The Dark Triad: The Dark Psychology Behind Narcissistic, Machiavellian and Psychopathic Behavior and Manipulation

By Grayson Wick

Updated for 2021 with new content, Grayson Wick's 2nd edition of The Dark Triad explores The Dark Triad personality model: the go-to for psychologists and those studying negative personality trait since its creation in 1998. From its origins as a quantifiable grouping of darker psychological impulses, the model has been used extensively across academia and professional psychiatry over the past two decades.

 

In this short introductory guide, discover the basic principles behind The Dark Triad model, it's origins and history and how it can help you learn and deal with encounters with individuals high in these traits. Covering both theory and practical advice beginners and intermediate readers alike will be able to learn about the characteristics, behaviors and research behind The Dark Triad and learn how to avoid manipulation.

 

From seemingly invisible gorillas to the infamous Milgram obedience experiments and new neurological research, learn about the unusual world of The Dark Triad.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Novel Experientia Ltd
• Release date: Oct 10, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393219903

Book preview

The Dark Triad

The Dark Psychology Behind Narcissistic, Machiavellian

and Psychopathic behavior and manipulation

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SECOND EDITION

All rights reserved.

All material accurate at time of publication.

No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review.

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Copyright © 2021 by Novel Experientia Ltd.

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1: The world of The Dark Triad

Chapter 2:  The Dark Triad explored

Chapter 3: Understanding manipulation through The Dark Triad

Chapter 4: The nature of influence

Chapter 5: Countering manipulation

Chapter 6: Finding the light

References and Recommended Reading

Chapter 1: The world of the Dark Triad

Throughout history people have committed terrible acts, often in the name of good. From minor immoral actions to mass genocide, people have the capacity to do what are considered evil actions. Ever since the prosecutions of the Nazi high command during the Nuremberg trials in the late 1940s, there has been widespread public and professional interest in dark motives. Psychologists and sociologists alike have studied these intensively across the 20th century to derive our current understanding of these motives today.

When confronted by disturbing thoughts some people choose to ignore this facet of their personality, while others embrace it wholeheartedly. The question that many seek to ask is why does one person choose a seemingly immoral and evil action over another? There are many explanations. An immoral person may think and act 'evilly' because they want to gain power, money, sex, revenge, or another egoistical end. Some people may hurt others because it satisfies and pleases them; that is, they perform horrific acts with their own pleasure being the primary objective or determination to do so. As always, the objective answer to this question is complex and dependent on several factors such as upbringing, genetics, environment and culture.

So where does The Dark Triad come into all this? From the early days of psychology to the present day, psychologists have sought to understand personality and traits through the use of patient observations, personality testing and mass observation. From the ancient Greek philosopher Galen's four temperaments, to the pioneering work of Ernest Tupes and Raymond Christal in creating the Big Five personality test in the early 1960s, the field of personality testing has had a long and varied history. The Dark Triad is one of the more recent advances in personality testing specifically used to determine the grouping of darker, manipulative, psychological traits into specific categories. Those who are high in Dark Triad traits are more likely to be manipulative, psychopathic and calculating in their approach to life. These are the people who will be more likely to resort to unconscionable acts to get their way or to ensure others bend to their will. 

Directly related to these personality types is the subject of influencing and manipulation. It is an unfortunate fact of life that influencing others is a powerful and often used device. This ability is one of the reasons why many entrepreneurs, managers and leaders hold their places in society. There comes a certain stage in your life where keeping your feelings aside fully and becoming rational is a skill you ought to have. The common cultural perception is that individuals shouldn't just be used as a means to an end but often in business settings this is an action taken with alarming regularity. The late Steve Jobs was especially known for being able to influence the minds of people and to do whatever it took to get them on side.  There are many instances in which Steve Jobs used his unique ability to accurately get what he wanted. When Jobs convinced Pepsi CEO John Sculley to join Apple in the 1980s, their exchange led to the famous quote: Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life?.

There is a lot to be said about his special ability to charm and manipulate others, not least his deep understanding of what people wanted and what people wanted to hear. Add to this an understanding of subtle suggestion, powerful intuition, and a great deal of passion and charisma Steve Jobs had a skill set that could get him almost anything he wanted. However, he also possessed several darker traits. For example, he was known to categorize his staff as either Gods or Shitheads, a status that could change at the drop of a hat. He also had the ability to push forward his ideas with clear focus, even though they were not necessarily true and had the ability to break rules with little in the way of consequence.

We may think we are stalwart and unable to be manipulated but this is often a misconception. Take for example the unintentionally hilarious study of unconscious behavior by Harvard PhD students Christopher Chabris and Daniel Simons in 1999 and authors of the book: The Invisible Gorilla, and Other Ways Our Intuitions Deceive Us. You've likely seen videos of this study yourself. This experiment was widely shared as an internet meme in the early 2000's and is still sometimes seen today. A group of volunteers were asked to view a video in which a basketball game took place. They were told to count the number of passes by the white shirt team. An adult dressed in a Gorilla suit came to the court at some stage during the game and walked across the pitch, beating their chest in the center for a few seconds. The participants were so engrossed in measuring the number of passes that they didn't even notice this occurring. Many participants honestly claimed that there was no gorilla! By blindly acting on the experimenter’s instructions they unwittingly ignored something obvious in front of them.

This is often used in stage magic and is referred to as misdirection, or direction depending on the artiste. For example at a magic show a magician performs a disappearing trick. They ask an audience member to pick a card and, while waving their hands in front of the volunteer’s face saying the magic words. Meanwhile the magician slips the card from their hand to their sleeve, hidden for later when it's revealed back to the