Human Factors and Applied Cognition Lab, Indian Institute of Technology Indore, Indore, 453552, India.
Discipline of Psychology, Indian Institute of Technology Indore, Indore, 453552, India.
Sci Rep. 2024 Apr 30;14(1):9905. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-60203-6.
This study aimed to develop the Global Assessment of Active Trolling and Passive Bystanderism (GAATPB) scale and investigate the influence of personality traits on trolling behaviors. Focusing on the Dark Tetrad (DT) traits and agreeableness, the present study examined their associations and predictive utility on active trolling and passive bystanderism. Participants were recruited from social networking sites (SNSs), and eligibility criteria included active SNS usage and engagement in online interactions. A total of 797 healthy adult students participated in the study, with data from 300 used for the initial exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and the remaining 497 (M = 22.25 years, SD = 3.37) for the subsequent analyses. Results indicated a significant correlation between DT traits and agreeableness across both active trolling and passive bystanderism, revealing a shared personality profile. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that narcissism, Machiavellianism, and trait sadism were predictors of active trolling, with psychopathy being the strongest predictor. However, psychopathy did not emerge as a predictor for passive bystanderism. The study also highlighted that DT traits mediated the relationship between lower agreeableness and overall trolling behavior, suggesting that trolling manifests from lower agreeableness through the instigation of callous-unemotional, manipulative, and self-centered traits inherent in DT.
本研究旨在开发全球主动网络骚扰和被动旁观者行为评估量表（GAATPB），并探讨人格特质对网络骚扰行为的影响。本研究聚焦于黑暗人格四因素（DT）特质和宜人性，检验了它们与主动网络骚扰和被动旁观者行为的关联及其预测作用。研究参与者来自社交网站（SNS），入选标准包括积极使用 SNS 和参与在线互动。共有 797 名健康成年学生参与了研究，其中 300 名学生的数据用于初始探索性因素分析（EFA），其余 497 名学生（M = 22.25 岁，SD = 3.37）用于后续分析。结果表明，在主动网络骚扰和被动旁观者行为中，DT 特质和宜人性之间存在显著相关，揭示了一种共同的人格特征。分层多元回归分析表明，自恋、马基雅维利主义和特质性虐待倾向是主动网络骚扰的预测因素，而精神病态是最强的预测因素。然而，精神病态并不是被动旁观者行为的预测因素。研究还强调，DT 特质在宜人性较低与整体网络骚扰行为之间起中介作用，表明通过易冷酷无情、操纵和以自我为中心的 DT 特质的激发，宜人性较低会导致网络骚扰行为的发生。
