21: Beyond Narcissism: Dark Personality Traits — Part I

Narcissism is a harsh label to apply to anyone. It’s in no way a flattering term and gets tossed around way too much in casual description of someone selfish or obnoxious. At the same time, narcissism is insufficient as an all-encompassing term to capture all the darker qualities attributed to it. Terms that better describe the dark side are antisocial, malevolent, psychopathic, or sociopathic. Or even older, more “literary” labels like Machiavellian or sadistic. Today, scientists and clinicians are moving away from diagnostic labels and toward clusters of specific traits that explain an individual’s troubling personality.

Dark personality traits was first coined by Canadian psychologists Delroy Paulhus and Kevin Williams in their 2002 research on the dark triad, a term to describe malevolent tendencies common to narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. Later, Paulhus and colleagues included sadism, forming the dark tetrad.

The dark triad/tetrad are psychological theories of personality describing personality types considered “subclinical,” not necessarily appearing in DSM-5 so not readily diagnosable conditions: Machiavellianism (manipulative, immoral), maladaptive narcissism (lack of empathy, pride, self-centered), and nonclinical psychopathy (continuous antisocial behavior, impulsivity, remorselessness). Empirical evidences shows, though conceptually distinct, such traits are overlapping and associated with a “callous–manipulative interpersonal style.”

It’s an evolutionary adaptation that motivated our forebears to explore and pursue challenging goals needed for survival — and why we’re still challenging common sense today.

In modern times, researchers recognize illusion of control has a cognitive bias for over-estimating individual influence in specific, objectively uncontrollable situations — like gambling, extreme sports, praying, bargaining with the devil, conspiracy theories, and other nonscientific thoughts, like being positive prevents cancer. We think we’ll never have a car accident because of our good driving skills — a related research concept known as the “better-than-average” effect.

The Illusion of Control

Researchers found people with high scores on these traits have an increased likelihood of committing crimes, causing social distress, and creating major problems for organizations, especially if they’re in leadership positions. They also tend to be less compassionate, agreeable, empathetic, and satisfied with their lives, as well as less likely to believe they and others are good. A “factor analysis” (statistical method for identifying underlying patterns in complex datasets) found that among the big five personality traits, low agreeableness is the strongest correlate of the dark triad, followed by neuroticism and a lack of conscientiousness.

However, there are some positive associations with dark personality traits: they have mental toughness, leadership skills, and a greater likelihood of embracing challenges, notes Jon Druda, PhD, in Psychology Today. He suggests an evolutionary advantage

Source: Kendra Cherry, “What to Know About the Illusion of Control,” Very Well Mind.

As the parent of sons with mental health conditions, I’ve had to confront — maybe more than others — my lack of control over our lives. A mother wants to fix things and often can, but not in this situation. As my therapist has told me, “No one has control over what happens in their lives, you just have less of an illusion of control.” I struggle to accept this on a daily basis.

Concepts of Personal Power and Perceptions of Control

Photo: iStock

The more I read about narcissism and the illusion of control, the more I stumble on related items, like personal sense of power or perceptions of control — as essential ingredients to a healthy recipe for life. The concepts summarized here belong on a spectrum from outer extremes to healthy middle.

Learned Helplessness Theory

Opposing the illusion of control on the spectrum is learned helplessness. The theory suggests the negative impact on us when we fully believe external forces — chance, luck, or the power and influence of others — are responsible for events.

From repeated exposure to stressful or uncontrollable situations, we “learn” to believe we have no control — even when we can affect the outcome. It causes individuals to become apathetic and passive, with motivational, cognitive, and emotional deficits. Research finds three dimensions to learned helplessness:

External: Event outcomes are beyond our control
Stable: Believe this will continue perpetually
Global: Believe this will apply across many situations

Locus of Control

Also in contrast to the illusion of control is locus of control (LoC) — a relatively stable personality trait attributing outcomes to events. It can be influenced by life experiences and interventions and exists on its own little continuum between two poles:

Internal/high LoC:Belief personal life outcomes, both successes and failures, are primarily the result of our own efforts, choices, and abilities.
External/low LoC:Belief life outcomes are mostly due to external forces, and we have little control over what happens to us.
In the middle: Most of us have a mix of internal and external LoC, with a tendency toward one direction in general or in a specific area of life (like career or health).

Photo: iStock

Individuals with internal LoC tend to have higher levels of self-efficacy, their sense of personal agency reinforcing their self-confidence. It’s also possible to have internal LoC but low self-efficacy for a particular task.

Personal Sense of Power (PSP)

A personal sense of power (PSP) describes our perception of being able to influence others.

“The fundamental concept in social science is Power, in the same sense in which Energy is the fundamental concept in physics,” said British intellectual Bertrand Russell in his 1938 book, Power, A New Social Analysis. —Russell is quoted by German researcher Robert Körner, et al., “It’s All About Power,” European Journal of Psychological Assessment, Hogrefe econtent

In a nod to Russell, the German research team adds, “Probably every human relationship can be characterized by differences in power.” Power and status figure prominently in psychological research and everyday life. The researchers also note, power has overcome the stigma of being connected to only negative outcomes (corruption, self-serving behavior). Instead, it’s understood as a way of intensifying motivation to achieve goals.

Photo: Erik Cleves Christensen, Harley Therapy, UK

Power energizes thought, speech, and action, increases prioritization and authenticity, but also leads to stereotyping and objectification. Thus, on the basis of predispositions and situational circumstances, power apparently intensifies people’s behavioral tendencies in either antisocial or prosocial ways.” —Robert Körner, et al., Hogrefe econtent

Körner, et al., found PSP has the strongest association with narcissism, dominance, self-esteem, and authentic pride. And it has the weakest association with neuroticism and depression. This suggests emotional stability leads to, or is a consequence of, personal power. The researchers write, “Narcissists are likely to experience a heightened sense of power due to their strong need for dominance and status, which is a core aspect of their personality.”

Social Context

Photo: Freepik

The German team studied how social context and helping behavior influence narcissist behavior. Participants in a “high social-pressure” study believed their decision to help/not help would be known to the confederate. Those in the “low social-pressure” study believed their decision would remain unknown. Results:

Grandiose narcissists openly and defiantly refused the confederate’s request for help in the high social-pressure condition. Typical traits — like non-compliance and low agreeableness — offer context for this refusal.
Vulnerable narcissists helped least in the low social-pressure condition. Their traits, like hostility and distrust, offer context for their reluctance to help.

Self-Efficacy Theory

Social psychologist Albert Bandura proposed self-efficacy theory in 2010 as the measure of how capable we feel about achieving our goals, according to psychology coach/writer Amanda O’Bryan, PhD, “Internal vs External Locus of Control: 7 Examples & Theories,” Positive Psychology.

Bandura’s research showed our ability to succeed, regardless of our talent, is negatively affected if we don’t believe in our own capability. Those of us with high self-efficacy will have higher levels of persistence and give up less easily than those with low levels.

In contrast, those of us with internal/high LoC may feel our behavior caused our health outcomes, but may not feel capable (low self-efficacy) in achieving our health goals.

Exploitativeness

Study of narcissistic relationships is perhaps psychology research’s best way to illustrate exploitation. To review:

Narcissists often exploit others for their own gain, using charm and manipulation to get what they want, whether it’s attention, resources, or validation. In these relationships, the narcissist may emotionally manipulate their partner, taking advantage of their vulnerabilities to maintain control and power. Over time, the exploited individual often experiences emotional exhaustion, low self-worth, and confusion, as they struggle to meet the narcissist’s constant demands without receiving genuine care in return. —British Psychology Lexicon

Photo: Getty Images

Exploitation is a dynamic where an individual or group takes advantage of another, through manipulation, coercion, or deception. It mostly occurs in relationships with a significant power differential—one person holding authority, social status, or financial power over another. Imbalance prevents the exploited person from protecting their own interests or recognizing they’re being manipulated. It may be emotional (taking advantage of another’s kindness, empathy, or need for affection); in the workplace (unfair treatment, excessive workloads, inadequate compensation); or in social contexts (among marginalized or disadvantaged groups, as in human trafficking, or labor under coercive conditions).

Perceived Control

Perceived control makes everything more complicated. We perceive we have abilities/ inabilities to influence life events and outcomes — best captured on, yes, another spectrum:

Sources: Kendra Cherry, “What to Know About the Illusion of Control,” Very Well Mind; Sean Stephan Sullivan, “Relationship between Trait Narcissism and Perceptions of Control,” Bridgewater State University, MA; Amanda O’Bryan, “Internal vs External Locus of Control: 7 Examples & Theories,” Positive Psychology

Trait Narcissism: Grandiose and Vulnerable

The two most significant and common narcissistic subtypes — grandiose and vulnerable — are together called trait narcissism by researchers. The chart below compares traits, proposed by psychology professor Nikhila Mahadevan, University of Essex, UK, “Conceptualizing grandiose and vulnerable narcissism as alternative status-seeking strategies,” Compass Journal. Mahadevan’s research is about differences in status-pursuit by subtype, but his findings are useful (and similar) when applied to the illusion of control.

Source: Psychology professor Nikhila Mahadevan, University of Essex, Colchester, UK, “Conceptualizing grandiose/vulnerable narcissism as alternative status-seeking strategies,” Compass Journal. Format by Jan Swan

Trait Narcissism and the Illusion of Control

Bridgewater State University researchers set out to find specifically what distinguishes trait narcissism in contrast to narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). They based their study on the perceived control theory of narcissism (PCTN), developed in 2018 by Bridgewater psychology professor Ashley Hansen-Brown. PCTN proposes each subtype is linked to narcissists’ perceived control over social relationships and personal outcomes, as follows:

Grandiose narcissists have exaggerated beliefs of high perceived control, which aligns with their self-assured, aggressive, non-compliant, and dominant personalities. There’s strong alignment with the illusion of control — the grandiose need to control their environment.

Graphics from Nikhila Mahadevan’s research, University of Essex, UK, showing different expressions of grandiose vs vulnerable narcissism and of higer vs lower self-regard, Compass Journal.

Vulnerable narcissists have exaggerated beliefs of low perceived control, which aligns with their defensive, insecure, overtly hostile, and distrustful personalities — and elevated neuroticism. There’s also strong alignment with learned helplessness theory — and expectations that all outcomes are uncontrollable.
Common core:Both forms of trait narcissism share an antagonistic personality and an inflated sense of entitlement, including self-centeredness and low empathy. These findings support the PCTN prediction that divergent expressions of narcissism result from differences in perceived control.

Researchers used four psychological concepts to test influences on narcissist behavior — locus of control, exploitativeness, personal sense of power (PSP), and social context — all closely aligned with perceived control. Here’s what they found:

Exploitativeness: Both forms of trait narcissism correlate with exploitativeness over specific, familiar people.
No perceived control: Vulnerable narcissism correlates with a lower personal sense of power (PSP) — not affected by social context or external locus of control (LoC). No control.
Feeling in control — whether the narcissist genuinely has control or just thinks they do — helps reduce stress, motivates them to deal with the situation, and helps them persist.

These findings were published in a Bridgewater State University honors research paper by Sean Stephan Sullivan, “The Relationship between Trait Narcissism and Perceptions of Control.”

In Sum

The two studies cited in this post — by Bridgewater and German teams — studied trait narcissism to provide a more nuanced view of grandiose and vulnerable subtypes. Illusion of control theory explained the narcissistic motivation to control: Narcissists are objectively wrong in believing they made things happen, when an analysis reveals the reason is random chance, luck, or someone’s power and influence.

It seems, in the world of research, there’s been a raging debate about the distinguishing characteristics of forms of narcissism not covered in DSM-5. With newer research, there’s more insight into narcissistic traits and related attitudes and behaviors. This not only resolves the conflict in defining these conditions, but, more significantly, has important implications for treating individuals, helping them in their relationships and social interactions. It’s more hopeful now than ever.

Coming Up Next

If I could offer some common themes across all my blogging, it would be these: Every condition sits on two or more spectra. Diagnoses that strictly adhere to criteria listed in a source like DSM-5 don’t always fit observed reality. There’s a range in severity, a range in symptoms, and a range in comorbidities. People bring their parents and childhoods to every diagnosis. They bring their traumas, their relationships, their accomplishments, their safety and security, including financial security, to every lived experience. In Post 21: Beyond Narcissism: Dark Personality Traits — Part I, I peak under the hood of the darkest of personalities. It’s a peak. I don’t choose to spend my time with the unredeemable.

Sources

Bridgewater State University