ABSTRACT
The Dark Triad is a topic in psychology that centers on three personality types, which include narcissism, psychopathy and Machiavellianism. Narcissism is focused on feelings of grandiosity, dominance and superiority as defined by Paulhus and Williams in 2002. Psychopathy features traits of impulsive behavior, thrill seeking, low empathy and low anxiety, while Machiavellianism is focused on the manipulation of others. These three personality types are the most widely studied of all the dysfunctional leadership traits. These personality types will exploit these types of environments to their advantage. All three characteristics entail characteristics of self-promotion, emotional detachment and aggressiveness. While the three constructs are very distinct, we find overlaps between Machiavellianism and psychopathy, narcissism and psychopathy, and Machiavellianism and narcissism. The following provides behavioral insights into each of the three personality types that make up the Dark Triad. The psychopath is associated with deviant behaviors in the workplace and, although this only occurs rarely, they can be considered violent.
