Psychology Research and Behavior Management (Feb 2024)
A Network Analysis Approach to Understanding Centrality and Overlap of 21 Dark Triad Items in Adults of 10 Countries
Abstract
Cristian Ramos-Vera,1 Angel García O’Diana,1 Dennis Calle,1 Miguel Basauri-Delgado,2 Bruno Bonfá-Araujo,3 Ariela Raissa Lima-Costa,4 Mirko Duradoni,5 Shagufta Nasir,6 Yaquelin E Calizaya-Milla,7 Jacksaint Saintila8 1Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad César Vallejo, Lima, Peru; 2Postgraduate School, Universidad Femenina del Sagrado Corazón, Lima, Peru; 3Faculty of Social Science, the University of Western Ontario, London, Canada; 4Graduate Program of Psychology, Universidade São Francisco, Campinas, Brazil; 5Department of Education, Literatures, Intercultural Studies, Languages and Psychology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy; 6Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, School of Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; 7Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Peruana Unión, Lima, Peru; 8Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Señor de Sipán, Chiclayo, PeruCorrespondence: Jacksaint Saintila, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Señor de Sipán, Carretera a Pimentel, Km 5, Chiclayo, Lambayeque, 14001, Peru, Email [email protected]: Previous research has suggested that manipulation and callousness are central to Dark Triad traits, but it has not identified which specific manifestations are expressed across various countries.Objective: This study aimed to identify the core and overlapping manifestations of Dark Triad traits across 10 countries.Methods: We used the Short Dark Triad (SD3) scale and assessed a sample of 8093 participants (59.7% women, M(age) = 32.68 years). For graphical representation, the spinglass algorithm was applied to understand the cluster distribution among Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and subclinical narcissism traits. Centrality indices were used to identify the most influential items, and the clique-percolation algorithm was employed to detect shared attributes among multiple Dark Triad items.Results: Straightforward SD3-21 items demonstrated better interpretability as aversive traits within the broader system. Items with higher centrality values were those related to short-term verbal manipulation from the psychopathy domain, clever manipulation, strategic revenge-seeking from Machiavellianism, and narcissistic motivations for connecting with significant individuals. The most predicted items were linked to planned revenge, using information against others from Machiavellianism, short-term psychopathic verbal manipulation, and narcissistic belief of specialness based on external validation. Items like short-term verbal manipulation had overlaps with both psychopathy and narcissism clusters, while clever manipulation overlapped with Machiavellianism and psychopathy.Conclusion: This cross-cultural study highlights the central role of verbal manipulation within the Dark Triad traits, along with identifying overlapping items among traits measured using straightforward SD3 scale items. In line with our findings, future research that incorporates a wide range of cultural contexts is encouraged to establish the consistency of these findings with the SD3 Scale or alternative measures.Keywords: dark triad traits, network analysis, personality, subclinical traits, cross-cultural
