Trait Emotional Intelligence and the Dark Triad Traits of Personality

Abstract

This study presents the first behavioral genetic investigation of the relationships between trait emotional intelligence (trait EI or trait emotional self-efficacy) and the Dark Triad traits of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. In line with trait EI theory, the construct correlated positively with narcissism, but negatively with the other two traits. Generally, the correlations were consistent across the 4 factors and 15 facets of the construct. Cholesky decomposition analysis revealed that the phenotypic associations were primarily due to correlated genetic factors and secondarily due to correlated nonshared environmental factors, with shared environmental factors being nonsignificant in all cases. Results are discussed from the perspective of trait EI theory with particular reference to the issue of adaptive value.

The German TEIQue-SF: Factorial structure and relations to agentic and communal traits and mental health

“…They report lower self-esteem, show impulsive acting-out behaviors, and face difficulties to self-disclose feelings and to provide emotional support (Helgeson, 2003). UA is also akin to Machiavellianism and Psychopathy and both relate negatively to Self-control, Emotionality, and Well-being (Petrides, Vernon, Schermer, & Veselka, 2011). Together, these results imply that UA may relate negatively to global TEI, Self-control, Emotionality and Well-being (H2.3).…”

Individual differences as antecedents of leader behavior: Towards an understanding of multi-level outcomes

“…Although the results are somewhat mixed, all three dark-triad personality traits tend to be negatively associated with agreeableness, Machiavellianism is generally associated with low conscientiousness, psychopathy with low neuroticism, and narcissism with high extraversion (e.g., Jonason & McCain, 2012;Lee & Ashton, 2005;Paulhus & Williams, 2002). Besides personality, other traits associated with the dark triad traits include low emotional intelligence (Jonason & Tost, 2010) and low self-control (Petrides et al, 2011). With the exception of high extraversion associated with narcissism, these associations are generally harmful for work and leadership purposes.…”

“…Research on dark-triad personality traits has focused on three socially aversive personality traits, namely psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism (Furnham, Richards & Paulhus, 2013;Petrides, Vernon, Schermer, & Veselka, 2011;Paulhus & Williams, 2002). Psychopathy refers to impulsiveness, thrill-seeking and a lack of empathy, narcissism refers to a grandiose view of the self and a feeling of entitlement, and Machiavellianism refers to a manipulative personality (Petrides et al, 2011;Paulhus & Williams, 2002).…”

“…Psychopathy refers to impulsiveness, thrill-seeking and a lack of empathy, narcissism refers to a grandiose view of the self and a feeling of entitlement, and Machiavellianism refers to a manipulative personality (Petrides et al, 2011;Paulhus & Williams, 2002). These are higher-order traits that have associations with, but are distinct from, normal personality traits, and most personality models, including the FFM, do not directly capture variance in this area 3 .…”

Relationships between the Dark Triad and Delayed Gratification: An Evolutionary Perspective

“…Machiavellianism is associated with emotional deficits, including empathy and emotional intelligence (Ali et al, 2009;Jonason et al, 2013c;Petrides et al, 2011;Wai & Tiliopoulos, 2012), such that high Machiavellian individuals are unable to attribute emotions and mental states to others. While there are many conceptual similarities between Machiavellianism and psychopathy (McHoskey et al, 1998), they may differ in terms of their strategies for goal attainment.…”