¹Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pamir DİRİL, ²Dilek Durmaz

¹St. Clements University/Psychology Department Lecturer/Türkiye ORCID ID: 0000-0001-8913-343X

²St. Clements University/Guidance and Psychology PhD Student/Türkiye ORCID ID: 0009-00080-6373-4032

DOI : https://doi.org/10.58806/ijsshmr.2025.v4i11n07

Google Scholar Download Pdf
ABSTRACT

The Dark Triad consists of three primary personality traits: narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. These three traits provide crucial clues and data for understanding individual behaviors and the dynamics of social interactions. Narcissism involves an individual's excessive self-admiration and a tendency to generally assume superiority over others, a condition that has captured the attention of many people in the past. Machiavellianism, on the other hand, reveals an individual's ability to manipulate others and an attitude that prioritizes influencing others for their own interests. This trait particularly impacts the power dynamics in social relationships. Psychopathy, on the other hand, is characterized by a profound lack of emotional connection and a disregard for the feelings of others, creating a profound void in social interactions. It should be noted that these three personality traits also share common characteristics such as excessive self-focus, manipulative attitudes, and a lack of empathy. Examining the impact of these traits on individuals is crucial not only at the individual level but also for understanding the complex structure of social relationships. Therefore, it becomes essential to analyze in depth these personality traits, which can have significant and sometimes serious effects on individuals' social interactions and emotional processes.

KEYWORDS:

Narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, social interaction, social structure, emotional processing.

REFERENCES

1) Ames, R., Rose, P., and Anderson, C. P. (2006). The NPI-16 as a short measure of narcissism. Journal of Research in Personality, 40, 440–450. doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2005.03.002

2) Babiak., P and RD Hare (2006). Snakes in Suits; When psychopaths go to work. New York. Reagan Books. doi: 10.1002/bsl.925.

3) Bakır, B., Ozer, M., Uçar, M., Guleç, M., Demir, C., and Hasde, M. (2003). Relation between Machiavellianism and job satisfaction in a sample of Turkish physicians. Psychological Reports, 92, 1169-1175. doi: 10.2466/pr0.2003.92.3c.1169

4) Boddy, C. R. (2011). Corporate Psychopaths; Organizational Destroyers, Palgrave Macmillan. England.

5) Boyle, G. J. (2008). Critique of the five-factor model of personality. Humanities & Social Sciences papers, Paper 297.

6) Brayfield, A.H., and Rothe, H.F. (1951). An index of job satisfaction. Journal of Applied Psychology, 35, 307-311. doi: 10.1037/h0055617.

7) Fehr, B., Samsom, D., and Paulhus, D. L. (1992). The construct of Machiavellianism: Twenty years later. In C. D. Spielberger and JNButcher (Eds.), Advances in personality assessment (Vo1.9, pp. 77-116). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

8) Furnham, A., Richards, S.C., and Paulhus, D.L. (2013). The Dark Triad of personality: A 10 year review. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 7, 199–216. doi: 10.1111/spc3.12018.

9) Gunnthorsdottir, A., McCabe, K. and Smith, V. (2002). Using the Machiavellianism instrument to predict trustworthiness in a bargaining game. Journal of Economic Psychology, 23, 49-66.

10) Harms, PD, and Spain, MS (2015). Beyond the bright side: Dark personality at work. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 64, 15-24. doi: 10.1111/apps.12042.

11) Jonason, P. K., and Webster, G. D. (2010). The Dirty Dozen: A concise measure of the Dark Triad. Psychological Assessment, 22, 420-432. doi: 10.1037/a0019265

12) Schmitt, N. (1996). Uses and abuses of coefficient alphas. Psychological Assessment, 8, 350-353. doi: 10.1037/1040-3590.8.4.350

13) Schyns, B. (2015). Dark personality in the workplace: Introduction to the special issue. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 64, 1–14. doi: 10.1111/apps.12041.

14) Shurden, S., (2014). Identifying the effects of narcissistic leadership on employee job satisfaction: a study within the accounting profession. All Dissertations. Paper 1329, Clemson University.

15) Skeem, J. L., Polaschek, DLL, Patrick, C. J., and Lilienfeld, SO (2011). Psychopathic personality: bridging the gap between scientific evidence and public policy. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 12, 95–162. doi: 10.1177/1529100611426706

16) Volmer, J., Koch, I, K,. and Göritz, A.S. (2016). The bright and dark sides of leaders' Dark Triad traits: Effects on subordinates' career success and well-being. Personality and Individual Differences, 101, 4 13–418. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2016.06.04

VOlUME 04 ISSUE 11 November 2025