Introduction

Deenz Dark Triad personality scale is based on the research paper submitted by Delroy L. Paulhus and Kevin M. Williams in 2002. Deenz dark triad personality scale is based on 33 items and we are trying to make it short. The validity of the 33-item scale has been confirmed through two different studies, but this short version is yet to be validated. This survey comprises 9 items related to human behavior and life experiences.

What is Dark Triad?

Dark Triad focuses upon the dark side of the personality and there are various research on human behavior and one of them is the Dar Triad. The research suggests that every person has the dark traits of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy these traits are considered undesirable personality traits. The research paper that coined the word Dark Triad contributed to understanding human behavior. The need for self-assessments was observed by many psychology researchers. Several self-assessments are based on this research and one of them is Deenz Dark Triad personality scale which Deen Mohd developed with the help of psychology professors and psychology students. Deenz Dart Traid scale is valid and produces accurate results when participants answer every item but sometimes participants feel the need for a short version.

My Experience with Dark Triad Theory

Dark triad is a psychometric theory about human behavior and grabbed much attention among researchers and psychologists. When I was pursuing a BA in psychology, I read about it and I found it interesting. I started reading the research paper and found that the research is mainly focused on negative traits and genre bias. I started collecting data about the three traits that the research is talking about and found that the dark triad emphasizes the sub-clinical traits and puts weight on the negative outcomes of exhibiting these traits.

I also found a lot of demand online about the scale but the scale was not accurate for me and for my colleagues. I started developing another scale that aims to measure these dark traits among my colleagues and got it reviewed by psychologists. To collect the data from my colleagues for research purposes I got approval from the local ethical body. From the statistics, I found that the scale is accurate in measuring these traits.

The problem with the college research was that I got a few participants for the research and I was willing to research the different age groups and cultures. This survey aims to collect data from participants from different countries, cultures, and age groups.

Psychopathy

The Dark Triad theory does not specifically address the clinical psychopathy traits that meet the criteria for a personality disorder. Instead, it emphasizes subclinical psychopathic traits, where individuals exhibit psychopathic tendencies to a lesser degree without meeting the full criteria for a clinical diagnosis.

In simpler terms, if you take a Dark Triad Scale and score high in psychopathic traits, it doesn't necessarily imply a personality disorder. Rather, it indicates a heightened level of psychopathic tendencies, which may contribute to negative outcomes in your personal life.

Psychopathy is characterized by enduring antisocial personality behaviors, lack of empathy, and manipulative and impulsive behavior. Psychopath's emotional experiences are limited and shallow, they struggle to form meaningful social and professional relationships. Individuals with psychopathic traits do not experience emotions that a normal person can experience such as guilt or remorse for the wrongdoings.

Remorse: Human behavior is vulnerable to wrongdoings, and feeling regret for those wrongdoings helps us learn to behave ethically. Psychopaths do not feel a genuine sense of sorrow about the harm and negative impact of their behavior. Besides the feeling of sorrow, they also do not recognize and accept the responsibility of their wrongdoings and always justify their actions.

Amoral: Moral principles and ethical considerations are part of human behavior; however, psychopaths do not follow the fundamental beliefs that guide in distinction between right and wrong. They lack honesty, integrity, fairness, and respect for others, impacting their social and personal relationships.

Callous: Psychopaths face difficulty forming and maintaining meaningful relationships, they prioritize their desires and neglect the needs, feelings, and well-being of others.

Cynical: The social bond depends on trust among individuals, but psychopaths lack trust in the motives and sincerity of others. They always question the authenticity of others' actions.

Narcissism

Having a sense of self-importance may sound good but if it is at the expense of others, with a preoccupation with fantasies of unlimited success and power then it seems abnormal in social perspectives. Narcissistic people have exaggerated beliefs of their abilities and have an inflated sense of self-worth. To maintain these beliefs they constantly seek admiration from others. Narcissists have a sense of entitlement, they believe in getting special treatment in social settings and are preoccupied with fantasies about power, beauty, and success.

Admire: Admire means to regard with respect and affection, when we admire someone we have a positive opinion, recognizing their qualities and achievements. Having a strong desire for admiration and validation to ensure recognition of talent and achievements leads to manipulative behaviors.

Attend: We meet people and they talk about their achievements but if they are talking about it to grab attention then this may smell a sense of abnormal behaviors. Narcissists exhibit a strong desire to gain attention and validation whether in person or a social event.

Status: Narcissists are concerned with social status and they do not want to feel inferior, they take it seriously when they have to look at how they are perceived by others. They persistently have the desire to be dominant whether it is in a conversation or decision making.

Favors: Narisists offer favors but they offer them in expectation of receiving something in return, it may be praise or admiration. They may also use favors to maintain and control the situation.

Machiavellianism

The term Machiavellianism was coined after the Italian political writer Niccolò Machiavelli. In his book "The Prince", he provided advice on political leadership and maintaining power by using strategic methods. Machiavelli discusses the role of manipulation, deceptiveness, risk tolerance, and strategic thinking in maintaining political influence and governance. The dark triad theory quotes the negative and deceptive strategies that Machiavelli discussed in the book and proposes that these traits occur on a spectrum.

Manipulate: Machiavelli justifies political leadership by using manipulation to understand the motivation and use it to achieve political goals.

Deceit: Deceit means, the act of misleading others and creating a false impression to take control of the situation. Machiavelli suggests that rulers should employ deceitful tactics to maintain stability and success.

Flatter: Machiavelli also suggests that praising someone and giving favors to maintain relations with others for self-interest is another strategy that political leaders should adopt.

Exploit: Machiavelli also discusses the use of exploitation by rulers for the benefit of the state. He suggests exploring the weaknesses or vulnerabilities of other powers or states in achieving political gain and objectives.

Criticism of the Dark Triad Theory

While the dark triad theory attracted the attention of researchers and psychologists to study these negative traits of human behavior, Some researchers criticized the model. Critics argue that the theory mainly focuses on the negative personality traits of human behavior which limits the understanding of the human personality.

Some research suggests that the theory lacks the theoretical framework as it groups these distinct personality traits that need to be studied independently.

I have also criticized the theory because I found that the Dark Triad model exhibits gender bias, as it mainly focuses on studying negative behaviors in males.

When I was pursuing a BA in Psychology, I studied the theory and found several aspects that needed correction. Instead of criticizing the theory, I attempted to improve it. In 2013, Delroy L. Paulhus developed a scale to measure these traits in a Likert-type questionnaire and submitted a research paper about its validation and reliability. I identified numerous weaknesses and errors in the scale, as it was primarily focused on the male gender role. This led me to develop the Deenz Dark Triad Personality Scale' where I aimed to support the theory and enhance its validation based on diverse gender perspectives.

In 2018, Laura Johnson, a researcher, and critic of the Dark Triad theory, proposed the Light Triad theory, which primarily focuses on socially positive personality traits. This theory seeks to study and measure Kantianism, Humanism, and Faith in Humanity. Similar to the Dark Triad traits where Machiavellianism is named after the political philosopher Machiavelli, in the Light Triad theory, the Kantianism trait is named after the philosopher Immanuel Kant. While Machiavelli proposed that leadership requires manipulation and deceptive behaviors to remain in power, Kantianism believes in moral principles.

Conclusion

The original version of the scale is based on 33 items but to save the participants valuable time I have developed a shorter survey with only 9 items. This survey does not collect personal data such as your name, email, or other sensitive data, and the data will not be used in the research. The goal of this survey is to experiment with the reliability and internal validity of the scale.