The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly? A Triarchic Perspective on Psychopathy at Work

Dark Tetrad at Work: Perceived Severity of Bullying, Harassment, and Workplace Deviance

Although the Dark Tetrad has been linked to deviant behaviors, more research is needed about its expression in workplaces and continuity outside of work. The current study investigated the role of the antagonistic traits on perception of workplace harassment and bullying. Men were found to score higher on antagonistic traits and have a more lenient perception of harassment and bullying. Personality traits at work and outside were highly correlated. Regression analyses revealed that sadism predicted a more lenient perception of bullying, while a more lenient perception of harassment was predicted by sadism and industry type, and partially by psychopathy and gender. In summary, personality traits enduring across environments, but sadism was the most important predictor of a more lenient perception of harassment and bullying at work. The current study suggests a disparity between personality traits and expressed behaviors. Findings can be used to prevent workplace deviance and aid recruitment processes.

Rethinking aversive personality: Decomposing the Dark Triad traits into their common core and unique flavors

OBJECTIVE

To explain and predict unethical behavior, much attention has been devoted to the "Dark Triad of Personality", a set of three socially aversive personality traits: Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy. Despite its popularity, research on the Dark Triad has been beset by recurring concerns surrounding the distinctiveness of its components. Herein, we propose an alternative theoretical view that conceptualizes the Dark Triad traits as specific manifestations of the common core of aversive traits (conceptualized as the Dark Factor of Personality, D) flavored by unique, essentially non-aversive characteristics.

METHOD

In two studies (total N > 1000), we test this idea by examining the conceptual and empirical overlap and specificity of the Dark Triad traits vis-à-vis D and each other.

RESULTS

Findings support the conceptualization of the Dark Triad traits as flavored manifestations of D and also reveal a marked discrepancy between the current conceptualization of the Dark Triad traits and the empirical structure of its subdimensions. In fact, evidence clearly failed to support the existence of a triad of traits.

CONCLUSION

Conceptualizing single aversive traits as a conjunction of core D aspects and essentially non-aversive characteristics (admiration; disinhibition vs. planfulness; vulnerability vs. boldness) holds promise to move the field forward.

All Walks of Life: Editorial for the Special Issue on "The Impact of Psychopathy: Multidisciplinary and Applied Perspectives"

We are grateful for the opportunity to serve as Guest Editors of this Special Issue on "The impact of psychopathy: Multidisciplinary and applied perspectives." Psychopathy is a serious public health concern that has long attracted scholarly and clinical interest in both mental health and criminal justice fields. However, given its robust link with criminal behavior, research on psychopathy has largely developed with a primary emphasis on (male) adults within correctional settings. While the preponderance of work remains focused on these adult offenders, research on psychopathy has expanded in recent decades to include studies within a variety of more diverse populations and contexts. The goal of this Special Issue has been to highlight some of the most recent research in these areas, toward a more deliberate emphasis on the broad impacts that psychopathy can impart across all walks of life. To this end, while only two of the papers included in the Special Issue focused on forensic samples (and more specifically on treatment and recidivism), all 10 papers have nonetheless offered a clear focus on the detrimental impacts that individuals with psychopathic traits can impart within society. Indeed, included manuscripts focused on the impact of psychopathy within romantic relationships (in both middle and older adulthood), within parent-child dyads, within the workplace, and within society at large. Across these studies, the significant, detrimental impact that individuals with heightened psychopathic traits impart is highlighted, not only for their victims, but also for their family, friends, and colleagues. In this Editorial, we would like to emphasize some main themes that emerged from their contributions.

Psychopathy: Current Knowledge and Future Directions

Research on psychopathy has progressed considerably in recent years against the backdrop of important advances in the broader field of clinical psychological science. My major aim in this review is to encourage integration of investigative work on dispositional, biobehavioral, and developmental aspects of psychopathy with counterpart work on general psychopathology. Using the triarchic model of psychopathy as a frame of reference, I offer perspective on long-standing debates pertaining to the conceptualization and assessment of psychopathy, discuss how dispositional facets of psychopathy relate to subdimensions of internalizing and externalizing psychopathology, and summarize findings from contemporary biobehavioral and developmental research on psychopathy. I conclude by describing a systematic strategy for coordinating biobehavioral-developmental research on psychopathy that can enable it to be informed by, and help inform, ongoing research on mental health problems more broadly. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, Volume 18 is May 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Forty years of political skill and will in organizations: a review, meta-theoretical framework and directions for future research

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to review the scholarship on political skill and political will so that the authors might inspire future work that assesses these constructs individually and in tandem.

Design/methodology/approach

The “political skill” and “political will” concepts were introduced about 40 years ago, but they only have been measured and produced empirical results much more recently. Since that time, substantial research results have demonstrated the important roles political skill and political will play in organizational behavior. This paper provides a comprehensive review of this research, draws conclusions from this work and provides a meta-theoretical framework of political skill and political will to guide future work in this area.

Findings

Scholarship in this area has developed quite rapidly for political skill, but less so for political will. The authors hope that recent developments in a political will can set the stage for scholars to create a theoretical and empirical balance between these two related constructs.

Originality/value

The authors corral the vast and widespread literature on political skill and will and distill the information for scholars and practitioners alike.