Lies in the dark: An analysis of dark personality traits and dishonesty

The study of malevolent personality traits has previously been conceptualized and measured using the dark triad model, which identifies the core malevolent traits as Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism (Paulhus & Williams, 2002). More recent research has proposed a broader model that encompasses more dark traits than the dark triad model, the Dark Factor of Personality (D; Moshagen et al., 2018). Further research has confirmed that D is comprised of five thematic factors: callousness, deceitfulness, narcissistic entitlement, sadism, and vindictiveness (Bader et al., 2021). Existing research indicates that individuals exhibiting higher levels of dark traits tend to engage in more frequent dishonesty (Jonason et al., 2014; Zvi & Elaad, 2018). However, previous studies have not clearly determined what specific types of lies (e.g., altruistic, self-serving, and vindictive) are common among individuals exhibiting dark traits. Though some studies have explored how different categories of lying correspond to different personality traits, dark traits were not included in the analyses (Hart et al., 2020). To address this gap in the research, this study aimed to investigate the connection between various types of lying behavior and dark personality traits. Results indicated that those with dark personality traits tend to lie more often and accept lying in everyday situations. Additionally, dark traits were correlated with an increased frequency of telling self-serving and vindictive lies. Specific themes within the dark core had predictive power for specific lies: deceitfulness, vindictiveness and callousness with self-serving lies, and sadism and deceitfulness with vindictive lies. Implications of this study and future directions are discussed.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychological Science

Grantor

Texas Woman's University

Year dc:date.issued

2024

Author dc:creator

• Yarbrough, Peyton

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Hart, Christian

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Terrizzi Jr., John A
• Harding, Brian

• Dark personality traits
• Lying

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/11274/16895

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:twu-ir.tdl.org:11274/16895