As cold as a fish? Relationships between the Dark Triad personality traits and affective experience during the day: A day reconstruction study. Irena Pilch. PLOS, February 25, 2020.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0229625Abstract: The Dark Triad of personality is a cluster of three socially aversive personality traits: Machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy. These traits are associated with a selfish, aggressive and exploitative interpersonal strategy. The objective of the current study was to establish relationships between the Dark Triad traits (and their dimensions) and momentary affect. Machiavellianism, grandiose narcissism, vulnerable narcissism and the dimensions of the Triarchic model of psychopathy (namely, boldness, meanness and disinhibition) were examined. We used the Day Reconstruction Method, which is based on reconstructing affective states experienced during the previous day. The final sample consisted of 270 university students providing affective ratings of 3047 diary episodes. Analyses using multilevel modelling showed that only boldness had a positive association with positive affective states and affect balance, and a negative association with negative affective states. Grandiose narcissism and its sub-dimensions had no relationship with momentary affect. The other dark traits were related to negative momentary affect and/or inversely related to positive momentary affect and affect balance. As a whole, our results empirically demonstrated distinctiveness of the Dark Triad traits in their relationship to everyday affective states. These findings are not congruent with the notion that people with the Dark Triad traits, who have a dispositional tendency to manipulate and exploit others, are generally cold and invulnerable to negative feelings. The associations between the Dark Triad and momentary affect were discussed in the contexts of evolutionary and positive psychology, in relation to the role and adaptive value of positive and negative emotions experienced by individuals higher in Machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy.
Discussion
The
aim of the present study was to examine relationships between affective
states in everyday life and dark personality traits. The associations
between momentary affect and the Dark Triad were investigated using the
DRM, a well-validated instrument for the measurement of daily life
experience. This method enables assessing affective states within
natural situations during a chosen day of one’s life. In the current
study, it was assumed that narcissism and psychopathy were
multidimensional constructs. The results provide evidence about the
relationships of the Dark Triad with momentary affect, supporting the
majority of the predictions.
According
to the results, dark traits or their dimensions showed specific
associations with momentary affect: momentary PA was positively related
to boldness and negatively related to vulnerable narcissism, meanness
and Machiavellianism; momentary NA was positively related to vulnerable
narcissism, disinhibition and Machiavellianism, and also inversely
related to boldness. Affect balance showed associations with boldness
(positive) and with vulnerable narcissism, Machiavellianism,
disinhibition and meanness (negative). These and other results of the
present study are discussed below separately for Machiavellianism,
narcissism and psychopathy using evolutionary theory and adaptationist
approach to emotions.
Machiavellianism
When
formulating the hypothesis on the association of Machiavellianism with
momentary affect, we pointed out the inconsistency between the “cool
syndrome” (traditionally considered a main feature of high Machs’
emotionality; [
50])
and the results of many studies that revealed the positive correlations
of Machiavellianism with neuroticism [e.g., 52]. In the current study,
we obtained the predicted positive associations between Machiavellianism
and momentary NA, and the negative associations of Machiavellianism
with momentary PA and affect balance. These results did not support the
conviction about “cold” and “smart” Machiavellians who can control
successfully their emotions and “get what they want” form other people
(see [
50]).
In fact, in the description of the Machiavellian personality made in a classic work by Christie and Geis [
50],
there seems to be a discrepancy between the above features of high
Machs and their very pessimistic view of the world where people are
susceptible to manipulation, but they are also cunning and constantly
lurking for someone’s mistake or a moment of inattention to achieve
their goals at his or her expense. Such a worldview may create constant
pressure on Machiavellians who (in their opinion) have to continuously
defend themselves against other people. Because the Mach IV scale (in
which at least 1/3 of items concerns views on people in general, e.g.,
“Most people are basically good and kind,” inversely scored) is still
used as a measure of Machiavellianism, these negative beliefs are
crucial to the assessment although the descriptions of the construct
sometimes emphasize only manipulation, not views. On the other hand, one
should not be surprised that the inhabitants of the Machiavellian,
“dog-eat-dog” world tended to feel more negative and less positive
emotions in everyday life, which appeared in our study. According to an
evolutionary approach to emotions, “negative emotions motivate the
organism to avoid misfortune by escaping, attacking, or preventing harm
or by repairing damage” [
124]
(p. 132), so these emotions seem useful for Machiavellians, constantly
surrounded by “enemies.” At the same time, such a tendency may be
characterized as lower emotional well-being, which is in line with the
results of many studies [e.g., 19,20].
Several
current studies have provided arguments supporting the assumption about
some kind of emotional vulnerability of people higher in
Machiavellianism. In a study by Szijjarto & Bereczkei [
39],
Machiavellianism was connected with difficulties to express and
understand one’s own emotions, but also with emotional instability and
ability to experience strong emotions. Inability to express feelings can
favor a manipulator. It is due to the fact that it is more difficult
for others to catch them. However, it may also cause some costs for a
Machiavellian. For instance, this inability can be an obstacle to
communication in different situations (not only in close relationships).
The recent study [
125]
has demonstrated the unexpected results, contradictory to the idea of
“cold” Machiavellians: Machiavellianism positively predicted break-up
distress in romantic relationships. Findings of some other studies may
be reinterpreted when the assumed Machiavellian “vulnerability” is taken
into account. For example, high Machs tended to engage in cheating only
when the risk of being caught is small [
126],
which can be an effect of high levels of negative emotions experienced.
The relationship between Machiavellianism and anxiety sensitivity to
social concerns (concern of being rejected by others; [
127]) may be partly a result of a Machiavellian view of social life and fear of retaliation. Jonason et al. [
17]
hypothesized that long-term strategizing (e.g., a delay of
gratifications) may be an additional source of stress for
Machiavellians, which can be associated with poor health outcomes. The
negative relationship between Machiavellianism and various psychological
and physical health indicators [
17,
128,
129]
is also in line with our hypothesis of Machiavellian vulnerability. In
general, negative emotions (conceptualized as defensive mechanisms) can
protect Machiavellian individuals from danger and increase their
individual fitness. At the same time, this may generate considerable
costs for persons higher in Machiavellianism in terms of health and
emotional well-being.
Narcissism
Grandiose
narcissism is connected with traits that can promote experiencing
positive emotions, such as high self-esteem, extraversion and low
neuroticism [
46].
However, in our study this dimension of narcissism showed no
relationships with momentary affect. Also none of the facets of
grandiose narcissism was a significant predictor of affect.
In
the present study participants were asked to state whether they were
alone or with others in a given situation. Starting from the assumption
that being with other people, who can give attention, respect, or
admiration, may be more rewarding for the participants with higher
grandiose narcissism than for those with lower grandiose narcissism (see
[
123]),
we tested the prediction that grandiose narcissism may serve as a
moderator of the association between positive affect and the type of
social situation (alone vs. with others). The results provided some
support for this prediction: Grandiose Exhibitionism, which is good
indicator of narcissistic grandiosity [
112], was responsible for this moderation.
The
specificity of grandiose narcissism is that narcissistic individuals
prefer other people’s company because they constantly seek attention and
admiration of others in order to maintain their grandiose self-views [
130].
Grandiose narcissists can benefit from experiencing positive affective
states in the presence of others because it can help them to avoid
catching signals of criticism, a lack of acceptance, or other potential
sources of ego threats and enhance the effectiveness of
self-presentation (see [
131]).
Positive affect may help narcissists maintain positive illusions about
their own attractiveness, which “may compel narcissists to
indiscriminately pursue short-term mating strategy beyond their
realistic prospects” [
132] (p. 213). Positive emotions shared by individuals build friendship, alliances and family bonds [
133].
Moreover, persons who express more positive emotions are rated more
positively and people generally prefer interacting with those who have a
good mood [
134].
Thus, it seems that a tendency to feel more positive emotions while
with others can be adaptive for individuals higher in narcissism and
increase the effectiveness of the narcissistic strategy.
There
has been an unresolved discussion in psychology on whether grandiose
narcissism should be treated as an adaptive or maladaptive trait. Our
results do not support any conclusions regarding this issue. However,
the lack of a main effect of grandiose narcissism (and its
sub-dimensions) on momentary PA and momentary NA and a moderating effect
of grandiose narcissism (and Grandiose Exhibitionism) on the
relationship between being alone or with others and momentary PA
encourage us to consider other possible contextual moderators, such as
types of situation, communication or interpersonal relationships.
Vulnerable
narcissism is defined by such features as neuroticism, anxiety and a
tendency to feel high negative affect and low positive affect, and these
relationships were replicated in many cross-sectional studies [e.g.,
46]. The results of our study provided support to the idea that these
tendencies are also observed in everyday life. When considered alone,
vulnerable narcissism was relatively the strongest predictor of
momentary NA. Additionally, unfavorable affect balance was observed.
Since affect is regarded as an important component of subjective
well-being, this pattern of relationships prompted the conclusion that
this type of a narcissist may pay the highest personal costs related to
the emotional aspect of well-being out of all dark personalities due to
the emotional vulnerability. On the other hand, narcissistic behavioral
strategy is based on exploitation of others; however, vulnerable
narcissism is associated with experiencing difficulties in establishing
and maintaining interpersonal relationships [
135].
Thus, some of these negative emotional states can result in inhibiting
the unrealistic aspirations and demands in the name of security (e.g.,
to prevent the loss of a partner), which can be viewed as adaptive.
Psychopathy
The triarchic model of psychopathy [
73],
which was adopted in the current study, proposes boldness (“fearless
dominance”,) defined as more “positive” phenotypic expression of
fearless temperament, as a dimension of psychopathy. According to the
findings of the present study, boldness was the only component of
psychopathy (and the only dark trait) that turned out to be positively
related to momentary PA and affect balance and negatively related to
momentary NA. In other words, only boldness exhibited a pattern of
relationships with momentary affect that can be considered
psychologically beneficial for a “bold” individual, and that can also be
interpreted in terms of higher subjective well-being. The possible
biologically adaptive value of positive emotions is also important.
Positive emotional states communicate that an individual is safe,
healthy, full of energy, so he or she is able to take more risks and
make good use of to gain valuable resources. This finding is consistent
with earlier studies that demonstrated similar relationships between
boldness and a trait positive/negative affect, resiliency [
92,
89], and well-being [
90]. Although boldness is also considered to be connected with diminished physiological and emotional responsiveness [
91], our study did not confirm this in relation to positive affective states.
According
to our results, disinhibition was associated with momentary NA and
negatively with affect balance, so it predicted more negative affective
states and unfavorable affect balance. However, momentary PA was not
related to disinhibition. The relationship between disinhibition and
momentary NA was relatively strong and remained significant after
controlling for all the Dark Triad traits. Disinhibition embodies this
type of psychopathy that is not related to blunted emotional reactivity [
91] but is associated with poor emotional control and irresponsible and impulsive behavior [e.g.,
136].
This can lead to situations resulting in distress and negative
feelings. However, even persistent negative emotional states can be
understood as “an adaptive response to unfavorable circumstances” ([
137]
p. 100). Thus, taking into account evolutionary functions of emotions,
these negative emotional states experienced by disinhibited individuals
could prevent them from too risky behavior, which can be beneficial for
them (i.e., improve their fitness).
Contrary
to the predictions, meanness was not associated with momentary NA. The
prediction about negative association between meanness and momentary NA
was made based on the characteristics of meanness as callous-unemotional
aspect of psychopathy and taking into account the results of previous
studies on relationships between this dimension and trait negative
affectivity. Meanness as a “callous-unemotional” dimension of
psychopathy was connected with deficits in experiencing fear and some
other negative emotions [e.g., 138]. However, the findings of other
studies on triarchic psychopathy showed different patterns of
correlations between meanness and some characteristics associated with
negative affectivity. For example, in a study by Brislin et al. [
139]
no relationship was obtained between trait negative affect and meanness
in an incarcerated group, and in a community group this relationship
was positive. In a recent meta-analysis [
89],
despite the fact that triarchic meanness was strongly associated with
other models of psychopathy and relevant criteria, it was also
positively related to neuroticism, Negative Affectivity as measured by
the Personality Inventory for the DSM-5, and internalizing symptoms
(anxiety and depression). Additionally, the findings regarding
internalizing symptoms turned out highly overlapping for meanness and
disinhibition [
89].
These meta-analytic findings allow believing that the lack of negative
associations between meanness and momentary NA in the current study may
be partly the effect of the specificity of measurement of the triarchic
meanness. It is also possible that the levels of participants’ meanness
were not large enough to demonstrate the expected effects in our group
or that the indicators of momentary NA used in the current study were
not optimal in the case of meanness as correlations between this
psychopathy dimension and particular negative emotional states may be
different (e.g., negative for fear and positive for anger).
Meanness
turned out to be a negative predictor of momentary PA, which was not
anticipated, and remained significant when the Dark Triad traits were
considered together. Deficits in experiencing positive emotions are
rather not assigned to psychopathy, but some studies showed deficient
processing of positive emotional stimuli [
138].
The negative relationship between meanness and PA may be also
associated with the above-mentioned overlap between triarchic meanness
and disinhibition. Overall, our results are in line with the idea that
meanness can be connected with poverty of emotional experience, however,
our evidence is weak.
A
different way to interpret the differences regarding emotions is to
analyze more basic personality elements that are behind the particular
dark traits and their dimensions [
140]. The traits which are shared by all the DT constructs constitute the so-called “dark core” [
141,
142] that includes Honesty-Humility, disagreeableness [
8,
143–
145], callousness [
146], and antagonism [
141].
These common features, in themselves, cannot be responsible for
differences in emotions. Nevertheless, both the behavior components and
other traits may be specific for particular dark personalities. For
example, disinhibition, vulnerable narcissism and, to a lesser degree,
Machiavellianism are associated with higher neuroticism and introversion
[
45,
52,
73],
which promotes experiencing negative emotions. Conversely, boldness and
grandiose narcissism are related to extraversion, agency, social
dominance and high self-esteem [
68,
73], which can promote positive emotions on different ways [
147,
148]. However, in the current study, it was the case only for boldness.
Conclusions and limitations
In
summary, we investigated the relationships between the Dark Triad and
momentary affective states utilizing an ecologically valid method. Our
findings contribute to the literature by clarifying how the Dark Triad
traits are related to everyday emotional experience. Different patterns
of relationships of momentary PA, momentary NA and affect balance with
the dark personality constructs were obtained. The two dimensions of
narcissism demonstrated different relationships with daily affectivity
and the same was true for the three dimensions of psychopathy and
Machiavellianism. The Dark Triad traits explained together a noticeable
part of momentary NA variance (21%), but their associations with PA were
weaker.
On
the basis of our results, only boldness was associated with positive
affective states, which seems beneficial to an individual. The
participants with higher levels of vulnerable narcissism, disinhibition
and Machiavellianism were predisposed to more negative and less positive
affect and their affect balance may be seen as unfavorable to them in a
given situation. These results can be interpreted in the framework of
evolutionary psychology. We speculate that the differences in momentary
affect obtained in the current study reflect different behavioral
strategies used in daily life by individuals. A tendency to feel
negative emotions that was observed in Machiavellian and disinhibited
persons and vulnerable narcissists may be conducive to achieving their
goals by increasing caution and mistrust in dealing with others, which
may reduce the risk of being disclosed and protect against risking too
much. In turn, the positive emotions of bold individuals can make it
easier to take risks when the situation is favorable whereas the
positive emotions of grandiose narcissists (experienced in the presence
of others) can make it easier to gain attention, acceptance or
admiration.
The
current study was the first that investigated everyday affective states
in relation to narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy
simultaneously. The results confirmed the existence of different
patterns of relationships between the Dark Triad traits and momentary
affect. The significant overlap between the Dark Triad traits, found in
numerous research studies, triggers a discussion whether there is a need
of considering all these traits. It is especially important in the case
of Machiavellianism and psychopathy because of the “dark dyad”
hypothesis [
20,
149,
150]
that emphasizes the importance of the similarity between these
constructs and their separateness from narcissism. Our results do not
support this hypothesis and the idea that Machiavellianism and
psychopathy measure the same construct (see [
151])
because of the lack of similarity between Machiavellianism and the
dimensions of triarchic psychopathy with reference to momentary affect.
The relationships of Machiavellianism with momentary affect were
congruent with the results for vulnerable narcissism rather than those
for psychopathy dimensions. In reference to triarchic psychopathy, the
current findings provided support for theory and previous research,
confirming the distinctiveness of the three dimensions of psychopathy
and the specificity of boldness (as a “positive” psychopathic trait) in
the domain of affective functioning. Taken as a whole, the current
findings seem to support the appropriateness of multidimensional
approach to investigating psychopathy and narcissism as elements of the
Dark Triad as a way to deal with the excessive overlap of
Machiavellianism and unidimensional psychopathy.
The
present study has several limitations. Firstly, it relies on data from a
convenience sample of university students, which limits the
generalization of the results.
Secondly,
all data were obtained from self-report, which has some disadvantages.
Personality constructs are commonly measured using self-report
questionnaires [
152]. To minimize common method biases we applied several techniques recommended by Podsakoff, MacKenzie, Lee and Podsakoff [
153].
Well-established and valid questionnaires were chosen to reduce
statement ambiguity. Each questionnaire was placed separately with a
separate instruction. Participants’ anonymity was preserved in the data
collection process, which could reduce social desirability bias.
However, multi-method assessment could be valuable for future studies
and self-report data should be complemented by informant ratings or
behavioral observation [
154].
Thirdly, to minimize participants’ burden and increase the accuracy of
completing the “diary,” only a few emotional words have been used to
assess momentary affect. Future studies should address this issue by
using a larger and more representative set of emotional words. Moreover,
a dimensional perspective on emotional experience, which was adopted in
our study, is only one of the possible perspectives. From an
evolutionary point of view, emotions can be understood as solutions to
specific ecological problems. Therefore, it would be recommended for
future studies to examine relationships between the Dark Triad traits
and the particular emotional states using the categorical approach to
emotions [
155,
156].
Fourthly, the relatively low reliability coefficients (Cronbach’s
alphas) were obtained for the HSNS and NPI, which can reduce statistical
power. Nevertheless, in the current study, the relationships between
vulnerable narcissism (HSNS) and affect were significant and consistent
with the predictions. Generally, the HSNS is regarded as a
well-established and valid measure of narcissistic vulnerability.
However, it cannot be excluded that lower reliability of the NPI could
attenuate the relationships between the NPI and affect. Fifthly, despite
the fact that the DRM was developed to reduce memory biases, it cannot
be excluded that such biases could occur and influence the result of the
current study [
157].
To
summarize, in this study relationships between the Dark Triad traits
and daily emotional experience were investigated. In general, dark
traits (except boldness) were not related to momentary positive affect,
but most of them were associated with higher levels of momentary
negative affect. In particular, persons higher in Machiavellianism,
vulnerable narcissism and disinhibition share a tendency to experience
more negative affect during a day. This tendency may lower their
subjective well-being, but it can also be interpreted as a defense
mechanism protecting them from taking (too) risky actions and decisions.
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