The emotional deficits associated with the Dark Triad traits: Cognitive empathy, affective empathy, and alexithymia
TL;DR: In this paper, a survey revealed the complex correlational patterns between the Dark Triad traits and two forms of "emotional deficiencies" (i.e., limited empathy and alexithymia) overall and in each sex.
About: This article is published in Personality and Individual Differences.The article was published on 2013-09-01. It has received 261 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Empathy & Dark triad.
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TL;DR: The findings show that dark triad traits are substantially intercorrelated, somewhat more prevalent among men than women, predominantly related to the Big Five personality factor of agreeableness and the HEXACO factor of honesty-humility, and generally associated with various types of negative psychosocial outcomes.
Abstract: The term dark triad refers to the constellation of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. Over the past few years, the concept has gained momentum, with many researchers assuming that the dark triad is a prominent antecedent of transgressive and norm-violating behavior. Our purpose in this meta-analytic review was to evaluate (a) interrelations among narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy; (b) gender differences in these traits; (c) how these traits are linked to normal personality factors; and (d) the psychosocial correlates of the dark triad. Our findings show that dark triad traits are substantially intercorrelated, somewhat more prevalent among men than women, predominantly related to the Big Five personality factor of agreeableness and the HEXACO factor of honesty-humility, and generally associated with various types of negative psychosocial outcomes. We question whether dark triad traits are sufficiently distinct and argue that the way they are currently measured is too simple to capture the malevolent sides of personality. Because most research in this domain is cross-sectional and based on self-reports, we recommend using a cross-informant approach and prospective, longitudinal research designs for studying the predictive value of dark triad features.
503 citations
TL;DR: Investigation of gender differences in three facets of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory revealed that observed gender differences were not explained by measurement bias and thus can be interpreted as true sex differences.
Abstract: Despite the widely held belief that men are more narcissistic than women, there has been no systematic review to establish the magnitude, variability across measures and settings, and stability over time of this gender difference. Drawing on the biosocial approach to social role theory, a meta-analysis performed for Study 1 found that men tended to be more narcissistic than women (d = .26; k = 355 studies; N = 470,846). This gender difference remained stable in U.S. college student cohorts over time (from 1990 to 2013) and across different age groups. Study 1 also investigated gender differences in three facets of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) to reveal that the narcissism gender difference is driven by the Exploitative/Entitlement facet (d = .29; k = 44 studies; N = 44,108) and Leadership/Authority facet (d = .20; k = 40 studies; N = 44,739); whereas the gender difference in Grandiose/Exhibitionism (d = .04; k = 39 studies; N = 42,460) was much smaller. We further investigated a less-studied form of narcissism called vulnerable narcissism—which is marked by low self-esteem, neuroticism, and introversion—to find that (in contrast to the more commonly studied form of narcissism found in the DSM and the NPI) men and women did not differ on vulnerable narcissism (d = −.04; k = 42 studies; N = 46,735). Study 2 used item response theory to rule out the possibility that measurement bias accounts for observed gender differences in the three facets of the NPI (N = 19,001). Results revealed that observed gender differences were not explained by measurement bias and thus can be interpreted as true sex differences. Discussion focuses on the implications for the biosocial construction model of gender differences, for the etiology of narcissism, for clinical applications, and for the role of narcissism in helping to explain gender differences in leadership and aggressive behavior. Readers are warned against overapplying small effect sizes to perpetuate gender stereotypes.
382 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the Dark Triad (i.e., narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy) and trait self-objectification as predictors.
367 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors outline a general framework for the evolutionary analysis of mental disorders based on the concepts of life history theory and synthesize and extend a large body of work showing that individual differences in life history strategy set the stage for the development of psychopathology.
Abstract: In this article, I outline a general framework for the evolutionary analysis of mental disorders based on the concepts of life history theory. I synthesize and extend a large body of work showing that individual differences in life history strategy set the stage for the development of psychopathology. My analysis centers on the novel distinction between fast spectrum and slow spectrum disorders. I describe four main causal pathways from life history strategies to psychopathology, argue that psychopathology can arise at both ends of the fast–slow continuum of life history variation, and provide heuristic criteria for classifying disorders as fast or slow spectrum pathologies. I then apply the fast–slow distinction to a diverse sample of common mental disorders: externalizing disorders, schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, eating disorders, and depression. The framework integrates previously disconnected models of psychopathology within a common frame of reference and...
223 citations
TL;DR: A quantitative review and conceptual analysis of empathy definitions and usages is provided by examining 393 studies published between 2001 and 2013, and 96 studies published in 2017.
Abstract: The empathy concept has central significance for social and personality psychology and in many other domains, including neuroscience, clinical/abnormal psychology, and the health professions. However, the current diversity in conceptual and operational definitions, and the promiscuous use of the term "empathy," threaten the ability of researchers to advance the field. The present article provides a quantitative review and conceptual analysis of empathy definitions and usages by examining 393 studies published between 2001 and 2013, and 96 studies published in 2017. We document the prevalence and diversity of definitions, as well as inconsistencies between conceptual definitions and measurements employed. We discuss ways to refine the conceptualization and operationalization of the empathy construct, including for many purposes, bypassing the term empathy in favor of lower-level construct labels that more precisely describe what is actually being measured. In many cases we see no added theoretical or empirical value in applying the term empathy.
142 citations
Additional excerpts
...Accurate perception of others’ emotions was sometimes called empathy (Hulme & Middleton, 2013; Jonason & Krause, 2013; Rodriguez, 2013; Russell-Smith, Bayliss, Maybery, & Tomkinson, 2013)....
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References
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01 Jan 1978
13,810 citations
"The emotional deficits associated w..." refers background in this paper
...First, the measures of psychopathy and external orientation had internal consistencies (a) below the traditional standards of .70 (Nunnally, 1978)....
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TL;DR: Addressing shortcomings of the self-report Toronto Alexithymia Scale, two studies were conducted to reconstruct the item domain and resulted in the development of a new twenty-item version of the scale--the TAS-20.
4,285 citations
TL;DR: The EQ reveals both a sex difference in empathy in the general population and an empathy deficit in Asperger Syndrome or high-functioning autism adults, who are reported clinically to have difficulties in empathy.
Abstract: Empathy is an essential part of normal social functioning, yet there are precious few instruments for measuring individual differences in this domain. In this article we review psychological theories of empathy and its measurement. Previous instruments that purport to measure this have not always focused purely on empathy. We report a new self-report questionnaire, the Empathy Quotient (EQ), for use with adults of normal intelligence. It contains 40 empathy items and 20 filler/control items. On each empathy item a person can score 2, 1, or 0, so the EQ has a maximum score of 80 and a minimum of zero. In Study 1 we employed the EQ with n = 90 adults (65 males, 25 females) with Asperger Syndrome (AS) or high-functioning autism (HFA), who are reported clinically to have difficulties in empathy. The adults with AS/HFA scored significantly lower on the EQ than n = 90 (65 males, 25 females) age-matched controls. Of the adults with AS/HFA, 81% scored equal to or fewer than 30 points out of 80, compared with only 12% of controls. In Study 2 we carried out a study of n = 197 adults from a general population, to test for previously reported sex differences (female superiority) in empathy. This confirmed that women scored significantly higher than men. The EQ reveals both a sex difference in empathy in the general population and an empathy deficit in AS/HFA.
3,430 citations
Additional excerpts
...Compared to women, men score consistently higher on Dark Triad traits (Jonason & Webster, 2010) and alexithymia (Wastell & Taylor, 2002), and lower on empathy (Baron-Cohen & Wheelwright, 2004)....
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors evaluated the Dark Triad of personality traits, namely Machiavellianism, subclinical narcissism, and subclinical psychopathy, in a sample of 245 students and concluded that they are overlapping but distinct constructs.
3,353 citations
"The emotional deficits associated w..." refers background in this paper
...Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy (i.e., the Dark Triad; Paulhus & Williams, 2002) have repeatedly been identified as aversive personality traits (Kowalski, 2001) characterized by entitlement, superiority, dominance (i.e., narcissism), glib social charm, manipulativeness (i.e.,…...
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...Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy (i.e., the Dark Triad; Paulhus & Williams, 2002) have repeatedly been identified as aversive personality traits (Kowalski, 2001) characterized by entitlement, superiority, dominance (i.e., narcissism), glib social charm, manipulativeness (i.e., Machiavellianism), callous social attitudes, impulsivity, and interpersonal antagonism (i.e., psychopathy)....
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