Egoism, Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy, sadism, spitefulness are all traits that stand for the malevolent dark sides of human personality. Results from a recent project show, these traits share a common 'dark core.
The Dark Triad refers to three personality traits—narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism—characterized by malevolence or negativity, hence the name "dark." The phrase was coined in a 2002 study by psychologists Delroy Paulhus, Ph. D., and Kevin M. Williams, Ph. D.
The term dark personalities refer to a set of socially aversive traits (such as spitefulness, greed, sadism, narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism) in the subclinical range. First coined by Paulhus and Williams, it has attracted an exponential increase of empirical attention in recent years.
Dark personality traits include psychopathy, machiavellianism and narcissism, collectively called the "dark triad". More recently, it has been suggested that sadism be added, culminating in a "dark tetrad". Psychopathy is characterized by a superficial charm and callousness.
The 6 traits of the Mettl Dark Personality Inventory (MDPI) are Opportunism, Insensitivity, Self-Obsession, Thrill-Seeking, Temperamental, and Impulsiveness. This trait inventory can be used to assess the predominant dark personality traits of a person.
Three "dark" personality traits are related to heightened attraction in several studies. Dark traits, such as narcissism, can sometimes be mistaken as attractive features, especially when you don't know someone well. People who fall in love fast, easily, and often tend to be more readily seduced by dark traits.
It's the traits we might be ashamed of or embarrassed about. The ones others may have rejected or that we believe deem us undeserving or unworthy of love. You may sometimes act judgmental, angry, selfish, or controlling. You may not like these so-called negative traits about yourself.
Your dark side is the messier, flawed or less pleasant side of who you are. Most of us do our best to hide this side of who we are from others and to some extent, even from ourselves. This part of us often lives deep below the surface of our awareness, in the murky waters of our unconscious mind.
Dark empathy can describe a form of emotional intelligence that allows you to identify the thoughts and feelings of others and then use them for personal gain. When you display dark empathy traits, your focus is often on how a situation can benefit you, and not how it will affect the other person.
The best strategy is to move away from them as quickly as possible." If you're in a situation where you're not sure if the individual has a dark triad personality, or you can't simply get away, seek help from a therapist or counselor.
Differences in social trust may be linked to why people vary in light versus dark trait propensities. Research suggests that light versus dark traits, respectively, are associated affiliation and cooperation versus dominance and aggression (Kaufman et al., 2019; Muris, Merckelbach, Otgaar, & Meijer, 2017).
People with “dark personality traits”, such as psychopathy or narcissism, are more likely to be callous, disagreeable and antagonistic in their nature. Such traits exist on a continuum – we all have more or less of them, and this does not necessarily equate to being clinically diagnosed with a personality disorder.
Research published in 2021 in the journal Personality and Individual Differences suggests that dark empaths can be aggressive, extroverted, and agreeable, and exhibit dark triad traits at varying degrees. Dark empaths don't necessarily lack empathy, however.
A dark empath is a term that describes someone who exploits their ability to understand how other people think and feel. They can recognize another person's perspective while also showing signs of psychopathy, narcissism and Machiavellianism.
Heyoka empath
“Heyoka” means “sacred clown” or “spiritual fool” in the Lakota and Dakota Native American dialects. Heyoka empaths are said to be the rarest and most powerful variety, acting as a spiritual mirror to those around them to assist their growth.
The dark side of the Force is insidious. It creeps in around the edges and preys upon emotions like fear, hate, and anger. The dark side feeds upon negativity like it's an all-you-can-eat buffet, and that fuel makes it stronger and more appealing.
Pessimist: one who looks at the dark side of life.
The one who looks at the negative/dark side of everything – Pessimist.
To tap into the power of the dark side was to indulge in raw emotions such as passion, anger, and hatred. The dark side was greed, the fear of change, and the inability to let go. By holding on to things, one became angry and hateful, which in turn led to suffering.
There are three quite well-known movies that discuss exactly this: the Star Wars prequel trilogy. In The Phantom Menace, Yoda says, “Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.” This is a succinct foreshadowing of Anakin's eventual fall.
As one immersed oneself deeper within the dark side of the Force, its malevolent power took a toll on the body. Darth Bane explained that the reason for this physical degradation was because flesh and bone lacked the endurance to channel the immense power of the dark side indefinitely.
The Dark Triad (DT) traits (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) have been linked with both alexithymia and maladaptive personality domains (negative affectivity, detachment, disinhibition, antagonism, psychoticism) comprised in the alternative model of personality disorder (AMPD) of the DSM 5.
Their Confidence Is Attractive
In a post on Psychology Today, UCLA Psychiatry and Biobehavioural Sciences Professor Joe Pierre says adaptive traits such as self-sufficiency, confidence, ambition and leadership are attractive qualities when looking for a partner.
What Is a Dark Empath? Research has revealed that the personality type of the dark empath has the dark triad of traits: narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathic tendencies. Yet, dark empaths balance these traits with empathy for others and a self-awareness of their tendencies.
Dark empaths can “read” a person, but their dark triad traits lead to ill use of their empathic abilities as they use their empathy as a way to manipulate others. Empathy is considered a desirable trait as it refers to our ability to understand another's feelings as if we were that person.