= 594 participants, narcissism was positively,
Machiavellianism negatively, and psychopathy positively and negatively associated with SEI. Moreover,
narcissism and psychopathy moderated links between facets of emotional intelligence and emotional
manipulation. Findings are discussed in context of a ‘‘dark intelligence’’ used for malicious intents.
Ó2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
Are social and emotional skills always used for good intentions?
Potential ‘‘dark sides’’ of socio-emotional intelligence (SEI), such as
the emotional manipulation of others (Austin, Farrelly, Black, &
Moore, 2007), have garnered interest during the last years. None-
theless, SEI is widely regarded as adaptive, desirable, and positive
(Grieve & Mahar, 2010; Veselka, Schermer, & Vernon, 2012).
Although SEI and emotional manipulation both involve the skill
to influence others’ emotions, no empirical association between
these two variables could be asserted so far (Austin et al., 2007).
We thus examine in this study under which circumstances SEI is
associated with emotional manipulation. Due to its callous and
manipulative character (e.g., Jones & Figueredo, 2013; Paulhus &
Williams, 2002; Veselka et al., 2012), the Dark Triad of narcissism,
Machiavellianism, and psychopathy was considered as a possible
moderator of relations between SEI and emotional manipulation.
1.1. Socio-emotional intelligence
‘‘Socio-emotional intelligence’’ serves as an umbrella term for
various abilities, skills, aptitudes, and traits (Furtner, Rauthmann,
& Sachse, 2010), including communication competence (e.g., Diez,
1984), social intelligence (e.g., Cantor & Kihlstrom, 1987; Gardner,
1993; Guilford, 1967; Thorndike, 1920), and emotional intelligence
(e.g., Mayer & Salovey, 1997; Salovey & Mayer, 1990). Not only
interpersonal (e.g., encoding and decoding social information)
but also the intrapersonal skills (e.g., regulating own emotions)
are considered important. This is also reflected in Riggio’s and Car-
ney’s (2003, p. 1) definition of social intelligence (see also Guilford,
1967; Mayer & Salovey, 1997; Salovey & Mayer, 1990) as socially
intelligent individuals are ‘‘skilled in receiving, decoding, and accu-
rately interpreting emotional and social information from both the
self and from others, and ... in sending and regulating emotional
and social information appropriate to the interpersonal and situa-
tional circumstances.’’ In this study, we consider these different
types of socio-emotional skills.
Social intelligence (SI) dates back to Thorndike’s (1920) distinc-
tion between perceiving and acting in social settings. According
to him, social intelligence is ‘‘the ability to understand and manage
men and women, boys and girls and to act wisely in human rela-
tions’’ (italics added). As can be gleaned from this early definition,
the concept of SI already included the potential for manipulating
others by referring to ‘‘managing’’ people. Thus, a potential ‘‘dark
side’’ of social intelligence has already been hinted at.
Emotional intelligence (EI) was first defined by Salovey and
Mayer (1990) as the ability to deal with emotions. It has since
gained much attention in popular literature (e.g., Goleman, 1995)
and academic research (e.g., Mayer, Roberts, & Barsade, 2008). EI
has been concretized and defined quite differently in psychological
literature which has lent itself to controversial debates about its
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.01.025
0191-8869/Ó2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
⇑
Corresponding authors. Address: Universität Innsbruck, Institut für Psychologie,
Innrain 52, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria. Tel.: +43 6803242821; fax: +49
87429653129.
E-mail addresses: ursa.nagler@gmail.com (U.K.J. Nagler), katharina.reiter@ya-
hoo.de (K.J. Reiter).
1
Ursa Nagler and Katharina Reiter share first authorship.
Personality and Individual Differences xxx (2014) xxx–xxx
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Personality and Individual Differences
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/paid
Please cite this article in press as: Nagler, U. K. J., et al. Is there a ‘‘dark intelligence’’? Emotional intelligence is used by dark personalities to emotionally
manipulate others. Personality and Individual Differences (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.01.025
nature. For example, it has been defined as an ability or skill
(Mayer & Salovey, 1997), trait (Petrides, Vernon, Schermer, & Ves-
elka, 2011), or mixture of both (Mayer et al., 2008). Moreover, EI
may pertain to the recognition, processing, interpretation, utiliza-
tion, and regulation of either own emotions or of others (Mayer
et al., 2008). Here, we conceptualize EI as a skill that can be self-re-
ported (Mayer et al., 2008).
Recent research has started to uncover potential ‘‘dark,’’ dys-
functional, or maladaptive aspects of EI in interpersonal relations
(e.g., Austin et al., 2007; de Raad, 2005) despite the fact that EI
appears to be a widely valued and genuinely positive skill (Salovey,
Mayer, & Caruso, 2002). Austin et al. (2007) have therefore
introduced the concept of ‘‘emotional manipulation’’ as the
‘‘management’’ of others and their emotions: emotional skills are
intentionally used to achieve a desired outcome (e.g., to get some-
one to do something for them). Therefore, emotional skills are
utilized in a strategic and manipulative way to influence others’
emotions.
The constructs of SI and EI show conceptual and empirical over-
laps. First, both are usually beneficial to navigating the social world
(Lopes et al., 2004) and involve decoding others’ interpersonal
signals (Mayer et al., 2008). Second, both have been shown to be
positively intercorrelated (Riggio & Carney, 2003). Third, both have
been linked to ‘‘managing’’ others or ‘‘cleverly’’ interacting in inter-
personal contexts (Kafetsios, Nezlek, & Vassiou, 2011). This may
point to a common ‘‘darker side’’ of both SI and EI. Due to these
similarities, we speak of the macro-construct ‘‘socio-emotional
intelligence.’’
1.2. The Dark Triad
The Dark Triad consists of three conceptually distinct, but
empirically overlapping personality traits (Furnham, Richards, &
Paulhus, 2013; Paulhus & Williams, 2002): narcissism, Machiavel-
lianism, and psychopathy. The sub-clinical forms of these traits
share a callous, manipulative, and exploitative nature (Jonason,
Webster, Schmitt, Li, & Crysel, 2012; Jones & Figueredo, 2013; Rau-
thmann, 2012a). Narcissism is characterized by an overly enhanced
view of the self and feelings of grandiosity, paired with devaluation
of others (Morf & Rhodewalt, 2001). Raskin and Terry (1988) de-
scribed narcissism as excessive self-love and selfishness, with the
tendency of disregarding others and a lack of empathy. Machiavel-
lianism is characterized by cold and strategic manipulation of oth-
ers (Christie & Geis, 1970). Machiavellians possess an unemotional,
pragmatic, and cynical perspective on life and interpersonal rela-
tionships which may be used as a justification for exploiting others
and acting in immoral ways (Rauthmann, 2012b). Psychopathy is
characterized by an anti-social behavioral style, impulsive thrill-
seeking, cold affect (i.e., the lack of feeling guilt or empathy), and
interpersonal manipulation (Hare, 2003; Williams, Nathanson, &
Paulhus, 2003). Among the members of the Dark Triad, it can be re-
garded as the ‘‘darkest’’ (Rauthmann & Kolar, 2013).
1.3. Relations between socio-emotional intelligence and the Dark Triad
A common thread among the Dark Triad traits is their exploit-
ative social style at the expense or disregard of others’ welfare
(Jones & Paulhus, 2011). As such, persons scoring high on the Dark
Triad may be prone to manipulating others’ emotions to get their
way and push through their self-beneficial agendas. However, are
narcissists, Machiavellians, and psychopaths socially and emotion-
ally intelligent?
Existing research has produced mixed findings. On the one
hand, a positive relation between narcissism and EI has been estab-
lished (Petrides et al., 2011; Veselka et al., 2012). On the other
hand, narcissists have been described as low in empathy (e.g., Paul-
hus & Williams, 2002) which should be associated with less EI. Fur-
thermore, Machiavellianism and EI are negatively correlated
(Petrides et al., 2011; Veselka et al., 2012;Austin et al., 2007;Ali,
Amorim, & Chamorro-Premuzic, 2009), while Machiavellianism
has also been described as a social exploitation strategy that would
require a minimum of interpersonal skills to successfully manipu-
late others (Jones & Paulhus, 2009; Wilson, Near, & Miller, 1996).
Also, psychopathy was found to be positively (Petrides et al.,
2011; Veselka et al., 2012) and negatively related to EI (Copestake,
Gray, & Snowden, 2013; Ermer, Kahn, Salovey, & Kiehl, 2012).
Moreover, a lack of empathy is considered as a hallmark of psy-
chopathy (Furnham et al., 2013). Taken together, dark personalities
should require SEI to get ahead, but their callous, exploitative ten-
dencies may obstruct smooth interpersonal navigation. In this
study, we thus investigate whether and how the SEI is associated
with the Dark Triad.
2. The current study
2.1. Aims and scope
This study had several aims. First, we examine associations be-
tween SEI and the Dark Triad. Second, we examine associations be-
tween SEI and emotional manipulation. We also address under
which circumstances this link exists: Do Dark Triad traits moderate
associations between SEI and emotional manipulation? It might be
the case that, on average, SEI is not associated with emotional
manipulation (see Austin et al., 2007), but only when they are used
by dark personalities. Investigating these issues may shed further
light on the mixed findings in extant literature. On the one hand,
dark personalities are deemed anti-social with little empathy and
regard for others. On the other hand, however, they seem to be
motivated and adept at deciphering who can be exploited in which
ways (Buss & Chiodo, 1991) which suggests interpersonal skills.
This also allows us to elucidate potential ‘‘dark sides’’ of SEI (Austin
et al., 2007).
2.2. Hypotheses
We formed five hypotheses. First, we hypothesized that narcis-
sism would show overall positive relations with SEI (Hypothesis 1)
as narcissism seems to be the ‘‘brightest’’ member of the Dark Triad
(Rauthmann & Kolar, 2013). Moreover, narcissists have been found
to be charming, interesting, and even seductive (Back, Schmukle, &
Egloff, 2010; Dufner, Rauthmann, Czarna, & Denissen, 2013) which
suggests some form of interpersonal skills. Second, we hypothe-
sized that Machiavellianism and psychopathy would show overall
negative relations with SEI (Hypothesis 2) as both pertain to ‘‘dar-
ker’’ aspects of human personality (Rauthmann & Kolar, 2013).
Both traits share strong similarities so that it has even proposed
they reflect one and the same trait continuum (McHoskey, Worzel,
& Szyarto, 1998). Both are characterized by callousness and a lack
of empathy, suggesting less ability or motivation to attend to
others. Third, we hypothesized that all three Dark Triad traits
would show moderate to strong positive relations with emotional
manipulation due to their exploitative nature (Hypothesis 3).
Fourth, we hypothesized that SEI would show overall no or at best
weak positive relations with emotional manipulation (Hypothesis
4). Lastly, we hypothesized that the Dark Triad traits may function
as positive moderators of the link between SEI and emotional
manipulation (Hypothesis 5). Specifically, the Dark Triad traits
should yield or increase a positive association between SEI and
emotional manipulation because dark personalities should utilize
SEI to get their way.
2U.K.J. Nagler et al. / Personality and Individual Differences xxx (2014) xxx–xxx
Please cite this article in press as: Nagler, U. K. J., et al. Is there a ‘‘dark intelligence’’? Emotional intelligence is used by dark personalities to emotionally
manipulate others. Personality and Individual Differences (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.01.025
3. Methods
3.1. Participants and procedure
Two samples were used for this study, aggregated to one sam-
ple (N= 594; 438 women, 138 men, 18 no indication; age:
M= 22.71, SD = 4.36, range = 18–65). Further information of this
sample, along with descriptive statistics of the scales used here,
can be found in Furtner et al. (2010) as well as Rauthmann and Will
(2011).
3.2. Measures
3.2.1. Socio-emotional intelligence
SEI was assessed with the self-reported Social Skills Inventory
(SSI: Riggio & Carney, 2003). The SSI measures SI (for the ‘‘verbal’’
domain) and EI (for the ‘‘non-verbal’’ domain) with 90 self-report
items. Six subscales can be computed (15 items each). EI encom-
passes emotional expressivity (accurately expressing and communi-
cating emotional states; e.g., ‘‘I have been told that I have
expressive eyes’’), emotional sensitivity (receiving and interpreting
others’ emotions; e.g., ‘‘I am often told that I am a sensitive, under-
standing person’’), and emotional control (regulating emotional dis-
plays; e.g., ‘‘I am very good at maintaining a calm exterior even if I
am upset’’). SI encompasses social expressivity (verbal expression
and engaging others in social discourse; e.g., ‘‘When telling a story,
I usually use a lot of gestures to help get the point across’’), social
sensitivity (interpreting others’ communication and behaving so-
cially appropriate; e.g., ‘‘I am generally concerned about the
impression I am making on others’’), and social control (playing
roles and presenting oneself; e.g., ‘‘I am not very good at mixing
at parties’’). Answers were given on a five-point Likert-type scale
(1 = not at all like me to 5 = exactly like me), and sum scores were
computed for all six scales.
3.2.2. Dark Triad
Narcissism was measured with the 17-item Narcissistic Person-
ality Inventory (von Collani, 2008). Answers were given on a five-
point Likert-type scale (0 = not at all like me to 4 = totally like me),
and mean scores were computed. Machiavellianism was measured
on a six-point Likert-type scale (0 = not at all like me to 5 = totally
like me) with an 18-item scale (Henning & Six, 2008; Rauthmann,
2012b). A sum score was computed. Psychopathy was measured
with a 30-item version of the Self-Report Psychopathy Scale-III
(Williams et al., 2003). Answers were given on a five-point Lik-
ert-type scale (0 = not at all like me to 4 = totally like me), and means
were computed.
3.2.3. Emotional manipulation
Emotional manipulation was measured on a five-point Likert-
type scale (0 = strongly disagree to 4 = strongly agree) with the
‘‘emotional manipulation tendency’’ facet (10 items) from Austin
et al.’s (2007) questionnaire. Means were computed.
3.3. Data-analytical strategy
Associations among the subscales of socio-emotional intelli-
gence, the three members of the Dark Triad, and emotional
manipulation (Hypotheses 1–4) were investigated with bivariate
zero-order Person correlations and linear multiple regressions.
Whether the three members of the Dark Triad moderated the rela-
tionship between SEI scales and emotional manipulation was
investigated with Hayes’ (2012) SPSS macro PROCESS. Eighteen
models were computed in total, varying the independent variable
as the six subscales of SEI as well as the moderator variable as
the three Dark Triad members. In each model, the respective other
two members of the Dark Triad were controlled as covariates.
4. Results
4.1. Hypotheses 1 and 2: SEI and the Dark Triad
As can be seen from correlations in Table 1, narcissism showed
positive relations with socio-emotional expressivity and control,
while it showed no or even a negative relation to emotional and so-
cial sensitivity, respectively. Machiavellianism showed negative
relations with all SEI scales except for emotional control. Psychop-
athy was unrelated to socio-emotional expressivity, negatively to
socio-emotional sensitivity, and positively to socio-emotional
control. Multiple regressions further corroborated the finding that
narcissism was generally positively and Machiavellianism and psy-
chopathy negatively related to SEI. Thus, our Hypotheses 1 and 2
were supported by the data.
4.2. Hypotheses 3 and 4: SEI, Dark Triad, and emotional manipulation
As can be seen from correlations and regression coefficients in
Table 1, emotional manipulation was strongly and positively asso-
ciated with all three Dark Triad traits, thus supporting Hypothesis
3. Further, it was weakly and positively associated with emotional
sensitivity (regression only), emotional control (correlation only),
and social control, while negatively with social expressivity
(regression only). The weak positive relations speak in favor of
Hypothesis 4.
4.3. Hypothesis 5: moderations
4.3.1. Social intelligence
We found no statistically significant interaction effects of
narcissism, Machiavellianism, or psychopathy with any SI facet
when predicting emotional manipulation. Thus, neither member
of the Dark Triad moderated links between SI and emotional
manipulation.
4.3.2. Emotional intelligence
From nine possible statistically significant interaction effects,
we found four Dark Triad EI interactions when predicting emo-
tional manipulation. First, narcissism positively moderated the link
between emotional expressivity and emotional manipulation with
a significant interaction effect, B=.0004 (SE = .00),
D
R
2
= .00, F(1,
571) = 4.72, p= .03. However, a simple slope analysis indicated no
significant effects for any slope. Hence, a real moderation effect
was not present.
Second, narcissism further positively moderated the link be-
tween emotional control and emotional manipulation with a sig-
nificant interaction effect, B= .0004 (SE = .00),
D
R
2
= .00, F(1,
570) = 4.80, p= .02. A simple slope analysis indicated a non-signif-
icant slope at 1SD of narcissism (B= .00, SE = .00, p= .422), a sig-
nificant slope at Mof narcissism (B= .00, SE = .00, p= .002), and a
significant slope at +1 SD of narcissism (B= .01, SE = .00, p< .001).
Findings are graphically presented in Fig. 1A. Higher levels of nar-
cissism coincided with stronger associations between emotional
control and emotional manipulation.
Third, psychopathy positively moderated the link between
emotional control and emotional manipulation with a significant
interaction effect, B= .01 (SE = .00),
D
R
2
= .01, F(1, 570) = 7.90,
p= .001. A simple slope analysis indicated a non-significant slope
at 1SD of psychopathy (B= .00, SE = .01, p= .888), a significant
slope at Mof psychopathy (B= .01, SE = .00, p= .004), and a signif-
icant slope at +1 SD of psychopathy (B= .01, SE = .00, p< .001).
U.K.J. Nagler et al. / Personality and Individual Differences xxx (2014) xxx–xxx 3
Please cite this article in press as: Nagler, U. K. J., et al. Is there a ‘‘dark intelligence’’? Emotional intelligence is used by dark personalities to emotionally
manipulate others. Personality and Individual Differences (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.01.025
Findings are graphically presented in Fig. 1B. Higher levels of psy-
chopathy coincided with stronger associations between emotional
control and emotional manipulation.
Fourth, psychopathy positively moderated the link between
emotional sensitivity and emotional manipulation with a
significant interaction effect, B= .009 (SE = .00),
D
R
2
= .00, F(1,
571) = 4.3, p= .04. A simple slope analysis indicated a non-signifi-
cant slope at 1SD of psychopathy (B= .01, SE = .00, p= .254), a
significant slope at Mof psychopathy (B= .01, SE = .00, p= .001),
and a significant slope at +1 SD of psychopathy (B= .01, SE = .00,
p< .001). Findings are graphically presented in Fig. 1C. As can be
seen, higher levels of psychopathy coincided with stronger associ-
ations between emotional sensitivity and emotional manipulation.
5. Discussion
We examined relationships between the SEI and the Dark Triad
regarding emotional manipulation tactics. First, there was as posi-
tive relation between SEI scales and narcissism, while Machiavel-
lianism showed mainly negative relations, and psychopathy
showed mixed findings. Second, the relation between emotional
control and emotional manipulation was moderated by psychopa-
thy and narcissism. Machiavellianism showed no such effects.
5.1. Interpretation
Emotional manipulation was associated with all three Dark
Triad traits. This link can be explained by the fact that the manip-
ulation of others is one of the core characteristics of dark personal-
ities (Paulhus & Williams, 2002; Jones & Figueredo, 2013).
Emotional manipulation was also related to socio-emotional con-
trol. This seems plausible because regulating one’s own and others’
emotions is helpful in manipulating others (Austin et al., 2007). It
seems crucial to regulate one’s own emotional displays, be able to
play social roles and present oneself accordingly to effectively
influence others’ emotions. Moreover, these results further support
the notion that EI can have a maladaptive aspect in interpersonal
relations (e.g., Austin et al., 2007; de Raad, 2005).
As narcissism is the ‘‘brightest’’ Dark Triad member (Rauthmann
& Kolar, 2013), its correlation with almost all aspects of SEI seems
reasonable. The positive relation with socio-emotional expressivity
and socio-emotional control may reflect narcissists’ thrive to main-
tain their grandiose self-view by behaving accordingly in interac-
tions with others. However, they do not necessarily need to be
able to interpret others’ emotions to keep this enhanced view of
the self. The inability to interpret others’ emotions and act accord-
ingly is in accordance with Jonason and Krause’s (2013) findings,
which indicate that narcissists show low affective empathy and
that they have difficulties identifying others’ feelings. Machiavel-
lianism showed a negative relation to all SEI scales except emo-
tional control. This fits to Machiavellians’ externally oriented
thinking that does not focus on feelings (Rauthmann & Will,
2011). Psychopathy’s negative associations with perceiving others’
emotions and regulating emotional displays might be one of many
reasons why they are perceived as cold-blooded and dark (Rauth-
mann & Kolar, 2013).
The moderation findings of narcissism and psychopathy may be
taken as an indication that some dark personalities may reap ben-
efits from EI skills in manipulating others. Put differently, EI can be
associated with emotional manipulation (cf. Austin et al., 2007),
and especially so when narcissist and psychopaths utilize those
skills. Hence, there is some form of ‘‘dark intelligence’’ as the dark
side of EI (see also O’Connor & Athota, 2013) although we may add
that the interactions between narcissism and psychopathy, respec-
tively, with the EI skills were rather small. As we had a relatively
large sample size, we were able to detect small effects.
5.2. Limitations and prospects
The limitations of this work point to areas of future research.
First, we assessed SEI solely with self-reports. People’s reports of
how socio-emotionally skilled they are may not necessarily corre-
spond to their actual motivations or abilities. Thus, future research
should include ability tests and also ask about people’s motivation
to utilize SEI. Second, empathy-related constructs in the SSI do not
distinguish between ‘‘hot’’/affective (feeling what others feel) and
‘‘cold’’/cognitive empathy (understanding what others feel). For
example, dark personalities may score high on cognitive empathy
(Wai & Tiliopoulos, 2012; Book, Quinsey, & Langford, 2007; Dolan
& Fullam, 2004; Hansen, Johnsen, Hart, Waage, & Thayer, 2008)
and lower on affective empathy (Jonason & Krause, 2013). This
may allow them to understand and use other people’s emotions
without feeling guilt. Thus, different forms of empathy should be
distinguished. Third, we used Austin et al.’s (2007) global emo-
tional manipulation tactics subscale. Future studies should differ-
entiate between different manipulation tactics (Rauthmann,
2013) to cast a more differentiated view. Additionally, emotional
Table 1
Intercorrelations.
Variables 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Dark Triad
1. Narcissism –
2. Machiavellianism .58
***
–
3. Psychopathy .74
***
.59
***
–
Social intelligence
4. Social expressivity .16
***
(.47
***
).16
***
(.35
***
) .00 (.14
*
)–
5. Social sensitivity .14
**
(.01) .01 (.18
***
).22
***
(.34
***
).01 –
6. Social control .29
***
(.53
***
).11
**
(.43
***
) .16
***
(.02) .64
***
.41
***
–
Emotional intelligence
7. Emotional expressivity .15
***
(.40
***
).14
**
(.34
***
) .04 (.05) .64
***
.01 .44
***
–
8. Emotional sensitivity .04 (.33
***
).28
***
(.34
***
).19
***
(.22
***
) .39
***
.18
***
.24
***
.29
***
–
9. Emotional control .15
***
(.09) .12
**
(.04) .14
**
(.05) .10
*
.18
***
.18
***
.36
***
.07 –
10. Emotional manipulation .69
***
(.33
***
) .55
***
(.14
***
) .71
***
(.38
***
) .06 (.02) .01 (.13
**
) .13
**
(.12) .05 (.13
*
).03 (.11
*
) .20
***
(.26
***
)–
N= 594.
Standardized regression coefficients beta (b) from multiple regressions are presented in parentheses below the zero-order bivariate Pearson product-moment correlation
coefficients. Social intelligence, emotional intelligence, and emotional manipulation were predicted from all three Dark Triad members simultaneously. Emotional manip-
ulation was predicted from all six scales of social and emotional intelligence simultaneously.
*
p< .05.
**
p< .01.
***
p< .001.
4U.K.J. Nagler et al. / Personality and Individual Differences xxx (2014) xxx–xxx
Please cite this article in press as: Nagler, U. K. J., et al. Is there a ‘‘dark intelligence’’? Emotional intelligence is used by dark personalities to emotionally
manipulate others. Personality and Individual Differences (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.01.025
manipulation should also not be self-reported, but ideally – as far
as ethics allow it – be sampled as actual behavior (where success
rates can be tracked by attending to the emotional outcomes of
those being manipulated).
6. Conclusion
Social and emotional skills are not always used to manipulate
others. The utilization of EI skills for the emotional manipulation
of others is facilitated by dark personalities (namely, narcissists
and psychopaths). To the extent that EI can be and is used for mali-
cious purposes (e.g., deception, exploitation, harm of others), a
‘‘dark intelligence’’ may be formed by those who use EI as a tool
to a self-serving and manipulative end.
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U.K.J. Nagler et al. / Personality and Individual Differences xxx (2014) xxx–xxx 5
Please cite this article in press as: Nagler, U. K. J., et al. Is there a ‘‘dark intelligence’’? Emotional intelligence is used by dark personalities to emotionally
manipulate others. Personality and Individual Differences (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.01.025
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6U.K.J. Nagler et al. / Personality and Individual Differences xxx (2014) xxx–xxx
Please cite this article in press as: Nagler, U. K. J., et al. Is there a ‘‘dark intelligence’’? Emotional intelligence is used by dark personalities to emotionally
manipulate others. Personality and Individual Differences (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.01.025
