A Light within the Triad of Darkness
THERE IS A FLICKER OF LIGHT WITHIN THE DARKNESS OF THE TRIAD, AND THROUGH RESEARCH AND GREATER UNDERSTANDING AS A SOCIETY, WE MAY BE ABLE TO HARNESS THE ENERGY.
By Jessica Young, Featured Writer.
"Personality functions by influencing our perceptions, motivations, emotions, and actions such that people of different personalities actually experience and perceive the world differently."
Dr Jordan Peterson
Personality psychology has been occupied with the study of prosocial personality. The most prevalent model currently is the Big Five-Factor Model of personality (Oxford Bibliographies, 2020), consisting of traits including conscientiousness, openness to experience, agreeableness, neuroticism, and extraversion. Research has suggested that the Big Five model holds validity and reliability across cultures (McCrae, 2002). Models such as this are deemed predominantly prosocial as associated variables, including behaviours, tend to elicit positive outcomes. For example, conscientiousness can be broken down into two aspects (Understand Myself, 2020), including orderliness (planning and structuring) and industriousness (completing tasks and following through with ideas). Higher levels of these aspects are related to greater life outcomes, with associations to academic success, career success and so on.
Importantly, it is not as simple as good and bad personality combinations, each trait presents itself as a spectrum, and somewhere upon which we fall. High conscientiousness can correlate with greater successes in life, however, excessive levels of conscientiousness have also been associated with compulsive behaviours, such as disorders of OCD (Carter et al., 2015). The extremity of 'prosocial' personality traits such as conscientiousness can be costly to the individual, but also to those around them. There have even been suggestions made that Hitler exhibited elements of extreme conscientiousness in-relation to his initial germophobic disgusts, escalating with his compulsive and heinous regimes. Not every conscientious individual is destined to become a wretched dictator. It is simply a potential correlational observation.
However, a recent movement in personality psychology has seen research turn to the dark side. Lightsabers at the ready?
The Dark Triad of Personality
Whilst the Big Five model of personality is predominantly occupied with prosocial elements of personality, though acknowledging the pitfalls; the dark triad model of personality brings together some of the more sinister elements (MacLean, 2016). The dark triad is not a replacement for the other models such as the Big Five, it instead provides a wider understanding of what constitutes personality. The model includes three interrelated traits; though there are similarities between them, research has suggested that they can be understood distinctively (Paulhus and Williams, 2002).
The darkness engulfing the triad emphasises the antisocial nature of the three traits, it has been argued that psychopathy embodies the most sinister tendencies (Lyons, 2019). At the highest of levels, psychopathy is associated with criminality, some of the most monstrous killers have been labelled as such on a clinical level (Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy and Dennis Rader). Not all psychopaths are out to kill you, however. The labels of psychopath and narcissist may be familiar to you, though it is important to acknowledge that the dark triad refers to individual's that display tendencies and behaviours beneath the clinical diagnostic cut-off; you are not a diagnosed psychopath for scoring on a personality measure.
The clinical diagnosis of narcissism is arguably rare, though the trait of sub-clinical narcissism is suggested to be of greater prevalence (Brogaard, 2020).
Subtypes of Sub-clinical Narcissism
Many components underpin the trait of sub-clinical narcissism, though most notable of distinctions is between two key subtypes; vulnerable narcissism and grandiose narcissism (Brogaard, 2020). Whilst both are underpinned by self-centredness, the expression and manifestations differ.
VULNERABLE NARCISSISM
Whilst individuals associated with vulnerable narcissism are argued to be self-absorbed and self-centred, the manifestation presents itself in a way that makes them feel hyper-alert about their place in the world. Thus, often hypersensitive to external criticisms, for this could damage or dent their position. There is an element of insecurity, which can present itself in hostile behaviours towards others.
GRANDIOSE NARCISSISM
As given away by the title, the area of grandiose narcissism displays self-centredness through overt superiority, with a believed entitlement resulting from being better than those around them. It is suggested that individuals associated with the grandiose subtype are more extraverted, they ooze confidence and are explicit in believing themselves higher in the pecking order. Standing on what they perceive as an unmovable pedestal, they do not fear the opinions of others, arguably because they see others as beneath them.
Associated Positive Outcomes
It sounds as though whichever the subtype of sub-clinical narcissism, associations with the trait suggests rotten characteristics of a person; a negative position for the individual, with potentially negative consequences for those around. However, is it a lose-lose?
Research has long indicated potential positive associations regarding personality and life outcomes including career success, mental health, well-being and so on. Furthermore, it has become clear that such bright lights of life are not only associated with prosocial traits.
Previous research has indicated a relationship between personality and mental health. For example, Strickhouser et al (2017) conducted a largescale metasynthesis with a wide indication that the Big Five has a predictive relationship with mental health outcomes. They analysed findings relating to over 500,000 participants. It was suggested that conscientiousness was one of the strongest predictors, highlighting a key role for prosocial personality regarding mental health.
Though, the Big Five alone does not seem to capture the relationship between personality and mental health. Papageorgiou et al (2019) suggested that adding measures of the dark triad alongside the Big Five, accounted for more variation within perceived stress scores. Furthermore, sub-clinical narcissism was inferred to have a key role, mediated by an association with mental toughness (Papageorgiou et al, 2019); there was a negative association to perceived stress. Suggesting the dark triad, sub-clinical narcissism, may provide a further understanding of mental health experiences, alongside connections to mental toughness. Further supported by Papageorgiou et al (2019, b), suggesting that grandiose narcissism related to a lower score of depressive symptoms, through an association to increased mental toughness. (Though it should be noted that vulnerable narcissism was suggested to have the opposite association).
Moreover, mental toughness has also been suggested to relate to positive mental health. Stamp et al (2015) indicated that all components of mental toughness had a positive correlation with all multidimensional elements of psychological wellbeing. This positive relationship has been further supported by Lin et al (2017), who suggested sub-clinical narcissism had a positive relationship with wellbeing, proposedly linked through mental toughness. Thus, previous research has indicated that sub-clinical narcissism not only plays an associative role in reducing experiences of negative mental health but also in bolstering positive mental health regarding psychological wellbeing.
Whilst this research cannot provide cause and effect explanations, as it proposes correlations and associations, it indicates that the darkness of sub-clinical narcissism may not be as all-consuming as once thought.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-50184281
Challenging The Darkness
Of course, this is not to say that those with narcissistic tendencies do not pack a punch, there are negative associations of the trait that should not be belittled or ignored. It is notable that the positive associations, reduced mental health experiences and boosted wellbeing, may come at the price of those around narcissistic individuals; they tend to be centred around themselves, so perhaps it makes sense that they stand strong internally?
Though, it begs the question that sub-clinical narcissism, at least in grandiose form and in relation to mental toughness, could provide insight for interventions regarding mental health and working towards positive well-being goals. What is it about the narcissist that enables them to find this psychological euphoria? What can we learn from this positive association with the darkness? How can we manifest such darkness? There are so many possibilities for future research in this area.
There is a temptation to fall into the pit of saying well hey – they might be okay in themselves, but they're still damn awful to the rest of us… However, we can all reap the benefits from individuals who seem more resistant to mental health struggles: less weight on the already shaking shoulders of mental health care, possible hope for future understanding that could enrich us all, and prospects for intervention routes. Poking around in this darkness could bring us all a little light.
Furthermore, recent research has indicated that the positive association between grandiose narcissism and psychological well-being is potentially present during the transition to motherhood (Talmon et al., 2020). It could be inferred that this positive experience of well-being during what can be a challenging transition, is beneficial beyond the individual, but could also positively contribute to the child's development and experience. This area is one of new interest and thus, there is yet to be seen whether these associations hold validity and reliability.
Seemingly, we are moving away from a time when the words narcissist, psychopath, Machiavellianism, would give us goosebumps; instead, they intrigue us, entice us and, potentially help us.
THERE IS A FLICKER OF LIGHT WITHIN THE DARKNESS OF THE TRIAD, AND THROUGH RESEARCH AND GREATER UNDERSTANDING AS A SOCIETY, WE MAY BE ABLE TO HARNESS THE ENERGY.
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