What is the Dark Triad?
The Dark Triad, a term coined by Paulhus and Williams in 2002, typically refers to three severely negative personality traits – narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. “Dark Triad” refers to individuals who possess these negative traits, but may not necessarily present with a diagnosis of a full-blown personality disorder.
All three of these negative personality types (further described below) are generally marked by varying degrees of aggression motivated by self-interest, lack of empathy, and skilled manipulation.
Narcissism
Narcissism is a term often used to describe someone who is generally self-centered or obsessed with their appearance. In the dictionary, this term is defined as “excessive interest in or admiration of oneself and one’s physical appearance”. However, when we are speaking of personality traits as a whole, narcissism embodies much more than that. Below is a list of narcissistic traits, as found on Medical News Today (link also provided below):
- An insatiable appetite for the attention of others
- Extreme feelings of jealousy
- An expectation of special treatment
- Exaggerating achievements, talents, and importance
- Extreme sensitivity and a tendency to be easily hurt and to feel rejected with little provocation
- Difficulty maintaining healthy relationships
- Fantasizing about their own intelligence, success, power, and appearance
- An ability to take advantage of others to achieve a goal, without regret or conscience
- A lack empathy, or ability to understand and share the feelings of others, and a tendency to disregard others’ feelings
- A belief that only certain people can understand their uniqueness
- A tendency to consider themselves as skilled in romance
- Responding to criticism with anger, humiliation, and shame
- Seeking out praise and positive reinforcement from others
- An expectation that others will agree with them and go along with what they want
- Whatever they crave or yearn for must be “the best”
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Most people would identify with a few of these traits at some point or another in their life. For example, I identify with “seeking out praise and positive reinforcement from others” sometimes, especially when I’m not feeling confident about something – whether that be appearance or certain skills with my job. I also identify with “responding to criticism with anger, humiliation, and shame” sometimes, especially when the criticism is unnecessarily harsh. Does that make me a narcissist? Absolutely not. Identifying with some of these traits is completely normal. We all have some narcissistic tendencies from time to time and that is okay! However, it becomes more serious when these traits are present all of the time across various contexts – especially when manipulation is involved.
Further, narcissism isn’t a one-size-fits-all category. Narcissism lies on a spectrum and comes in varying levels of severity. Oftentimes, we think of narcissists as extremely attractive or extremely wealthy men or women. However, narcissists can be found in any level of socioeconomic status, race, religion, occupation – you name it. Appearance doesn’t play a factor either. In terms of psychology, narcissism exists as mental condition called Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). However, not all people with narcissistic traits have NPD. I have provided a list of signs and symptoms of NPD below, as found on Mayo Clinic’s website. I have also provided the link for further information.
Signs and symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder and the severity of symptoms vary. People with the disorder can:
- Have an exaggerated sense of self-importance
- Have a sense of entitlement and require constant, excessive admiration
- Expect to be recognized as superior even without achievements that warrant it
- Exaggerate achievements and talents
- Be preoccupied with fantasies about success, power, brilliance, beauty or the perfect mate
- Believe they are superior and can only associate with equally special people
- Monopolize conversations and belittle or look down on people they perceive as inferior
- Expect special favors and unquestioning compliance with their expectations
- Take advantage of others to get what they want
- Have an inability or unwillingness to recognize the needs and feelings of others
- Be envious of others and believe others envy them
- Behave in an arrogant or haughty manner, coming across as conceited, boastful and pretentious
- Insist on having the best of everything — for instance, the best car or office
At the same time, people with narcissistic personality disorder have trouble handling anything they perceive as criticism, and they can:
- Become impatient or angry when they don’t receive special treatment
- Have significant interpersonal problems and easily feel slighted
- React with rage or contempt and try to belittle the other person to make themselves appear superior
- Have difficulty regulating emotions and behavior
- Experience major problems dealing with stress and adapting to change
- Feel depressed and moody because they fall short of perfection
- Have secret feelings of insecurity, shame, vulnerability and humiliation
Again, if you identify with some of these traits, that does not mean you have NPD. In order to be diagnosed, you must be evaluated by a trained psychologist. It is also highly important to note that many individuals with NPD never receive a diagnosis because these persons are highly unlikely to seek out professional help due to the nature of the disorder.
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Machiavellianism
Machiavellianism is not a personality disorder, but rather a set of behaviors and attitudes. This term is used to describe behavior that is deceitful, calculated, and exploitative. While narcissistic behavior is described similarly, Machiavellianism is marked by strategic planning of deception over a long period of time. Two other major distinctions include the type of deception used and their attitudes about morality.
Further, the Machiavellian is more likely to break laws. The consequences of breaking the law in question will determine if it is worth the risk to fulfill their self-interest – not because it is morally “wrong” or unethical. They do not care if their behavior goes against moral code. It means nothing to them as long as they gain whatever they are seeking. Their strategic planning of deceit is done quite purposefully in order to gain a long-term advantage.
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Psychopathy
The term “psychopath” is used a lot in today’s society to describe someone behaving erratically or someone who seems “emotionally unstable”. In the area of psychiatry, the actual term for psychopathy is Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) – which describes an individual who displays patterns of manipulation and violation of others. Don’t let the word “antisocial” fool you. When used in this context, it is a descriptor term for someone who goes against the common rules of society. Below is a list of signs found on Heathline (see link provided for more information):
- socially irresponsible behavior
- disregarding or violating the rights of others
- inability to distinguish between right and wrong
- difficulty with showing remorse or empathy
- tendency to lie often
- manipulating and hurting others
- recurring problems with the law
- general disregard towards safety and responsibility
Click here to read more.
Psychopath vs. Sociopath
Psychopath and sociopath are similar terms, but have different meanings. See the charts provided below, as they discuss the primary differences between the two terms.
Images obtained by pediaa.com (top) and relatablethoughts.wordpress.com (bottom).
Final Thoughts
In summary, individuals possessing many of these traits are incredibly mentally and emotionally unhealthy to be around. However, it is rather tricky to pinpoint these behaviors until you have spent a lot of time with the Dark Triad individual. Often, the behaviors begin subtly and go unnoticed until you are fully invested with the individual. Although I believe we should give a person the benefit of the doubt in many circumstances, we should never completely ignore red flags, no matter how small they may seem. It could save you a lot of time and heartache. I will discuss red flags and the typical “relationship” stages of being involved with an individual with these traits in my next couple of posts.
Until then,
Main + Meg 