in psychology the dark triad represents
three personality traits narcissism
psychopathy and machiavellianism
if we were to ask the three who has the
darkest personality the narcissist would
say me the psychopath would say i don't
care and the machiavellian would say
it's whoever i wanted to be
people scoring high on the three traits
are more likely to commit crimes and
create severe social problems in society
families and organizations
this is why the research on the dark
triad is used widely in law enforcement
psychology
and business
here is an overview of what we know
the narcissist displays grandiosity
entitlement and superiority and wants
nothing more than admiration once he
gets what he wants the narcissist is
really interested in other people
when he does care it's to enhance his
status which is why he likes to mingle
with successful others
they seem as though they're completely
in love with themselves but at the root
of their inflated egos are often deeply
held feelings of inferiority
to protect their constructed self they
can never admit to being wrong which is
why they lie or blame others
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machiavellians are unprincipled cold and
have a cynical view of other human
beings they like money power and winning
and they use manipulation to get what
they want or exploit others
if manipulation doesn't work they steal
or betray
those high on the spectrum believe it's
better to be feared than being liked and
offend others as a strategy to control
them
when you are a psychopath you come
across as cold and others think you are
scary you also show little to no fear
act impulsively and you enjoy mental
thrills
those high on the spectrum don't form
any emotional bonds the result is a
complete lack of compassion that means
they have no problem being mean
if something terrible happens they later
often don't feel any remorse or guilt
the research tells us that men score
significantly higher on all three
compared to women
and while these three personalities are
empirically distinct they do overlap
clinically both narcissism and
psychopathy are regarded as mental
disorders while machiavellianism isn't
whether nature or nurture is responsible
for these traits has been somewhat
answered by twin studies that show that
narcissism and psychopathy have
substantial genetic components
machiavellianism seems to be less
prevalent in pairs of twins
however the environment also matters a
psychopath may not only pass down his
genes but influence a child by being a
role model
a machiavellian father shares with his
son not only genetic material but might
also show him all his tricks
the son of a narcissist not only gets
his dad's chromosomes but may also
experience his perfectionism
with the big five personality traits
also known as ocean the three correlate
either positively or negatively
narcissists and psychopaths are often
open to new ideas and extroverted
psychopaths and machiavellians have low
conscientiousness
all three personality types score low on
agreeableness and psychopaths are hardly
neurotic whatever happens leaves them
cold
an evolutionary explanation for these
traits could be sexual strategy
many of us pursue a slow life invest in
long-term relationships have a few
children and spend time on parenting
dark triad traits may have survived
because they looked to optimize a fast
life their ancestors lived in an
unpredictable and dangerous world
because of a shorter life they sought
many sexual partners spent no time on
parenting and did not invest in human
relationships
this may also explain why they strive in
competitive environments such as
corporations
here a machiavellian may use charm and
insults to manipulate others the
narcissist his physical appearance and a
psychopath physical threats
and since they all lack compassion they
often elbow their way to the top which
is maybe why all three dark traits are
well represented in upper level
management
but there are also downsides if your
mind was programmed to be impulsive
aggressive and selfish you are also more
likely to abuse drugs feel excluded
suffer from depression or end up in jail
this is why we may not only find ways to
protect ourselves from these darker
minds but also have empathy for them
after all maybe they didn't choose to be
that way
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what about you
did you inherit some dark triad traits
and if that's the case and if you are
aware of them did you develop strategies
to cope with them
share your thoughts in the comments
below and read the description to dig
deeper and find relevant links sources
and information
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