Are narcissists always bad apples? The relationship between employee narcissism and creative deviance

This study aims to advance the understanding of the effect of employee narcissism on creative deviance through creative self-efficacy and the moderation of this effect through transformational leadership. Research data were collected using a three-wave lagged model (n = 446) from 446 employees of 6 Chinese companies to test our moderated mediation model. The findings show that narcissism positively and significantly predicted creative self-efficacy (β = 0.42, p < 0.001) and creative deviance (β = 0.64, p < 0.001), and that creative self-efficacy partially mediated that relationship. Transformational leadership strengthens the effect of narcissism on creative self-efficacy, and there is a positive indirect relationship between employee narcissism and creative deviance through creative self-efficacy when transformational leadership is high. These findings extend the understanding of the antecedents of creative deviance by showing the relations between employee narcissism and creative deviance. The study also contributes to the literature of mediating role of creative self-efficacy and the moderating role of transformational leadership to explain the relationship between employee narcissism and creative deviance.

Testing the Mate Preference Priority Model with the Profile-Based Experimental Paradigm: A Replication and Extension

OBJECTIVE

Although the mate preference priority model (MPPM; Li et al., 2002) has advanced our understanding of mate preferences, tests of the MPPM have relied on methods using text labels and thus lack ecological validity. We address this gap by testing the MPPM using Townsend and colleagues' (1990a; 1990b; 1993) profile-based experimental paradigm, which utilizes profiles comprising photos of pre-rated models to manipulate physical attractiveness as well as costumes and descriptions to manipulate social status.

METHOD

Using Singaporean samples, we conducted two studies (Study 1 n = 431, Study 2 n = 964) where participants judged the short-term and long-term mating desirability of opposite-sex profiles varying systematically on physical attractiveness and social status. We also tested whether treating these attributes as ordinal or continuous variables would be more valid.

RESULTS

Results showed broad support for evolutionary predictions of mate preferences and priorities while revealing an increased premium placed on social status in our sample. We also found that continuous operationalizations produced less inflated results.

CONCLUSIONS

The current research provides the first non-label, profile-based test of the MPPM, a well-powered replication of the profile-based paradigm, and an opportunity to observe the robustness and variations of mate preferences in a non-Western culture.

Dark Triad but a bright future? Socially malevolent personality traits and proactive career behavior

We explored the effect of the toxic characteristics of the Dark Triad of personality traits, comprising narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy, on proactive career behavior, and the role of career adaptability as a mediator. We used two-wave lagged data from a survey conducted with 449 Master of Business Administration university students in China. Machiavellianism and narcissism were both positively related to proactive career behavior and career adaptability, but psychopathy was not positively related to either. Further, the effects of Machiavellianism and narcissism on proactive career behavior were mediated by career adaptability. Our results show that narcissism and Machiavellianism play a positive role in explaining important career-related behavior. Theoretical implications and directions for future research are discussed.

The Dark Triad and Deception Perceptions

The present cross-sectional study (N = 205) tested the hypothesis that the Dark Triad traits – narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy – and the PID-5 maladaptive personality traits – Negative Affectivity, Detachment, Antagonism, Disinhibition, and Psychoticism – are associated with specific deception-related perceptions: perceived cue-based deception detectability, perceived deception production ability, and perceived deception detection ability. Participants completed personality and deception measures in an online setting. All three Dark Triad traits and Antagonism were associated with perceived deception production ability, but not (substantially) with perceived deception detection ability and cue-based deception detectability. The results provide a more fine-grained picture of biases associated with the Dark Triad traits in the context of deception and further support the relevance of Antagonism and Detachment as deception-relevant personality traits.

Predicting Leader Emergence with Bright and Dark Traits

Leader emergence was regressed on five factor model (FFM; NEO Five-Factor Inventory) traits and four additional traits (achievement, dominance, aggression, and Machiavellianism) in a sample of 280 undergraduates (229 women (82%), 51 men; M age = 19.7 (SD = 1.4). The Jackson Personality Research Form (Jackson, Personality research form manual (3rd ed.). Port Huron, MI: Sigma Assessment Systems, Inc.) measured achievement, dominance, and aggression. Christie and Geis' (Studies in machiavellianism. San Diego: Academic Press) Mach IV scale measured Machiavellianism. In an independent groups analysis, six of the nine traits showed significant differences, indicating that leaders are less neurotic and Machiavellian, and more extroverted, open, agreeable, and dominant. However, in a logistic regression analysis, which controlled for shared variance among traits, only extraversion, openness, and dominance predicted leader emergence. Previous studies that did not use regression models showed significant differences for a large number of traits. Results from the present study indicate the importance of accounting for shared variance when analyzing personality traits in order to develop parsimonious models.

Predicting career success: is the dark side of personality worth considering?

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to clarify whether the dark side of personality adds information beyond the bright side when predicting career success.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 287 participants (150♀, Mage=37.74 and SDage=10.38) completed questionnaires on the Dark Triad (narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy) and the Big Five (emotional stability, extraversion, openness, agreeableness and conscientiousness). They also provided information on their objective (salary and leadership position) and subjective (job satisfaction and satisfaction with income) career success. Regression analyses were used to estimate the Dark Triad’s incremental predictive value.

Findings

The results show that the Dark Triad only provides incremental information beyond the Big Five when predicting salary (ΔR2=0.02*) and leadership position (ΔR2=0.04*). In contrast, the Dark Triad does not explain unique variance when predicting job satisfaction or satisfaction with income.

Research limitations/implications

The exclusive use of self-rated success criteria may increase the risk of same-source biases. Thus, future studies should include ratings derived from multiple perspectives.

Practical implications

Considering the Dark Triad in employee selection and development seems particularly promising in the context of competitive behaviour.

Social implications

The results are discussed in light of the socioanalytic theory. This may help to better understand behaviour in organisational contexts.

Originality/value

This study is the first that simultaneously investigates all three traits of the Dark Triad and the Big Five in combination with objective and subjective career success. In addition, it extends previous findings by answering the question of whether the Dark Triad offers incremental or redundant information to the Big Five when predicting success.

The Dark Triad and Workplace Behavior

Over the last 15 years, there has been growing fascination among scholars in studying “dark behaviors” and “dark traits,” especially as they are expressed in organizational contexts. One taxonomy of dark traits that has garnered special interest is the dark triad (DT), which is comprised of three toxic and malevolent traits: psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism. This chapter offers a review of DT research, with a particular focus on research relevant to the organizational sciences. We begin with a definition of personality in general and the traits of the DT in particular, including a discussion of the clinical and subclinical variants of these traits. We then review literature linking the DT traits to an array of organizational outcomes, discuss how the DT traits may be assessed, and conclude with recommendations for future work.

The Dark Triad and the PID-5 Maladaptive Personality Traits: Accuracy, Confidence and Response Bias in Judgments of Veracity

The Dark Triad traits—narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy—have been found to be associated with intra- or interpersonal deception production frequency. This cross-sectional study (N = 207) investigated if the Dark Triad traits are also associated with deception detection accuracy, as implicated by the recent conception of a deception-general ability. To investigate associations between maladaptive personality space and deception, the PID-5 maladaptive personality traits were included to investigate if besides Machiavellianism, Detachment is negatively associated with response bias. Finally, associations between the Dark Triad traits, Antagonism, Negative Affectivity and confidence judgments were investigated. Participants watched videos of lying vs. truth-telling senders and judged the truthfulness of the statements. None of the Dark Triad traits was found to be associated with the ability to detect deception. Detachment was negatively associated with response bias. Psychopathy was associated with global confidence judgments. The results provide additional support that dark and maladaptive personality traits are associated with judgmental biases but not with accuracy in deception detection. The internal consistencies of 4 of the 8 subscales of the used personality short scales were only low and nearly sufficient (αs =0.65–0.69).