ABSTRACT
Many researchers argue that human malevolence and evil should be traced back to the so-called Dark Triad personality that encompasses the traits of Machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy. Narcissism is commonly associated with notions such as self-importance, vanity, conceit and selfishness. People with a high level of psychopathy are primarily characterised by poor moral judgement, a lack of anxiety and guilt, and a high level of antisocial behaviour. Studies in the past decade have revealed that the three members of the Dark Triad have several features in common in terms of maliciousness, dishonesty, lack of empathy and interpersonal antagonism. On the other hand, several fundamental differences also appear that question the overstrict or even exclusive use of Dark Triad as a unified framework in understanding the three components. In the light of recent evidence, narcissism does not belong to the cluster of malevolent personality traits, and several authors suggest to use (Dark Dyad Machiavellianism, psychopathy). But even Machiavellianism and psychopathy differ in many respects, including anxiety, impulsivity and aggression. Machiavellianism obviously shows specific or typical features such as a rational mode of thinking, flexible decision-making and cost/benefit calculation concerning behavioural output.
