the relationship between dark triad personality traits and belief in a just world
TRANSCRIPT
The Relationship Between Dark Triad Personality Traits and Belief in a Just World
Jamie Peutherer1, Lana Ireland
Department of Psychology, Glasgow Caledonian University, Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow G4 0BA, Scotland
1Corresponding Author: Tel. +44 7340 093237 Email. [email protected]
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AbstractThe Dark Triad (DT) is made up of three personality traits which are all related to socially
and morally undesirable behaviours, these are psychopathy, narcissism, and
Machiavellianism. These constructs were investigated with regards to their relationship with
Belief in a Just World (BJW), the tendency to believe that people generally receive outcomes
deserving of their actions. 177 UK domiciles took part in an online survey containing
measures of both DT and BJW; it was hypothesised that each DT trait would correlate
negatively with BJW. No predicted correlations were observed, however a significant
positive correlation was found between narcissism and BJW in male respondents. Theoretical
implications of this relationship are discussed. The present study represents an important step
in exploring how moral beliefs should be considered in both treating and working with DT
individuals, as well as beginning to understand the DT individual’s moralistic world-view.
Keywords: Dark Triad; Narcissism; Psychopathy; Machiavellianism; Belief in a Just World;
Morality; Personality
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1. Introduction
The Dark Triad is made up of three personality traits which have been consistently
correlated with generally negative, immoral, unhelpful, and even malevolent behaviours -
these are psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and narcissism. Previous research on the
behaviours and attitudes of those scoring high in Dark Triad traits has focused intensely on
their associated behaviours and thinking in areas such as aggression (Walsh, 2013), mating
strategies (Jonason, Li, Webster, & Schmitt, 2009; Jonason, Luevano, & Adams, 2012),
empathy (Ali, Amorim, & Chamorro-Premuzic, 2009), and romantic relationships (Rohmann,
Bierhoff, & Schmohr, 2011). Despite this surge in interest, significantly fewer studies have
investigated the beliefs held by Dark Triad individuals which may also have a role to play in
their associated behaviours. This is arguably an important area of Dark Triad research worth
exploration when considering the moral implications of the actions associated with Dark
Triad personality traits. One set of individual and measurable beliefs which relate to morality
is Belief in a Just World (BJW), first put forward by Lerner (1980) as part of Just World
Theory.
Just World Theory is the global cognitive bias whereupon individuals subconsciously
hold the belief that people generally receive outcomes which are morally consistent with their
actions. This bias was thought to make the individual’s life easier to plan as well as making
goals seem more achievable as the individual could seemingly predict the consequences of
their behaviours (Lerner, 1980). Evidence for this theory having an effect on behaviour has
come in many forms, including observation of victim derogation (Lerner & Simmons, 1966),
responsibility attribution (Shaver, 1970), revenge attitudes (Kaiser, Brooke Vick, & Major,
2004), and helping behaviours (Depalma, Madey, Tillman, & Wheeler, 1999).
Studies investigating BJW and its relationship with personality traits are still in their
infancy, however some research in this field has found correlations between BJW and more
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popular personality models such as the Five-Factor Model (Nudelman, 2013; Wolfradt &
Dalbert, 2003) and the HEXACO model (Bollmann, Krings, Maggiori, & Rossier, 2015).
However, no study published to date has yet explored BJW directly with regards to the Dark
Triad model.
Analysing the relationship between Dark Triad traits and BJW may offer insight into
how individuals possessing the traits perceive the world they live in through the lens of
morality. Understanding their attitudes towards the morality behind their actions and the
actions of others may aid in predicting the behaviours such an individual may present. Such
understanding could theoretically inform practitioners in the type of interventions they offer
their client, they could inform employers on who to hire to fill a vacant position, and they
could even inform individuals working in prison inmate reformation programmes.
In the case of psychopathy, it would seem almost logical to presume that an individual
scoring high in the trait would also score low in BJW. This is because of the trait’s
association with a lack of empathy for others (Mullins-Nelson, Salekin, & Leistico, 2006),
antisocial behaviour (Leistico, Salekin, DeCoster, & Rogers, 2008), and overrepresentation in
prison populations (Kiehl & Hoffman, 2011). A plethora of studies have found that high
levels of prison inmates score high enough to be considered psychopathic (Coid et al., 2009;
Ullrich, Paelecke, Kahle & Marneros, 2003). Others have also found psychopathy to be
linked with violent and aggressive tendencies (Serin, 1991; Walsh, 2013). If those high in
belief in a just world believe that morally wrong actions lead to negative outcomes then it
should follow that they would be less likely to engage in these types of behaviours, especially
those which would lead to imprisonment. Interestingly, Spielberger (1988) posits that those
high in BJW are less likely to express anger via potentially destructive means such as insults,
breaking objects, and door-slamming. Those high in BJW are also thought to be significantly
more dedicated to just means in attempting to achieve goals (Hafer, 2000). It becomes all too
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clear that many aspects of a strong BJW seem incompatible with the findings regarding
psychopaths. With that in mind, it is hypothesised that psychopathy will be negatively
correlated with BJW.
With regards to narcissism, there are mixed thoughts as to whether the trait would
have a profound effect on BJW, and similarly whether BJW would influence narcissism.
While the attributes associated with narcissism are generally considered somewhat negative
and unhelpful -- such as an obvious self-focus, problems with exaggerating achievements,
problems sustaining relationships, difficulties with empathy, and being overly sensitive to
perceived insults and criticism (Thomas, 2010) – they appear not to be as malicious as
attributes associated with psychopathy. Wink (1991) argues that there are two distinct types
of narcissist; these are the overt and the covert narcissist. Overt narcissists were marked by
extraversion, grandiosity, and exhibitionism while covert narcissists were more associated
with introversion, anxiety, and insecurity. It could be argued that BJW be associated with
both types in that the overt narcissist may be assumed to have a strong BJW as the individual
believes themselves to be living in a world where they are superior, and that this is justified.
While the opposite may be true of the covert narcissist who masks their insecurities and
anxiety with exhibitionism and grand actions but may actually feel inferior and that this
perception of themselves is made so through an unjust world. Rose (2002) demonstrates this
to some degree by showing that overt narcissists report a higher self-esteem and life
satisfaction than covert narcissists, which is interesting to note when considering that BJW
also positively correlated with subjective wellbeing (Correia, Batista, & Lima, 2009). It was
therefore hypothesised that narcissism will be positively correlated with BJW.
Machiavellianism is perhaps the most easily argued trait to be associated with a low
BJW because of the negative moral outlook and self-serving behaviours which it is
characterised by (Jones and Paulhus, cited in Leary & Hoyle, 2009). Those scoring high in
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Machiavellianism (high-machs) have been shown to carry out a range of behaviours which
would appear to be at odds with having a high BJW, such as cheating in academic settings
(Williams, Nathanson, and Paulhus, 2010), emotionally manipulating others (Grams &
Rogers, 1990), and lying (DePaulo & Rosenthal, 1979; Geis & Moon, 1981). It would be
logical to assume that one who believes that negative actions lead to negative outcomes
would avoid such actions. Machiavellian individuals are even described as having “features
of cynical worldviews and amorality” according to Jones and Paulhus (cited in Leary &
Hoyle, 2009). With this in mind it appears doubtful that Machiavellianism would be a
common trait among those with a high BJW, therefore it is hypothesised that
Machiavellianism will correlate negatively with BJW.
As personality traits have been shown to be rather consistent over time and age
(Fraley & Roberts, 2005; Roberts & DelVecchio, 2000), BJW could be targeted instead of
personality in an attempt to reduce the antisocial behaviours associated with Dark Triad traits,
assuming BJW can bring about change in personality over time. Just World Beliefs have been
shown to be somewhat malleable; being vulnerable to strong influence from television media
(Appel, 2008) and even mood (Goldenberg & Forgas, 2012). They are also easily threatened
by stimuli which challenge their BJW, most commonly through observing a victim suffering
(Correia, Vala, & Aguiar, 2007; Lerner & Miller, 1978; Miller, 1977). Assuming BJW has a
relationship with Dark Triad traits, and that this relationship can bring about personality
and/or behavioural change over time, research in this area could provide a new avenue of
consideration for practitioners working with Dark Triad individuals.
The present study investigated whether any of the Dark Triad traits of
Psychopathy, Narcissism, and Machiavellianism showed any relationship with BJW; as well
as how strong and in what direction this relationship erred. It was hypothesised that
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psychopathy and Machiavellianism would correlate negatively with BJW. It was also
hypothesised that Narcissism would correlate positively with BJW.
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2. Method
2.1 Sample & Procedure
Participants were United Kingdom domiciles between the ages of 18 and 65 years old.
All were recruited by the researcher through opportunity sampling via the internet. An online
hyperlink leading to the questionnaire was shared on the social media websites Facebook and
Twitter along with a brief but conservative introduction to the study. This hyperlink was also
shared via posts on the forums The Student Room and Personality Cafe to reach potential
participants all over the UK.
Participants were further recruited secondarily from snowball sampling by asking
participants who had already taken part to further share the questionnaire hyperlink among
others online. This ensured a higher response rate and thus a more representative sample. Any
responses gathered from those living outside the UK were omitted from data analysis to
reduce possible confounding factors associated with differences in culture.
A total of 194 responses were gathered, 17 responses were omitted due to not being
from UK domiciles, leaving a final total of 177 valid responses. The mean age of all valid
participants was 24.7 (SD=8.1) with 74.6% of respondents indicating that they were female
(N=132), 24.3% indicating that they were male (N=43), and 1.1% opting to indicate as
‘Other’ (N=2).
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3. Measures
3.1 The Short Dark Triad (SD3) (Jones & Paulhus, 2014)
The SD3 is a 27 item questionnaire used to assess levels of subclinical psychopathy,
Machiavellianism, and narcissism personality traits in neurotypical populations (see
appendix 1). The questionnaire is split into 3 subscales, one measuring each trait. Each trait
is measured by 9 statements which the participant must indicate agreement or disagreement
with on a 1 to 5 Likert scale, where 1 is Strongly Disagree and 5 is Strongly Agree.
Many studies on TDT have seen researchers using a different questionnaire tool to
measure each DT trait (Jakobwitz & Egan, 2006; Jonason et al., 2009; Vernon, Villani,
Vickers, & Harris, 2008) which is not overly economical in regards to data collection and
analysis. These studies tended to use tools such as the The Self-Report Psychopathy Scale-III
(Paulhus, Hemphill & Hare, in press), The Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale
(Levenson, Kiehl, & Fitzpatrick, 1995), The Mach-IV (Christie & Geis, 1970), and the
Narcissistic Personality Inventory (Raskin & Hall, 1979). A higher response rate was
expected by using the SD3 as it only took around 10 minutes of the participant’s time to fill
out. Having the full questionnaire online also meant that participants were able to take part
wherever and whenever they pleased, making it superior in some ways to the methods used in
previous Dark Triad studies.
The SD3 was also chosen due to the empirical evidence supporting its validity in
measuring the aforementioned personality traits. Jones and Paulhus (2014) conducted four
studies which supported the SD3 as being a reliable and valid measure of all DT traits. Many
modern studies have also now used the SD3 in their DT research successfully (Arvan, 2013;
Baughman, Dearing, Giammarco, & Vernon, 2012; Holtzman, 2011; Sumner, Byers,
Boochever, & Park, 2012), further cementing that the SD3 is a useful and legitimate tool for
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measuring DT traits. Of the shorter and more economical DT measures, the SD3 has also
shown more validity and predictive power than the previously widely used Dirty Dozen
created by Jonason and Webster (2010) (Jones & Paulhus, 2014; Lee et al., 2013; Maples,
Lamkin, & Miller, 2014).
3.2 General Belief in a Just World Scale (Dalbert, Montada, & Schmitt, 1987)
The GBJWS is a short 6-item questionnaire which measures the participant’s level of
belief regarding whether the world is generally a just place (see appendix 2). Each item was
a statement which the participant would read and then indicate how much they agreed with
each statement via a 1-6 Likert scale, where 1 was Strongly Agree and 6 was Strongly
Disagree.
The GBJWS was chosen as a measure of just world beliefs for many reasons,
including its common usage in just world research, and due to the fact it is economical for
both gathering responses and for data analysis. The GBJWS has been successfully used to
measure just world beliefs in a wide variety of research areas including in investigating BJW
and internet use (Zhang, Zhang, & Zhu, 2013), attitudes towards immigration (Dalbert, &
Yamauchi, 1994), its relationship with the five factor model of personality (Wolfradt, &
Dalbert, 2003), and religious preferences (Zweigenhaft, 1985). Its wide use in so many
different areas of research support its use in reliably measuring just world beliefs, allowing
them to correlate with other constructs. The GBJWS can also be praised for its parsimony in
that it can reliably measure just world beliefs using only 6 items (Dalbert & Katona-Sallay,
1996; Dalbert & Yamauchi, 1994). This makes it extremely economical for developing an
online questionnaire, for making the questionnaire experience shorter for the convenience of
participants, and for a more streamlined data analysis.
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The General Belief in a Just World Scale was chosen over its personal counterpart,
Dalbert’s (1999) Personal Belief in a Just World Scale (PBJWS), for two main reasons.
Firstly, the present study aimed to investigate DT individuals with regards to their beliefs
about how their actions are justified in the context of the morals instilled in the culture they
live in. This would ask the question of whether DT individuals exhibit their ‘negative’ or
‘maladaptive’ behaviours with the reasoning that they are justified by virtue of living in an
already unjust world. In contrast, using the PBJWS would arguably instead investigate
whether DT individuals believed that their own life experiences and treatment by others has
been justified or not. This is perhaps an area worth investigating with future research as it has
been shown that many important life aspects can reliably be predicted from its use (Dalbert,
1999).
3.3 The Online Questionnaire
The online questionnaire (see appendix 3) consisted of an information form, a
demographic information form, the SD3 and GBJWS tests, a debriefing form, and finally a
thank you message.
The information sheet gave the participant some vague but accurate information on what the
study as investigating and what they should expect. It also informed participants how long the
study was likely to take and contact information for if they wanted to contact the researcher.
It asked the participant to check a box before clicking to continue, this confirmed that they
understood what was required of them and was an indication that they agreed to take part.
The demographic information form asked the participants a few non-personal
questions so that data could be grouped by these variables during data analysis. These
included questions on the sex of the participant, what country they currently lived in, and
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their current age. Participants were also asked to give the last two letters of their postcode
followed by the date of their birth. This would create a unique code of which their data could
be identified from if required.
Next participants would fill out both the SD3 and the GBJWS; these were recreated in
digital form which allowed participants to take the tests by simply clicking on their level of
agreement for each statement. Statements were displayed in a random order for every
participant so as to reduce the chance that the participant would know what each scale was
measuring.
The debriefing form would then reveal the actual aims, objective, and hypotheses of
the study. Participants were thanked for taking part and were once again given contact details
of the researchers. At this point, the participant could either click the submit button to save
their responses or they could navigate away from the page so that responses were not saved.
This ensured that the participant had the option not to provide their data after learning of the
true intentions of the study.
The thank you message appeared after clicking the submit button on the debriefing
form. It once again thanked the participant for taking part and also asked them to share the
questionnaire hyperlink among friends and family on social media platforms.
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4. Results
4.1 Descriptive Statistics
Table 1 displays mean scores and standard deviations for overall scores (n=177) in
each Dark Triad trait and BJW, as well as a breakdown by sex (Males n=43, Females n=132).
See Appendix 4 for all SPSS data outputs.
Table 1 - Descriptive Statistics
Mean (SD) Overall
Sample
Mean (SD) Males Mean (SD)
Females
BJW Score 3.07 (.812) 2.96 (.979) 3.13 (.737)
Psychopathy Score 2.09 (.591) 2.5 (.649) 1.96 (.511)
Narcissism Score 2.53 (.598) 2.6 (.664) 2.51 (.579)
Machiavellianism Score 2.98 (.696) 3.18 (.779) 2.9 (.649)
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4.2 Inferential Statistics
4.2.1 Analysis of All Responses
A Spearman’s Rho bivariate correlation was carried out to analyse the relationship
between BJW and overall scores of each Dark Triad trait. Table 2 shows that there were no
significant results found between each trait and BJW scores, however it should be noted that
both psychopathy and narcissism showed close to significant results.
Table 2 - Inferential Correlations
Overall Belief in a Just World Score
Correlation Coefficient Sig. (2-tailed)
Overall Psychopathy Score -.139 .065
Overall Narcissism Score .144 .056
Overall Machiavellianism Score -.029 .702
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4.2.2 Analysis of Sex Differences
Data was split by sex and analysed once more using a Spearman’s Rho to look for
differences between the sexes in regards to a correlation between each DT trait and BJW.
Results showed a significant positive relationship between narcissism and BJW in males but
not in females. Results of this analysis can be seen in Table 3.
Table 3 - Inferential Correlations Between SexesOverall Belief in a Just World Score
Correlation Coefficient Sig. (2-tailed)
Male (N=43)
Overall Psychopathy Score -.188 .228
Overall Machiavellianism Score -.012 .940
Overall Narcissism Score .315 .039*
Female (N=132)
Overall Psychopathy Score -.117 .182
Overall Machiavellianism Score .008 .930
Overall Narcissism Score .072 .409
● * Indicates a significant result at the .05 level (two-tailed)
A scatterplot showing the relationship between Overall Narcissism Score and Overall
BJW Score in males can be seen in Figure 1.
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Fig 1 - Scatterplot of Male Narcissism & BJW Scores
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5. Discussion
The present study aimed to find a relationship between Dark Triad personality traits
and Belief in a Just World. Analysis of the data showed no significant correlation in either
direction between the Dark Triad personality traits and BJW in the overall sample. In regards
to narcissism, this is a similar result to Ames, Rose, and Anderson’s (2006) findings.
However, a significant positive correlation was found between narcissism and BJW when
considering only male respondents, this suggests that there may be sex differences regarding
these constructs that have not yet been adequately explored. This finding may help in
understanding the worldview of the narcissist in that how they view the world may coincide
with a high BJW, while their actions themselves may not.
One interpretation of the male narcissism and BJW relationship is that some
narcissists may view the world as just if their position in that world is perceived to be
superior to others. The narcissist may believe that the reality they live in is a just world
because they perceive themselves to have an abundance of positive qualities that they
objectively deserve. Being aware of such as mind-set may help in working with male
narcissists in a therapeutic scenario where the practitioner is attempting to understand the
point of view of the client. Future research is required in this area to firstly confirm a
consistent relationship between narcissism and BJW in males, and secondly to explore
whether this interpretation of the narcissist mind-set is valid. If this is the case, the next step
may be to investigate whether this differs between the covert and overt narcissist described
by Rose (2002).
The sex differences in this finding are also worth exploring in order to
understand the differences between and within each sex when discussing Dark Triad traits. It
is well documented that females tend to score lower in all Dark Triad traits compared to
males (Foster, Campbell, & Twenge, 2003; Jonason et al., 2009; Jonason, Li, & Buss, 2010;
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Paulhus & Williams, 2002). Some studies have also found that males tend to score higher in
BJW compared to females (Bègue & Bastounis, 2003; Hunt, 2000), however others have not
observed this trend (Feather, 1991; Wolfradt & Dalbert, 2003), or rather conclude that this
difference in negligible in terms of significance (O'Connor, Morrison, McLeod, & Anderson,
1996). It could simply be that males are more likely to be more narcissistic as well as having
a higher BJW and that these two constructs compliment and reinforce each other via a
positive feedback loop.
It is important to consider the main limitation of the present study in that only around
a quarter of responses were from male respondents, whereas almost three quarters were from
females respondents. This poses two main issues, firstly, that the correlation between
narcissism and BJW in the overall sample may not have reached significance because of the
overabundance of female responses which are characterised by lower scores in Dark Triad
traits (Foster, Campbell, & Twenge, 2003; Jonason et al., 2009; Jonason, Li, & Buss, 2010;
Paulhus & Williams, 2002). This may explain why the correlation between narcissism and
BJW in the overall sample only approached significance at the .05 level r(175)=.144, p=.056.
The second issue is that the relationship between narcissism and BJW in males is based on a
fairly small sample of males (43 in total) which may not be overly representative of the
population. Future replications could recruit a much larger sample size, with an equal ratio of
males to females, in order to confirm this sex difference and to aid in explaining its origins if
it is consistently present.
Assuming that male narcissism and BJW show a consistent relationship, it could very
well be argued that males may benefit overall by embracing narcissism with the idea that this
may also increase their BJW. Such individuals could reap the benefits of narcissism such as
an increased self-esteem (Sedikides, Rudich, Gregg, Kumashiro, & Rusbult, 2004) and
increased creativity (Furnham et al. 2013) while also benefiting from a high BJW which is
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associated with increased life satisfaction (Correia, Batista, & Lima, 2009). The advantages
of increasing both traits could also continue into improving relationships with others
depending on what the individual values, such as having more sexual partners (Jonason et al.,
2012) or generally acting more prosocial towards others (Strelan, 2007). Developing a
stronger narcissistic outlook may also bring with it some inherent disadvantages however.
Some researchers have linked the trait with poorer long-term academic performance (Robins
& Beer, 2001), counterproductive work behaviour (Grijalva & Newman, 2014; Penney &
Spector, 2002), and increased aggressive behaviours (Reidy, Zeichner, Foster, & Martinez,
2008). Similarly, a high BJW has been linked with authoritarian attitudes (Connors &
Heaven, 1987) and revenge-seeking (Kaiser, Brooke Vick, & Major, 2004).
The potentially positive impact of the individual of being a narcissist with a strong
BJW has implications for the classic argument of whether narcissism can be considered
healthy or not. Publications as early as those written in 1914 by Sigmund Freud (2014) have
argued for narcissism to be a normal and healthy part of child development. More modern
empirical studies have even supported the positive elements of narcissism by demonstrating
its relationship with traits such as everyday wellbeing and self-esteem (Sedikides et al.,
2004). In contrast, other individuals such as Lasch (1978) have argued that narcissism is
inherently negative and destructive, and that the trait has penetrated into most aspects of
normalised culture. Considering all of the advantages narcissism may bring, especially when
considered with the benefits of having a high BJW, this attitude of a healthy narcissism,
similar to that of Federn (1953), may one day become normalised. Practitioners may find
themselves fostering a healthy narcissism in clients as a way of increasing self-esteem and
life satisfaction, among other benefits. Further research should investigate the trait of
narcissism as a tool for positive self-growth; its therapeutic use could see it growing as a
positive personality trait in moderation.
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With both the benefits and negatives in mind, the conclusion one may arrive at is that
narcissism bestows both advantages and disadvantages to the individual in different
scenarios, this more neutral way of perceiving narcissism is echoed by the likes of Campbell
and Foster (2007). An individual may be making a trade-off by embracing narcissism.
Whether this trade-off is overall positive or negative is a matter of individual perspective,
something which would likely be influenced by past experience, moral attitudes, and social
context. Interestingly, Campbell and Foster (2007, pp. 125-126) appear to support the
argument that narcissism is a helpful trait, purporting “that narcissism is either neutral or
even slightly beneficial for individuals”. Perhaps by reframing narcissism in a more healthy
and constructive way, one can develop beneficial thinking and behaviour reminiscent of the
helpful attributes of both narcissism and strong BJW.
The present study represents the first attempt at investigating the relationship between
the traits within the Dark Triad model and Belief in a Just World. While none of the stated
hypotheses were supported by the attained results, an unexpected positive relationship was
uncovered in the form of narcissism and BJW in the male sample. While Psychopathy and
Narcissism were not found to have a significant relationship with BJW in the overall sample,
this is strongly believed to be due to issues with methodology. This single element is what
future studies in this area of research should focus on in order to confirm whether this
relationship between narcissism and BJW is consistent in both the general population and in
male narcissists. Such research will prove valuable in the attempt to understand how Dark
Triad individuals perceive the external world in a moralistic context.
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Acknowledgements
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public,
commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
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Appendix 1 - The Short Dark Triad (SD3) (Jones & Paulhus, 2014)
Please rate your agreement or disagreement with each item using the following guidelines.
1 2 3 4 5
StronglyDisagree
Disagree Neither Agree
nor Disagree
Agree StronglyAgree
Machiavellianism subscale
1. It's not wise to tell your secrets.
2. I like to use clever manipulation to get my way.
3. Whatever it takes, you must get the important people on your side.
1. Avoid direct conflict with others because they may be useful in the future.
2. It’s wise to keep track of information that you can use against people later.
3. You should wait for the right time to get back at people.
4. There are things you should hide from other people because they don’t need to know.
5. Make sure your plans benefit you, not others.
6. Most people can be manipulated.
Narcissism subscale
1. People see me as a natural leader.
2. I hate being the center of attention. (R)
3. Many group activities tend to be dull without me.
4. I know that I am special because everyone keeps telling me so.
5. I like to get acquainted with important people.
6. I feel embarrassed if someone compliments me. (R)
7. I have been compared to famous people.
8. I am an average person. (R)
9. I insist on getting the respect I deserve.
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Psychopathy
1. I like to get revenge on authorities.
2. I avoid dangerous situations. (R)
3. Payback needs to be quick and nasty.
4. People often say I’m out of control.
5. It’s true that I can be mean to others.
6. People who mess with me always regret it.
7. I have never gotten into trouble with the law. (R)
8. I enjoy having sex with people I hardly know
9. I’ll say anything to get what I want.
SCORING AND PSYCHOMETRICS
Reverse the scoring on all the reversals items (marked with R). Then calculate the mean of
the 9 items within each subscale: The following norms are based on a sample of 387
undergraduate students.
NORMS
Mean S.D. Alpha
Machiavellianism 3.1 .76 .78
Narcissism 2.8 .88 .77
Psychopathy 2.4 1.0 .80
INTERCORRELATIONS
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Machiavellianism Narcissism Psychopathy
Machiavellianism -- .23 .37
Narcissism -- .20
Psychopathy --
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Appendix 2 - General Belief in a Just World Scale (Dalbert, Montada, & Schmitt, 1987)
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Appendix 3 - Online Questionnaire
Appendix 3.1 - Information Form
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Appendix 3.2 - Demographic Information Form
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Appendix 3.3 - General Belief in a Just World Scale Within Online Questionnaire
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Appendix 3.4 - Short Dark Triad (SD3) Within Online Questionnaire
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Appendix 3.5 - Debriefing Form
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Appendix 3.6 - ‘Thank you’ Message
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Appendix 4 – SPSS Data Outputs
Descriptives
Descriptive Statistics
N Minimum Maximum Mean
Std.
Deviation Variance
Respondant Overall
BJW Score
177 1.17 5.67 3.0687 .81290 .661
Respondant Overall
Machiavellianism Score
177 1.44 5.00 2.9774 .69634 .485
Respondant Overall
Narcissism Score
177 1.22 4.22 2.5304 .59794 .358
Respondant Overall
Psychopathy Score
177 1.00 4.11 2.0954 .59184 .350
Valid N (listwise) 177
Descriptives
What is your sex? = Female Descriptive Statisticsa
N Minimum Maximum Mean
Std.
Deviation Variance
Respondant Overall
BJW Score
132 1.33 5.67 3.1250 .73746 .544
Respondant Overall
Machiavellianism Score
132 1.56 4.44 2.9015 .64900 .421
Respondant Overall
Narcissism Score
132 1.22 4.11 2.5135 .57866 .335
Respondant Overall
Psychopathy Score
132 1.00 3.56 1.9613 .51130 .261
Valid N (listwise) 132
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a. What is your sex? = Female
What is your sex? = Male
Descriptive Statisticsa
N Minimum Maximum Mean
Std.
Deviation Variance
Respondant Overall
BJW Score
43 1.17 5.00 2.9574 .97935 .959
Respondant Overall
Machiavellianism Score
43 1.44 5.00 3.1783 .77934 .607
Respondant Overall
Narcissism Score
43 1.22 4.22 2.5969 .66447 .442
Respondant Overall
Psychopathy Score
43 1.11 4.11 2.5039 .64895 .421
Valid N (listwise) 43
a. What is your sex? = Male
What is your sex? = Other
Descriptive Statisticsa
N Minimum Maximum Mean
Std.
Deviation Variance
Respondant Overall
BJW Score
2 1.33 2.17 1.7500 .58926 .347
Respondant Overall
Machiavellianism Score
2 2.89 4.44 3.6667 1.09994 1.210
Respondant Overall
Narcissism Score
2 2.00 2.44 2.2222 .31427 .099
Respondant Overall
Psychopathy Score
2 1.89 2.44 2.1667 .39284 .154
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Valid N (listwise) 2
a. What is your sex? = Other
Explore
Case Processing Summary
Cases
Valid Missing Total
N Percent N Percent N Percent
Respondant Overall BJW
Score
177 100.0% 0 0.0% 177 100.0%
Respondant Overall
Machiavellianism Score
177 100.0% 0 0.0% 177 100.0%
Respondant Overall
Narcissism Score
177 100.0% 0 0.0% 177 100.0%
Respondant Overall
Psychopathy Score
177 100.0% 0 0.0% 177 100.0%
Descriptives
Statistic Std. Error
Respondant Overall BJW
Score
Mean 3.0687 .06110
95% Confidence Interval
for Mean
Lower Bound 2.9482
Upper Bound 3.1893
5% Trimmed Mean 3.0692
Median 3.0000
Variance .661
Std. Deviation .81290
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Minimum 1.17
Maximum 5.67
Range 4.50
Interquartile Range 1.08
Skewness .077 .183
Kurtosis .071 .363
Respondant Overall
Machiavellianism Score
Mean 2.9774 .05234
95% Confidence Interval
for Mean
Lower Bound 2.8741
Upper Bound 3.0807
5% Trimmed Mean 2.9657
Median 3.0000
Variance .485
Std. Deviation .69634
Minimum 1.44
Maximum 5.00
Range 3.56
Interquartile Range 1.00
Skewness .199 .183
Kurtosis -.174 .363
Respondant Overall
Narcissism Score
Mean 2.5304 .04494
95% Confidence Interval
for Mean
Lower Bound 2.4417
Upper Bound 2.6191
5% Trimmed Mean 2.5119
Median 2.4444
Variance .358
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Std. Deviation .59794
Minimum 1.22
Maximum 4.22
Range 3.00
Interquartile Range .78
Skewness .493 .183
Kurtosis .082 .363
Respondant Overall
Psychopathy Score
Mean 2.0954 .04449
95% Confidence Interval
for Mean
Lower Bound 2.0076
Upper Bound 2.1832
5% Trimmed Mean 2.0702
Median 2.0000
Variance .350
Std. Deviation .59184
Minimum 1.00
Maximum 4.11
Range 3.11
Interquartile Range .89
Skewness .640 .183
Kurtosis .302 .363
Tests of Normality
Kolmogorov-Smirnova Shapiro-Wilk
Statistic df Sig. Statistic df Sig.
Respondant Overall BJW .085 177 .003 .990 177 .222
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Score
Respondant Overall
Machiavellianism Score
.058 177 .200* .990 177 .246
Respondant Overall
Narcissism Score
.094 177 .001 .974 177 .002
Respondant Overall
Psychopathy Score
.105 177 .000 .965 177 .000
*. This is a lower bound of the true significance.
a. Lilliefors Significance Correction
Nonparametric Correlations
Correlations
Respondant
Overall BJW
Score
Respondant
Overall
Machiavellianis
m Score
Spearman's rho Respondant Overall
BJW Score
Correlation
Coefficient
1.000 -.029
Sig. (2-tailed) . .702
N 177 177
Respondant Overall
Machiavellianism Score
Correlation
Coefficient
-.029 1.000
Sig. (2-tailed) .702 .
N 177 177
Respondant Overall
Narcissism Score
Correlation
Coefficient
.144 .295**
Sig. (2-tailed) .056 .000
N 177 177
Respondant Overall Correlation -.139 .489**
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Psychopathy Score Coefficient
Sig. (2-tailed) .065 .000
N 177 177
Correlations
Respondant
Overall
Narcissism
Score
Respondant
Overall
Psychopathy
Score
Spearman's rho Respondant Overall
BJW Score
Correlation
Coefficient
.144 -.139
Sig. (2-tailed) .056 .065
N 177 177
Respondant Overall
Machiavellianism Score
Correlation
Coefficient
.295** .489**
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000
N 177 177
Respondant Overall
Narcissism Score
Correlation
Coefficient
1.000 .288**
Sig. (2-tailed) . .000
N 177 177
Respondant Overall
Psychopathy Score
Correlation
Coefficient
.288** 1.000
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .
N 177 177
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
Nonparametric Correlations
What is your sex? = Female
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Correlationsa
Respondant
Overall BJW
Score
Respondant
Overall
Machiavellianis
m Score
Spearman's rho Respondant Overall
BJW Score
Correlation
Coefficient
1.000 .008
Sig. (2-tailed) . .930
N 132 132
Respondant Overall
Machiavellianism Score
Correlation
Coefficient
.008 1.000
Sig. (2-tailed) .930 .
N 132 132
Respondant Overall
Narcissism Score
Correlation
Coefficient
.072 .277**
Sig. (2-tailed) .409 .001
N 132 132
Respondant Overall
Psychopathy Score
Correlation
Coefficient
-.117 .425**
Sig. (2-tailed) .182 .000
N 132 132
Correlationsa
Respondant
Overall
Narcissism
Score
Respondant
Overall
Psychopathy
Score
Spearman's rho Respondant Overall
BJW Score
Correlation
Coefficient
.072 -.117
Sig. (2-tailed) .409 .182
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N 132 132
Respondant Overall
Machiavellianism Score
Correlation
Coefficient
.277** .425**
Sig. (2-tailed) .001 .000
N 132 132
Respondant Overall
Narcissism Score
Correlation
Coefficient
1.000 .252**
Sig. (2-tailed) . .004
N 132 132
Respondant Overall
Psychopathy Score
Correlation
Coefficient
.252** 1.000
Sig. (2-tailed) .004 .
N 132 132
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
a. What is your sex? = Female
What is your sex? = Male
Correlationsa
Respondant
Overall BJW
Score
Respondant
Overall
Machiavellianis
m Score
Spearman's rho Respondant Overall
BJW Score
Correlation
Coefficient
1.000 -.012
Sig. (2-tailed) . .940
N 43 43
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Respondant Overall
Machiavellianism Score
Correlation
Coefficient
-.012 1.000
Sig. (2-tailed) .940 .
N 43 43
Respondant Overall
Narcissism Score
Correlation
Coefficient
.315* .347*
Sig. (2-tailed) .039 .023
N 43 43
Respondant Overall
Psychopathy Score
Correlation
Coefficient
-.188 .652**
Sig. (2-tailed) .228 .000
N 43 43
Correlationsa
Respondant
Overall
Narcissism
Score
Respondant
Overall
Psychopathy
Score
Spearman's rho Respondant Overall
BJW Score
Correlation
Coefficient
.315* -.188
Sig. (2-tailed) .039 .228
N 43 43
Respondant Overall
Machiavellianism Score
Correlation
Coefficient
.347* .652**
Sig. (2-tailed) .023 .000
N 43 43
Respondant Overall
Narcissism Score
Correlation
Coefficient
1.000 .413**
Sig. (2-tailed) . .006
N 43 43
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Respondant Overall
Psychopathy Score
Correlation
Coefficient
.413** 1.000
Sig. (2-tailed) .006 .
N 43 43
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
a. What is your sex? = Male
What is your sex? = Other
Correlationsa
Respondant
Overall BJW
Score
Respondant
Overall
Machiavellianis
m Score
Spearman's rho Respondant Overall
BJW Score
Correlation
Coefficient
1.000 -1.000
Sig. (2-tailed) . .
N 2 2
Respondant Overall
Machiavellianism Score
Correlation
Coefficient
-1.000** 1.000
Sig. (2-tailed) . .
N 2 2
Respondant Overall
Narcissism Score
Correlation
Coefficient
-1.000** 1.000**
Sig. (2-tailed) . .
N 2 2
J. Peutherer & L. Ireland | The Relationship Between Dark Triad Traits of Personality and Belief in a Just World
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Respondant Overall
Psychopathy Score
Correlation
Coefficient
-1.000** 1.000**
Sig. (2-tailed) . .
N 2 2
Correlationsa
Respondant
Overall
Narcissism
Score
Respondant
Overall
Psychopathy
Score
Spearman's rho Respondant Overall
BJW Score
Correlation
Coefficient
-1.000 -1.000
Sig. (2-tailed) . .
N 2 2
Respondant Overall
Machiavellianism Score
Correlation
Coefficient
1.000 1.000
Sig. (2-tailed) . .
N 2 2
Respondant Overall
Narcissism Score
Correlation
Coefficient
1.000 1.000
Sig. (2-tailed) . .
N 2 2
Respondant Overall
Psychopathy Score
Correlation
Coefficient
1.000** 1.000
Sig. (2-tailed) . .
N 2 2
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
a. What is your sex? = Other
J. Peutherer & L. Ireland | The Relationship Between Dark Triad Traits of Personality and Belief in a Just World
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