The (Un)Attractiveness of Dark Triad Personalities

Assessing Fictitious Characters for Short‐ and Long‐Term Relationships

Datos Bibliográficos

ID7160366
AutoresYavor Dragostinov (0000-0002-8090-9614, Department of Psychology University of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK, autor de correspondencia), Tom Booth (0000-0003-2963-1220, Department of Psychology University of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK)
Año2025
Volumen93
Número5
Páginas1097-1111
Fecha de publicación2025-10-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Personality (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0022-3506 • E-ISSN: 1467-6494
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/jopy.12994
PMID39555613
OpenAlexW4404474033
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas1
Referencias citadas35

OBJECTIVE: The current study assessed how individuals evaluate potential romantic partners who display either low, medium, or high levels of DT traits for short-term (STR) and long-term (LTR) relationships. METHODS: Nine fictitious persons in the form of vignettes (description of behavior and facial image) were presented to every participant. The sex of the fictitious persons was determined by sexual orientation of each participant, while the displayed faces were selected from an existing image bank and matched for physical attractiveness. Study 1 (n = 475) used a fixed composition for face and trait description, while the composition for Study 2 (n = 794) was randomized. Mixed-effects modeling was implemented for both studies. RESULTS: Study 1 demonstrated people with a male preference (mostly women) perceived medium levels of the three traits as the most attractive STR. For Study 2, both men and women found the low levels the most attractive for both STRs and LTRs. CONCLUSIONS: Findings from Study 1 were mostly consistent across previous DT attractiveness literature, while findings from Study 2 contradicted them. This could suggest that the concept of DT is not as attractive even for STRs unless it is accompanied by physical attractiveness

Attractiveness · Dark triad · Machiavellianism · Personality · Personality psychology · Physical attractiveness · Physics · Psychoanalysis · Psychopathy · Term (time) · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics · Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior · Personality Traits and Psychology · Psychology · Social Psychology