Have We Been Getting the Dark Triad Wrong?
New research takes a fresh look at the structure of a fascinating and increasingly relevant concept.
“Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people.” — Carl Jung
What is our fascination with “dark personalities”? So many of us, like the proverbial moth to the flame, are drawn to people who don’t exactly follow the Golden Rule. Narcissism, psychopathy, Machiavellianism — for the Dark Tetrad add “everyday sadism”.
The media romanticizes these traits, and there may be powerful distorted attachment chemistry early on in (often dysfunctional) relationships. Because self-deception and curated self-presentation is the norm, you don’t know what you are signing up for until you are in deep.
On average, dark traits are often disadvantageous, setting us up for future issues, including an increased risk for emotionally abusive relationships and pathological narcissism, when present in parental interactions.
Dark gets the job done
There are evolutionary arguments as to why dark traits persist in the population, and some evidence to back it up. Research shows that people high in narcissistic traits are able to paint themselves in…
