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The Dark Cube: dark character profiles and OCEAN.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:The Big Five traits (i.e., openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism: OCEAN) have been suggested to provide a meaningful taxonomy for studying the Dark Triad: Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy. Nevertheless, current research consists of mixed and inconsistent associations between the Dark Triad and OCEAN. Here we used the Dark Cube (Garcia & Rosenberg, 2016), a model of malevolent character theoretically based on Cloninger's biopsychosocial model of personality and in the assumption of a ternary structure of malevolent character. We use the dark cube profiles to investigate differences in OCEAN between individuals who differ in one dark character trait while holding the other two constant (i.e., conditional relationships). METHOD:Participants (N = 330) responded to the Short Dark Triad Inventory and the Big Five Inventory and were grouped according to the eight possible combinations using their dark trait scores (M, high Machiavellianism; m, low Machiavellianism; N, high narcissism; n, low narcissism; P, high psychopathy; p, low psychopathy): MNP "maleficent", MNp "manipulative narcissistic", MnP "anti-social", Mnp "Machiavellian", mNP "psychopathic narcissistic", mNp "narcissistic", mnP "psychopathic", and mnp "benevolent". RESULTS:High narcissism-high extraversion and high psychopathy-low agreeableness were consistently associated across comparisons. The rest of the comparisons showed a complex interaction. For example, high Machiavellianism-high neuroticism only when both narcissism and psychopathy were low (Mnp vs. mnp), high narcissism-high conscientiousness only when both Machiavellianism and psychopathy were also high (MNP vs. MnP), and high psychopathy-high neuroticism only when Machiavellianism was low and narcissism was high (mNP vs. mNp). CONCLUSIONS:We suggest that the Dark Cube is a useful tool in the investigation of a consistent Dark Triad Theory. This approach suggests that the only clear relationships were narcissism-extraversion and psychopathy-agreeableness and that the malevolent character traits were associated to specific OCEAN traits only under certain conditions. Hence, explaining the mixed and inconsistent linear associations in the Dark Triad literature.

SUBMITTER: Garcia D

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5611897 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The Dark Cube: dark character profiles and OCEAN.

Garcia Danilo D González Moraga Fernando R FR

PeerJ 20170922

<h4>Background</h4>The Big Five traits (i.e., openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism: OCEAN) have been suggested to provide a meaningful taxonomy for studying the Dark Triad: Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy. Nevertheless, current research consists of mixed and inconsistent associations between the Dark Triad and OCEAN. Here we used the Dark Cube (Garcia & Rosenberg, 2016), a model of malevolent character theoretically based on Cloninger's biopsych ...[more]

PMID: 28951816

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Project description:Background. Research addressing distinctions and similarities between people's malevolent character traits (i.e., the Dark Triad: Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) has detected inconsistent linear associations to temperament traits. Additionally, these dark traits seem to have a common core expressed as uncooperativeness. Hence, some researchers suggest that the dark traits are best represented as one global construct (i.e., the unification argument) rather than as ternary construct (i.e., the uniqueness argument). We put forward the dark cube (cf. Cloninger's character cube) comprising eight dark profiles that can be used to compare individuals who differ in one dark character trait while holding the other two constant. Our aim was to investigate in which circumstances individuals who are high in each one of the dark character traits differ in Cloninger's "light" character traits: self-directedness, cooperativeness, and self-transcendence. We also investigated if people's dark character profiles were associated to their light character profiles. Method. A total of 997 participants recruited from Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk) responded to the Short Dark Triad and the Short Character Inventory. Participants were allocated to eight different dark profiles and eight light profiles based on their scores in each of the traits and any possible combination of high and low scores. We used three-way interaction regression analyses and t-tests to investigate differences in light character traits between individuals with different dark profiles. As a second step, we compared the individuals' dark profile with her/his character profile using an exact cell-wise analysis conducted in the ROPstat software (http://www.ropstat.com). Results. Individuals who expressed high levels of Machiavellianism and those who expressed high levels of psychopathy also expressed low self-directedness and low cooperativeness. Individuals with high levels of narcissism, in contrast, scored high in self-directedness. Moreover, individuals with a profile low in the dark traits were more likely to end up with a profile high in cooperativeness. The opposite was true for those individuals with a profile high in the dark traits. The rest of the cross-comparisons revealed some of the characteristics of human personality as a non-linear complex dynamic system. Conclusions. Our study suggests that individuals who are high in Machiavellianism and psychopathy share a unified non-agentic and uncooperative character (i.e., irresponsible, low in self-control, unempathetic, unhelpful, untolerant), while individuals high in narcissism have a more unique character configuration expressed as high agency and, when the other dark traits are high, highly spiritual but uncooperative. In other words, based on differences in their associations to the light side of character, the Dark Triad seems to be a dyad rather than a triad.

Project description:Malevolent character traits (i.e., the Dark Triad: Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) are associated to emotional frigidity, antagonism, immoral strategic thinking, betrayal, exploitation, and sexual promiscuity. Despite the fact that character is a complex adaptive system, almost every study has solely investigated the linear association between malevolent character and attitudes towards both swearing and sociosexual orientation (i.e., behavior, attitude, and desire regarding promiscuous sexual behavior). In contrast, the aim in this set of studies was to evaluate these associations in relation to specific profiles of malevolent character (i.e., the Dark Cube). In two studies participants responded to the Dark Triad Dirty Dozen, the Taboo Words' Offensiveness and Usage Inventories (i.e., attitudes towards 30 swear words' level of offensiveness and usage) (Study 1: N 1 = 1,000) and the Sociosexual Orientation Inventory Revised (Study 2: N 2 = 309). Participants were clustered according to all eight possible combinations based on their dark trait scores (M/m = high/low Machiavellianism; N/n = high/low narcissism; P/p = high/low psychopathy). The results of this nonlinear approach suggested that the frequent usage, not level of offensiveness, of swear words was associated to Machiavellianism and narcissism. In other words, individuals with high levels in these traits might swear and are verbally offensive often, because they do not see swearing as offensive (cf. with the attitude-behavior-cognition-hypothesis of taboo words; Rosenberg, Sikström & Garcia, 2017). Moreover, promiscuous sociosexual attitude and desire were related to each dark trait only when the other two were low. Additionally, promiscuous sociosexual behavior was not associated to these malevolent character traits. That is, individuals high in the dark traits are willing to and have the desire to engage in sexual relations without closeness, commitment, and other indicators of emotional bonding. However, they do not report high levels of previous sexual experience, relationships, and infidelity. Hence, they approve and desire for it, but they are not actually doing it. The use of person-centered and non-linear methods, such as the Dark Character Cube, seem helpful in the advancement of a coherent theory of a biopsychosocial model of dark character.

Project description:The Thaumarchaeota is a diverse archaeal phylum comprising numerous lineages that play key roles in global biogeochemical cycling, particularly in the ocean. To date, all genomically characterized marine thaumarchaea are reported to be chemolithoautotrophic ammonia oxidizers. In this study, we report a group of putatively heterotrophic marine thaumarchaea (HMT) with small genome sizes that is globally abundant in the mesopelagic, apparently lacking the ability to oxidize ammonia. We assembled five HMT genomes from metagenomic data and show that they form a deeply branching sister lineage to the ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA). We identify this group in metagenomes from mesopelagic waters in all major ocean basins, with abundances reaching up to 6% of that of AOA. Surprisingly, we predict the HMT have small genomes of ∼1 Mbp, and our ancestral state reconstruction indicates this lineage has undergone substantial genome reduction compared to other related archaea. The genomic repertoire of HMT indicates a versatile metabolism for aerobic chemoorganoheterotrophy that includes a divergent form III-a RuBisCO, a 2M respiratory complex I that has been hypothesized to increase energetic efficiency, and a three-subunit heme-copper oxidase complex IV that is absent from AOA. We also identify 21 pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ)-dependent dehydrogenases that are predicted to supply reducing equivalents to the electron transport chain and are among the most highly expressed HMT genes, suggesting these enzymes play an important role in the physiology of this group. Our results suggest that heterotrophic members of the Thaumarchaeota are widespread in the ocean and potentially play key roles in global chemical transformations.IMPORTANCE It has been known for many years that marine Thaumarchaeota are abundant constituents of dark ocean microbial communities, where their ability to couple ammonia oxidation and carbon fixation plays a critical role in nutrient dynamics. In this study, we describe an abundant group of putatively heterotrophic marine Thaumarchaeota (HMT) in the ocean with physiology distinct from those of their ammonia-oxidizing relatives. HMT lack the ability to oxidize ammonia and fix carbon via the 3-hydroxypropionate/4-hydroxybutyrate pathway but instead encode a form III-a RuBisCO and diverse PQQ-dependent dehydrogenases that are likely used to conserve energy in the dark ocean. Our work expands the scope of known diversity of Thaumarchaeota in the ocean and provides important insight into a widespread marine lineage.

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The Dark Cube: dark character profiles and OCEAN.

Publications

The Dark Cube: dark character profiles and OCEAN.

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