Behind the Scenes of Dark Triad Traits: A Study of Neurocognition and Emotional Processing

Abstract

The Dark Triad consists of personality traits of Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy. These traits have been found to be negatively correlated with empathy. Machiavellianism and psychopathy traits have also been demonstrated to be associated with poorer self-control, whereas narcissism and psychopathy traits have been linked to impulsivity. However, still little is known about the relationships between Dark Triad traits and other aspects of neurocognitive processes. This ongoing study examines a broad scope of neurocognitive processes (i.e., self-control, inhibition, impulsivity) and emotional processing (i.e., emotional awareness, and empathy) to determine specific predictors of Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy traits in university students. Data are currently available on 53 university students. Participants’ personality traits were assessed using the Short Dark Triad questionnaire. Neurocognitive functioning was measured using the Tangney Self-Control Scale, Stop-It Inhibition Test, and The Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART). In addition, participants’ emotional awareness was assessed using the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, whereas empathy was measured using the Empathy Quotient. For the interim analyses, traits of Machiavellianism were regressed on the five neurocognitive predictors (self-control, inhibition, impulsivity, emotional awareness, and empathy), using a simultaneous multiple regression procedure. The regression analyses revealed that among the predictors, response inhibition (Beta = -0.001; t = -1.975, p = .05), emotional awareness (Beta = -0.011; t = -2.113, p = .040), and empathy (Beta = -0.026; t = -4.603, p = .0001) were significant determinants of Machiavellianism traits, whereas only empathy (Beta = -0.025; t = -2.785, p = .008) was the strongest determinant of psychopathy traits. However, none of the neurocognitive and emotional processes were significant predictors of traits of narcissism.

Details

Session 1

11:15am – 12:30pm

Del Norte Hall

Room C: 1535