Personality and Individual Differences

The Dark Triad refers to three socially undesirable personality traits, which are…

narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy

Narcissistic personality is defined as a… yet… sense of self as well as a preoccupation with… and demands for admiration.

grandiose, fragile, success

Narcissism involves a strong sense of entitlement and require an excessive amount of admiration, but at the root of their inflated egos are deeply rooted… causing them to be…

feeling of inferiority, envious of others

Machiavellian personality is described as a trait referring to a strategy of social conduct that involves…

manipulating others for personal gain

Those with a Machiavellian personality type engage in unethical behaviours like… and possess a cynical view of human nature so demonstrate little concern for…

theft and sabotage, the welfare of others

Psychopathy is defined as a drive to… without any…

engage in impulsive or antisocial behaviour, empathy or remorse

Jon Ronson did a psychopathy test and found that those with high levels of psychopathy are…

high functioning, with superficial charm

The questionnaire used to assess narcissism is called

the narcissistic personality inventory (NPI)

The questionnaire used to assess Machiavellianism is called

the Mach IV

The questionnaire used to assess psychopathy is called

the self-report psychopathy scale (SPR)

The 2 questionnaires used to assess all 3 in the Dark Triad are called

The Dirty Dozen and The Short Dark Triad

All Dark Triad traits are negatively associated with… and with…

agreeableness, conscientiousness

Narcissism is positively associated with… and with…

extraversion, openness

Vedel and Thompson’s study used students studying a variety of subjects with the Dark Triad test, and found that Psychology students scored lower on… and on… than other subjects

machiavellianism, narcissism

What might be a reason for an increase in narcissism in young adults?

increased visual social media usage

What is a developmental/social explanation for a rise in narcissism?

parenting styles, overevaluation of children increased narcissism

3 social predictors of Dark Triad traits

Health, performance at school, sexual behaviours

The Dark Triad can be criticised because…

it does not include other possible negative traits

The Light Triad includes 3 traits which are…

Kantianism, Humanism, Faith in humanity

Kantianism is the trait where…

a person treats others as ends unto themselves

Humanism is that trait where

a person values the dignity and worth of others

Faith in humanity is the trait where

a person believes in the fundamental goodness of people

Criticisms of the Light Triad are…

that the tests are mainly on Western cultures and there is social desirability bias

The Nomological Network is the network of… (3 things) that you would expect to be associated with a trait to demonstrate that it is a valid construct

traits, qualities and outcomes

to assess the nomological network of the light and dark triad, you can explore…

whether the traits correlate or predict outcomes in line with expectations