“Dark” personality traits

The term dark personality is fairly self-explanatory. It refers to anyone with a less empathetic personality than others. These characters are negative because they display errant or even sociopathic behaviors.

The professional definition of the phrase goes deeper than the one above. Psychologists refer to it as the study of distinct personality types. They explore the Dark Triad, a subject that concentrates on the three negative traits of narcissism, Machiaveillanism, and psychopathy. These experts study, in addition, people with psychopathic and sociopathic tendencies.

 "Psychologists have long discussed the idea that there exists a set of “dark” personality traits alongside the more benign Big Five — so much so, in fact, that one team of researchers argued that too much time had been spent pondering the darker side of human nature and that a “Light Triad” was needed to counteract it.

There is also debate around whether such traits — psychopathy, narcissism, Machiavellianism and sadism — are stable, or whether they can be induced.

Narcissists are “grandiose self-promoters who continually

crave attention.” Paulhus notes that: “You have undoubtedly been annoyed by

these tiresome braggarts.” Frank Sinatra, the great crooner of my mother’s

generation, was something of a narcissist, a trait he shared with any number of

super-stars in the performing arts, then and now.

Machiavellians, according to Paulhus, are “Master

manipulators… one of them has cheated you out of something valuable—the fact

that you may not have realized until it was too late.” They differ from

narcissists in their incredibly high scores on tests of manipulativeness, and

their inclination to be involved in white-collar crime. The stock swindler

Exchange, only to use his position to bilk his investors out of hundreds of

Bernard Madoff, who worked his way up to the leadership of the New York Stock

millions of dollars, is the classic Machiavellian.

Psychopaths, as Paulhus notes, are “arguably the most

malevolent,” scoring high on measures of callousness, impulsivity, manipulativeness,

and grandiosity, thus being dark across the board. They often harm others as

way. Their impulsiveness makes them less adept at the white-collar crime of the

they go about seeking thrills with little concern for who gets hurt along the

in their way. Charles Manson and Whitey Bulger are classic cases of psychopathy

Bernie Madoff variety and often inclines them towards violence when others get

nevertheless leading to costs for those who are drawn close to them.

(see Do You Have Criminal Genes?). But Paulhus notes that there are many people

whose psychopathy is low enough to keep from landing in jail, while

What is especially troubling about this first set (the

original “Dark Triad”) is that they are often socially adept, and can make excellent

first impressions. For example, they do better on job interviews than ordinary

greater willingness to show off their strengths to strangers while playing it

people, advantaged by their lack of anxiety about the opinions of others, and

smooth and comfortable.

Everyday sadists share the trait of callousness with the

first three types. Still, they are distinguished not by their impulsiveness or

manipulativeness (which are in the normal range), but instead by their

such as police officers or the military, where they can harm others in a

enjoyment of cruelty. As Paulhus notes, everyday sadists may be drawn to jobs

personnel are sadistic, but simply that their ranks may have a higher than an average

legitimate guise. Paulhus is not saying, incidentally, that all law enforcement number of everyday sadists (who, as noted by a police official interviewed

recently on NPR, can do great damage to police-community relations).

The most famous exploration of the question is almost certainly Zimbardo’s Prison Experiment, which claimed that being in a powerful position over others — in this case, acting as a prison guard — could induce sadistic behaviour in apparently non-sadistic people. The experiment’s influence is undeniable; it’s even been made into a film. But it has also been subject to criticism, casting some doubt over the extent of its findings.

Now a new paper in Personality and Individual Differences has joined the conversation, examining whether sadistic tendencies can be induced. The study finds that they can — particularly in people who already have some level of sadistic interest — but leaves a question mark over what that might mean for real world behaviour."

Sociopaths

First of all is the sociopath. These individuals are products of the environment. Sociopaths behave in negative ways because they have gone through trauma. Their sociopathic conduct serves as a coping mechanism; as a result, they respond poorly in violent or sexual situations.

Key Points

The Dark Triad personality traits – narcissism, psychopathy and Machiavellianism – can be toxic and damaging in the workplace. But be aware that someone exhibiting these traits may initially be a high achiever and potentially charming, conscientious and achievement-oriented.

There are tools for identifying Dark Triad traits, but it is important to recognize that, unless you are also a skilled psychologist, you should not make a diagnosis on your own. If you do have any concerns about a team member's negative behaviors, you should raise them with your HR department. Your responsibility is to manage the impact of negative behaviors in the workplace, rather than try to diagnose and pin a psychological label on someone.

Conflict management, assertiveness and emotional intelligence skills will all be useful in managing someone with Dark Triad traits. However, given the risk these behaviors bring and their potential for causing serious damage to the organization, these behaviors must be addressed actively and vigorously

With thanks to Dr Peter Jonason, senior lecturer University of Western Sydney. For more information about the Dark Triad, visit www.peterjonason.com.

References

Hogan, R. (2007). Personality and the fate of organizations. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Paulhus, D.L. (2014). Toward a taxonomy of dark personalities. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23, 421– 426.

Paulhus, D. L., & Jones, D. N. (in press). Measures of dark personalities. In G. J. Boyle, D. H. Saklofske, & G. Matthews (Eds.), Measures of personality and social psychological constructs. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

Thanks:  

Robert Stonjek, 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/,https://www.mindtools.com/,https://www.learning-mind.com/