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Negative traits, positive assortment: Revisiting the Dark Triad and a preference for similar others
Abstract
Across two studies (N TOTAL = 933), a person's willingness to engage in a relationship with those scoring high in each of the Dark Triad traits (i.e., Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) was examined as a function of their own levels of the Dark Triad traits and the relationship type in question (i.e., a one-night stand, a dating relationship, or a marriage). There were three notable findings. First, those scoring high in Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy were more willing to engage in a relationship with a person who was also high in Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy, respectively. Second, as the commitment level of the relationship increased, so did a narcissistic individual's willingness to engage in a relationship with a fellow narcissist. Third, psychopathic people were generally interested in having one-night stands, seemingly without concern for the personality traits of the other person involved. Results are discussed in relation to assortative mating.
... Previous research has shown that individuals scoring high on narcissism tend to tolerate their own traits in others (e.g., Hart & Adams, 2014;Kay, 2021). This tolerance may help individuals scoring high on narcissism to maintain relationships with others scoring similarly high on narcissism (Doroszuk et al., 2019;Maaß et al., 2018). ...
... In line with this, we hypothesized that the tolerance of narcissistic traits would help two individuals with high narcissism scores to maintain their friendship, but at the expense of low friendship quality. While previous research has focused on potential relationships (Kay, 2021;Lamkin et al., 2018;Lyons & Blanchard, 2016;Sleep et al., 2017), we aimed to extend those findings by observing friendships lasting for at least two years. We assumed that the occurrence of lower friendship quality would be particularly pronounced in individuals with similarly high scores on antagonistic narcissism (compared to individuals with lower scores), which has been found to be the most detrimental aspect of narcissism in the long term (e.g., Leckelt et al., 2020). ...
... Research on the Dark Triad revealed that individuals scoring high on assertive narcissism were more willing to date and marry a person who also scores high on assertive narcissism (Kay, 2021). This was not found for potential one-night stands, which led the author to conclude that the emphasis on similar traits in the partner may be greater in long-term relationships. ...
Who is willing to be in a close relationship to an individual with high narcissism, and how do individuals with high narcissism perceive their friendships? Three aspects of narcissism were distinguished (agentic, antagonistic, neurotic) to determine their association with four aspects of friendship quality (appreciation, intimacy, conflict, dominance). In the first study, a dyadic perspective was taken to observe whether friendship quality differs depending on the dyadic narcissism level of friends. As hypothesized, individuals in dyads with higher narcissism perceived their friendship quality as lower, compared to individuals in dyads with lower narcissism. More conflicts were perceived across narcissism aspects. Dyads with high antagonistic narcissism also perceived lower appreciation and intimacy. Results were interpreted in favor of the assumption that maladaptive traits are tolerated by those who possess these traits themselves. In the second study, a longitudinal perspective was taken to examine interactional effects of narcissism and friendship quality across 4 measurement occasions. On a within-person level, individuals scoring lower than usual on narcissism were found to subsequently perceive higher appreciation, and those perceiving lower appreciation than usual subsequently increased in antagonistic narcissism. Results suggested that the effects found in relationship formation tend to generalize to relationship maintenance. Overall, this work expanded previous research on narcissism and social relationships by observing relationship quality in long-term friendships including a dyadic as well as a longitudinal perspective. To answer the question of who is willing to be friends with someone high in narcissism, results suggest that it would be individuals who also score high on narcissism. In regard to the question of how individuals with high narcissism perceive their friendships it was found that they tend to be willing to accept lower friendship quality.
... The materialistic tendency of Machians prompts them to explain the external environment through economic benefits exchanges. Moreover, they believe that the instrumental interaction mode between individuals is the rule for dealing with affairs (Kay, 2021b;Niu et al., 2022). Machians will project their ideas on the other party, believing that others follow the same short-term economic benefits exchange mode that they do (Rauthmann, 2012;Ruiz-Palomino et al., 2019). ...
This research examines the relationship between employees’ Machiavellianism and knowledge hoarding. Socioanalytic theory is used to explore the mediating role of knowledge-based psychological ownership, and trait activation theory is used to explore the moderating role of employee relationships. A questionnaire survey was administered to 335 full-time employees in China to collect data for the analysis, which was performed using hierarchical regression and bootstrapping. The results show that Machiavellianism positively predicts knowledge hoarding. Moreover, knowledge-based psychological ownership plays a partial mediating role between Machiavellianism and knowledge hoarding. Both affective relationships and instrumental relationships can moderate the relationship between Machiavellianism and knowledge-based psychological ownership and the mediation of Machiavellianism on knowledge hoarding via knowledge-based psychological ownership. This research enriches the theoretical framework of knowledge hoarding activities and provides theoretical guidance and empirical evidence for organisations seeking to effectively manage negative knowledge activities.
... In a similar vein, individuals high in the Dark Tetrad may be drawn to GLOs because they see these organizations as a way to satisfy their desire for short-term sexual relationships. Numerous studies have indicated that individuals high in the Dark Tetrad have what is known as an unrestricted sociosexual orientation: they tend to feel a greater desire for sex (Baughman et al., 2014); are less discerning when it comes to choosing their sexual partners (Kay, 2021); and gravitate towards relationships that require little commitment (Jonason, Luevano, & Adams, 2012;Jonason, Slomski, & Partyka, 2012). As such, the reputation of sorority members as "promiscuous" (Wilson & Tollini, 2013) and fraternity members as "womanizers" (Tollini & Wilson, 2010) may attract individuals high in the Dark Tetrad because they see these organizations as a way to meet new sexual partners. ...
Very little is known about the relationship between antagonistic personality traits and membership in Greek-letter organizations (GLOs). The present study (N = 2,191) examined the association between the Dark Tetrad traits—Machiavellianism, grandiose narcissism, psychopathy, and everyday sadism—and membership in sororities and fraternities. Participants who were high in grandiose narcissism were more likely to be in sororities and fraternities, whereas participants who were high in Machiavellianism and everyday sadism were less likely to be in these organizations. Psychopathy was not significantly associated with membership in GLOs. Taken together, the present results suggest that members of GLOs are not necessarily more manipulative, cold-hearted, or cruel than their non-GLO counterparts, but they may be more entitled, domineering, and status-seeking.
... Those characterized by narcissism and psychopathy may have rape-enabling attitudes, engage in sexual coercion (Figueredo et al., 2015;Jonason et al., 2017;Lyons et al., 2020;Prusik et al., 2021), and commit relationship aggression (Carton and Egan, 2017). Those high in these traits appear to prefer others who are like them as romantic partners but "suffer" for this choice with less relationship satisfaction (Kay, 2021;Koladich and Atkinson, 2016;Lavner et al., 2016;Smith et al., 2014;Webster et al., 2016). It appears that those characterized by these traits have a selfish, causal, and even exploitive approach to relationships. ...
Researchers have extensively explored the early and middle stages of romantic and sexual relationships for those high on the Dark Triad traits (i.e., psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and narcissism) but they have generally missed the termination stage of relationships. In this study we examined (N = 341) the role these traits play in one termination strategy, ghosting. Ghosting is when a person discontinues a relationship through silence; it is considered an indirect form of relationship termination. We found that (1) those who reported ghosting someone in the past (vs. those who did not) found ghosting to be acceptable and were more Machiavellian and psychopathic, (2) ghosting was most acceptable in the short-term (vs. long-term) context especially for those who had previously ghosted someone, and (3) those high in the Dark Triad traits rated ghosting more acceptable to terminate short-term relationships, but not long-term ones. We also found that the correlations between acceptability and ghosting short-term partners and the Dark Triad traits was localized to narcissistic men with a similar-yet-weak effect for psychopathy. Results are discussed in relation to how ghosting may be primarily committed by people who are interested in casual sex where investment is low and may be part of the fast life history strategies linked to the Dark Triad traits.
A substantial body of research exists documenting the relationship between Dark Triad traits and the formation and maintenance of close personal relationships. Relatively few studies have, however, considered Dark Triad traits in the context of relationship dissolution. The present studies investigate the relationship between Dark Triad traits and the strategies used during the dissolution of romantic relationships (Study 1) and friendships (Study 2). For each study participants (Study 1: N = 722; Study 2: N = 177) completed the Short Dark Triad-3 (SD3) and Break-up Strategies Questionnaire. In Study 1, Machiavellianism predicted greater use of avoidance / withdrawal, cost escalation / manipulation, and de-escalation when terminating a romantic relationship and lower open confrontation. Further, psychopathy predicted greater use of cost escalation / manipulation and distant / mediated communication but lower positive tone / self-blame and open confrontation when terminating a romantic relationship. In Study 2, psychopathy predicted greater distant / mediated communication only and Machiavellianism was not a significant individual predictor of strategies used during the dissolution of friendship. Narcissism was less closely associated with break-up strategies than Machiavellianism or psychopathy, predicting greater open confrontation with romantic partners only (Study 1).
Two studies examined which traits males and females desire in partners at various levels of relationship development in an attempt to integrate evolutionary models (which emphasize sex differences) and social exchange models (which emphasize self-appraisals). In Study 1, male and female students specified their minimum criteria on 24 traits for a date, sexual partner, exclusive dating partner, marriage partner, and 1-night sexual liaison. They also rated themselves on the same dimensions. Sex differences were greatest for casual sexual liaisons, with men's criteria being consistently lower than women's. Men's self-ratings were generally less correlated with their criteria for a 1-night stand, as well. Study 2 replicated the findings of Study 1, adding several modifications, including a measure of Ss' sex typing. Sex typing had few effects. The advantages of combining social psychological and evolutionary perspectives are discussed.
Machiavellianism is characterized by planfulness, the ability to delay gratification, and interpersonal antagonism (i.e., manipulativeness and callousness). Although its theoretically positive relations with facets of Conscientiousness should help distinguish Machiavellianism from psychopathy, current measurements of Machiavellianism are indistinguishable from those of psychopathy in large part because of their assessment of low Conscientiousness. The goal of the present study was to create a measure of Machiavellianism that is more in line with theory using an expert-derived profile based on the 30 facets of the five-factor model (FFM) and then test the validity of that measure by comparing it with relevant constructs. Previously collected expert ratings of the prototypical Machiavellian individual on FFM facets yielded a profile of 13 facets including low Agreeableness and high Conscientiousness. Items were written to represent each facet, resulting in a 201-item Five Factor Machiavellianism Inventory (FFMI). Across 2 studies, with a total of 710 participants recruited via Mechanical Turk, the FFMI was reduced to its final 52-item form and was shown to relate as expected to measures of Big Five personality traits, current Machiavellianism measures, psychopathy, narcissism, ambition, and impulsivity. The FFMI is a promising alternative Machiavellianism measure.
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.
The breadth of Jeffrey Gray’s contributions to psychology is barely touched in the various chapters of this book. This is not a criticism of the authors, but of the task that the editor set them. For to honor Jeffrey Gray in a single volume is an impossible task. As all of the contributers have said so well, Jeffrey was a remarkable man. Warm and caring to his friends and colleagues, linguistically skilled, familiar with theater and music in multiple languages, Jeffrey developed a biological model of personality that has become so well established that it has persisted even after he drastically changed it. To those who study personality psychology, the preceding chapters of this book are essential requirements that allow us to take advantage of the careful research and broad scholarship that went into Jeffrey Gray’s work. Personality theory is concerned with describing and explaining the observed complexity of individual differences in the patterning of affect, behavior, cognition and desires over time and space. At the descriptive level, there is moderately strong consensus that three to six broad domains can be used to organize how people describe themselves and others. People differ in the power they exert over others, in the affection they show others, in the quality of their work, in their tendency to react emotionally, in the openness of their interests to intellectual inquiry and in their basic intellectual ability.
Despite narcissism's relation with interpersonal dysfunction, surprisingly little empirical research has been devoted to understanding narcissism's effect on intimate relationships in general or marital relationships in particular. The current study addressed this gap using longitudinal data from a community sample of 146 newlywed couples assessed 6 times over the first 4 years of marriage. First, we examined partner characteristics associated with higher levels of narcissism to determine the degree to which couples were matched on narcissism and related traits. Second, we examined how narcissism predicted the trajectory of marital quality over time, testing narcissism's association with initial levels of relationship functioning (the intercept) and changes in relationship functioning (the slope). Results indicated a small degree of homophily but otherwise no clear pattern of partner characteristics for individuals higher in narcissism. Hierarchical linear modeling indicated that wives' total narcissism and entitlement/exploitativeness scores predicted the slope of marital quality over time, including steeper declines in marital satisfaction and steeper increases in marital problems. Husbands' narcissism scores generally had few effects on their own marital quality or that of their wives. These findings are notable in indicating that the effects of personality characteristics on marital functioning may take some time to manifest themselves, even if they were present from early in the marriage. Future research into the mediating psychological and interpersonal processes that link wives' narcissism with poorer marital functioning over time would be valuable. (PsycINFO Database Record
(c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).
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.
Although the Dark Triad traits – narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy – have been studied in individuals, little is known about their roles in dating relationships. Forty-five heterosexual undergraduate couples (N = 90) reported measures of the Dark Triad and relationship commitment and satisfaction. Within couples, assortative mating was slightly negative for narcissism, marginally positive for Machiavellianism, and significantly positive for psychopathy. Using actor–partner interdependence models, we explored the extent to which satisfaction mediated the direct associations between the Dark Triad and commitment. Men’s satisfaction marginally mediated the women’s Dark Triad → men’s commitment negative association. Among the three Dark Triad subscales, satisfaction marginally mediated both of the actor-effect-based psychopathy → commitment negative associations. We discuss possible implications for couples’ relationship strategies.
The present study explored the links between the Dark Triad traits (i.e., narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy) and sexual fantasies in a sample of Canadian undergraduates (N = 643). Among the Dark Triad traits, psychopathy was the most strongly correlated with overall sex drive as well as fantasies containing exploratory, impersonal, and sadomasochistic themes. Further, individuals who scored high on narcissism reported engaging in intimate sexual fantasies more frequently. The Dark Triad, psychopathy in particular, facilitated overall sexual desire in men. Overall, these findings were consistent with the view that the Dark Triad facilitates an exploitative, short-term mating strategy. Implications are discussed in the context of an evolutionary framework.
Narcissists, relative to non-narcissists, seem to regard their own narcissistic traits (e.g., rudeness and arrogance) more positively and are more motivated to cultivate such traits. That said, should we expect narcissists to regard others’ narcissistic traits more positively too? In this study, participants (N = 463) completed a survey in which they responded on a measure of trait narcissism, rated the likeability of people who possessed various narcissistic traits (e.g., arrogant, rude, self-centered), and then indicated the extent to which they possessed the same narcissistic traits. Interestingly, narcissists – who are generally disagreeable and harsh individuals – rated others who possessed narcissistic traits more positively than non-narcissists. Furthermore, a mediation analysis revealed that this effect of narcissism on ratings was mediated by narcissists’ self-reports of possessing the narcissistic traits. Thus, this study provides initial evidence that narcissists are more accepting of others’ narcissistic traits, and this study has implications for understanding the interpersonal and intrapersonal consequences of narcissism.
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.
Psychopathy is defined by a constellation of interpersonal, affective and behavioural characteristics that should, in principle, be strongly related to risk for recidivism and violence. We reviewed the literature on The Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised scales (PCL-R; Hare, 1980, 1991) and recidivism. We found that the PCL-R consistently was an important predictor across inmate samples and was consistently among the best predictors of recidivism. Average correlations between the PCL-R and recidivism, weighted by their degrees of freedom, were .27 for general recidivism, .27 for violent recidivism, and .23 for sexual recidivism. Relative risk statistics at one year indicated that psychopaths were approximately three times more likely to recidivate—or four times more likely to violently recidivate—than were non-psychopaths. The correlation between general recidivism and PCL-R Factor 2 (a measure of the social deviance facet of psychopathy) was stronger than the correlation between general recidivism and PCL-R Factor 1 (a measure of the interpersonal/affective facet of psychopathy). Both PCL-R factors contributed equally to the prediction of violent recidivism. The PCL-R routinely made a significant contribution towards predicting recidivism beyond that made by key demographic variables, criminal history, and personality disorder diagnoses. Across studies, PCL-R scores were as strongly associated with general recidivism, and were more strongly associated with violent recidivism, than were actuarial risk scales designed specifically to predict reoffending. Taken together, these findings indicate that the PCL-R should be considered a primary instrument for guiding clinical assessments of risk for criminal recidivism and dangerousness.
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.
It is commonly thought that beautiful women are more able than their plainer counterparts to marry husbands of higher economic status. Previous research provides some support for this contention. This study reexamines attractiveness (measured by facial attractiveness) and economic status (as indicated by educational attainment) in marriage choices. the analysis, based on data from 129 newly married couples, first shows significant correlations between the brides' and the grooms' educational attainments and between their levels of attractiveness. After controlling for people's tendency to marry others with attributes similar to their own, however, the analysis shows that less attractive people are just as likely as more attractive people to have highly educated spouses. In particular, more attractive women are no more likely than less attractive women to have highly educated husbands. We suggest that the differences between our results and those of earlier research can be traced in part to the lack of attention paid to men's attractiveness in marriage choices.
Machiavellianism (Christie & Geis, 1970) deals with (a) a cold and cynical world view with pragmatic and immoral beliefs, (b) a lack of emotionality, (c) strategic long-term planning in self-beneficial goal pursuit, and (d) various manipulative behaviors. Although Machiavellianism comprises several different aspects (Jones & Paulhus, 2009), thus far, there is uncertainty concerning the higher and lower order factors. Further, no scale accounts for all of these, measuring a fuzzy unidimensional construct. In this article a hierarchical and multidimensional structure of Machiavellianism is presented based on a thorough literature analysis. Merits of this and future lines of research are delineated.
The current research applied a mid-level evolutionary theory that has been successfully employed across numerous animal species—life history theory—in an attempt to understand the Dark Triad personality trait cluster (narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism). In Study 1 (N = 246), a measure of life history strategy was correlated with psychopathy, but unexpectedly with neither Machiavellianism nor narcissism. Study 2 (N = 321) replicated this overall pattern of results using longer, traditional measures of the Dark Triad traits and alternative, future-discounting indicators of life history strategy (a smaller-sooner, larger-later monetary dilemma and self-reported risk-taking behaviors). Additional findings suggested two sources of shared variance across the Dark Triad traits: confidence in predicting future outcomes and openness to short-term mating.
Three experiments explored the similarity-attraction effect (SAE) among North American and Japanese samples. In all studies, North Americans showed a significantly more pronounced SAE than the Japanese. The North Americans consistently revealed a strong SAE whereas the Japanese effect was only significant in the methods with the most power. The cultural differences emerged across different methods, and for the domains of personality, activities, attitudes and demographics. The cultural difference was mediated by self-esteem, indicating that a motivation for positive self-views is a mechanism underlying the SAE.
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.
Despite the recent flurry of research on the Dark Triad, this work has been atheoretical. In two studies, totaling 358 participants, we attempt to situate the Dark Triad within the larger framework of Life History Theory by correlating them with three measures of self-control. Both psychopathy (Study 1 and Study 2) and Machiavellianism (Study 2 only) were correlated with low self-control, a tendency to discount future consequences, and high rates of attention deficit disorder. Narcissism was not correlated with measures of self-control in either study. Results are consistent with Life History Theory in that these two sets of psychological traits are expected to be part of a fast life strategy.
Two studies examined which traits males and females desire in partners at various levels of relationship development in an attempt to integrate evolutionary models (which emphasize sex differences) and social exchange models (which emphasize self-appraisals). In Study 1, male and female students specified their minimum criteria on 24 traits for a date, sexual partner, exclusive dating partner, marriage partner, and 1-night sexual liaison. They also rated themselves on the same dimensions. Sex differences were greatest for casual sexual liaisons, with men's criteria being consistently lower than women's. Men's self-ratings were generally less correlated with their criteria for a 1-night stand, as well. Study 2 replicated the findings of Study 1, adding several modifications, including a measure of Ss' sex typing. Sex typing had few effects. The advantages of combining social psychological and evolutionary perspectives are discussed.
In our article by J. L. Skeem & D. J. Cooke, (2010), we outlined the dangers inherent in conflating the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R; R. Hare, 1991) with psychopathy itself. In their response, R. Hare and C. Neumann (2010) seemed to agree with key points that the PCL-R should not be confused with psychopathy and that criminal behavior is not central to psychopathy; at the same time, they said we provided no clear directions for theory or research. In this rejoinder, we clarify our argument that progress in understanding the unobservable construct of psychopathy hinges upon setting aside procrustean dependence on a monofocal PCL-R lens to test (a) actual theories of psychopathy against articulated validation hierarchies and (b) the relation between psychopathy and crime. In specifying these conceptual and applied directions, we hope to promote constructive dialogue, further insights, and a new generation of research that better distinguishes between personality deviation and social deviance.
J. Skeem and D. J. Cooke (2010) asserted that Hare and Neumann consider criminality to be an essential component of the psychopathy construct. The assertion, presented in the guise of a debate on the nature of psychopathy, is neither accurate nor consistent with the clinical and empirical literature on psychopathy to which Hare and Neumann have contributed. Broadly defined antisociality, not criminality per se, is considered to be part of the psychopathy construct. Skeem and Cooke also expressed concerns that the popularity of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (R. D. Hare, 2003) inhibits the development and use of other instruments, that it has become the construct it measures, that it deviates from its clinical roots, and that it conflates criminality with personality. These and related issues are addressed, and it is suggested that the arguments proffered by Skeem and Cooke are not convincing, nor do they provide clear directions for theory and research.
The clinical concept of psychopathy ("psychopathic personality") is generally considered to entail persistent behavioral deviancy in the company of emotional-interpersonal detachment. However, longstanding debates continue regarding the appropriate scope and boundaries of the concept. Here, we review alternative historic descriptions of the disorder together with empirical findings for the best-established assessment instruments in use with adolescents and youth as a basis for formulating an integrative, triarchic model of psychopathy. The essence of the triarchic model is that psychopathy encompasses three distinct phenotypic constructs: disinhibition, which reflects a general propensity toward problems of impulse control; boldness, which is defined as the nexus of social dominance, emotional resiliency, and venturesomeness; and meanness, which is defined as aggressive resource seeking without regard for others ("dysaffliated agency"). These differing phenotypic components are considered in terms of relevant etiologic and developmental pathways. The triarchic conceptualization provides a basis for reconciling and accommodating alternative descriptive accounts of psychopathy, and a framework for coordinating research on neurobiological and developmental processes contributing to varying manifestations of the disorder.
We examined patterns of trait similarity (assortative mating) in married couples in four cultures, using both self-reports and spouse ratings on versions of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory. There was evidence of a subtle but pervasive perceived contrast bias in the spouse-rating data. However, there was strong agreement across methods of assessment and moderate agreement across cultures in the pattern of results. Most assortment effects were small, but correlations exceeding .40 were seen for a subset of traits, chiefly from the Openness and Agreeableness domains. Except in Russia, where more positive assortment was seen for younger couples, comparisons of younger and older cohorts showed little systematic difference. This suggested that mate selection, rather than convergence over time, accounted for similarity. Future research on personality similarity in dyads can utilize different designs but should assess personality at both domain and the facet levels.
This study examined spouse correlations in a sample of 93 married couples with respect to 16 interpersonal dimensions using three different data sources: self-report, spouse ratings, and independent interviewer-observer ratings. Results across all three sources supported the previously obtained low positive correlations between spouses. Partial correlations using age and hierarchical multiple regressions using length of marriage do not support the alternative hypothesis that obtained spouse correlations are due to age, to cohort, or to convergence over the course of marriage. Initial assortment is implicated as a probable cause of obtained spouse correspondence.
A very similar pattern of homogamy was found in samples of American and Swedish couples for physical, social, and behavioral variables. In the Swedish sample, there were only minor differences in assortment, i.e., in similarity to spouses, between MZ and DZ twins. Although our data are not conclusive on this point, there was an indication that the observed similarity of spouses for most variables is due to initial assortment rather than to convergence of phenotypes after initial contact. Exceptions are that spouses do appear to converge for highly plastic variables such as alcohol consumption and amount of social activity.
Similarity of attitudes, interpreted as reward via consensual validation, has been found to exert a positive effect on interpersonal attraction. It was hypothesized that with respect to relatively important topics, husbands and wives have similar attitudes. Working from Newcomb's A-B-X model, it was further hypothesized that assumed similarity of attitudes is greater than actual similarity. Ss were 36 married couples who responded to Rokeach's Left Opinionation, Right Opinionation, and Dogmatism scales as they themselves felt and as they guessed their spouses would respond. As predicted, significant husband-wife correlations were found for all 3 scales. Further, the correlations indicating assumed similarity (the relationship between self-scores and assumed spouse scores) were significantly larger than the actual husband-wife relationships, regardless of length of marriage. (30 ref.)
The current research examined how perceptions of the Dark Triad traits vary across occupations. Results from two studies (N TOTAL = 933) suggested that participants believe it is acceptable, if not advantageous, for lawyers and musicians to be high in the Dark Triad traits. Participants, likewise, indicated that teachers should be high in narcissism but low in Machiavellianism and psychopathy. Potentially, the performative aspects of narcissism are considered an asset for teachers, while Machiavellianism and psychopathy are considered a liability. The findings further indicated that, regardless of the occupation in question, people high in a specific Dark Triad trait believe others should also be high in that same trait. All results are considered in the context of the attraction-selection-attrition model.
Effect sizes are underappreciated and often misinterpreted—the most common mistakes being to describe them in ways that are uninformative (e.g., using arbitrary standards) or misleading (e.g., squaring effect-size rs). We propose that effect sizes can be usefully evaluated by comparing them with well-understood benchmarks or by considering them in terms of concrete consequences. In that light, we conclude that when reliably estimated (a critical consideration), an effect-size r of .05 indicates an effect that is very small for the explanation of single events but potentially consequential in the not-very-long run, an effect-size r of .10 indicates an effect that is still small at the level of single events but potentially more ultimately consequential, an effect-size r of .20 indicates a medium effect that is of some explanatory and practical use even in the short run and therefore even more important, and an effect-size r of .30 indicates a large effect that is potentially powerful in both the short and the long run. A very large effect size (r = .40 or greater) in the context of psychological research is likely to be a gross overestimate that will rarely be found in a large sample or in a replication. Our goal is to help advance the treatment of effect sizes so that rather than being numbers that are ignored, reported without interpretation, or interpreted superficially or incorrectly, they become aspects of research reports that can better inform the application and theoretical development of psychological research.
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.
Objective:
The goal of the present study was to investigate whether having higher scores on maladaptive personality traits was related to rating these traits as more likable.
Method:
Two studies were conducted, one with personality disorder traits (N = 219; Mean age = 19.4; 63.8% female; 76.6% Caucasian) and one with general personality traits (N = 198; Mean age = 19.5; 69.7% female; 77.3% Caucasian). In each study, participants self-rated their own personality and separately provided ratings of how "likable" they considered those personality traits.
Results:
As expected, participants rated maladaptive traits more favorably if they considered themselves to possess those traits as well. Also as expected, individuals with higher antagonism scores (including self-rated Dark Triad constructs of narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism) rated antagonism and its related facets as "tolerable": not necessarily likable but as less unlikable than the average participant.
Conclusions:
These findings have implications for the ways that individuals with personality pathology perceive the people around them, which may in turn impact their expectations and behaviors. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
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.
Previous research suggests that narcissists (vs. non-narcissists) may be more tolerant of other narcissists. However, previous research on this topic has involved methodologies that rely on trait-relevant priming rather than observations of actual behavior, thus limiting the generalizability of the findings. The current study examined whether narcissists tolerate narcissists by assessing participants' reactions to actors behaving in a narcissistic or non-narcissistic fashion. Narcissism was positively associated with liking in the narcissistic-actor condition and negatively associated with liking in the non-narcissistic-actor condition. Path modeling suggested that this interaction was mediated by perceived similarity and tendencies to selectively interpret the actor's behavior. These findings have implications for how narcissists view other narcissists and interpret social information.
The Dark Triad traits—Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy—have been considered as socially aversive personality traits. Evolutionary studies on the Dark Triad and mating behavior suggest that these traits may serve as adaptive mechanisms in different mating contexts, especially short-term mating orientation. Using a sample from Iran (N = 281), we examined the associations between the Dark Triad and long-term mate preferences in women. Psychopathy was negatively associated with preference for Kindness/Dependability and Religiosity/ Chastity. Moreover, narcissism was positively associated with preference for Status/Resources, Attractiveness/ Sexuality, and Education/Intelligence. The associations between Machiavellianism and the dimensions of mate preferences were statistically non-significant. Limitations of the study are noted and the findings are discussed in the light of evolutionary approach.
Individual differences researchers very commonly report Pearson correlations between their variables of interest. Cohen (1988) provided guidelines for the purposes of interpreting the magnitude of a correlation, as well as estimating power. Specifically, r = 0.10, r = 0.30, and r = 0.50 were recommended to be considered small, medium , and large in magnitude, respectively. However, Cohen's effect size guidelines were based principally upon an essentially qualitative impression, rather than a systematic, quantitative analysis of data. Consequently, the purpose of this investigation was to develop a large sample of previously published meta-analytically derived correlations which would allow for an evaluation of Cohen's guidelines from an empirical perspective. Based on 708 meta-analytically derived correlations, the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles corresponded to correlations of 0.11, 0.19, and 0.29, respectively. Based on the results, it is suggested that Cohen's correlation guidelines are too exigent, as b3% of correlations in the literature were found to be as large as r = 0.50. Consequently, in the absence of any other information, individual differences researchers are recommended to consider correlations of 0.10, 0.20, and 0.30 as relatively small, typical, and relatively large, in the context of a power analysis, as well as the interpretation of statistical results from a normative perspective.
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.
Do narcissists really like other narcissists? Although some research suggests that the answer is ‘yes,’ the current study demonstrates that the answer to this question is not so simple. In this study, participants (N = 370) completed a survey in which they responded on a measure of trait narcissism and then were randomly assigned to rate the likability of people who were described by either 13 narcissistic traits (abstract-trait description condition) or 13 behavioral manifestations of these traits (concrete-behavior description condition). Results showed that narcissists (vs. non-narcissists) rated narcissistic others significantly more positively in the abstract-trait description condition, whereas this effect was non-significant (and slightly reversed) in the concrete-behavior description condition. Interestingly, this interaction effect was not modified by the contextual salience of one’s own (non)narcissistic identity. In sum, the present research presents a case of ‘narcissistic hypocrisy’ – narcissists claim to be more forgiving of narcissistic traits but do not follow through with this claim when led to confront manifestations of these traits. This finding adds to a growing body of work examining narcissists’ attitudes toward narcissism.
Previous literature has associated narcissism with interpersonal difficulties. However,there is a lack of studies investigating the impact of narcissism within romantic dyads. The current study extended the literature by examining relations between narcissism and conflict behaviors in both members of a romantic dyad. Participants in the study were 190 college-student couples, who completed questionnaire measures of their narcissism, conflict within their relationship, and a behavioral measure of aggression toward their partners. The results indicated a tendency towards homogamy for narcissism. A person's narcissism was related to their use of aggression and the partner's use of aggression. Several interactions between male and female narcissism were observed. For total NPI scores, the combination of high male and female narcissism was related to greater aggression. Grandiose Exhibitionism was only related to aggressive behavior when partner Grandiose Exhibitionism was lower; when partner Grandiose Exhibitionism was higher, aggressive behavior was generally higher regardless of a person's own Grandiose Exhibitionism.
The psychopathy field has long been beset by confusion and contention regarding the boundaries and features of this chimerical condition. We propose that this disagreement stems largely from the historical separation between psychopathy and basic personality psychology. Using findings from a meta-analysis of the correlations between the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) and normal-range personality traits as a launching point, we (a) deconstruct widely used measures of psychopathy into their constituent subdimensions and (b) examine the associations of these subdimensions with higher-order and lower-order personality dimensions drawn from the Big Five and Big Three frameworks. Our review of the adult psychopathy literature reveals broad agreement that psychopathy measures are imbued with low Agreeableness and low Conscientiousness. Nevertheless, substantial disagreement revolves around the place of largely adaptive features, especially high agentic Extraversion, low Neuroticism, and high Openness, within the psychopathy construct. We propose that ongoing debates regarding the nature and boundaries of psychopathy reflect a focus on two differing operationalizations of this condition, each of which reflects a different “species” of individual.
The Dark Triad traits (Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism) are overlapping but distinctive. Although all three traits have been independently linked to relationship infidelity, differences among the traits may exist when examined simultaneously. Moreover, consequences resulting from infidelity have not been explored. A large retrospective survey found that all three traits correlated with reporting an infidelity at some point in a current (or most recent) relationship. Among women, however, only psychopathy and Machiavellianism were unique predictors of infidelity, whereas only psychopathy uniquely predicted infidelity among men. However, infidelity committed by psychopathic individuals led to relationship dissolution, whereas infidelity committed by Machiavellian individuals did not. These findings suggest mindset and long-term goals impact situations to create differences in Dark Triad destructive relationship behaviors.
This paper describes an early phase in the development of new research scale for the assessment of psychopathy in criminal populations. The scale is meant to be a sort of operational definition of the procedures that go into making global ratings of psychopathy. While the interrater reliability of these ratings is very high ( > 0.85) they are difficult to make, require a considerable amount of experience, and the procedures involved are not easily communicated to other investigators. Following a series of analyses, 22 items were chosen as representative of the type of information used in making global ratings. Two investigators then used interview and case-history data to complete the 22-item checklist for 143 male prison inmates. The correlation between the two sets of total checklist scores was 0.93 and coefficient alpha was 0.88, indicating a very high degree of scale reliability. The correlation between the total checklist scores and global ratings of psychopathy was 0.83. A series of multivariate analyses explored the factorial structure of the scale and demonstrated its ability to discriminate very accurately between inmates with high and low ratings of psychopathy. Preliminary indications are that the checklist will hold up well to crossvalidation.
Drawing on a representative sample of 140 young couples, the study aimed to assess the distribution and correlates of psychopathic personality traits in a community sample. A related objective was to determine whether psychopathic traits contribute to men-reported and women-reported couple satisfaction, psychological aggression, neuroticism and psychological distress. Both partners completed self-report measures of psychopathic traits, couple satisfaction, psychological aggression, neuroticism and psychological distress. Results for both men and women showed moderate or elevated psychopathic personality traits in a significant proportion of the sample. Actor–partner interdependence analyses (APIM) showed that global psychopathy significantly predicted couple satisfaction through an elevation of personal distress. APIM analyses for primary psychopathy showed the same pattern of results but only in men. Finally, there was a direct negative path from secondary psychopathy to couple satisfaction, but this association was partially mediated by personal distress and psychological aggression. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Several studies have demonstrated that similarity between friendship partners is higher in the West than in East Asian countries. We hypothesized that these differences could be explained by relational mobility, or the number of opportunities to form new relationships in a given society. Through two studies, we confirmed that whereas the preference for similarity did not differ, similarity between friendship partners was higher in the USA than in Japan. Furthermore, a measure of relational mobility mediated the cultural difference in similarity, supporting our hypothesis. The effectiveness of considering socio-ecological factors when interpreting cultural differences in behaviour is discussed.
Numerous studies proved that people tend to select partners that are similar to them with regard to many social and psychological variables. Even though this effect was also found for personality, results are inconsistent and reveal convergence coefficients ranging from negative over zero- to positive correlations. The present study thus aims to investigate personality congruence between spouses and to examine (a) which dimensions show a high degree of congruence and which do not and (b) in how far this congruence is moderated by the marriage duration. Analyses were based on 6,909 couples who are representative for the German adult population. Results reveal that among the Big Five dimensions, there are strong differences in spouses’ congruences. While for Extraversion and Emotional Stability, congruence is close to zero, correlations averaging at .30 are found for Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness. The spouses’ congruences in these three dimensions also increase over marriage duration from a mean of r = .22 to r = .40.
Assortative mating for psychiatric characteristics has significant implications for treatment as well as genetic studies. This paper presents data on spouse similarity for personality and temperament traits as well as psychiatric symptomatology from a non-clinical sample. Second/third and sixth/seventh grade school children of several communities as well as their parents (N=376 couples) completed self-rating scales on personality (EPQ), temperament (DOTS-R) and psychiatric symptomatology (SCL-90R). Significant positive but rather low spouse associations were found for psychiatric symptomatology and the personality trait Psychoticism, while positive statistical trends were observed for several temperament dimensions. Spouse similarity for psychiatric symptomatology was independent of similarity for personality traits and that for personality traits was independent of underlying temperament traits. Spouse similarity was symmetric between husbands and wives and did not significantly depend on psychiatric symptomatology or demographic variables. In conclusion, our non-clinical data support the existence of significant spouse similarity for psychiatric symptomatology and personality as suggested by clinical studies. In addition, a trend for temperament resemblance was also observed. Our finding that spouse similarity for temperament, personality and psychiatric symptomatology were largely independent highlights the necessity of simultaneous assessment of these psychiatric domains in the search for the underlying characteristics conditioning non-random mate selection.
Behavioral scientists routinely publish broad claims about human psychology and behavior in the world's top journals based on samples drawn entirely from Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) societies. Researchers - often implicitly - assume that either there is little variation across human populations, or that these "standard subjects" are as representative of the species as any other population. Are these assumptions justified? Here, our review of the comparative database from across the behavioral sciences suggests both that there is substantial variability in experimental results across populations and that WEIRD subjects are particularly unusual compared with the rest of the species - frequent outliers. The domains reviewed include visual perception, fairness, cooperation, spatial reasoning, categorization and inferential induction, moral reasoning, reasoning styles, self-concepts and related motivations, and the heritability of IQ. The findings suggest that members of WEIRD societies, including young children, are among the least representative populations one could find for generalizing about humans. Many of these findings involve domains that are associated with fundamental aspects of psychology, motivation, and behavior - hence, there are no obvious a priori grounds for claiming that a particular behavioral phenomenon is universal based on sampling from a single subpopulation. Overall, these empirical patterns suggests that we need to be less cavalier in addressing questions of human nature on the basis of data drawn from this particularly thin, and rather unusual, slice of humanity. We close by proposing ways to structurally re-organize the behavioral sciences to best tackle these challenges.
A similar pattern of spousal association for IQ scores and personality traits was found in two British samples from Oxford and Cambridge. There was no indirect evidence from either sample to suggest that convergence occurred during marriage. All observed assortative mating might well be due to initial assortment.
Do people mate assortatively for antisocial behavior? If so, what are the implications for the development and persistence of antisocial behavior? We investigated assortative mating for antisocial behavior and its correlates in a sample of 360 couples from Dunedin, New Zealand. We found substantial assortative mating for self-reports of antisocial behavior per se and for self-reports of couple members' tendencies to associate with antisocial peers (0.54 on average). Perceptions about the likelihood of social sanctions for antisocial behavior (e.g., being caught by the authorities or losing the respect of one's family) showed moderate assortative mating (0.32 on average). However, assortative mating for personality traits related to antisocial behavior was low (0.15 on average). These findings suggest that, whereas assortative mating for many individual-difference variables (such as personality traits) is low, assortative mating for actual antisocial behaviors is substantial. We conclude that future family studies of antisocial behavior should endeavor to measure and understand the influence of assortative mating. In addition, we outline a testable behavior-genetic model for the development of antisocial behavior, in which genes and environments promoting or discouraging antisocial behavior become concentrated within families (due to assortative mating), giving rise to widely varying individual developmental trajectories that are, nevertheless, similar within families.