What could be worse than the Dark Triad?

If you are familiar with dark triadyou know what a powerful combination it is. Machiavellianismnarcissism, and psychopathy Anyone who comes into the presence of a person with this set of traits will cause problems. People who are manipulative, exploitative, or worse, lack conscience can threaten your well-being in ways you don’t expect. Perhaps you are unlucky to have a work history with someone who fits this definition. You have been thwarted from achieving your goals more times than you can remember. the goal When they stab you in the back. Is there something or someone worse?

Evolution of the Dark Triad in personality research

Psychologists who follow the so-called trait tradition believe that there are five (trait) traits. 5 factor model-FFM), or perhaps six ( Hexaco Categories of persistent nature that make up the model personality. FFM was the dominant model until the creators of the HEXACO model added “honesty and humility” to the mix. empathy, conscience, extraversionneurosis (mental stability), and openness. This “H” factor was thought to capture traits that fall on the dark side of personality (low humility and honesty). In an attempt to more fully capture the unpleasant aspects of human nature, the inventors of the Dark Triad term believed that an entirely new definition was needed to capture the full scope of malevolence.

According to Minnie See and colleagues at the University of Amsterdam (2024), to understand a form of malingering known as workplace deviance, a behavior that has attracted attention in the field of organizational psychology, we need to reconsider the concept of the Dark Triad. There is a need. The Dark Triad should not be studied in isolation but integrated into more general personality models. Choosing HEXACO with the added 6th element compared to FFM seemed like the right way to go.

On the path to an integrated model of workplace deviance, She et al.’s argument first turns to a conceptualization known as the Circumplex of Personality Metatraits (CPM) model. This approach makes it possible to shift the focus “from the influence of an individual’s personality traits to the composition of that person and his or her personality (e.g., profile).” You can now identify deviant individuals at work (or anywhere) by the following patterns: Profiles allow you to select people based on a combination of characteristics. This is a much more convenient approach when trying to figure out who’s going. Be a bad actor.

Defining a dark personality profile

Through a series of three studies involving approximately 800 online and undergraduate participants, the authors refined their measurement of dark personality profiles. In the third of these studies, an online sample of participants from the first study (average age 37) was given five behaviors designed to determine whether their profiles predicted behaviors comparable to workplace deviance. Completed the task. The authors also measured self-reported prosocial behaviors, such as the ability to take the perspective of others; empathetic please worry altruisticand have a high level of self-awareness moral.

Before we get into the results of the experimental component of the study, let’s take a look at the personality profile the authors identified in their CPM analysis. These are summarized here along with labels, descriptions, self-reported deviant behaviors, and distribution within the sample.

dark social recluse: A disposition that may predispose one to engage in conduct that is potentially toxic or damaging to others. High levels of workplace deviance (27%)

Social narcissist: self-centered, entitled; Note-Be inquisitive and very sociable. Workplace deviance is low and levels of prosocial behavior are moderate (23%)

Social consideration: “Warm” personality trait. They are considerate and have no potential to manipulate others. Lowest level of workplace deviance and highest level of prosocial behavior (20%)

All-round malice: Very outgoing, manipulative, and selfish. Highest level of workplace deviance and lowest level of prosocial behavior (16%)

Emotional dysregulation: prone to emotional instability anxiety; lower levels of workplace deviance and lower than average prosocial tendencies (15%);

Turning to experiments, we have asked participants to cheat (e.g., report the roll of a die), to demonstrate cooperation in a game of “hawks and doves” (divide resources with a partner), to take risks, and to This included giving them the opportunity to decide. How much compensation to allocate to a hypothetical partner.

As expected, overall malicious participants behaved in a manner consistent with the profile, but a surprising finding was revealed in relation to the behavior of social narcissists. Despite sharing a socially considerate personality, narcissist The profiles were associated with selfish and manipulative behavior as much as those of malicious actors. As the authors point out, they “tend to hide their selfish orientation when self-reporting or when the stakes are low, but they are more likely to cheat or act competitively when the opportunity presents itself.” (actually).” In a word, such a person is “like a selfish social chameleon.”

Lesson learned: Who to stay away from?

As these findings demonstrate, it’s not overtly malicious things that you should avoid. That person at work who hurts you at every opportunity is the one who is easy to identify once you have been burned. Strangely enough, the very people who seem kind can pose real danger. But since social narcissists share traits with socially cooperative people, what clues can we take away from them?

The results of a University of Amsterdam behavioral study unfortunately suggest that we may have to wait until there is clear evidence that a person has cheated or acted selfishly. I’m doing it. When this happens, don’t be fooled by the superficial facade of sociability.

From a theoretical perspective, this study by She et al., in the researchers’ words, could yield a more “holistic” approach to understanding what excites people. , reinforcing the idea that it is a combination of characteristics. This conclusion agrees well with common sense. When assessing someone’s size, we rarely look at HEXACO, FFM, or even the entire list of Dark Triad traits. You can see them in their entirety.

sum up, In situations beyond your control, you may find yourself trapped by a social narcissist. These findings suggest that when our interests are at risk, we pay close attention to how a person acts, not just how he or she looks.