Trait emotional intelligence and the dark triad traits of personality

The Connection Between Dark Traits and Emotional Intelligence: A Multistudy Person-Centered Approach

OBJECTIVE

Several studies have analyzed the relationship between Emotional Intelligence (EI) and dark personality, but the results are inconclusive. One study tested correlations between traits that may underlie a person-centered profile of "dark EI." Our study aimed to replicate and extend that research, identifying profiles in Spaniards and examining the differences between the profiles based on different variables of interest.

METHOD

Two studies were designed, the first one (N = 1241) focused on trait EI and the Dark Triad, and the second one expanding the previous (N = 392) focusing on ability EI and the Dark Tetrad.

RESULTS

Three profiles were obtained in both studies: nondark and non-EI profile, dark profile, and average narcissistic and high EI profile. The latter showed the highest self-esteem, strengths, well-being, and civic engagement, and the lowest psychological difficulties and personal distress.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results reinforced the findings of the study we replicated, not supporting the presence of dark EI, but also not supporting the presence of high EI with very low levels of dark traits. These results have implications when designing preventive actions to improve emotional education.

Grandiose narcissism associates with higher cognitive performance under stress through more efficient attention distribution: An eye-tracking study

Narcissism is a part of the Dark Triad that consists also of the traits of Machiavellianism and psychopathy. Two main types of narcissism exist: grandiose and vulnerable narcissism. Being a Dark Triad trait, narcissism is typically associated with negative outcomes. However, recent research suggests that at least the grandiose type may be linked (directly or indirectly) to positive outcomes including lower levels of psychopathology, higher school grades in adolescents, deeper and more strategic learning in university students and higher cognitive performance in experimental settings. The current pre-registered, quasi-experimental study implemented eye-tracking to assess whether grandiose narcissism indirectly predicts cognitive performance through wider distribution of attention on the Raven's Progressive Matrices task. Fifty-four adults completed measures of the Dark Triad, self-esteem and psychopathology. Eight months to one year later, participants completed the Raven's, while their eye-movements were monitored during high stress conditions. When controlling for previous levels of psychopathology, grandiose narcissism predicted higher Raven's scores indirectly, through increased variability in the number of fixations across trials. These findings suggest that grandiose narcissism predicts higher cognitive performance, at least in experimental settings, and call for further research to understand the implications of this seemingly dark trait for performance across various settings.

Cognitive Empathy and the Dark Triad: A Literature Review

This literature review aims to analyze studies published by researchers on the topic of the relationship between the psychological constructs of the Dark Triad and Cognitive Empathy. This study hypothesizes how having good cognitive empathic skills could benefit people who demonstrate Dark Triad traits, as this could facilitate the implementation of manipulative strategies. Through the process of identifying studies via databases and registers, 23 studies were included in this literature review, and the results and theories brought forward by the researchers find more agreement regarding the individual components of the Dark Triad than the whole construct: narcissism seems to have, for the most part, relatively small and typical positive correlations (more than 50% of correlations), Machiavellianism has relatively small and typical negative relationships (about 80% of correlations), and psychopathy has relatively large negative relationships (about 90% of correlations). This study conveys that Machiavellians and psychopaths, having reduced empathic abilities, use manipulation techniques that do not have to do with empathy (for example seduction, intimidation etc.), while narcissists would be, among these three dimensions, those most likely to understand others' states of mind and thus be able to use this knowledge to their advantage-although there are doubts about the veracity of the statements and answers given by narcissists in the tests administered to them. This literature review could be a valid aid to professionals dealing with people who exhibit Dark Triad traits; understanding how those exhibiting Dark Triad traits manage their empathic abilities, the areas in which the various dimensions show deficits or not, and how they act to implement their manipulative and controlling tactics could aid in the development of more effective helping strategies to be utilized in therapy settings.

Grandiose narcissism indirectly associates with lower psychopathology across five countries

Using five independent non-clinical cross-cultural samples (total N = 3649; overall Mage = 29.31; 31% male and 69% female), this study explored the extent to which Dark Triad traits were indirectly associated with symptoms of psychopathology through mental toughness. Although Machiavellianism and psychopathy have not been studied extensively in this context, previous research (both cross-sectional and longitudinal) reports that grandiose narcissism increases mental toughness contributing indirectly to positive outcomes such as lower anxiety, stress, and depression. Accordingly, this study examined Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism in the context of mental toughness and psychopathology. A particular focus was placed on investigating negative relationships between grandiose narcissism and psychopathology. Participants completed self-report measures assessing the Dark Triad, mental toughness, and psychopathology. In all samples, grandiose narcissism exerted moderate negative, indirect associations with anxiety, stress, and depression through mental toughness. Relationships between Machiavellianism and psychopathy and psychopathology were generally weak and positive but varied across countries. Findings provided further cross-cultural support for a mediation model in which grandiose narcissism is related to higher mental toughness and lower psychopathology. Outcomes from this study indicate that exploration of the link between grandiose narcissism and resilience traits such as mental toughness can provide important conceptual insights into the adaptive properties of narcissism, and help to explain why grandiose narcissism is associated with a decrease in some psychopathological symptoms.

To vaccinate or not to vaccinate? The role of personality

This article presents findings on the personality traits of individuals who identified as either Vaxxers (V) or Anti-Vaxxers (AV) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study administered measures of Dark Triad traits (Machiavellianism, Narcissism, and Psychopathy), trait emotional intelligence, and personality to a sample of 479 participants (283 Vs and 196 AVs) recruited via mTurk. Results indicated that Vaxxers scored higher on HEXACO Honesty and Conscientiousness while Anti-Vaxxers scored higher on the Dark Triad and trait emotional intelligence. These findings contribute to the understanding of personality differences between Vaxxers and Anti-Vaxxers during a public health crisis.

Emotional Intelligence, Resilience, and Self-Esteem as Predictors of Satisfaction with Life in University Students

The present study examined if Emotional Intelligence (EI), resilience, and self-esteem predicted life satisfaction in university students. We computed correlations between the study variables, then, we compared the differences between men and women. Finally, a simultaneous multiple regression was performed. The sample was composed of 2574 university students (715 were men and 1859 were women), whose age ranged from 18 to 30 years with a mean (M) of 20.83 and a standard deviation (SD) of 2.45. The instruments used were the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS), the Wagnild and Young Resilience Scale (ER-25), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and the Diener Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). The results indicated that EI, self-esteem, and resilience correlated significantly and directly with satisfaction with life. Regarding sex differences, it was found that men had greater resilience, appraisal and recognition of emotion in others, and self-regulation of emotion. Women had greater appraisal and expression of emotion in self and self-esteem. The results showed that self-esteem, self-regulation of emotion, the use of emotion to facilitate performance, and acceptance of self and life as resilience factors predicted satisfaction with life. accounting for 48% of the variance. The variable that best predicted satisfaction with life was self-esteem.

Reducing consumer materialism and compulsive buying through emotional intelligence training amongst Lithuanian students

Consumers’ inclinations towards materialism and compulsive buying are influenced by a variety of factors. Materialistic consumers face maladies that cause stress and lower subjective well-being and are unable to control their buying behaviour that in turn leads to social and financial issues. This paper aims to investigate the effect of emotional intelligence training on consumers’ materialism and compulsive buying. The experimental design involves 36 respondents across both groups. Findings confirm the hypothesis that ability-based training programmes can help consumers improve their emotional intelligence whilst also lowering their levels of materialism and compulsive buying. In sum, the results extend the existing literature on consumer materialism by providing an explanation on how specific emotional ability-based training can diminish materialistic and excessive buying inclinations. The development of emotional intelligence skills-based training programmes contributes to more sustainable consumer behaviour, mitigating the vulnerability to materialism and related addictive behavioural consequences.

Enjoying others' distress and indifferent to threat? Changes in prefrontal-posterior coupling during social-emotional processing are linked to malevolent creativity

Malevolent creativity is characterized by malicious interpersonal goals aimed at damaging others. Neurocognitive processing patterns of negative social-emotional signals may explain variance in this disruptive phenomenon. This study examined whether individuals' brain responses to emotional expressions of others are linked to their capacity of malevolent creativity in a psychometric test. State-dependent changes of prefrontal-posterior EEG coherence were recorded while n = 60 participants listened to other people's anger, desperate crying, and laughter. These EEG measures were used to indicate affective dispositions towards emotional absorption (decreased coherence) or detachment (increased coherence) from others' emotional states. Results showed that higher malevolent creativity was reflected in relatively greater increases of EEG coherence during others' expressions of anger, and conversely, relatively greater decreases of EEG coherence during others' desperate crying. This pattern suggests that the generation of creative ideas for malicious, antisocial purposes may be partly attributed to an indifference towards others' aggression and potential retaliation, and partly to finding others' adversity rewarding on a neuronal level, increasing the quantity of ideas and the chances of hurting others. This first study linking malevolent creativity to social-emotional brain functions may offer novel insights into affective dispositions that may help understand individuals' potential for creative destruction.

Trait emotional intelligence in American pilots

There is a dearth of trait emotional intelligence (trait EI) research within an aviation context. Using the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue), the present study investigated potential trait EI differences between pilots and general population controls in the United States. The forty-four pilots who volunteered to participate were primarily male (93%) and between 24 and 67 years with a wide range of flight experience (150–5000 + hrs.) They were matched with controls based on age, gender, and ethnicity. Comparisons on global trait EI and the four trait EI factors revealed significant differences, with pilots scoring consistently lower than their matched counterparts in global trait EI, Well-being, Emotionality, and Sociability, but not Self-control. Overall, the findings indicated that pilots felt less connected to their emotional world than controls. Though limited by sample size and participant diversity, the results provide a basis for future studies into the trait EI profile of pilots, which had not been previously investigated.

General Factor of Personality and Its Relationship with the Dark Triad and Social Intelligence in Slovenian Adolescents

The general factor of personality (GFP) represents the shared variance between personality traits that yield social adjustment and acts as a core personality disposition. In the present study, the existence of GFP in a sample of 249 Slovenian adolescents aged 15–19 years was investigated, and the relationship between GFP, the Dark Triad, and social intelligence was researched. The study used three self-report questionnaires to measure the Big Five, the Dark Triad, and three dimensions of social intelligence. It was found that, in adolescents, GFP exists (although in a somewhat different composition than in previous studies) and is negatively correlated with Machiavellianism and psychopathy and positively correlated with social skills and social awareness. GFP acts as a significant positive predictor of all social intelligence dimensions, and Machiavellianism acts as a significant positive predictor of social information processing and social skills. It can be concluded that GFP and, to a certain extent, perhaps some manipulative tendencies positively predict how an individual functions in society. With these findings, the study contributes to the understanding of the (hierarchical) structure of personality and its association with behavior in social interactions, which is one of the most important developmental tasks in adolescence.

Gazing the dusty mirror: Joint effect of narcissism and sadism on workplace incivility via indirect effect of paranoia, antagonism, and emotional intelligence

Workplace productivity is badly affected by many negative factors such as narcissism, and sadism. In addition, paranoia and antagonism play an important role in increasing workplace incivility. Through emotional intelligence, such negative behaviors could be addressed by managers and their junior colleagues. The current study aims to investigate the parallel mediating role of paranoia, antagonism, and emotional intelligence on the relationship between narcissism, sadism, and workplace incivility. A survey approach was used. Primary data was collected in PLS-SEM. The population of the study was all faculty members in higher education institutions in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Pakistan) region. A measurement model and structural model were developed. The measurement model demonstrated that convergent and discriminant validities were established. The structural model's findings revealed that narcissism, antagonism, and emotional intelligence were not mediated between narcissism and workplace incivility. Similarly, emotional intelligence did not play any mediating role between sadism and workplace incivility. This implied that emotional intelligence has no role in decreasing or reducing workplace uncivil behavior.

Mediating Role of Psychological Maladjustment in Relation Between Dark Triad, Psychological Distress and Subjective Happiness of Pakistani Emerging Adults

The transition from adolescence to adulthood is fraught with challenges that might have impacts on later life and personality development. Earlier research investigated Dark Triad traits in connection to emotional problems. The current study, on the other hand, focused on investigating the mediating role of psychological maladjustment in the relation of Dark Triad traits, psychological distress, and subjective happiness in emerging adults. A sample of 546 participants aged 18–25 years (M = 21.2 years) from Pakistan have participated to complete an online survey. Standardized assessment tools were used to measure the targeted variables. Results indicated that Machiavellianism and psychopathy were positively associated with psychological distress, whereas narcissism appeared to be a non-significant predictor. Subjective happiness was positively associated with Machiavellianism and negatively associated with psychopathy. In addition, mediation analysis through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) indicated that the Dark Triad traits (Machiavellianism and psychopathology), psychological distress, and subjective wellbeing were explained by psychological maladjustment. Implications and limitations are discussed.

Impact of Dark Triad on Anxiety Disorder: Parallel Mediation Analysis During Pandemic

The current study aimed to investigate the mediating role of loneliness, ASMR, on the relationship between narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy and anxiety disorder. The population of the study was professionals working in public and private sector organizations. Non-probability snowball technique was used. Data was collected from 512 professionals. A total of 653 questionnaires were distributed and 512 were used in the analysis yielding a response rate of 78.4%. PLS-SEM was used to analyze the data. Measurement and structural models were developed to test the reliability, and validity of the scales as well as hypotheses. Findings of the measurement model revealed that scales were reliable and valid while results of the structural model revealed that narcissism, psychopathy, COVID loneliness, and ASMR have a significant direct impact on anxiety disorder but Machiavellianism does not have a significant effect on anxiety disorder. In addition, COVID loneliness and ASMR mediated between narcissism and psychopathy but do not significantly mediate between Machiavellianism and anxiety disorder. The current study has extended the body of knowledge by bridging the two theories theory of attachment and cognitive dissonance theory. The current study has provided the primary evidence that COVID loneliness increases anxiety while ASMR (audio-visual) tingling sensations help to reduce anxiety disorder.

Expressive flexibility and health-related quality of life: The predictive role of enhancement and suppression abilities and relationships with trait emotional intelligence

This study aims to examine the ability to flexibly enhance and suppress emotional expression, known as expressive flexibility, in relation to physical and psychological health, as well as trait emotional intelligence (EI). A sample of 503 Italian (M_age  = 28.65 ± 9.26 years, 85.1% females) participants completed the Italian version of Flexible Regulation of Emotional Expression (FREE) Scale, the TEIQue-SF, and the Short Form-12 Health Survey. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the Italian version of FREE showed adequate psychometric properties. In both genders, results of correlational analyses indicated that enhancement ability was associated with well-being, emotionality, and sociability, whereas suppression ability was associated with self-control. Regression analyses, controlling for age and gender, indicated that suppression and inversely enhancement abilities, predicted the perceived psychological but not physical health. Well-being, self-control, and sociability also contributed to explaining variance in the model. The interaction effect of enhancement and suppression was not significantly associated with either physical or psychological health. Overall, these results suggest that enhancement and suppression abilities differentially contribute to psychological health when trait EI is accounted for. Clinical implications and future directions for research on expressive flexibility are discussed.

Relationship between emotional intelligence, personality, and self-perceived individual work performance: A cross-sectional study on the Swedish version of TEIQue-SF

People with high emotional intelligence (EI) understand themselves and others well, and perform well at work. Trait EI has been described as “a constellation of emotion-related self-perceptions and dispositions” (Petrides and Furnham 2006), and can be measured by the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire Short Form (TEIQue-SF). The aims were to validate the Swedish version of TEIQue-SF by (1) investigating its internal consistency; (2) exploring its relationships with “Big Six” and “Dark Triad” personality traits as well as with self-perceived individual work performance; and (3) identifying which personality traits best explain variations in Trait EI, and whether this trait can predict variations in work performance over and above personality traits. Multi-occupational employees in Sweden (N = 228; M = 34 years, SD = 12.6, range 16–71 years, 66% women) with an average work experience of 14 years (SD = 11.5) were surveyed. In line with past research, internal consistency of TEIQue-SF was good, for the global Trait EI scale score (.86), and for one of its subdimensions (Well-Being) (.81). Global trait EI scale score and its subscales correlated negatively with Neuroticism and Machiavellianism, and positively with Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Openness to Experience, and Narcissism. Sociability and Self-Control had, however, almost zero correlations with Machiavellianism. All subscales of global trait EI scale score correlated positively with Task Performance and Contextual Performance. On separate regression analyses, Big Six traits explained 48%, and Narcissism 14%, of the variation in global trait EI scale score. Trait EI accounted for a significantly larger proportion of the variation in Contextual Performance than any of the Big Six traits, and an additional 6% of the variation in Task Performance when controlling for gender, age, Neuroticism and Conscientiousness. The Swedish version of TEIQue-SF has good reliability as a global trait EI scale, reasonably theoretically and empirically grounded relationships with relevant variables for the workplace, and incremental validity over and above Big Six traits in predicting work performance in younger people with relatively high educational levels. Its reliability on the subscale level and its item functioning need to be further investigated in more heterogeneous samples.

Social Sustainability in Late Adolescence: Trait Emotional Intelligence Mediates the Impact of the Dark Triad on Altruism and Equity

Adolescence involves a profound number of changes in all domains of development. Among others, adolescence yields an enhanced awareness and responsibility toward the community, representing a critical age to develop prosocial behaviors. In this study, the mediation role of Trait Emotional Intelligence (TEI) was detected for the relationship between the dark triad and prosocial behavior based on altruism and equity. A total of 129 healthy late adolescents filled in the Dark Triad Dirty Dozen, measuring Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism; the Altruistic Action Scale, evaluating behaviors directed at helping others; the Equity Scale, assessing behaviors directed at equity in different forms; and the TEI Questionnaire-Short Form. Results showed that TEI mediated the negative effects of the three dark triad traits on both altruism and equity. This finding suggests that TEI, which relies on a set of dispositions (e.g., emotional management of others, social competence, and empathy), might reduce the malevolent effects of the dark triad on altruism and equitable behavior in late adolescence. This led to assume that intervention programs focused on improving emotional skills, also in late adolescence, can promote prosociality.

Relationship between emotional intelligence and narcissism: a meta-analysis

Purpose

This study aims to examine the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and narcissism, including its possible moderators.

Design/methodology/approach

A meta-analytic investigation of 32 studies was conducted to check hypotheses. Both uncorrected sample-size-weighted and corrected sample-size-weighted mean correlation coefficients were calculated. Meta-regression was used to assess moderation from EI and narcissism measures.

Findings

The results indicated that the relationship between EI and narcissism varied, depending on how EI and narcissism were constructed and measured. Specifically, EI was positively related to grandiose narcissism (GN) and negatively related to vulnerable narcissism (VN). EI was also positively correlated with “composite measures” of narcissism when the measures focused on GN, and negatively correlated when the measures focused on VN. Furthermore, some EI and narcissism measures moderated the correlation between EI and narcissism.

Originality/value

The current study enriches theory by synthesizing the literature to examine whether, and under which conditions, EI fosters or inhibits narcissism. By using the self-regulatory process of narcissism, carefully considering the multifaceted nature of narcissism and updating more data in the meta-analysis, this study contributes to explaining the inconsistency in the relationship between EI and narcissism.

Empathy, personality traits, and emotional management in 2nd and 4th-year dentistry students: a single-center study

BACKGROUND

Patients fearing dental interventions are at risk of delaying or skipping much-needed treatments. Empathic communication could lead to a higher rate of compliance from patients within this group. Empathy, the big five personality traits, and emotion management abilities are all known to influence the quality of communication between dentists and patients. This study was conducted to analyze whether there is a correlation between these factors in dentistry students.

METHODS

Dentistry students in their 2nd and 4th year of study were asked to complete questionnaires assessing empathy, emotion management, and personality traits. Out of a total of 148 eligible participants, 53 students (34%) volunteered to participate. For empathy, the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy (students' version; JSPE-S) and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) were used. Personality traits were assessed using the Short Big Five Inventory (BFI-s), and the Situational Test of Emotional Management (STEM) to measure emotional management ability.

RESULTS

Higher scores for emotion management were significantly correlated with the female gender (p ≤ 0.005) and with higher scores in openness (p ≤ 0.05). Students with higher scores in openness also achieved higher scores on the IRI subscales: Perspective taking (p ≤ 0.05), Fantasy (p ≤ 0.01), Empathic concern (p ≤ 0.05), and Personal distress (p ≤ 0.05). For JSPE-S, no correlation with emotion management and personality traits was found.

CONCLUSION

Empathy and emotion management might not be significantly related in dentistry students. Regarding personality traits, students who scored higher on openness also indicated higher abilities in emotion management. These findings should be taken into consideration when planning communication courses for dentistry students, as it might be possible to independently train empathy and emotion management as part of emotional intelligence.

Political Hearts of Darkness: The Dark Triad as Predictors of Political Orientations and Interest in Politics

Background: This study investigated the relationships between the Dark Triad of personality (sub-clinical psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and narcissism) and four political variables: socio-religious conservatism, support for greater economic equality, overall liberal–conservative orientation, and interest in politics. A theoretical approach that focused on the influence of the Dark Triad in large groups was provided to interpret those relationships. Methodological issues found in previous research that related to the use of abbreviated scales to measure the dark traits and the use of unidimensional indicators of political orientations were addressed. Methods: A hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to determine whether any of the three dark traits could explain variance in the aforementioned political attributes over and above that accounted for by the Big Five, sex, age, and nationality, using the full personality scales and measures of political orientation that captured both social and economic liberalism–conservatism. Results: Machiavellianism uniquely predicted lower levels of socio-religious conservatism, and both Machiavellianism and narcissism uniquely predicted lower levels of overall conservatism. Conclusions: There were important links between the Dark Triad and politics.

Personal values, trait emotional intelligence, and mental health problems

Personal values and personality traits are related yet distinguishable constructs linked to mental health. The present study extends the current literature on personal values and personality traits by investigating the associations between the higher-order dimensions of personal values (i.e., general values factor, conservation, and self-transcendence), trait emotional intelligence (TEI), and mental health problems (i.e., depressive, anxiety, and somatoform syndromes). The study draws on a cross-sectional online sample of N = 618 young German adults. Global TEI and all four TEI factors (i.e., well-being, sociability, emotionality, and self-control) correlated positively with the g-value factor but negatively with conservation. Emotionality was also positively related to self-transcendence. Mental health problems correlated positively with conservation and negatively with the general values factor. When the effects of global TEI were accounted for, conservation but not the general values factor remained significantly related to mental health problems. Global TEI fully mediated the relationship between the g-value factor and mental health problems and partially mediated the association between conservation and mental health problems. The implications of these results are discussed.

Dark triads, tetrads, tents, and cores: Why navigate (research) the jungle of dark personality models without a compass (criterion)?

This comprehensive review summarizes and evaluates the present state of the Dark Triad research literature (or more broadly, the dark personality trait literature), and as such serves both a pedagogical purpose, by providing an introduction or primer on the dark personality literature and a scientific purpose by directing future research on key issues that still have not been sufficiently addressed. In this review, we discuss and critique current operational conceptualizations of what it means for a personality trait to be classified as 'dark'. Also discussed is the Dark Core, as well as quantitative issues such as limitations of commonly used statistical treatments, such as multivariate analyses, bifactor modeling, and composite measures, and proposed solutions to some of these issues. Based on a comprehensive and critical appraisal of the literature, future directions are suggested to drive the dark trait field towards a more organized, parsimonious, and productive future.

The relationship of narcissism with tendency to react with anger and hostility: The roles of neuroticism and emotion regulation ability

The present study examined the relationship of grandiose and vulnerable narcissism with dispositional anger and hostility. We investigated the roles of neuroticism, emotional intelligence, and gender in this relationship, using a sample of 405 participants. The results indicated that vulnerable narcissism was associated with a higher tendency toward anger and hostility, and that neuroticism accounted for a large part of this association. Poor emotion managing, known as strategic emotion regulation ability, also played a role in hostility related to vulnerable narcissism, especially among men. When emotional stability was controlled for, grandiose narcissism showed links to anger and hostility. We concluded that high neuroticism and poor emotion regulation abilities among vulnerable narcissists contribute to increased anger/hostility, whereas emotional stability likely protects grandiose narcissists against these internal aspects of aggression. The significant relationships between both forms of narcissism with aggression, remaining after neuroticism and emotion regulation were accounted for, suggest that there is another underlying source of this link. Finally, we found that controlling for interindividual differences in neuroticism significantly increased the relationship between vulnerable and grandiose narcissism, suggesting the existence of the common core of narcissism.

Differences in psychiatric symptoms between the UK and Greece prior to and during COVID-19: The roles of subclinical narcissism and mental toughness

At the onset of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, countries reported elevated rates of psychiatric symptoms. Previous research indicates that subclinical narcissism may reduce depression and stress through mental toughness. The researchers collected data from the United Kingdom (UK) and Greece (GR) on self-reported depression, anxiety, stress, COVID-19 related worry, subclinical narcissism, and mental toughness. Two samples, one cross-sectional (N = 1846) and one semi-longitudinal (N = 184), were used to compare rates of psychiatric symptoms pre and during COVID-19 across the UK and GR, and to test a path model in which subclinical narcissism reduced psychiatric symptoms through mental toughness. From pre to during COVID-19, UK participants exhibited increased depression, lower anxiety, and no change in stress, whereas GR participants showed a decrease in anxiety and stress and consistently low symptoms of depression. Subclinical narcissism exerted a negative indirect effect on psychiatric symptoms through mental toughness in both samples, but a negative total effect on anxiety and stress only in the UK sample. Findings indicate that exploring links between narcissism and prosocial traits can provide novel insights into differences in the adaptive use of personality traits in relation to mental health.

The Dark Triad of Personality: Is Psychopathy a Good Predictor of Workplace Stress?

Background

Psychopathy as an antisocial characteristic of an individual is characterized by a lack of empathy, guilt, inability to control impulsive behavior, irresponsibility, irritability and aggressive behavior. Because of the traits that underlie this factor, we hypothesized that psychopaths would experience more stress in the work environment. Stress, in this article, is operationalized within Karasek's model of stress which consider that contextual variables (excessive demands on work, lack of social support, and lack of control at work) are responsible for experiencing stress at the workplace. This kind of work context, according to our assumption, can affect psychopaths to have a weaker response to stressful situations.

Objective

To determine the predictive power of psychopathy as a factor in the dark triad in order to explain the workplace stress.

Methods

We conducted the study in one company on a sample of 235 respondents. Data were collected using the Sociodemographic Characteristics Questionnaire, the Dark Triad Questionnaire (SD27) and the Copenhagen Questionnaire for measuring cognitive, behavioral and somatic stress.

Results

The mean age of the respondents was 39.04±10.27 years. Using standard regression analysis, we found that the dark triad model is the only significant one in explaining cognitive stress, and a significant predictor is psychopathy.

Conclusion

In majority of previous studies, psychopathy has not been associated with stress, and the findings are important for future research that should shed light on the complex relationship between psychopathy and stress.

The Dark Triad of Personality: Is Psychopathy a Good Predictor of Workplace Stress?

Background

Psychopathy as an antisocial characteristic of an individual is characterized by a lack of empathy, guilt, inability to control impulsive behavior, irresponsibility, irritability and aggressive behavior. Because of the traits that underlie this factor, we hypothesized that psychopaths would experience more stress in the work environment. Stress, in this article, is operationalized within Karasek's model of stress which consider that contextual variables (excessive demands on work, lack of social support, and lack of control at work) are responsible for experiencing stress at the workplace. This kind of work context, according to our assumption, can affect psychopaths to have a weaker response to stressful situations.

Objective

To determine the predictive power of psychopathy as a factor in the dark triad in order to explain the workplace stress.

Methods

We conducted the study in one company on a sample of 235 respondents. Data were collected using the Sociodemographic Characteristics Questionnaire, the Dark Triad Questionnaire (SD27) and the Copenhagen Questionnaire for measuring cognitive, behavioral and somatic stress.

Results

The mean age of the respondents was 39.04±10.27 years. Using standard regression analysis, we found that the dark triad model is the only significant one in explaining cognitive stress, and a significant predictor is psychopathy.

Conclusion

In majority of previous studies, psychopathy has not been associated with stress, and the findings are important for future research that should shed light on the complex relationship between psychopathy and stress.

The Dark Factor of Personality and Risk-Taking

Aversive personality traits have been linked to risk-taking across various domains. Herein, we investigated whether the common core of aversive traits, the Dark Factor of Personality (D), is related to risk-taking. Whereas the conceptualizations of D (common core of aversive traits) and risk-taking (not inherently socially and/or ethically aversive) do not necessarily imply an association, several theoretical considerations do suggest a positive relation between the constructs. In three studies (overall n = 689), we linked D to various self-report measures of risk-taking (Studies 1 and 2), as well as to a behavioral risk-taking task (Study 3). Overall, D was positively (although not always statistically significantly) related to self-reported risk-taking in terms of financial, health-related, and recreational risk-taking, fearlessness, novelty sensation seeking, intensity sensation seeking, and drug use. However, we did not find an association between D and behavioral risk-taking. Our findings provide insights into the relation between aversive personality and risk-taking, but also point to inconsistencies depending on the specific nature of risk-taking studied.

The Nexus of the Dark Triad Personality Traits With Cyberbullying, Empathy, and Emotional Intelligence: A Structural-Equation Modeling Approach

This study set out to elucidate the complex suite of associations between the Dark Triad personality traits (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy), emotional intelligence, empathy, and cyberbullying, as the respective findings regarding this topic have been inconsistent. Studies preponderantly have relied on abbreviated Dark Triad measures that do not differentiate between its lower-order facets. Further, most extant studies have exclusively been based on female psychology undergraduates and have not accounted for known sex differences on the Dark Triad traits and cyberbullying, or for negative associations between cyberbullying and age. Therefore, this nexus of interrelations was investigated in a diverse community sample (N = 749). A structural equation-modeling approached was used to examine predictors of cyberbullying and to test for mediating relationships between lower-order Dark Triad facets and emotional intelligence and empathy. Multigroup models were applied to test for sex-specific patterns. Empathy did not predict cyberbullying, whereas emotional intelligence partly mediated the Dark Triad associations with cyberbullying among both sexes. Sex-specific patterns in the associations between Dark Triad traits and cyberbullying were particularly observed for the grandiose and vulnerable narcissism facets. Emotional intelligence appeared to buffer effects of grandiose narcissism on cyberbullying. Future research could fruitfully explore cyberbullies' profiles regarding primary and secondary psychopathy, sex differences in narcissism, and buffering effects of emotional intelligence. Further improvements regarding the measurement of dark personality traits are indicated as well.

Self-serving social strategies: A systematic review of social cognition in narcissism

Narcissistic Personality Disorder is characterised by inflated self-importance, an excessive need for admiration, and a lack of empathy. The interpersonal difficulties associated with narcissistic personality may be becoming more widespread given its increasing prevalence within the general population. This systematic review investigated the relationship between narcissistic personality traits and social cognition (i.e. theory of mind; emotion recognition; empathy; emotional intelligence) in clinical and non-clinical samples. Cognitive empathy (i.e. perspective taking) appears unlikely to be impaired, while affective empathy (relating to another’s emotion state) may be reduced in association with narcissism. Those with grandiose narcissism rate their empathic skills more highly than those with vulnerable narcissism, but concurrent administration of objective measures is rare, limiting insight into the validity of self-ratings. Rather than deficits in aspects of social cognition, the overall pattern could reflect motivation, or advantageous use of social cognitive skills to serve the self. Indeed, interpersonal strategies associated with narcissism (e.g. deception; manipulation) suggest the application of understanding another’s beliefs or desires in the context of low empathy. Further research should seek to explore performance on a wider range of emotion recognition and theory of mind tasks, and whether characteristics such as excessive jealousy and paranoia could reflect hyper-mentalizing.

Pretending to Be Better Than They Are? Emotional Manipulation in Imprisoned Fraudsters

Fraud can cause severe financial losses and affect the physical and mental health of victims. This study aimed to explore the manipulative characteristics of fraudsters and their relationship with other psychological variables. Thirty-four fraudsters were selected from a medium-security prison in China, and thirty-one healthy participants were recruited online. Both groups completed an emotional face-recognition task and self-report measures assaying emotional manipulation, psychopathy, emotion recognition, and empathy. Results showed that imprisoned fraudsters had higher accuracy in identifying fear and surprise faces but lower accuracy in identifying happiness than controls (t = 5.26, p < 0.001; t = 2.38, p < 0.05; t = 3.75, p < 0.001). Significantly lower scores on non-prosocial factors on the Managing the Emotions of Others scale (MEOS) were found for imprisoned fraudsters, relative to controls (t = 3.21, p < 0.01). Imprisoned fraudsters had low scores in the assessment of psychopathy than the control group, especially Factor 1 (t = 2.04, p = 0.05). For empathy, imprisoned fraudsters had significantly higher scores in perspective-taking than controls (t = 2.03, p = 0.05). Correlation analyses revealed that psychopathic traits were positively correlated with non-prosocial factors in both groups. However, the relationships between emotional manipulation and emotional recognition and empathy were not consistent across the groups. The results suggest that fraudsters may pretend to be as prosocial as healthy controls, who had lower antisocial tendencies, normal empathy ability, and would like to manipulate others’ emotions positively during social interaction.

A trait emotional intelligence perspective on schema modes

Schema modes (or modes) are a key concept in the theory underlying schema therapy. Modes have rarely been related to established models of personality traits. The present study thus investigates the associations between trait emotional intelligence (TEI) and 14 modes, and tests a global TEI-mode factors-general psychological distress mediation model. The study draws on self-report data from 173 inpatients from a German clinic for psychosomatic medicine. Global TEI correlated positively with both healthy modes (happy child and healthy adult) and negatively with 10 maladaptive modes. When modes were regressed on the four TEI factors, six (emotionality), five (well-being), four (sociability), and four (self-control) significant partial effects on 10 modes emerged. In the parallel mediation model, the mode factors internalization and compulsivity fully mediated the global TEI-general psychological distress link. Implications of the results for the integration of modes with traits in general and with TEI in particular as well as implications of low TEI as a transdiagnostic feature of personality malfunctioning are discussed.

As cold as a fish? Relationships between the Dark Triad personality traits and affective experience during the day: A day reconstruction study

The Dark Triad of personality is a cluster of three socially aversive personality traits: Machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy. These traits are associated with a selfish, aggressive and exploitative interpersonal strategy. The objective of the current study was to establish relationships between the Dark Triad traits (and their dimensions) and momentary affect. Machiavellianism, grandiose narcissism, vulnerable narcissism and the dimensions of the Triarchic model of psychopathy (namely, boldness, meanness and disinhibition) were examined. We used the Day Reconstruction Method, which is based on reconstructing affective states experienced during the previous day. The final sample consisted of 270 university students providing affective ratings of 3047 diary episodes. Analyses using multilevel modelling showed that only boldness had a positive association with positive affective states and affect balance, and a negative association with negative affective states. Grandiose narcissism and its sub-dimensions had no relationship with momentary affect. The other dark traits were related to negative momentary affect and/or inversely related to positive momentary affect and affect balance. As a whole, our results empirically demonstrated distinctiveness of the Dark Triad traits in their relationship to everyday affective states. These findings are not congruent with the notion that people with the Dark Triad traits, who have a dispositional tendency to manipulate and exploit others, are generally cold and invulnerable to negative feelings. The associations between the Dark Triad and momentary affect were discussed in the contexts of evolutionary and positive psychology, in relation to the role and adaptive value of positive and negative emotions experienced by individuals higher in Machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy.