No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
Emophilia and other predictors of attraction to individuals with Dark Triad traits
Abstract
The current research investigated the association between different relationship orientations (e.g., insecure attachment, sociosexuality, emophilia) and attraction to individuals high in different Dark Triad traits (Machiavellianism, psychopathy, narcissism). Although research has focused on general attraction to antisocial partners, less attention has been paid to traits that affect that attraction. One understudied construct in predicting relationship-relevant attraction is emophilia, which is the tendency to fall in love fast and often. Across two studies (N = 452), we found that emophilia had a strong and unique relationship with attraction to individuals high in dark personality traits. In Study 1, participants completed an assessment of the Dark Triad as they would want their “ideal romantic partner” to complete it. Participants in Study 2 rated the attractiveness of different dating profiles generated by people who varied in the Dark Triad. Participants in both studies filled out self-assessments of emophilia, sociosexuality, and attachment styles. Across both studies, people high in emophilia were the most attracted to any target, including targets high in the Dark Triad traits, even when controlling for other relationship-relevant traits. The findings have implications for relationship research, personality research, and potential risk factors for becoming involved with antisocial partners.
... In this sense, people with high scores on dark traits seem to use Tinder for reasons related to sexual experience rather than for reasons related to finding a romantic relationship (e.g., Lyons et al., 2022). Thus, an attempt have been made to analyse the relationship between these traits and sociosexual orientation (i.e., orientation towards unrestricted sexuality or, in other words, the general tendency toward more promiscuous behaviour), which is strongly linked to self-control (Burtaverde, 2021;Gailliot & Baumeister, 2007;Lechuga & Jones, 2021;Malesza & Kaczmarek, 2021;Sevi, 2019). Research findings indicate that people who use Tinder appear to score higher on Dark Tetrad traits and seem to display greater inclination towards sexual behaviours. ...
... However, despite this theoretical basis, we did not obtain an opposite classification, i.e., a group with high scores on both constructs (Burtaverde, 2021;Lechuga & Jones, 2021;Malesza & Kaczmarek, 2021;Sevi, 2019). Instead, we found an unexpected profile with the highest scores in the Dark Tetrad, especially in psychopathy and sadism traits, but with average scores in sociosexual orientation, although slightly elevated in sociosexual behaviour (the High-dark and slightly sociosexual profile; Burtaverde, 2021;Lechuga & Jones, 2021;Malesza & Kaczmarek, 2021;Sevi, 2019). ...
... However, despite this theoretical basis, we did not obtain an opposite classification, i.e., a group with high scores on both constructs (Burtaverde, 2021;Lechuga & Jones, 2021;Malesza & Kaczmarek, 2021;Sevi, 2019). Instead, we found an unexpected profile with the highest scores in the Dark Tetrad, especially in psychopathy and sadism traits, but with average scores in sociosexual orientation, although slightly elevated in sociosexual behaviour (the High-dark and slightly sociosexual profile; Burtaverde, 2021;Lechuga & Jones, 2021;Malesza & Kaczmarek, 2021;Sevi, 2019). Consistent with what was commented in the first profile (the Non-dark and non-sociosexual profile), it was expected that the profile of people with more narcissistic, Machiavellian, psychopathic and sadistic traits would present a less restrictive sociosexual orientation (Bowlby, 1979;Brewer et al., 2018;Buss & Schmitt, 1993;Jonason et al., 2011Jonason et al., , 2014, but this was not the result. ...
Given the widespread use of dating apps, it is essential to understand the reasons for their use. Dark Tetrad predict motives for Tinder usage in different ways, but it seems that sexual motives are one of the main reasons why “dark” people use Tinder. So, both dark traits and sociosexual orientation seem to play a relevant role. This study aimed to identify profiles of individuals in terms of their Dark Tetrad traits and their orientation towards unrestricted sex and analyse the differences between them based on the Tinder usage reasons. In 200 participants (Mage = 30.78; 67.50% female), an online survey was administered including the Tinder Motives Scale (TMS; validated in Spanish in this study), the Tinder use and outcomes, the Short Dark Triad, the Assessment of Sadistic Personality, and the Sociosexual Orientation Inventory were administered. Results offered a shorter version of the TMS, and three-profiles: Non-dark and non-sociosexual (41.30%), Slightly narcissistic and sociosexual (38.60%), and High-dark and slightly sociosexual (20.10%). There were differences between profiles and Tinder motives. People with less dark traits and sociosexual orientation seem to be more motivated to use Tinder for finding romantic partners, and people most interested in using Tinder for sexual purposes are those with moderate Dark Tetrad and not those with the highest scores. Identifying what motivates those with less sexual restriction and undesirable traits to use Tinder is crucial. This knowledge could help design awareness programs on the misuse of these apps.
... Machiavellianism is characterized by interpersonal manipulation and amoral viewpoints constructed to promote one's own goals (Al Aïn et al., 2013), while psychopathy is denoted by high impulsivity and thrill seeking, and low empathy and anxiety (Paulhus and Williams, 2002). To our knowledge, only one previous study has investigated the relationship between emophilia and the Dark Triad traits, showing positive associations between emophilia and all the Dark Triad traits (Lechuga and Jones, 2021). ...
... The obtained Cronbach's alpha of the EPS was also similar to those obtained in previous studies (Jones, 2011), which suggests that the EPS has similar internal reliability in North American and Scandinavian samples. Further, emophilia generally had similar associations with the Big Five and Dark Triad traits in the current study to those found in previous studies, both in terms of size and direction (Jones, 2011(Jones, , 2017Lechuga and Jones, 2021). An exception was agreeableness, however, which was positively associated with emophilia in the current study, but inversely associated with emophilia in previous research (Jones, 2011(Jones, , 2017. ...
Emophilia is a suggested stable phenomenon referring to how often and easily an individual falls in love (Jones, 2011). The current study investigated the psychometric properties of the Emotional Promiscuity Scale (EPS, i.e., a measure of emophilia) and its association with personality traits, romantic relationships, and unfaithfulness in a Scandinavian sample. The sample consisted of 2,607 participants, who were recruited through Norwegian and Swedish newspapers. Descriptive analyses of the EPS and a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to verify the previously obtained two-factor structure were conducted. Correlations between emophilia and the Big Five and Dark Triad traits were calculated to investigate the discriminative validity of the EPS. Lastly, negative binomial regression analyses were run in which emophilia comprised the independent variable and the number of romantic relationships and number of times being unfaithful constituted the dependent variables. The EPS had satisfactory internal reliability and the responses to the items were normally distributed. The CFA indicated a two-factor structure, although the two factors correlated highly, justifying collapsing them into one dimension. Emophilia showed satisfactory discriminant validity (r < 00.40) against the personality traits included. Lastly, emophilia was positively associated with the number of romantic relationships and times being unfaithful. Future research should aim to improve our understanding of the psychological and behavioral aspects of emophilia.
... Although Jones and Olderbak (2014) found that individuals high in D4 traits tend to use abusive tactics to obtain sex from a partner or a date, our research shows that women with elevated D4 traits are a target of these behaviours both online and in person. Research by Lechuga and Jones (2021) revealed that individuals high in Dark Triad (D3) traits of Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism often perceive individuals with similar traits as 'ideal' partners. It is therefore possible, that some women in the current study fell prey to dating partners exhibiting increased D4 traits and the propensity to use others for sexual gratification. ...
... As such, people entering new relationships, whether initiated online or in person, should exercise caution and take their time to progress relationships. For instance, research revealed that individuals who score high on emophilia, defined as a propensity to fall quickly and easily in love, are more attracted to individuals exhibiting elevated trait of Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy (Lechuga & Jones, 2021). People who actively search for love on dating apps may be determined to find a partner relatively quickly and therefore trust too easily, thereby falling pray to individuals who may exhibit increased tendencies to exploit others. ...
Dark Tetrad (D4) traits have been shown to influence both perpetration and victimisation of dating related anti-social behaviours. To inform prevention and intervention measures against these behaviours, it is important to understand how persons with elevated D4 traits search for partners and what aspects of dating they appraise as positive versus negative. This study aims to qualitatively explore the role of personality in dating experiences;
specifically, preference for dating platform and perceived dating outcomes in those with elevated D4 traits. In total, 480 adults from Australia, (288 women, 186 men, and 6 non-binary) aged 18– 70 years (M = 29.51, SD = 12.82), took part in an online qualitative and quantitative survey. Participants with elevated traits of psychopathy, narcissism and sadism showed a greater preference for meeting people offline. Applying template analysis, we generated three themes for positive experiences: finding a new partner, connecting with others, and material and personal benefits. For negative experiences, we identified four themes: not being able to find a partner, misrepresentation, online and in-person victimisation, and difficulties with navigating close relationships. Whilst persons with elevated D4 traits value connecting with others, they dislike deceptive dating practices and often perceive themselves to be victimised in online and offline settings. Future studies should investigate whether dating experiences differ across individuals who score within elevated versus lower range on D4 traits
... The personality traits belonging to the Dark Triad are characterised by strong egocentrism, manipulative behaviour, and low morals. Individuals with these socially unfavourable traits have greater difficulty empathising with and considering the needs of others, which is essential for fostering loving interpersonal relationships [5,6,10,13,15,18], although they often succeed in attracting partners [34]. For instance, evidence on individuals with elevated psychopathic traits have reported a marked decline in relationship satisfaction over time, accompanied by higher rates of separation and divorce [35]. ...
Romantic love plays a central role in the lives of individuals and influences decisions about lasting
relationships such as marriage or cohabitation. To understand the dynamics of intimate relationships,
both personality traits and attitudes toward love styles need to be explored. This
cross-sectional study aimed to examine the possible differences between married/cohabiting and
single individuals in terms of Dark Triad personality traits and attitudes towards love styles, and
to investigate which of these factors can significantly predict participants’ relationship status. As
a secondary objective, we analysed the presence of gender differences in the examined constructs.
A total of 1101 participants (mean age ±SD: 40.75 ±16.07; women: 710, 64.5 %) completed
the Dark Triad Dirty Dozen and the Love Attitudes Scale - Short Form. Data for this study were
collected via a web-based survey.
Study’s results revealed that married/cohabiting participants scored lower on all Dark Triad
Dirty Dozen subscales, and they were characterised by more Eros and Agape and less Ludus,
Mania, Pragma, and Storge styles compared to their single counterparts. Age, narcissism, Eros,
Agape, Mania, and Storge were significant predictors of marriage/cohabitation. The final model
explained 53 % of the variance, with 81 % of participants correctly categorised as married/
cohabiting vs. single. Finally, men were more ludic and agapic in their love styles than women.
These findings suggest that dark personality traits and attitudes toward love styles characterise
married/cohabiting and single individuals differently. Understanding these distinctions sheds
light on the complexities of romantic relationships across different relationships.
Manipulative strategies of social conduct (Machiavellianism) have been studied by both psychologists and evolutionary biologists. The authors use the psychological literature as a database to test evolutionary hypotheses about the adaptive advantages of manipulative social behavior. Machiavellianism does not correlate with general intelligence and does not consistently lead to real-world success. It is best regarded as 1 of several social strategies, broadly similar to the “defect” strategy of evolutionary game theory, which is successful in some situations but not others. In general, human evolutionary psychology and evolutionary game theory provide useful frameworks for thinking about behavioral strategies, such as Machiavellianism, and identify a large number of specific hypotheses that have not yet been tested by personality and social psychologists.
Work on the Dark Triad traits has benefited from the use of a life history framework but it has been limited to primarily Western samples and indirect assessments of life history strategies. Here, we examine how the Dark Triad traits (i.e., psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and narcissism) relate to two measures of individual differences in life history strategies. In Study 1 (N = 937), we replicated prior observed links between life history strategies, as measured by the Mini-K, and the Dark Triad traits using samples recruited from three countries. In Study 2 (N = 1032), we measured life history strategies using the Consideration of Future Consequences Scale and correlated it with the Dark Triad traits in samples recruited from three additional countries. While there was some variability across participants’ sex and country, the results were generally consistent in that psychopathy and (to a lesser extent) Machiavellianism were related to faster life history strategies and narcissism was related to slower life history strategies. These results add cross-cultural data and the use of two measures of life history speed to understand the Dark Triad traits from a life history perspective.
A cross sectional study was conducted to assess the role of dark triads in bullying and victimization behavior in 479 students (boys = 245, girls = 234) (M age = 15.11, SD = 1.24). It was hypothesized that dark triads would be positively related to bullying and victimization. The Adolescent Peer Relations Instruments (Parada, 2000) was used to assess bullying and victimization, and the Short D3 (Jones & Paulhus, 2014) was used to measure three dark triads i.e., machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy. Results indicated that machiavellianism and psychopathy were positively related to bullying and narcissism was positively related to victimization. Hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to assess the role of dark triads in bullying, controlling for victimization; and role of dark triads in victimization, controlling for bullying, in boys and girls. The results demonstrated that among dark triads only psychopathy positively predicted bullying but none of the dark triads predicted victimization in adolescents. The findings of this work have important implications for school counselors to identify the vulnerable students and develop remedial programs for them.
Although all 3 of the Dark Triad members are predisposed to engage in exploitative interpersonal behavior, their motivations and tactics vary. Here we explore their distinctive dynamics with 5 behavioral studies of dishonesty (total N = 1,750). All 3 traits predicted cheating on a coin-flipping task when there was little risk of being caught (Study 1). Only psychopathy predicted cheating when punishment was a serious risk (Study 2). Machiavellian individuals also cheated under high risk—but only if they were ego-depleted (Study 3). Both psychopathy and Machiavellianism predicted cheating when it required an intentional lie (Study 4). Finally, those high in narcissism showed the highest levels of self-deceptive bias (Study 5). In sum, duplicitous behavior is far from uniform across the Dark Triad members. The frequency and nature of their dishonesty is moderated by 3 contextual factors: level of risk, ego depletion, and target of deception. This evidence for distinctive forms of duplicity helps clarify differences among the Dark Triad members as well as illuminating different shades of dishonesty.
The Dark Triad traits have been repeatedly labeled as facilitating an exploitive mating strategy. However, various researchers have repeatedly conflated short-term mating or casual sex with an exploitive mating strategy. In this study using Mechanical Turk participants (N = 252; 142 men, 110 women), we provided a better test of just how sexually exploitive those high on the Dark Triad traits might be by examining how the traits related to rape-enabling attitudes. We examined how each trait may facilitate rape, whether these associations were robust to partialing the variance associated with the Big Five traits and similar in men and women, and showed that one reason why men may be more likely to rape than women is they are characterized by the Dark Triad traits more than women are. In so doing, we test the confluence model of rape that asserts that personality traits similar to the Dark Triad traits act as one pathway to rape.
Prior research has examined links between Dark Triad traits—Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism—and aggression in individuals, but not couples. Dating heterosexual couples self-reported measures of the Dark Triad and aggression (trait and displaced; Study 1) or negativity (Study 2). Actor–partner interdependence models showed positive links between (a) women's psychopathy and women's trait and displaced aggression (actor effects), and (b) men's psychopathy and women's trait aggression (partner effect). Positive actor effects also linked narcissism to displaced aggression. Using integrative data analysis to combine Studies 1 and 2, relationship duration moderated actor and partner effects linking psychopathy to women's argumentativeness (negativity and verbal aggression); men in longer relationships and women in shorter relationships had psychopathy–argumentativeness slopes that were especially positive.
Machiavellianism is a personality trait that is characterized by manipulative and exploitative attitude toward others, lack of empathy, and a cynical view of human nature. In itself or as part of the Dark Triad it has been the target of several studies investigating romantic relations. Nevertheless, the relationship between Machiavellianism and romantic ideals has not been revealed yet. An undergraduate sample of 143 (92 females) with an average age of 19.83 years (SD = 1.51 years) filled out self-report measures of Machiavellianism (Mach-IV Scale) and romantic ideals (Ideal Standards Scale and NEO-FFI-IDEAL). According to our results, Machiavellianism correlated negatively with the importance of partner’s warmth-trustworthiness, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and with the importance of intimacy and loyalty in their ideal relationships. Machiavellianism correlated positively with the ideal partner’s possession over status and resources. Explorative factor analysis revealed three components of ideal partner’s characteristics. Machiavellianism loaded significantly on two out of three components. Results are discussed with regard to Ideal Standards Model and the Big Five model of personality.
Dark Triad traits (narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism) are linked to the pursuit of short-term mating strategies but they may have differential effects on actual mating success in naturalistic scenarios: Narcissism may be a facilitator for men’s short-term mating success, while Machiavellianism and psychopathy may be detrimental. To date, little is known about the attractiveness of Dark Triad traits in women. In a speed dating study, we assessed participants’ Dark Triad traits, Big Five personality traits, and physical attractiveness in N = 90 heterosexual individuals (46 women, 44 men). Each participant rated each partner’s mate appeal for short- and long-term relationships. Across both sexes, narcissism was positively associated with mate appeal for short- and long-term relationships. Further analyses indicated that these associations were due to the shared variance among narcissism and extraversion in men and narcissism and physical attractiveness in women, respectively. In women, psychopathy was also positively associated with mate appeal for short-term relationships. Regarding mating preferences, narcissism was found to involve greater choosiness in the rating of others’ mate appeal (but not actual choices) in men, while psychopathy was associated with greater openness towards short-term relationships in women.
Although the evolution of psychopathy as a formal clinical disorder began more than a century ago, it is only recently that scientifically sound psychometric procedures for its assessment have become available. The result has been a sharp increase in theoretically meaningful and replicable research findings, both in applied settings and in the laboratory. The construct of psychopathy is proving to be particularly useful in the criminal justice system, where it has important implications for sentencing, diversion, placement, and treatment options and for the assessment of risk for recidivism and violence. Although the etiology of the predatory, cold-blooded nature of psychopathy remains obscure, the theories and methods of cognitive neuroscience and behavioral genetics promise to greatly increase our understanding of this disorder.
Mechanical Turk (MTurk), an online labor market created by Amazon, has recently become popular among social scientists as a source of survey and experimental data. The workers who populate this market have been assessed on dimensions that are universally relevant to understanding whether, why, and when they should be recruited as research participants. We discuss the characteristics of MTurk as a participant pool for psychology and other social sciences, highlighting the traits of the MTurk samples, why people become MTurk workers and research participants, and how data quality on MTurk compares to that from other pools and depends on controllable and uncontrollable factors.
It has been suggested that the Dark Triad (DT) personality constellation is an evolved facilitator of men's short-term mating strategies. However, previous studies have relied on self-report data to consider the sexual success of DT men. To explore the attractiveness of the DT personality to the other sex, 128 women rated created (male) characters designed to capture high DT facets of personality or a control personality. Physicality was held constant. Women rated the high DT character as significantly more attractive. Moreover, this greater attractiveness was not explained by correlated perceptions of Big 5 traits. These findings are considered in light of mating strategies, the evolutionary 'arms race' and individual differences.
An understudied area of personality psychology is how personality traits might facilitate structuring of one’s environment toward goals like mating. In four studies (N = 1325), we examined (1) self-reports of where individuals go to find long-term and short-term mates, (2) how personality traits are associated with the use of these locations, and (3) how the sexes differ in their selection of mate search locations. Men were more likely than women were to use short-term (e.g., bars) than long-term (e.g., community events) niches, but did not differ in success in those niches and agreed on the nature of those niches. Slow life history traits, conscientiousness and agreeableness, were linked to preferences for long-term niches whereas, fast life history traits, narcissism and dishonesty, were linked to preferences for short-term mating niches.
Previous research on the Dark Triad traits (i.e., Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism) has focused solely on the role the Dark Triad traits played in mate choice of actors. The current study (N = 336) extends this by manipulating the apparent levels of Dark Triad traits in targets and correlating mate choice in these targets with individual differences in the Dark Triad traits in actors. As expected, both sexes preferred partners low in the Dark Triad traits for long-term mating, while those high in these traits were preferred for one-night stands. However, women high in psychopathy considered the Dark Triad traits in potential male partners more physically attractive and desirable for an one-night stand, as well as a potential husband. Men who were high on psychopathy were likewise attracted to psychopathy in potential mothers. Our findings are discussed from an evolutionary personality paradigm.
Structural equation modeling (SEM) is a vast field and widely used by many applied researchers in the social and behavioral sciences. Over the years, many software pack-ages for structural equation modeling have been developed, both free and commercial. However, perhaps the best state-of-the-art software packages in this field are still closed-source and/or commercial. The R package lavaan has been developed to provide applied researchers, teachers, and statisticians, a free, fully open-source, but commercial-quality package for latent variable modeling. This paper explains the aims behind the develop-ment of the package, gives an overview of its most important features, and provides some examples to illustrate how lavaan works in practice.
The Dark Triad consists of three overlapping but distinct personality variables: narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy. To date, however, no research has empirically identified what leads these three variables to overlap or whether other variables share the same core. The present research addresses why and how dark personalities overlap. Drawing from classic work in psychopathy, Hare's Factor 1 or manipulation and callousness were found to be the common antagonistic core. A series of latent variable procedures, including Multisample Structural Equation Models, revealed that for both samples, manipulation and callousness, completely accounted for the associations among the facet scores of the psychopathy, narcissism and Machiavellianism scales. Sample 2 also included Social Dominance Orientation, and results further confirmed that Social Dominance Orientation has the same common core as the Dark Triad. In sum, Hare's Factor 1—manipulation–callousness—emerged as common dark core that accounts for the overlap among antagonistic traits. Copyright © 2012 European Association of Personality Psychology
Three socially aversive traits—Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy—have been studied as an overlapping constellation known as the Dark Triad. Here, we develop and validate the Short Dark Triad (SD3), a brief proxy measure. Four studies (total N = 1,063) examined the structure, reliability, and validity of the subscales in both community and student samples. In Studies 1 and 2, structural analyses yielded three factors with the final 27 items loading appropriately on their respective factors. Study 3 confirmed that the resulting SD3 subscales map well onto the longer standard measures. Study 4 validated the SD3 subscales against informant ratings. Together, these studies indicate that the SD3 provides efficient, reliable, and valid measures of the Dark Triad of personalities.
Although malevolent individuals may be willing to use any tactic necessary to obtain sex, not all antagonistic traits will predict coercion or coaxing in all situations. A sample of 447 adult men, collected in two waves, reported their intentions to engage in coercion or coaxing of hypothetical targets. Study 1 provided three hypothetical scenarios that result in sexual rejection: (a) an expensive date, (b) a stranger, and (c) a relationship partner, and Study 2 provided the same scenarios, and three additional scenarios: (d) a rival’s partner, (e) a bet, and (f) a powerful person. A Structural Equations Model indicated that a common antagonistic factor, indicated by Social Dominance and the Dark Triad traits of psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism, predicted coaxing across all situations, whereas only psychopathy predicted coercion across all situations. In addition, narcissism accounted for additional variance in coaxing when rejected by an expensive date. These findings suggest that across the different scenarios, psychopathy is primarily associated with coercive tactics and the common malevolent core among the traits is associated with coaxing tactics.
Which personality traits are associated with physical attractiveness? Recent findings suggest that people high in some dark personality traits, such as narcissism and psychopathy, can be physically attractive. But what makes them attractive? Studies have confounded the more enduring qualities that impact attractiveness (i.e., unadorned attractiveness) and the effects of easily manipulated qualities such as clothing (i.e., effective adornment). In this multimethod study, we disentangle these components of attractiveness, collect self-reports and peer reports of eight major personality traits, and reveal the personality profile of people who adorn themselves effectively. Consistent with findings that dark personalities actively create positive first impressions, we found that the composite of the Dark Triad—Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy—correlates with effective adornment. This effect was also evident for psychopathy measured alone. This study provides the first experimental evidence that dark personalities construct appearances that act as social lures—possibly facilitating their cunning social strategies.
While previous studies have correlated the Dark Triad traits (i.e., narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism) with a preference for short-term relationships, little research has addressed possible correlations with short-term relationship sub-types. In this online study using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk system (N = 210) we investigated the manner in which scores on the Dark Triad relate to the selection of different mating environments using a budget-allocation task. Overall, the Dark Triad were positively correlated with preferences for short-term relationships and negatively correlated with preferences for a long-term relationship. Specifically, narcissism was uniquely correlated with preferences for one-night stands and friends-with-benefits and psychopathy was uniquely correlated with preferences for booty-call relationships. Both narcissism and psychopathy were negatively correlated with preferences for serious romantic relationships. In mediation analyses, psychopathy partially mediated the sex difference in preferences for booty-call relationships and narcissism partially mediated the sex difference in preferences for one-night stands. In addition, the sex difference in preference for serious romantic relationships was partially mediated by both narcissism and psychopathy. It appears the Dark Triad traits facilitate the adoption of specific mating environments providing fit with people’s personality traits.
The present investigation examined the degree to which various characteristics are desired in five types of relational partners. Men and women (N = 700) indicated their preferences for several attributes in either a casual sex partner, dating partner, marriage partner, same-sex friend, or opposite-sex friend (randomly assigned). Participants also indicated how important it was to obtain a partner with the desired level of each attribute. Although participants most preferred warmth and kindness, expressivity and openness, and a good sense of humor across relationship types, they clearly distinguished between romantic/sexual relationships and friendships. Specifically, participants preferred (and felt that it was more important to obtain) higher levels of many desirable characteristics - including physical attractiveness, social status attributes, and disposition or personality traits (e.g., warmth, expressiveness, humor, intelligence) - in a romantic/sexual partner than in a friend. Participants also differentiated between same-sex and opposite-sex friend- ships. In general, they preferred higher levels of and/or believed it was more important to obtain physical attractive- ness, social status, and dispositional/personality attributes from opposite-sex friends than from same-sex friends. To at least some degree, men's preferences were associated with the number of others they believed were available for a particular type of relationship; women's preferences generally were associated with perceptions of their own desirability as a partner.
Ten years ago Paulhus and Williams (2002) called attention to the ‘Dark Triad’, a constellation of three conceptually distinct but empirically overlapping personality variables. The three members – Machiavellianism, narcissism and subclinical psychopathy – often show differential correlates but share a common core of callous-manipulation. There are now dozens of studies on the triad and, according to Google Scholar, over 350 citations. The goal of this review is to update and critically evaluate this rapidly expanding literature. The standard measures of each Dark Triad member are reviewed along with newer combination measures. The Dark Triad members are located in mainstream structural models, namely, the interpersonal circumplex as well as Five- and Six-Factor Models. Key issues and controversies are addressed.
It has been suggested that coupled individuals tend to adjust their ideal partner preferences according to their actual partner. In Study 1, we developed a mate preference trait-list and found a four-factor structure (Physical attractiveness, Status/Resources, Vitality, and Warmth/Trustworthiness), which we confirmed in Study 2. In Study 3, we compared ideal and actual partner preferences in continually-coupled and newly-coupled individuals. Ideal partner preferences were recorded in continually-coupled participants while in the relationship and in single participants before they established a relationship. Results showed that discrepancy between ideal and actual partner evaluations was lower in continually-coupled than in newly-coupled individuals when computing Manhattan distance between them. When comparing ideal partner preferences, continually-coupled individuals rated Warmth/Trustworthiness and Vitality lower than newly-coupled individuals. No difference between continually-coupled and newly-coupled individuals was found in their actual partner evaluations. Our results indicate that relationship status significantly affects ideal partner preferences.
There is a paucity of literature investigating the extent to which human personality predicts lifetime (age-controlled) offspring. The present study contributes to this field in assessing whether the inter-related ‘dark’ personalities that have been linked to mating success (i.e., narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy: the ‘Dark Triad’) predict number of children. Analyses from an online sample (N = 314) revealed that for men, psychopathy was a negative predictor, and narcissism a positive predictor of lifetime offspring. For women, psychopathy emerged as a negative predictor of lifetime offspring. Results are discussed in respect of the importance of these traits to fitness-related outcomes, including reproduction, and the need to consider sex differences, as these traits may have a different function in men and women.
Women (N = 356) aged 16–68 years were recruited via online social networking sites and research participation websites. Participants were presented with 15 facial composite pairs (each pair including a high and low Dark Triad trait facial morph), and were asked to identify the most attractive individual either in the context of a short-term (n = 171) or long-term relationship (n = 185). Women also completed the Sensation-Seeking Scale (SSS-V, Zuckerman, 1994), containing boredom susceptibility, disinhibition, experience-seeking, thrill- and adventure-seeking subscales. Results indicate that women are averse to faces with high levels of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy for both short- and long-term romantic relationships. Sensation-seeking does not predict preference for Dark Triad traits as a short-term or long-term partner. Findings replicate previous research indicating that women dislike male faces high on Dark Triad traits for both short- and long-term relationships and are consistent with research suggesting that the aversion to men high on Dark Triad traits is resistant to individual variation.
Introduction:
The Dark Tetrad traits (subclinical psychopathy, narcissism, Machiavellianism, and everyday sadism) have interpersonal consequences. At present, however, how these traits are associated with the accuracy and positivity of first impressions is not well understood.
Objectives:
The present manuscript addresses three primary questions. First, to what extent are perceiver levels of Dark Tetrad traits associated with differing levels of perceptive accuracy? Second, to what extent are target levels of Dark Tetrad traits associated with differing levels of expressive accuracy? Finally, to what extent can Dark Tetrad traits be differentiated when examining perceptions of and by others?
Methods:
In a round-robin design, participants (N = 412) in small groups engaged in brief, naturalistic, unstructured dyadic interactions before providing impressions of their partner.
Results:
Dark Tetrad traits were associated with being viewed and viewing others less distinctly accurately and more negatively.
Conclusion:
Interpersonal perceptions that included an individual scoring highly on one of the Dark Tetrad traits differed in important ways from interactions among individuals with more benevolent personalities. Notably, despite the similarities between the Dark Tetrad, traits had unique associations with interpersonal perceptions. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
The term dark triad refers to the constellation of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. Over the past few years, the concept has gained momentum, with many researchers assuming that the dark triad is a prominent antecedent of transgressive and norm-violating behavior. Our purpose in this meta-analytic review was to evaluate (a) interrelations among narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy; (b) gender differences in these traits; (c) how these traits are linked to normal personality factors; and (d) the psychosocial correlates of the dark triad. Our findings show that dark triad traits are substantially intercorrelated, somewhat more prevalent among men than women, predominantly related to the Big Five personality factor of agreeableness and the HEXACO factor of honesty-humility, and generally associated with various types of negative psychosocial outcomes. We question whether dark triad traits are sufficiently distinct and argue that the way they are currently measured is too simple to capture the malevolent sides of personality. Because most research in this domain is cross-sectional and based on self-reports, we recommend using a cross-informant approach and prospective, longitudinal research designs for studying the predictive value of dark triad features.
Data collection using Internet-based samples has become increasingly popular in many social science disciplines, including advertising. This research examines whether one popular Internet data source, Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk), is an appropriate substitute for other popular samples utilized in advertising research. Specifically, a five-sample between-subjects experiment was conducted to help researchers who utilize MTurk in advertising experiments understand the strengths and weaknesses of MTurk relative to student samples and professional panels. In comparisons across five samples, results show that the MTurk data outperformed panel data procured from two separate professional marketing research companies across various measures of data quality. The MTurk data were also compared to two different student samples, and results show the data were at least comparable in quality. While researchers may consider MTurk samples as a viable alternative to student samples when testing theory-driven outcomes, precautions should be taken to ensure the quality of data regardless of the source. Best practices for ensuring data quality are offered for advertising researchers who utilize MTurk for data collection.
Hypotheses regarding positive versus negative assortment, initial assortment versus convergence, and active assortment versus social homogamy were tested on a sample of 100 heterosexual dating couples using variable- and couple-centered approaches. A modest to moderate degree of positive assortment was found for all Dark Triad measures, the highest for Machiavellianism, followed by psychopathy and narcissism. Structural modeling also showed a moderate degree of positive assortment for men's and women's latent Dark Triad constructs. Results supported the initial assortment hypothesis, meaning that couples were already similar in the Dark Triad traits at the beginning of the relationship and did not converge over time. Additionally, similarity was not due to background variables such as age and education (i.e., social homogamy), thus supporting the active assortment hypothesis.
Emophilia is defined by a tendency to fall in love quickly and often, which is associated with rapid romantic involvement. However, questions linger as to how it is different from anxious attachment, which also predicts rapid romantic involvement. One key difference is the process (i.e., approach vs. avoidance) through which these individuals perceive rewards and punishments. Whereas emophilia is defined as a reward-based approach process, anxious attachment is an anxiety based avoidance process. Three overlapping variables (emophilia, sociosexuality, and anxious attachment) were examined against the backdrop of Gray's Behavioral Activation and Inhibition Systems (BAS & BIS, respectively) using 240 participants from Amazon's Mechanical Turk. Each had a unique reinforcement pattern. Whereas anxious attachment was associated with both aspects of BIS, emophilia was associated with BAS-Reward and sociosexuality was associated with BAS-Fun and BAS-Drive. These findings suggest that while emophilia is associated with reward-based “approach” processes, anxious attachment is associated with fear and anxiety based “inhibitory” processes. These avoidance processes are presumably associated with need-based affiliation with a romantic partner.
Relationship research has identified several key variables that predict the types of relationships individuals seek, the ways they engage partners, and how they see themselves. However, to date, little research has examined a novel variable, emophilia. Emophilia is defined as individual variation that exists with respect to how fast and frequently and individual falls in love. It is critical to establish emophilia as a unique construct in the field of relationship research. The present study explored the associations between various relationship variables and individual difference measures such as the Big Five and self-esteem. The results indicated that each variable had a different pattern of correlations with the Big Five and self-esteem, and that none of the relationship variables were redundant with each other. In particular, emophilia was distinct from both anxious attachment and sociosexuality indicating that it may predict unique variance in relationship research.
Few studies have looked at assortative mating for the Dark Triad (i.e., Machiavellianism, psychopathy and narcissism), or assortative mating for facial characteristics related to personality. In two studies (n's = 302 and 262), we investigated whether women scoring high in the Dark Triad exhibited a preference for high and low Dark Triad male composite faces. In Study 1, using a two alternative forced-choice task and a short Dark Triad scale, there was little evidence for assortative mating. In Study 2, utilising a rating scale, longer personality measures, and controlling for perceptions of aggression, masculinity and dominance, we found positive assortative mating for narcissism in long-term relationships. Findings are discussed from evolutionary psychological perspective.
The current study extended previous literature that had investigated the attractiveness of the Dark Triad (DT) personality to youthful women (Carter, Campbell, & Muncer, 2014), by comparing responses between two age groups. Participants (N = 1001 females) consisted of undergraduate students and women sampled from various North American communities. Participants read descriptions of male personalities and rated their attractiveness. Descriptions of male characters were designed to portray a combination of high scores on the Dark Triad traits (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and sub-clinical psychopathy), and results were compared to ratings on a low-scoring DT personality. Results were generally supportive of the hypotheses, such that younger women were more attracted to the Dark Triad traits than were older women; older women also rated the low-scoring DT personality as significantly more attractive than did younger women. However, inconsistent with previous literature, younger women rated the low-scoring DT personality as significantly more favorable than the high-scoring DT personality. Further, the participants' level of fertility did not significantly influence attractiveness ratings. The current study's findings may deepen understanding of the ways in which mating strategies change with age, as well as the qualities that women desire in a mate, in order to improve mating success.
Women’s preference for male partners that signal either genetic or parenting advantages for their
progeny are predicted to be favoured by natural selection. However, currently there are few
studies on how such mate preferences are associated with women’s reproductive success.
We examined whether preferences for the Dark Triad personality traits (i.e., Machiavellianism,
narcissism, and psychopathy) in men’s faces were related to reproductive success in
contemporary women. Because out of three Dark Triad features narcissism is most clearly
associated with social success and physical and psychological health benefits in men, we
predicted that women’s preference for narcissism could be most strongly related to their
reproductive success. In line with this, we found that women with preference for high narcissistic
men’s faces gave birth to more offspring while controlling for their age, sexual openness
(sociosexuality) and self-rated health. Moreover, women with strong preference for
Machiavellian male faces reported fewer offspring than their same-aged peers with weak
preference, whereas preference for psychopathic men’s faces was unrelated to women’s current number of offspring. These findings suggest that in modern society, women’s preference for some of the Dark Triad traits in men may be related to their reproductive success.
According to a "mating market" approach, people with desirable traits have a stronger "bargaining hand" and can be more selective when choosing partners. We examined how heterosexual mate preferences varied by gender, age, personal income, education, and appearance satisfaction (Study 1 N= 22,815; Study 2 N= 4790). Men and women differed in the percentage indicating it was "desirable" or "essential" that their potential partner was good-looking (92% vs. 84%; d=.39), had a slender body (80% vs. 58%; d=.53), had a steady income (74% vs. 97%; d= 1.17), and made/will make a lot of money (47% vs. 69%; d=-.49). There were also gender differences in whether it was "very important" or "a must have" their partner made at least as much money as they do (24% vs. 46%; d=.60) and had a successful career (33% vs. 61%; d=.57), but not in whether their partner was physically attractive to them (40% vs. 42%; d=.03). Wealthier men and people with better appearance satisfaction had stronger preferences for good looking and slender partners. Preferences varied within and between genders, and were linked to bargaining hand in the mating market.
Until now, Machiavellianism has mainly been studied in personality and social psychological framework, and little attention has been paid to the underlying cognitive and neural equipment. In light of recent findings, Machiavellian social skills are not limited to emotion regulation and "cold-mindedness" as many authors have recently stated, but linked to specific cognitive abilities. Although Machiavellians appear to have a relatively poor mindreading ability and emotional intelligence, they can efficiently exploit others which is likely to come from their flexible problem solving processes in changing environmental circumstances. The author proposed that Machiavellians have specialized cognitive domains of decision making, such as monitoring others' behavior, task orientation, reward seeking, inhibition of cooperative feelings, and choosing victims. He related the relevant aspects of cognitive functions to their neurological substrates, and argued why they make Machiavellians so successful in interpersonal relationships.
Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Although the Dark Triad personality (i.e., Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) has been researched widely, only few studies have investigated women’s preferences for men who present high and low Dark Triad features. With an on-line two-alternative forced choice questionnaire we investigated the interaction between preferences of 1,962 Finnish women for facial stimuli that differed in the intensity of the Dark Triad traits, accounting for mating context, contraceptive use, and sociosexuality. Among non-contraceptive-using women, unrestricted sociosexuality was positively correlated with preference for high narcissistic male faces, whereas in contraceptive-using women, sociosexuality correlated negatively with preference for high Machiavellian male faces. We suggest that i) facial cues to Dark Triad traits are detectable by women, but ii) their effect on the judgments of attractiveness may vary depending on sociosexuality and contraceptive use, and that iii) preference for narcissism follows similar variation trends as masculinity preference, depending on sociosexuality and the use of hormonal contraception.
Psychopathy is related to parasitic behavior that is both antisocial and high-risk. Such individuals are unlikely to consider consequences when engaging in selfish financial behavior, even in the face of punishment and financial loss. After completing Dark Triad measures (psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and narcissism), participants were told that everyone could gamble (in a clearly biased game) with the next person's bonus. Participants were then randomly assigned to think their bonus was still intact or nearly depleted. Participants were then given the option to punish the previous participant. Finally, participants were given the option to gamble with the next participant's bonus. Wins benefited current participants, and losses hurt the next participant. Participants were reminded that they could be punished by the next participant and lose everything. Results indicated that all three Dark Triad traits correlated with attempting one round of gambling. However, only individuals high in psychopathy persisted in gambling, leading to greater financial loss of the next participant. These findings highlight the importance of screening for malevolent traits in the financial world, particularly psychopathy.
Several studies have demonstrated that men and women exhibit different romantic preferences, which align with the patterns predicted by sexual strategies theory. It is also assumed that the mate's value is a central factor in determining an individual's sexual strategy. Thus, the current study was developed to investigate whether intra-sex variation exists in the ideal romantic preferences of both genders and whether these preferences are associated with self-perception. To investigate these questions, cluster analyses were performed on the descriptions of ideal mates for short- and long-term relationships given by 366 Brazilian undergraduates (145 men and 221 women). Subsequently, comparisons were made between the lists of self-perceived attributes related to reproduction generated by the resulting groups. The results suggest that males and females use different mating tactics for short-term mating and that males use different tactics for long-term mating. Among men, the mating tactics observed seem to be related to male mate value and their tactics changed when they described ideal short- and long-term partners. Women's results showed different preference patterns in short-term assessments but minor differences were observed between them in terms of female mate value. For long-term relationships, female patterns were less distinct, indicating a single preference pattern. These findings indicate that a number of different tactics may be clustered together in investigations that address ideal preferences, and that studies of mate preferences must consider individual self-perceptions.
Emophilia (EP) predicts forming indiscriminate romantic bonds, and is associated with falling in love faster and with more people. Retrospective data examined life outcomes and relationship orientations in a large adult sample. Among both men and women, results indicated that both sociosexuality and EP were unique predictors of number of previous romantic relationships. However, among both men and women, EP was the only unique predictor of number of times being engaged to be married. Further, among women, EP was a unique predictor of younger age of first marriage engagement. Finally, high levels of both EP and unrestricted sociosexuality were associated with more pregnancies by different men. In sum, sociosexuality, anxious attachment, and EP all uniquely associated different relationship life outcomes, especially among women. Overall, the findings support and extend previous research showing that Emophilia is a critical variable in the realm of relationships.
Participant attentiveness is a concern for many researchers using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk). While studies comparing the attentiveness of participants on MTurk vs traditional subject pool samples provided mixed support for this concern, attention check questions and other methods of ensuring participant attention have become prolific in MTurk studies. Because MTurk is a population that learns, we hypothesized that MTurkers would be more attentive to instructions than traditional subject pool samples. In three online studies, participants from MTurk and collegiate populations participated in a task that included a measure of attentiveness to instructions (an instructional manipulation check – IMC). In all studies, MTurkers were more
attentive to instructions than college students, even on novel IMCs (studies 2 and 3), and
MTurkers showed larger effects in response to a minute text manipulation. These results have
implications for sustainable use of MTurk samples for social science research and the
conclusions drawn from research with MTurk and college subject pool samples.
Keywords: instructional manipulation checks, participant attentiveness, MTurk, college students
Sociopaths are “outstanding” members of society in two senses: politically, they draw our attention because of the inordinate amount of crime they commit, and psychologically, they hold our fascination because most ofus cannot fathom the cold, detached way they repeatedly harm and manipulate others. Proximate explanations from behavior genetics, child development, personality theory, learning theory, and social psychology describe a complex interaction of genetic and physiological risk factors with demographic and micro environmental variables that predispose a portion of the population to chronic antisocial behavior. More recent, evolutionary and game theoretic models have tried to present an ultimate explanation of sociopathy as the expression of a frequency-dependent life strategy which is selected, in dynamic equilibrium, in response to certain varying environmental circumstances. This paper tries to integrate the proximate, developmental models with the ultimate, evolutionary ones, suggesting that two developmentally different etiologies of sociopathy emerge from two different evolutionary mechanisms. Social strategies for minimizing the incidence of sociopathic behavior in modern society should consider the two different etiologies and the factors that contribute to them.
Subjects who score high on Machiavellianism are often charming and attractive in short-term social interactions. It is unclear from their behavior whether they are using a deceptive strategy of exploitation or whether they are merely exceptionally capable social actors. We used a story-telling method to explore aspects of Machiavellianism that are not obvious from short-term social interactions. Subjects who scored high and low on Machiavellianism wrote stories in the first person, whose main characters (referred to as “I”) were evaluated by another set of subjects. The stories reveal the cooperative nature of low-Machs and the exploitative nature of high-Machs in particularly sharp focus. Judged by their fictional creations, high-Machs were rejected as social partners for most relationships, except when their exploitative skills could be directed against members of other groups.
Although the evolution of psychopathy as a formal clinical disorder began more than a century ago, it is only recently that scientifically sound psychometric procedures for its assessment have become available. The result has been a sharp increase in theoretically meaningful and replicable research findings, both in applied settings and in the laboratory. The construct of psychopathy is proving to be particularly useful in the criminal justice system, where it has important implications for sentencing, diversion, placement, and treatment options and for the assessment of risk for recidivism and violence. Although the etiology of the predatory, cold-blooded nature of psychopathy remains obscure, the theories and methods of cognitive neuroscience and behavioral genetics promise to greatly increase our understanding of this disorder.
Sample correlations converge to the population value with increasing sample size, but the estimates are often inaccurate in small samples. In this report we use Monte-Carlo simulations to determine the critical sample size from which on the magnitude of a correlation can be expected to be stable. The necessary sample size to achieve stable estimates for correlations depends on the effect size, the width of the corridor of stability (i.e., a corridor around the true value where deviations are tolerated), and the requested confidence that the trajectory does not leave this corridor any more. Results indicate that in typical scenarios the sample size should approach 250 for stable estimates.
