Locating the Dark Triad in a Multidimensional Personality Space.

Area of Science:

• * Psychology
• * Personality Psychology
• * Social Psychology

Background:

• * The Dark Triad (Psychopathy, Machiavellianism, Narcissism) represents socially undesirable personality traits.
• * Understanding the dimensional structure of these traits within broader personality models is crucial for accurate assessment and theoretical integration.
• * Previous research has explored the placement of Dark Triad traits within various personality frameworks.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To investigate the dimensional structure of the Dark Triad traits within two distinct personality spaces: HEXACO and Zuckerman-Kuhlman-Aluja Personality Questionnaire (ZKA-PQ).
• * To determine if these personality spaces conform to a radex structure, both before and after the inclusion of Dark Triad measures.
• * To examine the invariance and location of Psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and Narcissism within the identified dimensional spaces.

Main Methods:

• * Utilized Smallest Space Analysis (SSA) to reduce the dimensionality of personality data to a 2D representation.
• * Administered the HEXACO-60, ZKA-PQ/SF, and Short Dark Triad (SD3) questionnaires to 289 participants.
• * Analyzed the structural integrity and trait placement within both HEXACO and ZKA-PQ spaces.

Main Results:

• * The ZKA-PQ space demonstrated a clear radex structure, which remained stable after incorporating Dark Triad traits.
• * Within the ZKA-PQ radex, Psychopathy and Machiavellianism were located near the Aggressiveness pole, while Narcissism was at the origin.
• * The HEXACO personality space did not conform to a radex structure, and the inclusion of Dark Triad traits significantly distorted its 2D representation.

Conclusions:

• * The ZKA-PQ provides a robust framework for understanding the dimensional organization of the Dark Triad, aligning with a radex model.
• * The HEXACO model's structure is less compatible with the Dark Triad, suggesting potential limitations or distortions when integrating these traits.
• * Findings highlight the differential utility of personality models in representing the complex structure of socially undesirable traits.