The “Dark Triad” within psychology is comprised of the psychological constructs of Machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy (Paulhus, & Williams, 2002). As the use of the term ‘dark’ implies, these constructs are more often than not seen as undesirable traits, with the characteristics of people possessing them being viewed as malevolent and selfish (Jonason, & Webster, 2010; Jonason, Webster, Scmitt, Li, & Crysel, 2012; Mededovic, & Petrovic, 2015; Paulhus, & Williams, 2002). Although not all theorists and researchers agree, this essay will argue that these three constructs that make up the Dark Triad are distinct from each other and not equivalent, meaning that each construct requires a separate measurement. However, this essay will also
…show more content…
Individuals who possess narcissistic traits thus feel entitled to have what they desire and feel as though they are superior to others around them, therefore meaning they can rationalise that they deserve what they want more than others due to this grandiose sense of self worth (Jonason et al., 2012; Jones, & Paulhus, 2011; McDonald et al., 2011). Further, this sense of entitlement leads the individual to have a disregard for others (Book et al., 2015; Jonason et al., 2012), however they also seek to obtain an admiration and approval from others at the same time (Jones, & Paulhus, 2011). A common scale used to measure the level of narcissistic traits that an individual possesses is the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI; McDonald et al., 2011; Mededovic, & Petrovic, 2015; Paulhus et al., 2001; Paulhus, & Williams, 2002). The NPI is a 40 item forced choice questionnaire (Paulhus et al., 2001), meaning the individual in question has to choose an option out of two which most relates to their character. The questions assesses the attributes that may be seen as socially desirable as well as attributes that may be seen as socially toxic (McDonald …show more content…
This model covers five broad personality dimensions: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience (Furnham et al., 2013). In comparison, it becomes evident that the constructs do overlap, however cannot be considered equivalent due to their distinct correlates (Paulhus et al., 2001). Although all three constructs were rated as low on agreeableness, on levels of extraversion, it is significantly positively correlated with narcissism, weakly correlated with Machiavellianism, and uncorrelated with psychopathy (Giammarco et al., 2013; Paulhus et al., 2001). Further, Paulhus and Williams (2002) also proved psychopathy and Machiavellianism shared low conscientiousness, while narcissism and psychopathy shared higher openness. Thus, it becomes evident that although there are positive correlations between the Dark Triad constructs, they are distinct.
In conclusion, the Dark Triad constructs to varying degrees possess similarities, as they all share a socially destructive character and location on the interpersonal circumplex. However, there is consistent evidence through inter-correlation analysis and the Big Five model to prove that these constructs do indeed overlap, but are still distinct enough to need separate measurement (Furnham et al., 2013; Giammarco et al., 2013; McDonald
Individuals who possess narcissistic traits thus feel entitled to have what they desire and feel as though they are superior to others around them, therefore meaning they can rationalise that they deserve what they want more than others due to this grandiose sense of self worth (Jonason et al., 2012; Jones, & Paulhus, 2011; McDonald et al., 2011). Further, this sense of entitlement leads the individual to have a disregard for others (Book et al., 2015; Jonason et al., 2012), however they also seek to obtain an admiration and approval from others at the same time (Jones, & Paulhus, 2011). A common scale used to measure the level of narcissistic traits that an individual possesses is the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI; McDonald et al., 2011; Mededovic, & Petrovic, 2015; Paulhus et al., 2001; Paulhus, & Williams, 2002). The NPI is a 40 item forced choice questionnaire (Paulhus et al., 2001), meaning the individual in question has to choose an option out of two which most relates to their character. The questions assesses the attributes that may be seen as socially desirable as well as attributes that may be seen as socially toxic (McDonald …show more content…
This model covers five broad personality dimensions: extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience (Furnham et al., 2013). In comparison, it becomes evident that the constructs do overlap, however cannot be considered equivalent due to their distinct correlates (Paulhus et al., 2001). Although all three constructs were rated as low on agreeableness, on levels of extraversion, it is significantly positively correlated with narcissism, weakly correlated with Machiavellianism, and uncorrelated with psychopathy (Giammarco et al., 2013; Paulhus et al., 2001). Further, Paulhus and Williams (2002) also proved psychopathy and Machiavellianism shared low conscientiousness, while narcissism and psychopathy shared higher openness. Thus, it becomes evident that although there are positive correlations between the Dark Triad constructs, they are distinct.
In conclusion, the Dark Triad constructs to varying degrees possess similarities, as they all share a socially destructive character and location on the interpersonal circumplex. However, there is consistent evidence through inter-correlation analysis and the Big Five model to prove that these constructs do indeed overlap, but are still distinct enough to need separate measurement (Furnham et al., 2013; Giammarco et al., 2013; McDonald