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Altruism and the Dark Triad.
Cassidy Trahair1, Kristi B MacDonald1, Adrian Furnham2
1The University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.
The Dark Triad personality traits do not strongly predict altruism, with narcissism being the only significant predictor of general altruism. Compassionate altruism showed no relationship with these dark traits.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Personality Psychology
Background:
- Research on the Dark Triad (Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy) and pro-social behaviors is limited.
- Existing literature presents mixed findings regarding the relationship between Dark Triad traits and altruism.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the associations between the Dark Triad traits and altruistic behaviors.
- To differentiate between general altruism and compassionate altruism in relation to the Dark Triad.
Main Methods:
- Utilized self-report data from 286 adult participants.
- Assessed altruism using two distinct scales: a general measure and a specific measure of compassionate altruism towards different social targets (family, friends, strangers).
Main Results:
- Machiavellianism showed a negative correlation with general altruism.
- In regression analyses controlling for covariates, only narcissism significantly predicted general altruism.
- No Dark Triad traits were significantly related to or predictive of compassionate altruism.
Conclusions:
- The relationship between the Dark Triad and altruism is complex and not characterized by strong negative associations.
- Narcissism emerged as a weak, albeit significant, predictor of general altruism, while compassionate altruism remained unrelated.
- Findings highlight the nuanced nature of personality-Dark Triad traits and their impact on pro-social tendencies, suggesting avenues for future research.
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