An actor–partner interdependence model of the Dark Triad and aggression in couples: Relationship duration moderates the link between psychopathy and argumentativeness

The dark triad traits and relationship satisfaction: Dyadic response surface analysis

OBJECTIVE

The current study investigated actor and partner effects and the effects of (dis)similarity in the dark triad traits on self-reported relationship satisfaction of both members of romantic couples. We examined these effects on actual similarity, similarity of perception, and men's and women's perceived similarity.

METHODS

On the sample of 205 heterosexual romantic couples, we administered questionnaires for measuring self-reported and partner-reported psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and narcissism, as well as self-reported relationship satisfaction. For analyzing data, we used dyadic response surface analysis.

RESULTS

The results corroborated our hypotheses that the dark triad traits exerted mainly negative actor and partner effects on both partners' relationship satisfaction. The effects of (dis)similarity were obtained for psychopathy and narcissism. Dissimilarity in psychopathy was related to lower men's relationship satisfaction. Dissimilarity in narcissism was related to lower, whereas similarity in this trait to higher relationship satisfaction of both partners. Generally, our findings were similar across methods and sources of assessment.

CONCLUSION

The results suggest that the DT traits of both members of a romantic couple matter for judgments of their relationship satisfaction and that along with actor and partner effects, the effects of (dis)similarity in psychopathy and narcissism also contribute to their relationship satisfaction.

Don't look back in anger: A cross-sectional and dyadic examination of the Dark Triad, anger, and aggression in athletes

OBJECTIVES

The Dark Triad (psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and narcissism) has been linked to anti-social behaviour in sport, and while anti-social behaviour often involves aggression and violence, no research to date has examined the relationship between the Dark Triad and anger and aggression in athletes. The current two-sample study sought to address this gap.

DESIGN

Multi-sample cross-sectional design.

METHOD

Sample 1 included 224 athletes (MAGE = 23.85) and Sample 2 included 98 coach-athlete dyads (196 total; athlete MAGE = 18.15, coaches MAGE = 34.84). In both samples, facets of the Dark Triad were related to anger and aggression.

RESULTS

In Sample 1, regression analyses indicated that psychopathy positively predicted both anger and aggression and Machiavellianism positively predicted aggression. In Sample 2, actor-partner interdependence models indicated a combination of dyadic relationships (i.e., both actor [coach and athlete personality predicted their own anger and aggression] and partner effects [coach and athlete personality predicted the other's anger and aggression]). In this regard, actor effects were found between psychopathy and both anger and aggression and narcissism and aggression. Coach to athlete partner effects were found for narcissism and anger and Machiavellianism and aggression.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, the findings provide evidence for personal and interpersonal relationships between the Dark Triad and anger and aggression and highlight the potential for the darker side of both athlete and coach personality to influence athlete emotions.

Same Personality, New Ways to Abuse: How Dark Tetrad Personalities Are Connected With Cyber Intimate Partner Violence

New technologies bring new forms of intimate partner violence (IPV) or abuse, such as cyber intimate partner violence (C-IPV). This is a contemporary issue with different consequences from in-person IPV. C-IPV is a complex phenomenon triggered by a number of factors, including personality traits such as the Dark Tetrad, composed of four "malevolent" qualities: subclinical narcissism, Machiavellianism, subclinical psychopathy, and everyday sadism. The Dark Tetrad plays an important role in predicting the perpetration or victimization of the resulting pervasive behaviors. Although the correlations between in-person IPV and the Dark Tetrad have been studied before, to our knowledge this investigation is the first to look at the links between these four dark personality traits and C-IPV. With a sample of 1,189 participants, we measured C-IPV victimization and perpetration rates and compared the results with the Dark Tetrad profiles of the respondents. To analyze these correlations, we conducted bivariate analysis and structural equation modeling. The analysis yielded positive relations of psychopathy and narcissism with cyber controlling behaviors. Psychopathy was found to be strongly related with direct cyber aggression behaviors; sadism was mainly related with C-IPV victimization in both controlling and direct aggression, and, finally and interestingly, Machiavellianism presented negative correlations with direct cyber aggression. Remarkable is that joining sadistic personalities increased vulnerability to victimization from C-IPV direct aggression, as well as more psychopathic traits and an increased probability of perpetration. These combinations may create dangerous situations. In conclusion, we found that both C-IPV perpetrators and victims present higher scores in the dark personality traits and gender-based differences than in-person IPV actors.

Profile of Subclinical Psychopathy in Spanish University Students

Psychopaths are portrayed as deceitful, manipulative, domineering and narcissistic; the result of an irregular and irresponsible interpersonal style that harms both the psychopath him/herself and others. Furthermore, psychopathy is frequently associated with both violent and antisocial conduct. However, subclinical psychopaths are known for manifesting this type of profile without committing crimes. The objective of this study is to examine the differences that exist in subclinical psychopathy concerning gender, the number of intimate relationships and the age of the university student. The number of university students participating was 1289. They were given the Integrated/Subclinical Psychopathy Questionnaire (CUPIS). The results show that, in subclinical psychopathy, men present higher scores than women and younger persons have higher scores than older persons. In addition, the scores in psychopathy are higher for students who have had a larger number of intimate relationships. The contributions of this study allow us to determine the profile associated with subclinical psychopathy.

The effects of the Dark Triad personality traits on health protective behaviours: dyadic approach on self-reports and partner-reports

OBJECTIVE

The growing evidence show that romantic partners' personality traits mutually influence each other's health. The research on relationship between personality and health behaviours should include both partner's perspectives - relations between individuals' traits and their own outcomes (actor effects), and relations between individuals' traits and their partners' outcomes (partner effects). The objective of this study was to examine the actor and partner effects of the Dark Triad (DT) personality traits (psychopathy, Machiavellianism and narcissism) on the health protective behaviours (HPB) in romantic couples.

DESIGN

A convenience sample of 188 heterosexual romantic couples participated in a cross-sectional round-robin study. Three predictor measures were Self-Report Psychopathy Scale-III, Narcissistic Personality Inventory and MACH-IV inventory, whereas HPB inventory was used as criterion variable.

RESULTS

Data were analysed using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM). The results suggest that men's psychopathy, and to a lesser extent men's Machiavellianism exert deleterious effects on their own and their partner's HPB. The majority of these effects replicated across both self-reports and partner-reports. Women's DT traits exerted weaker actor and partner effects on the HPB than men's DT traits.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings show that men's psychopathy and Machiavellianism have detrimental effects on their own as well as their partner's HPB.

The relation between narcissism and aggression: A meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

Narcissism is a complex, hierarchical construct that can be studied at the one, two, or three factor levels with different components within each level having their own unique nomological networks. The manner in which narcissism-both broadly and narrowly construed-is linked to aggression is important to understand given longstanding clinical and empirical observations of a link between the two and the critical implications of aggression.

METHODS

The current preregistered meta-analysis (k = 118) took a novel methodological approach in exploring the association between the three levels of narcissism (i.e., global construct level, dual-dimension level, trifurcated level) and three indices of aggression (i.e., general, proactive, reactive).

RESULTS

Results revealed that the global construct of narcissism shows a moderate positive association with different indices of aggression. Vulnerable narcissism associated strongly and positively with reactive aggression and general aggression. At the trifurcated level, interpersonal antagonism associated positively with all indices of aggression, agentic extraversion associated negatively with all indices of aggression, and narcissistic neuroticism associates positively with general and reactive aggression.

CONCLUSION

The study highlighted the importance of studying narcissism, and potentially other personality profiles, at a finer-grained level to better understand crucial psychological processes associated with the construct of interest.

Leaving without a word: Ghosting and the Dark Triad traits

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.

Darker deals? Male dark tetrad preferences for female sex worker services

The present study explored links between male Dark Tetrad personality traits (psychopathy, Machiavellianism, narcissism, sadism) and preferences for using outdoor and indoor female sex worker services. We also investigated the mediating effects of perceiving sex workers as deviant and as victims. Heterosexual males (N = 347) were recruited to take part in an online survey investigating personality and attitudes towards female sex workers. Path analyses revealed that psychopathy and sadism positively predicted preferences for outdoor but not indoor female sex services. Sex worker choice mediated positive links between narcissism and outdoor female sex worker preferences. Compared to indoor, outdoor sex services are associated with increased aggression and violence. Our findings highlight the importance of considering narcissism and particularly psychopathy and sadism when investigating individual male preferences for outdoor sex services that are being offered by particularly vulnerable women.

How Dark Personalities Perpetrate Partner and General Aggression in Sweden and the United Kingdom

Research has demonstrated, in Western nations, men and women are both perpetrators and victims of intimate partner violence (IPV). However, to the best of our knowledge, IPV and the Dark Tetrad (Machiavellianism, subclinical narcissism, subclinical psychopathy, and subclinical sadism) have not been included in this research fully. We investigated how these dark personalities influenced the perpetration of IPV in a cross-cultural study between Sweden and the United Kingdom through surveys with university students. We furthermore compared IPV perpetration with same-sex aggression of a non-romantic partner to explore sex- and aggression-specific effects. In a sample of 342 participants, our main findings were the following: (a) the only significant difference in IPV perpetration was women were more verbally aggressive; (b) men reported more verbal and physical same-sex aggression of a non-romantic partner; (c) men scored higher on all the Dark Tetrad personalities regardless of culture, while the Swedish sample scored significantly higher on subclinical narcissism and sadism; (d) the Dark Tetrad and aggression perpetration were significantly correlated; (e) different Dark Tetrad personalities predicted different forms of aggression perpetration with some gender differences; and (f) being high on subclinical psychopathy predicted most types of aggression regardless of target. Our study highlights that dark personalities engage in particular types of aggression, which helps to determine how and when distinctive personalities aggress for potential interventions.

Consideration of future consequences (CFC) serves as a buffer against aggression related to psychopathy

Psychopathy is the most notorious trait in the Dark Triad, and it is strongly linked to many kinds of aggressive behaviors. However, not every individual who is characterized by psychopathy engages in aggression, which suggests that certain factors may attenuate the intensity of the relations between psychopathy and aggression. The purpose of the current study was to explore the protective roles of the consideration of future consequences (CFC) (high CFC-Future and low CFC- Immediate) in attenuating aggression related to psychopathy using proactive aggression (Study 1) and cyber-aggression (Study 2) behavior indexes. College students (Study 1; N = 1,058) and adults (Study 2; N = 350) voluntarily participated in this study. The results demonstrated that the relationship between psychopathy and aggressive behaviors was moderated by CFC-Future and CFC-Immediate. Individuals with high psychopathy scores who also had high CFC-Future scores or low CFC-Immediate scores exhibited less proactive aggression (Study 1) and left fewer aggressive online comments on news websites (Study 2). The results of the present study suggested that CFC serves as a buffer against aggression related to psychopathy and may extend the knowledge of the relationship between psychopathy and aggression.

Self-Rated Attractiveness Moderates the Relationship Between Dark Personality Traits and Romantic Ideals in Women

Our study investigated the different mate preferences of the Dark Triad in women. In addition to former studies, we also examined the effect of self-evaluated attractiveness on these preferences. Attractiveness is a high-valued partner attribute, especially in short-term relationships. Accordingly, we predicted that women high in Dark Triad traits prefer characteristics related to short-term mating, because they possess traits favored in short-term relationships. Associations between ideal partner standards and Dark Triad traits were investigated with self-reports: 529 female undergraduate students filled out the Short Dark Triad and the Ideal Standards Scale. Results showed that all three Dark Triad traits were related to unique preferences of mate qualities corresponding to their self-rated partner qualities. Furthermore, despite the differences between the three Dark Triad traits, women's partner preferences were associated with their self-evaluated attractiveness (an indicator of mate value). In summary, according to our findings, qualities advertised by Dark Triad women as potential partner influence their expectation or preferences regarding mates, suggesting homogamous mate choice on the levels of these qualities.