Schizotypal Traits and the Dark Triad From an Ecological Perspective: A Nonclinical Sample Study

The Dark Triad is a collection of socially aversive personality traits, namely subclinical psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and subclinical narcissism. These deviant traits, however, contribute to the success of individuals with dark personality traits. Therefore, Dark Triad traits can be conceived as pseudopathologies. Schizotypal traits have also been studies from the perspective of behavioral adaptations. In this study, we investigated whether schizotypal traits were associated with the Dark Triad traits and how schizotypal symptoms can be considered as parts of dark interpersonal strategies that contribute to the individual success of people with dark personality traits. A sample of 277 university students (198 females and 79 males; Mage = 20.64; SDage = 2.15) were recruited to fill out the Short Dark Triad and the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief Revised. Statistical analyses revealed that Machiavellianism was positively associated with restricted emotional and social life. Narcissism was negatively associated with interpersonal problems. Psychopathy was positively associated with distorted perceptions/cognitions and disorganization. Results of the study are discussed within a behavioral ecology framework. This perspective emphasizes the adaptive values connected to schizotypal personality traits. We further discuss how these adaptive traits fit into strategies of individuals with Dark Triad traits, and how these schizotypal traits might restrict or further promote their individual success.

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COVID-19 and their outcomes: how personality, place, and sex of people play a role in the psychology of COVID-19 beliefs

European Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1093/eurpub/ckab120.010 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 31 (Supplement_2) ◽

Author(s):

Sonia Brito-Costa ◽

Peter K Jonason ◽

Michele Tosi ◽

Rui Antunes ◽

Sofia Silva ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Negative Affect ◽

Personality Traits ◽

Big Five ◽

Ad Hoc ◽

Dark Triad ◽

Religious People ◽

Big Five Traits ◽

People’S Attitudes ◽

The Individual ◽

Facebook Advertising

Abstract Background There is considerable variation in people’s attitudes towards the COVID-19 pandemic. One way to understand why people differ in their attitudes is to examine how personality traits predict the degree to which people hold different attitudes. Methods We collected data (N = 1420) from Portugal and Spain using Facebook advertising. We measured the Dark Triad and Big Five traits, and negative affect, along with ad hoc items for religiousness, and attitudes towards and fear of COVID. Results Neuroticism and Negative affect was linked to various domains of insecurity or fear and provides insights into how personality predicts concerns and behaviors related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Religious people were less trusting in science, thought prayer was answer, and attributed the existence of the virus to an act of God. Women reported more fear of COVID-19 than men did, and this was enabled by women’s greater tendency to have Negative Affect and higher Neuroticism than men. Conclusions Neurotic people and those with more Negative Affect appear to be more fearful, more trusting in others and systems likely to protect them (e.g., scientists), and less likely to trust in systems shown to not help them (e.g., prayer). We found other effects for the Dark Triad traits and the Big Five traits. In total, we highlight some of the reasons that people may be in such disagreements about what to do about the virus at the individual and institutional levels. Personality, place, and participant’s sex all appear to play a role in the psychology of COVID-19 beliefs.

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A Bright Side to Family Firms: How Socioemotional Wealth Importance Affects Dark Traits–Job Performance Relationships

Family Business Review ◽

10.1177/0894486519888397 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 32 (4) ◽

pp. 378-395

Author(s):

Benjamin D. McLarty ◽

Daniel T. Holt

Keyword(s):

Job Performance ◽

Personality Traits ◽

Family Firms ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Performance Outcomes ◽

Dark Triad ◽

Socioemotional Wealth ◽

Moderation Effect ◽

Individual Level ◽

The Individual

Examining socioemotional wealth’s influence at the individual level, an interactionist approach was used to test its moderation effect on the dark personality traits–job performance relationship, using supervisor-employee dyads in family firms. Termed the Dark Triad, dark personality traits include narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism. Results showed that when supervisors in family firms prioritize socioemotional wealth, the expected relationships between the Dark Triad and employee job performance outcomes (task, citizenship, and counterproductive behaviors) is ameliorated. These findings demonstrate that family firms can create an environment that improves the otherwise negative impact that dark personality has on job performance.

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Knowledge sabotage as an extreme form of counterproductive knowledge behavior: the role of narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and competitiveness

Journal of Knowledge Management ◽

10.1108/jkm-06-2020-0416 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 24 (9) ◽

pp. 2299-2325

Author(s):

Alexander Serenko ◽

Chun Wei Choo

Keyword(s):

Personality Traits ◽

Strong Relationship ◽

Dark Triad ◽

Workplace Behavior ◽

Content Type ◽

Individual Personality ◽

Individual Knowledge ◽

The Individual ◽

Amazon's Mechanical Turk ◽

The Impact

Purpose This study empirically tests the impact of the Dark Triad personality traits (narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy) and co-worker competitiveness on knowledge sabotage. Design/methodology/approach A model was constructed and tested by means of Partial Least Squares with data from 150 participants recruited via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. Findings The individual personality traits of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy are significant predictors of individual knowledge sabotage behavior, whereas co-worker Machiavellianism and psychopathy trigger co-worker knowledge sabotage. Out of the three Dark Triad traits, individual and co-worker psychopathy emerged as the strongest knowledge sabotage predictor. Co-worker competitiveness has a positive effect on co-workers’ knowledge sabotage behavior. There is a relatively strong relationship between co-worker and individual knowledge sabotage which suggests that knowledge sabotage is a form of contagious workplace behavior. Individuals underestimate their negative behavior and traits and/or overestimate those of their fellow co-workers. Practical implications Managers should realize that the Dark Triad personality traits could predispose certain individuals to engage in extremely harmful counterproductive knowledge behavior. They need to ensure that individuals with these traits are not hired or are identified during their probation periods. It is recommended that organizations include knowledge sabotage measures in their periodic employee surveys. Organizations should help their employees objectively re-evaluate their own traits and knowledge behavior as well as those of their colleagues to ensure that their reciprocating knowledge behavior is more aligned with the reality in their organization. Originality/value This study offers a reliable and valid quantitative survey instrument to measure the presence of knowledge sabotage.

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Relationship between Schizotypal and Borderline Traits in College Students

The Spanish Journal of Psychology ◽

10.5209/rev_sjop.2012.v15.n1.37337 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. 306-314 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Eduardo Fonseca-Pedrero ◽

Serafín Lemos-Giráldez ◽

Mercedes Paino ◽

Susana Sierra-Baigrie ◽

José Muñiz

Keyword(s):

College Students ◽

Personality Traits ◽

Borderline Personality ◽

Personality Questionnaire ◽

Future Studies ◽

Schizotypal Personality ◽

Lack Of Control ◽

Borderline Personality Traits ◽

Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire ◽

The Relationship

The main objective of the present investigation was to analyze the relationship between self-reported schizotypal and borderline personality traits in a sample of 759 college students (M = 19.63 years; SD = 2.03). For this purpose, the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire-Brief (SPQB; Raine and Benishay, 1995) and Borderline Personality Questionnaire (BPQ; Poreh et al., 2006) were administered. The results showed that schizotypal and borderline features are partially related at subclinical level. The exploratory factor analysis conducted on the subscales revealed a three-factor solution comprised of the following factors: Identity/Interpersonal, Lack of Control and Schizotypal. The canonical correlation analysis showed that schizotypal features and borderline personality traits shared 34.8 % of the variance. The data highlight the overlap between schizotypal and borderline personality traits in nonclinical young adults. Future studies should continue to examine the relationship and the degree of overlap between these traits in community samples.

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Semantic priming and schizotypal personality: reassessing the link between thought disorder and enhanced spreading of semantic activation

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.9511 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

pp. e9511

Author(s):

Javier Rodríguez-Ferreiro ◽

Mari Aguilera ◽

Rob Davies

Keyword(s):

Semantic Priming ◽

Semantic Relatedness ◽

Stimulus Onset ◽

Thought Disorder ◽

Decision Task ◽

Semantic Activation ◽

Schizotypal Personality ◽

Controlled Processing ◽

Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire ◽

Schizotypal Symptoms

The term schizotypy refers to a group of stable personality traits with attributes similar to symptoms of schizophrenia, usually classified in terms of positive, negative or cognitive disorganization symptoms. The observation of increased spreading of semantic activation in individuals with schizotypal traits has led to the hypothesis that thought disorder, one of the characteristics of cognitive disorganization, stems from semantic disturbances. Nevertheless, it is still not clear under which specific circumstances (i.e., automatic or controlled processing, direct or indirect semantic relation) schizotypy affects semantic priming or whether it does affect it at all. We conducted two semantic priming studies with volunteers varying in schizotypy, one with directly related prime-target pairs and another with indirectly related pairs. Our participants completed a lexical decision task with related and unrelated pairs presented at short (250 ms) and long (750 ms) stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs). Then, they responded to the brief versions of the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire and the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences, both of which include measures of cognitive disorganization. Bayesian mixed-effects models indicated expected effects of SOA and semantic relatedness, as well as an interaction between relatedness and directness (greater priming effects for directly related pairs). Even though our analyses demonstrated good sensitivity, we observed no influence of cognitive disorganization over semantic priming. Our study provides no compelling evidence that schizotypal symptoms, specifically those associated with the cognitive disorganization dimension, are rooted in an increased spreading of semantic activation in priming tasks.

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The relationship between cannabis use and schizotypal symptoms

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2003.12.001 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 19 (2) ◽

pp. 113-114 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Elizabeth L. Bailey ◽

Brian L. Swallow

Keyword(s):

Developmental Process ◽

Cannabis Use ◽

Clinical Population ◽

Personality Questionnaire ◽

Schizotypal Personality ◽

Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire ◽

The Relationship ◽

Schizotypal Symptoms

AbstractTo test the relationship between schizotypal symptoms and cannabis use in a non-clinical population, cannabis users and non-users were asked to complete the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire. Significant differences in scores between the groups were observed. There may be a developmental process in the relationship between cannabis use and schizotypal symptoms.

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Subclinical Sadism and the Dark Triad

Journal of Individual Differences ◽

10.1027/1614-0001/a000284 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 40 (3) ◽

pp. 127-133 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Laura K. Johnson ◽

Rachel A. Plouffe ◽

Donald H. Saklofske

Keyword(s):

Factor Analysis ◽

University Students ◽

Personality Traits ◽

Exploratory Factor Analysis ◽

Convergent Validity ◽

Dark Triad ◽

Antisocial Personality ◽

Factor Solution ◽

Online Study ◽

Antisocial Personality Traits

Abstract. The Dark Triad is a constellation of three antisocial personality traits: Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy. Recently, researchers have introduced a “Dark Tetrad” that includes subclinical sadism, although others suggest considerable overlap between psychopathy and sadism. To clarify the position of sadism within the Dark Triad, an online study was conducted with 615 university students. Exploratory factor analysis revealed that a six-factor solution fit the data best, representing Machiavellianism, psychopathy, physical sadism, verbal sadism, narcissism, and vicarious sadism. Furthermore, convergent validity was supported through sadism’s correlations with the HEXACO personality traits. The results support sadism’s inclusion within the Dark Tetrad as a unique construct but with some conceptual overlap with psychopathy.

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In Search of the Prosocial Personality

Journal of Individual Differences ◽

10.1027/1614-0001/a000276 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 40 (1) ◽

pp. 55-62 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Anja Wertag ◽

Denis Bratko

Keyword(s):

Prosocial Behavior ◽

Personality Traits ◽

Significant Proportion ◽

Dark Triad ◽

Self Report ◽

Hierarchical Regression ◽

Regression Analyses ◽

The Relationship

Abstract. Prosocial behavior is intended to benefit others rather than oneself and is positively linked to personality traits such as Agreeableness and Honesty-Humility, and usually negatively to the Dark Triad traits (i.e., Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy). However, a significant proportion of the research in this area is conducted solely on self-report measures of prosocial behavior. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between prosociality and the basic (i.e., HEXACO) and dark personality traits, comparing their contribution in predicting both self-reported prosociality and prosocial behavior. Results of the hierarchical regression analyses showed that the Dark Triad traits explain prosociality and prosocial behavior above and beyond the HEXACO traits, emphasizing the importance of the Dark Triad in the personality space.

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