The Origins of the Dark Triad

This chapter covers the origins of the dark triad personalities. It discusses demographic differences among the dark triad personalities, particularly gender. Gender has captured the majority of researchers' attention in an attempt to explore differences among the dark triad personalities. The dark triad may indicate a fast life strategy that is also based on immediate rewards and gratification. According to A. Furnham, S. C. Richardson, and D. L. Paulhus, the notion that dark triad personalities can flourish as social parasites has been in existence since L. Mealey’s study, who pointed out that the evolutionary theory predicts such predatory subgroups. An evolutionary perspective can provide a foundational theory through which workplace phenomena such as the dark triad can be examined with greater intricacy. The life history strategies theory, which is a mid-level theory derived from the evolutionary theory, describes trade-offs that must be made because of individuals’ limited time and energy budgets.