Faculty of Psychology, University of Málaga, Campus Teatinos, S/N, 29071, Málaga, Spain.
Sci Rep. 2024 Feb 23;14(1):4443. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-55074-w.
The Dark Tetrad (DT) is composed of the traits of Narcissism, Machiavellianism, Psychopathy, and Sadism. Most studies analyzing the DT have employed a variable-centered approach, analyzing the traits separately. In the present study, we treat DT as a whole, adopting a person-centered approach. We analyzed different homogeneous subgroups of individuals characterized by specific DT profiles, aiming to examine their relationship with Big Five personality factors. A sample of 1149 participants (50.1% women, 18-79 years) completed The Short Dark Triad and the Assessment of Sadistic Personality instrument to assess DT, while the Mini-IPIP was used to assess the Big Five personality factors. Cluster analysis yielded five groups: Narcissism, Machiavellianism, Mean DT, Low DT, and High DT group. The main results showed that the High DT group was distinguished by higher levels of extraversion and lower levels of agreeableness and conscientiousness (compared with the Low DT group). Moreover, the Narcissism group was characterized by higher scores on emotional stability, openness to experience, and extraversion. Finally, distribution according to gender varied across DT groups (more men than women in the High DT group and the opposite in the Low DT group). Limitations and future lines of research are discussed.
黑暗人格三联征（DT）由自恋、马基雅维利主义、精神病态和施虐狂四种特质组成。大多数分析 DT 的研究都采用了变量为中心的方法，分别分析这些特质。在本研究中，我们将 DT 视为一个整体，采用以人为中心的方法。我们分析了具有特定 DT 特征的不同同质个体亚组，旨在研究它们与大五人格因素的关系。1149 名参与者（50.1%为女性，年龄 18-79 岁）完成了《短暗黑三联征》和《施虐人格评估》量表，以评估 DT，而《迷你 IPIP》量表则用于评估大五人格因素。聚类分析得出了五个群体：自恋、马基雅维利主义、一般 DT、低 DT 和高 DT 群体。主要结果表明，高 DT 组在外向性方面得分较高，而在宜人性和尽责性方面得分较低（与低 DT 组相比）。此外，自恋组在情绪稳定性、开放性和外向性方面的得分较高。最后，根据性别分布在 DT 组之间存在差异（高 DT 组中男性多于女性，而低 DT 组则相反）。讨论了研究的局限性和未来的研究方向。
