Disengaging from Evil: Longitudinal Associations Between the Dark Triad, Moral Disengagement, and Antisocial Behavior in Adolescence

Momentary assessment of the relations between narcissistic traits, interpersonal behaviors, and aggression

INTRODUCTION

This study explores the associations among narcissistic traits, interpersonal behaviors, and aggression using repeated, situation-based measurement. We examine narcissism's relations with aggression across three levels of its theorized hierarchy (level 1: narcissism; level 2: grandiose vs. vulnerable narcissism; level 3: antagonism, agentic extraversion, and narcissistic neuroticism).

METHODS

Using an experience-sampling approach, the current study examined the effects of narcissism and its finer-grained components on daily affective experiences and aggressive behaviors in the context of interpersonal interactions. Data were collected from 477 undergraduate students who were instructed to complete four prompts a day for ten consecutive days.

RESULTS

Narcissism at the global construct level positively predicted multiple indices of episodic aggression (i.e., aggressive temper, aggressive urge, verbal aggression). At the dual-dimension level, grandiose narcissism specifically predicted aggression, and then at the trifurcated level, interpersonal antagonism predicted aggression by itself and in interaction with event-level negative affect. Negative affect consistently exhibited both within- and between-person effects on aggression.

CONCLUSION

In real-life social interactions, narcissism dimensions differentially affect the way individuals experience social interactions and process negative affect, and thus in both research and clinical practice, narcissism is best assessed as a heterogeneous, multidimensional construct.

Dark triad personality traits are associated with decreased grey matter volumes in 'social brain' structures

Introduction

Personality traits and the degree of their prominence determine various aspects of social interactions. Some of the most socially relevant traits constitute the Dark Triad - narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism - associated with antisocial behaviour, disregard for moral norms, and a tendency to manipulation. Sufficient data point at the existence of Dark Triad 'profiles' distinguished by trait prominence. Currently, neuroimaging studies have mainly concentrated on the neuroanatomy of individual dark traits, while the Dark Triad profile structure has been mostly overlooked.

Methods

We performed a clustering analysis of the Dirty Dozen Dark Triad questionnaire scores of 129 healthy subjects using the k-means method. The variance ratio criterion (VRC) was used to determine the optimal number of clusters for the current data. The two-sample t-test within the framework of voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was performed to test the hypothesised differences in grey matter volume (GMV) for the obtained groups.

Results

Clustering analysis revealed 2 groups of subjects, both with low-to-mid and mid-to-high levels of Dark Triad traits prominence. A further VBM analysis of these groups showed that a higher level of Dark Triad traits may manifest itself in decreased grey matter volumes in the areas related to emotional regulation (the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the cingulate cortex), as well as those included in the reward system (the ventral striatum, the orbitofrontal cortex).

Discussion

The obtained results shed light on the neurobiological basis underlying social interactions associated with the Dark Triad and its profiles.

Understanding Academic Dishonesty in University Settings: The Interplay of Dark Triad Traits and Moral Disengagement

Understanding the correlates of academic dishonesty is crucial for designing effective preventive interventions, as is the investigation of moderating factors that could affect these interactions. Despite increased interest in the Dark Triad personality traits and their potential link with unethical behavior, there is limited evidence regarding the moderating role of moral disengagement in the relationship. This study aimed to investigate academic dishonesty among Greek university students, its relationship with the Dark Triad, and the moderating role of moral disengagement, using gender as a covariate. Overall, 587 students attending Greek public Universities voluntarily completed an anonymous self-report questionnaire assessing the constructs under investigation. Results showed that male students had higher scores in unauthorized collaboration, plagiarism, Dark Triad, and moral disengagement. Moderation analysis indicated that moral disengagement had an effect in the relationship of psychopathy with unauthorized collaboration, especially among men. Overall, the findings of this study highlight the importance of psychopathy and moral disengagement in the prediction of academic dishonesty and have the potential to make a significant contribution to its prevention, particularly in Greek universities where relative initiatives are lacking.

Aesthetic Motivation Impacts Judgments of Others' Prosociality and Mental Life

The ability to infer others' prosocial vs. antisocial behavioral tendencies from minimal information is core to social reasoning. Aesthetic motivation (the value or appreciation of aesthetic beauty) is linked with prosocial tendencies, raising the question of whether this factor is used in interpersonal reasoning and in the attribution of mental capacities. We propose and test a model of this reasoning, predicting that evidence of others' aesthetic motivations should impact judgments of others' prosocial (and antisocial) tendencies by signaling a heightened capacity for emotional experience. In a series of four pre-registered experiments (total N = 1440), participants saw pairs of characters (as photos/vignettes), and judged which in each pair showed more of a mental capacity of interest. Distractor items prevented participants from guessing the hypothesis. For one critical pair of characters, both characters performed the same activity (music listening, painting, cooking, exercising, being in nature, doing math), but one was motivated by the activities' aesthetic value, and the other by its functional value. Across all activities, participants robustly chose aesthetically-motivated characters as more likely to behave compassionately (Exp. 1; 3), less likely to behave selfishly/manipulatively (Exp. 1; 3), and as more emotionally sensitive, but not more intelligent (Exp. 2; 3; 4). Emotional sensitivity best predicted compassionate behavior judgements (Exp. 3). Aesthetically-motivated characters were not reliably chosen as more helpful; intelligence best predicted helpfulness judgements (Exp. 4). Evidence of aesthetic motivation conveys important social information about others, impacting fundamental interpersonal judgments about others' mental life and social behavior.

The Machiavellian bully revisited: A closer look at differences and processes of Machiavellian bullying and cyberbullying perpetration

Numerous studies on personality traits conducive to traditional bullying and cyberbullying mentioned Machiavellianism as an influential predictor of these behaviors. Machiavellianism comprises manipulative, egotistic orientations that help acquire desired outcomes. However, it is questionable whether bullying and cyberbullying reflect unidimensional constructs since they are frequently categorized into verbal, relational, and physical aspects (with the latter being applicable only in traditional bullying). Similarly, evidence suggests that Machiavellianism is not a uniform trait. In this research, using a sample of 634 students (339 girls; 54%) from 40 classes from eighth to tenth grades, a five-dimensional measure of bullying and cyberbullying was devised and suggested that aspects of (cyber)bullying are related but still separable. Subsequently, differential relations between the five forms of (cyber)bullying and two facets of Machiavellianism were modeled. Those facets were Machiavellian approach (i.e., manipulative aspects of Machiavellianism) and Machiavellian avoidance (i.e., distrustful aspects of Machiavellianism). Multilevel models revealed that Machiavellian approach predicted relational bullying (but not relational cyberbullying) and Machiavellian avoidance predicted verbal (cyber)bullying and physical bullying. All links were mediated by overt dehumanization, that is, the tendency to cognitively deprive a person of typically human characteristics.

Stability and cross-lagged relations among callous-unemotional traits, moral identity, moral emotion attribution and externalizing behavior problems in adolescents

This study investigates the associations of adolescents callous-unemotional traits with moral constructs and the interplay of various outcomes. The present study builds on the lack of research and focuses on the longitudinal relationships between CU-traits, moral identity, moral emotion attribution and externalizing behavior problems in adolescence. The included variables were collected at test time points T1 and T2. To determine the predictive, and stability links among the variables, a cross-lagged model in SPSS AMOS 26 was conducted. Time stability path estimates were moderate to highly stable over time for all included variables. Significant cross lagged paths of moral identityT1 on moral emotion attributionT2, CU-traitsT1 on moral identityT2, externalizing behavior problemsT1 on moral emotion attributionsT2 and externalizing behavior problemsT1 on CU-traitsT2, could be found.

The dark triad and depressive symptoms among chinese adolescents: moderated mediation models of age and emotion regulation strategies

Dark Triad has been found to relate with depressive symptoms, but the underlying mechanism was rarely investigated. In the present study, we examined the mediating effect of two emotion regulation strategies (cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression) and the moderating effect of gender and age. 709 Chinese adolescents aged 12-18 years (M = 14.54, SD = 1.70;55.3% girls) filled out the Dirty Dozen, Emotion Regulation Questionnaire and the 10-item of Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. As expected, Dark Triad was related with increased levels of depression and emotion regulation strategies acted as mediators in these associations. Suppression mediated the relationship between Machiavellianism and depression. Reappraisal and suppression mediated the link between psychopathy and depression. Reappraisal mediated the association between narcissism and depression. Besides, age moderated the effect of Machiavellianism on reappraisal, suggesting Machiavellianism had a negative impact on reappraisal for younger adolescents, but not for older adolescents. Age also moderated the effect of reappraisal on depression, indicating the negative effect of reappraisal on depression was stronger for younger adolescents than for older adolescents. These results address how Dark Triad traits affect depression via emotion regulation strategies and indicate the effectiveness of Dark Triad and emotion regulation strategies may change across age groups.

Dark triad and cyber aggression among Chinese adolescents during COVID-19: A moderated mediation model

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of online learning has become a necessary choice for students, and would increase the probability of cyber aggression (CA). Despite the relationship between Dark Triad and CA previous was explored in previous research, the underlying psychological mechanism of CA in adolescents is still unclear. The current study aimed to examine the mediating role of moral disengagement (MD) and the moderating of gender in the relationship between Dark Triad and CA. A sample consists of 501 Chinese adolescents (246 females; 255 males) between the ages of 11 ~ 20. Participants completed the Dirty Dozen Scale, Moral Disengagement Scale, and Cyber Aggressive Behavior Scale. Results show that higher levels of dark personality were associated with higher levels of MD and CA. Moral disengagement partially mediated this positive effects of dark personality on CA. Moreover, gender moderated the mediation model. Specially, the positive relationship between dark triad personality and CA was stronger among females adolescents. These findings advance the understanding of how dark triad personality induces Chinese adolescents' cyber aggressive behavior.

The Dark Tetrad, cybervictimization, and cyberbullying: The role of moral disengagement

Cyberbullying is a form of antisocial online behaviors. Perpetration of intentional and repeated harm inflicted through electronic devices is associated with dark personality traits and may be caused by morally impaired reasoning. In the current study, we investigated the associations between the Dark Tetrad (narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, sadism), cybervictimization, and cyberbullying. We also examined the intervening role of moral disengagement in the relationship between the Dark Tetrad and cyberbullying. Two hundred fifty-one adults (72.6% women) participated in an on-line study. Correlational analysis indicated that all dark personality traits were associated with higher cyberbullying and cybervictimization (except narcissism as a predictor of cybervictimization). Moral disengagement was positively related to Machiavellianism, sadism and cybervictimization. Controlled for covariance between the Dark Tetrad traits and cybervictimization, sadism and cybervictimization appeared to be associated with cyberbullying. Moreover, moral disengagement did not account for the associations between the Dark Tetrad and cyberbullying.

A Comprehensive and Person-Centered View of the Association Between the Dark Triad and Youth Mental Health

Using a dual person-centered approach, the current study examined the Dark Triad profiles and mental health profiles among a large-scale sample of high school students. The study also simultaneously examined whether the emerging Dark Triad profiles could diverge in mental health profiles, delineating a thorough, and person-centered view of this association. To achieve these research aims, 1,640 Chinese high school students (M age = 16.78; SD = 0.68; 57.6% females) participated in this study, and they were uniformly instructed to complete a set of well-established questionnaires. Results from latent profile analyses revealed five Dark Triad profiles-low Machiavellianism-psychopathy (7.4%), benevolent (61.7%), highly malevolent (6.7%), low narcissism (8.8%), and malevolent (15.4%)-and the following four mental health profiles: flourishing (37.7%), vulnerable (16.4%), troubled (33.9%), and highly troubled (12.4%). Moreover, results from multiple multinomial regression analyses showed that, among all five empirically derived Dark Triad profiles, students with the low Machiavellianism-psychopathy profile exhibited the highest probability of being "flourishing," whereas those with the low narcissism profile showed the highest likelihood of being "highly troubled."

The Dark Tetrad, Intimate Partner Violence and the Mediating Role of Moral Disengagement

PURPOSE

Research suggests that physical, psychological, and/or sexual focussed Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is related to the dark triad (DT) traits of Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism. This study extends these findings by considering the addition of everyday sadism into the four-dimension dark tetrad (DTET), testing the possibility that moral disengagement (MD) mediates the relationship between these variables. It was also examined whether the DTET provided incremental validity to the more general personality traits Honesty-Humility, Emotionality, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Openness (HEXACO) to predict IPV.

METHOD

Males and females (N = 416) from the general population completed five questionnaires in an online survey (HEXACO-60, MMEA, PMDS, CTS2S, SD4).

RESULTS

A principal component factor-analysis found that sexual IPV did not load as an individual factor and distinct form of violence on the CTS2S scale so was excluded from this study. Four hierarchical multiple regressions were conducted, using the demographics, HEXACO and either the DTET traits or an overall DTET variable as predictor variables, and either physical or psychological IPV as the dependent variables. Only psychopathy predicted physical and psychological IPV; MD mediated the relationship between psychopathy and psychological IPV. Although the DTET added incremental validity over HEXACO to predict physical IPV, HEXACO low Agreeableness was the strongest predictor of psychological IPV.

CONCLUSIONS

Those higher in psychopathy may show different offending trajectories for physical and psychological IPV dependent upon the use of MD processes. Despite the DTET adding incremental validity over the HEXACO dimensions, some HEXACO elements better explain the relationship between personality and psychological IPV than the DTET.

The dark web of machiavellianism and psychopathy: Moral disengagement in IT organizations

In the current paper, we were interested in examining a series of predictors of organizational moral disengagement, namely Machiavellianism and psychopathy, along with a series of demographic variables (i.e., gender, age, and work experience). Our sample consisted of 114 IT employees aged 21 to 54 (M = 28.51, 62% males). We used a cross-sectional approach and an original scale to measure organizational moral disengagement. The hierarchical regression analysis suggested that the most important predictor of organizational moral disengagement was Machiavellianism, followed by gender (i.e., males). A significant, negative association emerged between organizational moral disengagement and age, suggesting that the older we grow, the lower the organizational moral disengagement. Machiavellianism and psychopathy were significantly associated with all moral disengagement mechanisms, except one - diffusion of responsibility. The most powerful association we found were between Machiavellianism and moral justification and between psychopathy and euphemistic language. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Dark personality and intimate partner relationships in young adults

People with dark personality traits tend to be unsympathetic, manipulative, and violent, and this can affect their intimate partner relationships. The objective of this research is to analyze how the presence of the dark personality traits affects young people's intimate couple relationships. Sociodemographic variables, sexual practices, and tendencies towards the partner, moral disengagement (PMD), and the dark personality traits were assessed in 308 participants, all of them aged between 18 and 25, of whom 78.3% were women and 21.2% were men. Men obtained higher scores than women both in moral disengagement and dark personality traits, as did people who were unfaithful or who consumed pornographic content, which conditions the quality of couple relationships. Consistent with this, men with higher levels of dark personality traits and higher use of a moral disengagement mechanism also presented a greater tendency towards infidelity, especially repeated infidelity. Infidelity is highly related to the presence of dark personality traits, unrestricted socio-sexuality, and having more sexual partners. These results aid in the design of interventions to prevent sexual harassment and abuse in young people and their intimate partner relationships.

Dysfunctional personality, Dark Triad and moral disengagement in incarcerated offenders: implications for recidivism and violence

It is particularly important to study the underlying processes of the dysfunctional personality patterns and of antisocial behaviour in the prison population, to identify them and to analyse the functioning of the psychological mechanisms involved in these constructs. The main goal of this study was to analyse dysfunctional personality patterns, Dark Triad, moral disengagement mechanisms and their relationship with violence and recidivism. Participants were 63 incarcerated offenders in two prisons. The study found a higher degree of moral disengagement in the participants convicted for crimes involving the use of violence. The results indicated that antisocial and aggressive-sadistic tendencies were the dysfunctional personality traits most strongly associated with moral disengagement. The binary logistic regression analysis showed that the variables, which influenced recidivism in criminal behaviour, were the use of violence in the crime committed, antisocial personality traits, and advantageous comparison and dehumanisation as mechanisms of moral disengagement.

Is helicopter parenting stifling moral courage and promoting moral disengagement? Implications for the training and development of millennial managers

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the ethical foundations of Gen Z individuals by studying the impact of helicopter parenting on moral courage and moral disengagement. In addition, this study considers the implications for Millennial generation managers that are likely to be supervising this current generational cohort.

Design/methodology/approach

Hypotheses were tested using a two-wave online survey of 215 undergraduate students.

Findings

Helicopter parenting was associated with lower levels of moral courage and an elevated propensity to morally disengage in a sample of Gen Z individuals. The impact of helicopter parenting on these moral foundations was mediated by the children’s increased desire for continued parental involvement in their lives.

Practical implications

Similar to the Gen Z students surveyed in this study, many Millennials were raised by helicopter parents, thus, it is likely that they are also prone to moral disengagement and low moral courage. Furthermore, Millennial managers will be managing Gen Z workers. Thus, many companies will need to enhance their efforts in providing Millennial managers with business ethics training aimed at developing moral courage and reducing moral disengagement.

Originality/value

This study examines a previously unidentified antecedent of moral courage and moral disengagement

Sexism, Moral Disengagement, and Dark Triad Traits on Perpetrators of Sexual Violence Against Women and Community Men

The field of criminal psychology involves delving into psychological profiles prone to accepting and justifying sexist attitudes that support sexual violence against adult women (SVAW). The aim of the current study is to analyze the mediating role of moral disengagement in the relationships between dark triad personality traits (Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism) and ambivalent sexism in a sample of 74 male perpetrators of sexual violence against women (M = 40.58; SD = 10.05) convicted of intimate partner violence (IPV) and sexual assault and 160 community men (M = 43.54; SD = 10.63). Since there were no significant differences in the measured variables between individuals convicted of IPV and those convicted of sexual assault, these two groups were combined into a single group of perpetrators of sexual violence against women. A comparison of incarcerated and community men showed that perpetrators of sexual violence against women reported significantly higher levels of ambivalent sexism, moral disengagement, and psychopathy than community men. The moderated mediational model showed that the dark triad was not directly associated with ambivalent sexism, but the relationship was fully mediated by moral disengagement mechanisms. Moreover, the interdependence of the variables evaluated was moderated by group. The moral disengagement mechanisms that explain both hostile and benevolent sexism were associated with Machiavellianism and psychopathy among perpetrators of sexual violence against women, whereas among community men, these mechanisms were associated with Machiavellianism and narcissism. These findings are discussed as they pertain to the treatment of perpetrators of sexual violence against women.

Chaos May Prevail Without Filial Piety: A Cross-Cultural Study on Filial Piety, the Dark Triad, and Moral Disengagement

In traditional Chinese society, filial piety (FP) served as the philosophical foundation of social governance, without which chaos would prevail. It indicates that the function of FP is not limited to family. FP can predict attitudes and behaviors in other social contexts. This study examined the relationship between FP and moral disengagement, and the mediating roles of the dark triad personality, and cultural differences regarding these mechanisms. An online self-report survey was conducted in two different culture groups- university students from China (N = 400, 37% male, Mage = 20.41, SD age = 2.52) and Islamic countries who are studying in China (N = 378, 59.25% male, Mage = 24.29, SD age = 4.77). Correlation analysis showed that authoritarian FP was positively associated with moral disengagement among students from China and Islamic countries, while reciprocal FP only negatively correlated with moral disengagement among Chinese students. Moreover, reciprocal FP directly and negatively affected moral disengagement, and did so indirectly through the mediating role of Machiavellianism. However, authoritarian FP directly and positively influenced moral disengagement, and did so indirectly through the buffering role of narcissism. These two parallel mediating models are not affected by culture. Though FP varies from culture to culture, reciprocal FP and authoritarian FP play critical roles in influencing personality and moral development. Reciprocal FP reduces moral disengagement directly and indirectly by weakening Machiavellianism. The role of authoritarian FP is conflicting. It can strengthen moral disengagement, but may also weaken it by deterring the development of the narcissistic personality. The findings enlighten us to view authoritarian FP dialectically. These two parallel mediating models are not affected by culture, indicating the applicability of DFPM in other societies. Future studies are encouraged to involve participants from more divergent countries and cultural backgrounds.

Give me your password! What are you hiding? Associated factors of intimate partner violence through technological abuse

The present study explored the associated factors of intimate partner violence through technological abuse (ITPV) in a sample of 1113 participants aged 18 to 65 (71.3% females). Our research's primary questions were the following: 1). Is there a significant link between relationship attachment styles and ITPV perpetration or victimization?; 2). Is there a significant link between participants' demographic and relationship characteristics (i.e., relationship length and partners' fidelity), online behavior (i.e., benign and toxic disinhibition), moral disengagement, psychological distress), and ITPV perpetration or victimization?; and 3). Did the COVID-19 pandemic increase ITPV perpetration or victimization?. We analyzed our data by creating three different groups, depending on participants' answers concerning ITPV, i.e., the overall sample, abusers' and victims' groups. Our main results suggested significant, positive correlations between ITPV perpetration and victimization, moral disengagement, psychological distress, and online disinhibition. Age negatively correlated with IPVT victimization and perpetration. We also found significant associations between participants' dominant relationship attachment style and their own and partners' cheating behavior, as well as ITPV-victimization and perpetration. Finally, 13.7% to 23% of participants in all three groups considered that the Covid-19 increased the frequency of ITPV behaviors (for both abusers and victims). Results are discussed considering their theoretical and practical implications for domestic violence and the potential related prevention and intervention strategies.

Honesty-Humility and unethical behavior in adolescents: The mediating role of moral disengagement and the moderating role of system justification

INTRODUCTION

Honesty-Humility represents the tendency to be fair, genuine, and cooperative in social interactions. Although previous evidence has demonstrated that Honesty-Humility is related to decreased unethical behavior, little is known about the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this relationship, especially among adolescents. Based on social cognitive theory and system justification theory, the present study aims to examine the mediating role of moral disengagement and the moderating role of system justification in the relationship between Honesty-Humility and unethical behavior among Chinese adolescents.

METHODS

A large sample of Chinese adolescents (N = 2,576, 47% boys; M_age = 17.00 years, SD = 1.07) was recruited from four senior high schools. The participants completed questionnaires regarding Honesty-Humility, moral disengagement, system justification, and unethical behavior.

RESULTS

The findings suggested that Honesty-Humility was negatively associated with adolescents' unethical behavior, and moral disengagement partially mediated this negative association. Furthermore, system justification moderated the mediation model. Specifically, the negative relationships between Honesty-Humility and moral disengagement/unethical behavior were stronger among adolescents who perceive the society as fair.

CONCLUSION

These findings advance the understanding of when and how Honesty-Humility prevents adolescents from unethical behavior. The theoretical and practical implications of the current study as well as future research directions are discussed.

Assessment of Family, Peers, and Externalising Behaviour Dimensions in Adolescence: The Proposal of a Comprehensive Instrument (FPEB)

In the context of externalising behaviour problems, risk factor research (RFR) focuses on risk and protective factors of juvenile delinquency, which can pertain to individual, system, and societal levels. Several instruments aiming at measuring these factors have been developed, but a comprehensive research tool is missing. The aim of the present study was to develop and validate a questionnaire, the "Family, Peers, and Externalising Behaviour in adolescence" (FPEB) as a tool for assessing adolescents' tendency of externalising behaviour, the quality of relation with their parents, and peer-relations. FPEB was administered to 835 Italian students (36.8% males, age M = 13.81, SD = 1.54) together with the Moral Disengagement questionnaire to test concurrent validity. Data about socio-demographics and school performance were also collected. An EFA (Promax rotation, subsample A, n = 444) resulted in a four-factor structure that was corroborated by a CFA (subsample B, n = 388). The factors were "externalising behaviour" (var 13.16%), "peer relations difficulties" (var 11.10%), "Family conflict" (var 8.32%), and "lack of family negotiation" (var 7.11%) and showed good internal consistency (all α ≥ 0.65). There were differences between males and females in the correlational patterns of the four factors. The FPEB factors also showed good concurrent validity: two of the four factors ("lack of family negotiation" and "externalising behaviour") and the total score of the scale correlated with the "Moral disengagement scale", whereas peer relation difficulties did not. Further analyses also showed gender differences (except for "peer relations difficulties") and an association between students' school performance and "externalising behaviour", "family conflict", and the total FPEB scores. We concluded that the FPEB is a tool that is potentially useful to assess risk and protective factors and to plan targeted interventions (focusing on the specific area). Limitations and suggestions for further improvements are also discussed.

Age and gender differences in socially aversive (“dark”) personality traits

The strong overlap of personality traits discussed under the label of “dark personality” (e.g., psychopathy, spitefulness, moral disengagement) endorses a common framework for socially aversive traits over and beyond the dark triad. Despite the rapidly growing research on socially aversive traits, there is a lack of studies addressing age-associated differences in these traits. In the present study ( N = 12,501), we investigated the structure of the D Factor of Personality across age and gender using local structural equation modeling, thereby expressing the model parameters as a quasi-continuous, nonparametric function of age. Specifically, we evaluated loadings, reliabilities, factor (co-)variances, and means across 35 locally weighted age groups (from 20 to 54 years), separately for females and males. Results indicated that measurement models were highly stable, thereby supporting the conceptualization of the D factor independent of age and gender. Men exhibited uniformly higher latent means than females and all latent means decreased with increasing age. Overall, D and its themes were invariant across age and gender. Therefore, future studies can meaningfully pursue causes of mean differences across age and between genders.

Making and maintaining relationships through the prism of the dark triad traits: A longitudinal social network study

OBJECTIVE

We investigated how Dark Triad traits influence the development and maintenance of social relations.

METHOD

Participants completed the Short Dark Triad questionnaire and a measure of social relations at three time points: at the beginning of their first year in high school, 3 months later, and at the end of their first year. We investigated whether the Dark Triad traits are stable over time using Multilevel Modeling (N = 265; 59.6% girls), and how Dark Triad traits predict incoming and outgoing agentic and communal relations using Temporal Exponential Random Graph Models (N = 192; 60.4% girls).

RESULTS

Overall, the Dark Triad traits were stable over a one-year period. Narcissism did not predict an increase in communal and agentic relations in the short-term, but predicted slightly less incoming communal and more agentic relations in the long-term. In the short-term, Machiavellianism predicted a small increase while psychopathy predicted a small decrease in the incoming agentic and communal relations. In the long-term, however, neither Machiavellianism nor psychopathy was a significant predictor of any incoming relations.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results shed new light on the dynamics of making and maintaining social relations through the prism of the Dark Triad traits.

Susceptibility to prosocial and antisocial influence in adolescence

Introduction

Adolescents are particularly susceptible to social influence and previous studies have shown that this susceptibility decreases with age. The current study used a cross-sectional experimental paradigm to investigate the effect of age and puberty on susceptibility to both prosocial and antisocial influence.

Methods

Participants (N = 520) aged 11–18 from London and Cambridge (United Kingdom) rated how likely they would be to engage in a prosocial (e.g. “help a classmate with their work”) or antisocial (e.g. “make fun of a classmate”) act. They were then shown the average rating (in fact fictitious) that other adolescents had given to the same question, and were then asked to rate the same behaviour again.

Results

Both prosocial and antisocial influence decreased linearly with age, with younger adolescents being more socially influenced when other adolescents’ ratings were more prosocial and less antisocial than their own initial rating. Both antisocial and prosocial influence significantly decreased across puberty for boys but not girls (independent of age).

Conclusions

These findings suggest that social influence declines with increasing maturity across adolescence. However, the exact relationship between social influence and maturity is dependent on the nature of the social influence and gender. Understanding when adolescents are most susceptible to different types of social influence, and how this might influence their social behaviour, has important implications for understanding adolescent social development.

Moral Disengagement and Generalized Social Trust as Mediators and Moderators of Rule-Respecting Behaviors During the COVID-19 Outbreak

In this study, we tested a theoretical model with moral disengagement, a mediator, and generalized social trust (GST), a mediator and a moderator of the relationship between personality traits and rule-respecting behaviors (i.e., social distancing and stay-at-home), during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in Italy. The data were collected on 1520 participants (61% males). General results are threefold: (1) moral disengagement mediated the relationship between emotional stability, narcissism, psychopathy, and social distancing; (2) among components of GST, trust in Government mediated the relationship between psychopathy and social distancing; trust in known others mediated the relationship between emotional stability, agreeableness, and Machiavellianism with total number of exits; trust in unknown others mediated the relationship of emotional stability, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and psychopathy with average daily number of exits; (3) GST moderated the indirect effect of personality traits on rule-respecting behaviors through moral disengagement. The theoretical and practical importance of these results is discussed.

The Dark Triad, Moral Disengagement, and Social Entrepreneurial Intention: Moderating Roles of Empathic Concern and Perspective Taking

Past research about social entrepreneurial intention has centered on the impact of bright personalities; however, dark personalities such as the dark triad are also considered to have advantages. This study explored the relationship between the dark triad and social entrepreneurial intention by focusing on the mediating role of moral disengagement and the moderating role of empathic concern and perspective taking. Based on a sample of 491 undergraduates and 412 students in a master in business administration program in China, the dark triad was found to be negatively related to social entrepreneurial intention through moral disengagement. Moreover, high levels of empathic concern and perspective taking weakened the direct effect of the dark triad on moral disengagement, as well as the indirect effect of the dark triad on social entrepreneurial intention. Our study extends the research in the field of personality and entrepreneurship. Given the findings on the role of moral disengagement, empathic concern, and perspective taking, education efforts may assist in decreasing the negative effects of the dark triad on social entrepreneurial intention.

A Longitudinal Examination of the Relations Between Moral Disengagement and Antisocial Behavior in Sport

Moral disengagement (MD) has been positively associated with antisocial behavior (AB) in sport. However, the longitudinal associations between MD and AB are unexamined to date. Adopting a three-wave cross-lagged panel design, the authors examined the reciprocal relations between MD and two forms of AB (i.e., toward opponents and teammates) across a competitive season with a sample of 407 team-sport athletes (Mage = 15.7 years) from Canada. Using structural equation modeling, the authors found strong positive autoregressive effects for MD and both forms of AB across both time periods. They also identified strong positive synchronous correlations between MD and both types of AB at each time point. Finally, cross-lagged effects were only found between MD and AB toward opponents; effects from MD to AB toward opponents were stronger than the reciprocal effects. These findings contribute important knowledge on the regulation of AB in sport.

Developing and validating a new multi-dimensional scale for anti-social behavior in a higher education setting

The purpose of this research is to construct and validate a multi-dimensional scale of Anti-social Behavior (hereafter ASB) in a Western higher education context (i.e., USA). To achieve this, four studies, each with a different sample, were performed. Study 1 (n = 150) followed an exploratory design to generate a pool of potential items measuring ASB. Study 2 (n = 254) explored the dimensionality of the items produced in Study 1 using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and reliability measures. Study 3 (n = 654) confirmed the factorial structure from Study 2 and assessed the measurement model invariance using structural equation modeling (SEM). Finally, Study 4 (n = 287) assessed the predictive validity of the ASB measure through testing a hypothetical path model linking ASB to narcissism and Machiavellianism via an SEM procedure. In total, our research findings conclude that the ASB measurement model is a two-factor multi-dimensional structure comprising: Interpersonal Antagonistic Behavior (six items) as well as Indirect Distractive Behavior (four items). The research and practical implications for universities are thereafter discussed.

Does the Interplay of Callous-Unemotional Traits and Moral Disengagement Underpin Disruptive Behavior? A Systematic Review

Disruptive behavior could represent an (un)moral behavioral component of multi-dimensional construct of morality that includes affective and cognitive aspects. Thus, it is pivotal to investigate their interplay between affective and cognitive processes the better to understand how to intervene to contrast disruptive behavior and its antisocial outcomes. The present review has examined the relationship between affective and cognitive processes implied in moral functioning by focusing on callous-unemotional traits (CU) and moral disengagement. Starting from 1005 records identified by PsycINFO, Pubmed, and Pubpsych, only 13 studies have been selected. These studies show different theoretical approaches and methodologies and put in evidence the nuances of possible interactions of CU and moral disengagement during adolescence based on different research field. Overall, most of the scholars seem to conclude that different interplay can be plausible, suggesting that it is likely that during the adolescence the influence of moral disengagement and CU is reciprocal and longitudinal. Specifically, in adolescents with Disruptive Behavior Disorders CU and moral disengagement can move together in organizing and becoming chronic of antisocial affective-cognitive system, and in particular moral disengagement may give a free way to engage in disruptive behavior.

Antisocial Personality Disorder in Adolescence: Methodology and Diagnostics

The paper describes the issues in conceptualization and diagnostics of antisocial personality disorder in adolescents and youths. Modern interpretations of the antisocial personality disorder and psychopathy categories are presented in two competing approaches headed by R. Hare and D. Cooke. The application of these diagnoses to adolescents remains problematic, however, it is possible to single out certain predictors indicating potential development of antisocial personality disorder in the future. The methods of diagnostics of the antisocial personality disorder and corresponding individual traits in adolescents present a special problem. Further development of this research area will contribute to the forming of the theoretical grounds, methods, and inventories, as well as the practice of diagnostics, prevention and correction of antisocial personality disorder in adolescents and youths.