Measuring the dark core of personality.

Abstract

The Dark Factor of Personality (D) is the basic disposition that gives rise to specific personality traits related to antagonistic, malevolent, or socially aversive behavior, thereby representing the common core of dark personality traits. Whereas existing evidence clearly supports the conceptualization and utility of D, the assessment of D was possible only indirectly and with extensive effort, so far. Applying rational item selection techniques to seven large and highly heterogeneous samples (total N > 165,000), we herein identified sets of items (comprising 70, 35, and 16 items, respectively) that allow for a psychometrically sound and more concise assessment of D. Results indicate that all identified item sets are characterized by high internal consistencies and high retest-reliabilities, clearly map on a single factor in line with the definition of D, and exhibit substantial associations to various relevant criteria, including actual behavior. In particular, the item sets showed substantial associations with behavioral measures of individual utility maximization disregarding, accepting, or malevolently provoking disutility for others and were also related to various justifying beliefs, thereby mirroring the defining features of D. In sum, the identified item sets allow for a concise, reliable, and valid assessment of D.

Profiling Dating Apps Users: Sociodemographic and Personality Characteristics

“…Preceding studies addressed the dark personality from a multidimensional approach, using scales that assess four different dark personality traits (i.e., narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadism). As we mentioned, we conceived the dark personality as a single latent factor called Dark Core, according to the most recent evidence about the theoretical and empirical overlap among the dark traits [19][20][21][22][23]. Further, previous studies [7,15] used the Short Dark Triad-3 (SD-3) [39].…”

“…This instrument [20] (a short form of the full 70-item version) has 16 items that assess the dark factor of personality with a single component (e.g., "People who mess with me always regret it"; α = 0.75). These items are rated on a five-point scale, ranging from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree.…”

“…These items are rated on a five-point scale, ranging from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree. Following the original instructions, items were presented in random order for each participant [20]. The translation into Spanish was performed for the present research.…”

“…In recent years, in parallel with the traditional Big Five paradigm, other proposals have emerged focused on the malevolent side of personality, which may be of special interest for the understanding of sexual phenomena [7]. Although some authors defend a multidimensional approach of these socially aversive personality traits (narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadism), recent evidence about a single common factor, the so-called "Dark Core" [19], based on theoretical and methodological reasons, has gained momentum [19][20][21][22][23]. All of these traits share callousness [24] and the tendency to interpersonal exploitativeness [25].…”

Reexamining construct validity of the Short Dark Triad (SD3) scale

“…Another reason the general dark core of personality could not explain narcissism significantly is because the form of narcissism that SD3 measures does not cover the hostile side of the construct. Moshagen, Zettler, and Hilbig (2020) have reported that narcissism converges better with the general dark core when it is assessed with an emphasis on the antagonistic side.…”