What are the Dark Triad and Dark Tetrad

By James Thomasson PhD

Of late this is a question I get asked a great deal, “What is the Dark Triad and Dark Tetrad?”.  Almost daily now I get this question.  So the Psycho Evaluation Krewe got together and decided to make it simple and quick to read.

Key points in this Post

• What is the dark triad?
• What is the dark tetrad?
• Why some people have Dark personality traits
• Assessment of Dark personality traits
• Examples of these people in leadership positions
• References used in this post

What is the dark triad?

The dark triad refers to a group of three personality traits: Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy. Though these traits are seen in normal behavior, they’re generally considered negative and socially undesirable.

Machiavellianism is marked by manipulation, deception, and emotional detachment. People high in Machiavellianism, known as “High Machs,” are skilled at exploiting others for personal gain and tend to have a cynical worldview.

Narcissism is an inflated sense of self-importance, but it’s more complex than normal arrogance. While “grandiose” narcissists openly demand attention and admiration, “covert” narcissists might appear shy or self-deprecating while still harboring deep feelings of superiority. Both types share a common thread: They see others as sources of validation.

Psychopathy is marked by manipulative and harmful behaviors, and a lack of concern or guilt. Primary psychopaths act with calculated precision while secondary psychopaths behave impulsively and show emotional instability. Both types can cause harm to others, whether through deliberate planning or emotional reactivity.

All of the traits are associated with a lack of empathy.¹ People high in these traits may be able to recognize others’ emotions, but struggle to share or connect with those emotions on a deeper level.

What is the dark tetrad?

The dark triad became the dark tetrad when a fourth trait—subclinical sadism—was added. Sadism is closely related to the dark triad personality traits but is a separate construct.³

What is sadism?

Sadism is a personality trait that involves taking pleasure in seeing others suffer or feel pain. We know sadism leads to cruel acts, but researchers still disagree on exactly how to define and measure it.⁴ This makes it hard to tell which harmful behaviors count as truly sadistic.

Many people think sadists can’t feel empathy at all, but research shows it’s more complicated than that.⁵ Sadists might be able to understand how others feel (cognitive empathy) while not sharing those feelings themselves (emotional empathy). This combination can be dangerous because they can recognize when they’re hurting someone, but don’t feel bad about it.

There’s a specific type of sadism, called sexual sadism, where people gain sexual pleasure from causing physical or mental pain. While sadism shows up in many areas of life, most studies have focused on sexual sadism. Research suggests about 2% to 5% of people experience sexual pleasure from hurting others.⁶

Rape is a crime of degradation.  Victims often feel powerless and abused after the incident.

Note: If you or someone you know have experienced uncomfortable or unsafe sexual behavior, help is available. You can contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline for free at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673), available 24/7 for support.  Do not Call the FBI as they do nothing.  It takes at least 20-30 reports for local police to investigate rapes.  The average rapist is caught after around 35 rapes.

Why some people have Dark personality traits

Dark personality traits stem from a combination of biological, psychological, and social factors. At their core, these traits are strongly linked to low levels of certain personality traits.⁷ These traits are:

• Honesty-humility: The tendency to be sincere, fair, and modest versus manipulative, entitled, and greedy
• Emotionality: How deeply someone experiences and expresses feelings, particularly empathy and attachment to others
• Agreeableness: The tendency to be forgiving, less judgemental, cooperative, and considerate of others versus antagonistic and hostile
• Conscientiousness: The degree of self-discipline, organization, and concern for following rules and obligations

Of these traits, honesty-humility appears to be most significant in predicting dark personality traits. People who score low on honesty-humility and agreeableness consistently show higher levels of dark triad and dark tetrad personality traits.

Dark personality traits exist on a spectrum. People can display these traits to varying degrees, with differences observed across:⁸

• Gender: Men typically score higher on dark traits compared to women.⁹ Traits like psychopathy and Machiavellianism are associated more strongly with masculine than feminine gender roles.
• Culture: The expression of dark personality traits varies across different global regions and cultural contexts.¹⁰
• Social environments: One evolutionary theory suggests that dark triad traits developed as adaptive strategies to provided advantages in certain social competitions.¹¹ Certain characters in popular culture show that dark triad traits may actually be respected and desired in certain environments today.¹²

One last personality trait often not mentioned in the journal articles, they enjoy causing pain!  Do Not Forget this!

Assessment of dark personality traits

Obviously, the dark triad and tetrad traits aren’t formal mental health diagnoses. However, they can be associated with several personality disorders, which are diagnosable conditions. These include:¹⁴

• Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD)
• Antisocial personality disorder (ASPD)
• Borderline personality disorder (BPD)
• Histrionic personality disorder (HPD)

Assessing Dark personality traits using self-report questionnaires. These might include:

• The Short Dark Triad (SD3)¹⁵
• The Short Dark Tetrad (SD4)¹⁶
• The Dark Triad Dirty Dozen (DTDD)¹⁷
• The Comprehensive Assessment of Sadistic Tendencies (CAST)¹⁸

Assessing Dark personality traits by observation and actions:

• The Score Card System
• The Dark Triad Score Card
• The Dark Tetrad Score Card with (Mack Daddy score card)

Additional tests for sadism include the Short Sadistic Impulse Scale (SSIS), Varieties of Sadistic Tendencies (VAST), and the Assessment of Sadistic Personality (ASP).¹⁹

While high scores on these tests may indicate that the traits are present or strong, they can’t confirm or diagnose personality disorders. If you’ve noticed patterns in yourself that you’re concerned about, consult a mental health professional. They can help you address harmful patterns and determine if a mental health disorder may be making things harder.

Examples of leaders with these Personality traits

Finally, just a couple of pictures of these examples:

We could post more.  However, we want to keep this article short.

Lastly, a quick note about our posts.  There have been many attempts to hack this website after posts like this.

References used for Understanding the Dark Triad and Dark Tetrad Personality types