MEPX
Chapter 7 of 10All chapters
  1. 1What personality means
  2. 2The five factor model
  3. 3Type tests
  4. 4Stability and change
  5. 5Where it goes wrong
  6. 6Introversion and extraversion
  7. 7The darker traits
  8. 8Measuring personality
  9. 9Culture and context
  10. 10Using it sensibly

Chapter 7 of 10

The darker traits

Beyond the five.

The dark triad

Narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy are studied as continuous traits. They correlate with short-term social success and long-term relational damage.

  • These are research constructs, not diagnoses.
  • Casually labelling a difficult colleague a narcissist is neither accurate nor useful.

In organisations

Confident self-promotion is rewarded in selection processes, which is one route by which these traits become over-represented in leadership.