Psychometric properties of a brief inventory for the screening of personality disorders: The SCATI

Correlates of the Dark Tetrad

This study explored demographic, ideological, self-rating and personality traits correlates of the Dark Tetrad (DT4) which measures Narcissism (Special), Machiavellianism (Crafty), Psychopathy (Wild), and Sadism (Mean) traits. In total, 447 adults completed three tests: a bright-side, work-related, personality test (HPTI: High Performance Type Indicator), a dark-side test (Short Dark Tetrad) and a number of self-ratings. Correlations and regressions showed that all four dark traits were associated with low Adjustment (Neuroticism), but also with high Risk-Taking and Competitiveness (low Agreeableness). The various measures accounted for a third of the variance in explaining the Mean (Sadistic) score, and 40 % for Special (Narcissism). Trait Competitiveness was most closely associated with all four dark traits.

Sex in the dark: Sex differences on three measures of dark side personality

This study examined sex differences in the scores on three different measures of the personality disorders (PDs) all derived from on-line surveys. Two groups (total N = 871) completed the Coolidge Axis-II Inventory which assessed 14 PDs; two groups (total N = 732) completed the Short Dark Tetrad which assessed 4 PDs; four groups (total N = 1558) completed the Personality Inventory for DSM-5-Brief Form which assessed 5 PD dimensions. Cohen's d after ANOVAs, and binary regression analysis revealed consistent findings. In this study we calculated 63 d statistics of which 5 were d > 0.50 and 28 were d > 0.20. In two samples, each using two different instruments, men scored higher than women on Anti-Social, Narcissistic and Sadistic PD which is a consistent finding in the literature. Speculations are made about the origin of these differences. Limitations are acknowledged.

Pre-sleep affect predicts subsequent REM frontal theta in nonlinear fashion

Pre-sleep affect is thought to influence sleep, but associations with both sleep architecture and the electroencephalographic (EEG) power spectrum are mixed. In this pre-registered study, we assessed negative valence and arousal 1 h pre-sleep in 52 adults drawn from the community, then recorded one night of polysomnography (PSG) in participants' own homes. Pre-sleep affect was not associated with nonrapid eye movement (NREM) or rapid eye movement (REM) sleep architecture parameters, but we did observe inverted U-shaped relationships between both negative valence and arousal and REM frontal theta power, such that theta power was highest at moderate negative valence and arousal, and lowest at either affective extreme. When entered into a model together, both valence and arousal accounted for independent variance. Secondary analyses revealed a similar quadratic association with pre-sleep positive valence, suggesting a nonspecific effect of pre-sleep valence on REM frontal theta. Robustness checks confirmed that effects were not explained by homeostatic sleep pressure or sleep timing. Our results suggest that mixed findings in the literature may reflect different ends of a quadratic function, underscoring the importance of assessing how different components of pre-sleep affect relate to sleep.

Dispositional and ideological factor correlate of conspiracy thinking and beliefs

This study explored how the Big Five personality traits, as well as measures of personality disorders, are related to two different measures of conspiracy theories (CTs)The two measures correlated r = .58 and were applied to examine generalisability of findings. We also measured participants (N = 397) general knowledge levels and ideology in the form of religious and political beliefs. Results show that the Big Five and ideology are related to CTs but these relationships are generally wiped out by the stronger effects of the personality disorder scales. Two personality disorder clusters (A and B) were significant correlates of both CT measures, in both cases accounting for similar amounts of variance (20%). The personality disorders most predictive of conspiracy theories were related to the A cluster, characterized by schizotypal symptoms such as oddities of thinking and loose associations. These findings were corroborated by an additional analysis using Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA). LSA demonstrated that the items measuring schizotypal and related symptoms are cognitively related to both our measures of CTs. The implications for the studying of CTs is discussed, and limitations are acknowledged.

Hire Ambitious People

Abstract. Is work engagement, like job satisfaction, primarily a function of personality? In total, 397 working adults completed a short, reliable, three-facet model of work engagement, a short IQ test, various self-ratings, a Big Five (bright-side) personality scale, and a measure of the personality disorders (dark-side). Work engagement was related to age, intelligence, positive self-ratings, and all the personality variables. A regression analysis revealed six variables significantly related to total work engagement: sex, age, IQ, ratings of personal ambitiousness, trait Neuroticism and Cluster A personality disorders. Regressions onto each of the three facets of work engagement showed slightly different findings, yet in each, older people with lower Cluster A scores and who rated themselves as ambitious scored higher on all facets. Over a third of the variance was explained in each regression. In every analysis, the rating of ambitiousness was most strongly related to work engagement. Implications and limitations are acknowledged.