The Dark Triad refers to three malevolent personality traits: Machiavellianism (manipulative and self-interested), psychopathy (callous and impulsive), and narcissism (grandiose and entitled). These traits are associated with exploitative and antisocial behaviors.
Relational aggression is a form of aggression aimed at damaging others’ social relationships, status, or reputation.
It includes behaviors like social exclusion, spreading rumors, and manipulating friendships. This type of aggression is often subtle and can have significant negative impacts on victims’ psychological well-being.
Jiang, Y., Tong, L., Cao, W., & Wang, H. Dark Triad and relational aggression: the mediating role of relative deprivation and hostile attribution bias. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1487970. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1487970
Key Points
- The Dark Triad traits (Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism) significantly predict relational aggression.
- Relative deprivation mediates the relationship between all three Dark Triad traits and relational aggression.
- Hostile attribution bias mediates the relationship between Machiavellianism and psychopathy with relational aggression, but not between narcissism and relational aggression.
- Relative deprivation and hostile attribution bias serially mediate the relationship between all three Dark Triad traits and relational aggression.
- The study provides new insights into the complex relationships between personality traits, subjective perceptions, cognitive biases, and aggressive behavior.
- This research has implications for understanding and intervening in malicious interpersonal relationships.
- Limitations include the cross-sectional design and potential cultural specificity of the findings.
Rationale
Relational aggression, a form of aggressive behavior aimed at damaging social relationships, is associated with various physiological and psychological disorders (Dahlen et al., 2013; Deason et al., 2019; Osgood et al., 2021).
Previous research has established a connection between relational aggression and antisocial personality traits, particularly the Dark Triad (Giammarco & Vernon, 2014; Jonason & Kroll, 2015).
However, most studies have focused separately on situational factors and internal states, such as the pursuit of social status or hostile attribution bias (Bell et al., 2017; Law & Falkenbach, 2018).
There is a need to explore the complex links between situational factors and internal states in depth to better understand the relationship between the Dark Triad and relational aggression.
This study aims to investigate the mediating roles of relative deprivation and hostile attribution bias in this relationship, providing a more comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms underlying malicious interpersonal relationships.
Method
The study employed a cross-sectional research design using self-reported questionnaires to collect data from university students in China.
Procedure
Participants completed a series of questionnaires measuring Dark Triad traits, relational aggression, relative deprivation, and hostile attribution bias.
The questionnaires were distributed through class counselors, and students voluntarily accessed the questionnaire website by clicking a link on their phones.
Sample
The study included 1,968 valid participants (745 males, 1,223 females) from two full-time universities in Inner Mongolia, China.
The age range was 18-25 years, with a mean age of 20.70 years (SD = 1.460).
Measures
- Dark Triad: Short-Dark Triad (SD3) scale (Geng et al., 2015) – Measures the three personality traits of Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism.
- Relational Aggression: Relationship Aggression Behavior Scale (Liang, 2006) – Assesses behaviors aimed at damaging others’ social relationships or status.
- Relative Deprivation: Relative Deprivation Scale (Ma, 2012) – Evaluates individuals’ subjective feelings of disadvantage compared to others.
- Hostile Attribution Bias: WSAP-Hostility Scale (Quan & Xia, 2019) – Measures the tendency to interpret ambiguous social cues as hostile.
Statistical measures
The study used SPSS 24.0 for descriptive statistics and correlation analysis, and Mplus 8.0 for mediation effect testing.
The bias-corrected non-parametric percentile Bootstrap method with 5,000 samples was employed to test the significance of regression coefficients.
Results
H1: Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism positively predict relational aggression.
Result: Supported. All three Dark Triad traits significantly predicted relational aggression.
H2: Relative deprivation positively predicts relational aggression and mediates the relationship between Dark Triad traits and relational aggression.
Result: Supported. Relative deprivation significantly mediated the relationship between all three Dark Triad traits and relational aggression.
H3: Hostile attribution bias mediates the relationship between Machiavellianism, psychopathy, narcissism, and relational aggression.
Result: Partially supported. Hostile attribution bias mediated the relationship between Machiavellianism and psychopathy with relational aggression, but not between narcissism and relational aggression.
H4: Relative deprivation positively predicts hostile attribution bias, and relative deprivation and hostile attribution bias play a serial mediating role in the relationship between Dark Triad traits and relational aggression.
Result: Supported. Relative deprivation positively predicted hostile attribution bias, and both factors serially mediated the relationship between all three Dark Triad traits and relational aggression.
Insight
This study provides a comprehensive examination of the relationship between Dark Triad traits and relational aggression, highlighting the important mediating roles of relative deprivation and hostile attribution bias.
The findings suggest that individuals high in Dark Triad traits are more likely to perceive relative deprivation and exhibit hostile attribution bias, which in turn increases their propensity for relational aggression.
The study extends previous research by integrating situational factors (relative deprivation) and internal states (hostile attribution bias) to explain the complex mechanisms underlying the Dark Triad-relational aggression relationship.
This approach offers a more nuanced understanding of how personality traits interact with subjective perceptions and cognitive biases to influence aggressive behavior.
The differential mediating effects observed for narcissism compared to Machiavellianism and psychopathy suggest that the mechanisms underlying relational aggression may vary across Dark Triad traits.
This highlights the need for more targeted interventions and future research exploring the unique contributions of each trait.
Future research could benefit from longitudinal designs to establish causal relationships, cross-cultural studies to examine the generalizability of findings, and investigations into potential protective factors that may mitigate the negative effects of Dark Triad traits on relational aggression.
Implications
The findings have significant implications for clinical practice and future research in the field of personality and social psychology.
Clinicians working with individuals exhibiting Dark Triad traits should be aware of the potential for relational aggression and consider addressing feelings of relative deprivation and hostile attribution biases in treatment approaches.
Interventions aimed at reducing relational aggression may benefit from targeting these mediating factors, particularly in individuals high in Machiavellianism and psychopathy.
For researchers, this study underscores the importance of considering both situational and internal factors when examining the relationship between personality traits and aggressive behavior.
Future studies could explore potential moderators of these relationships, such as cultural factors or individual differences in emotion regulation.
The differential findings for narcissism suggest that more nuanced approaches may be needed when studying this trait’s relationship with relational aggression.
Researchers should consider examining subtypes of narcissism (e.g., grandiose vs. vulnerable) and their unique associations with aggressive behavior.
Strengths
The study had many methodological strengths including:
- Large sample size (N = 1,968), increasing statistical power and generalizability
- Use of well-validated measures for all constructs
- Comprehensive examination of multiple mediating pathways
- Application of advanced statistical techniques (bootstrapping) for mediation analysis
- Consideration of both situational factors and internal states in explaining the Dark Triad-relational aggression relationship
- Inclusion of all three Dark Triad traits, allowing for comparisons across traits
Limitations
The study has several limitations that should be considered when interpreting the results:
- Cross-sectional design: The study’s cross-sectional nature precludes causal inferences about the relationships between variables. Longitudinal research is needed to establish the temporal ordering of effects.
- Cultural specificity: The sample was limited to Chinese university students, potentially limiting the generalizability of findings to other cultural contexts or age groups. Cross-cultural studies are needed to determine the universality of the observed relationships.
- Self-report measures: Reliance on self-report data may introduce biases, such as social desirability or shared method variance. Future studies could benefit from incorporating multiple informant reports or behavioral measures of aggression.
- Limited assessment of narcissism: The study did not differentiate between subtypes of narcissism (e.g., grandiose vs. vulnerable), which may have distinct relationships with relational aggression and mediating factors.
- Lack of consideration of potential moderators: The study did not examine factors that might moderate the relationships between Dark Triad traits, mediators, and relational aggression, such as gender, social context, or individual differences in emotion regulation.
These limitations suggest caution in generalizing the findings and highlight the need for further research to address these constraints.
References
Primary reference
Jiang, Y., Tong, L., Cao, W., & Wang, H. Dark Triad and relational aggression: the mediating role of relative deprivation and hostile attribution bias. Frontiers in Psychology, 15, 1487970. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1487970
Other references
Bell, G. R., Crothers, L. M., Hughes, T. L., Kanyongo, G. Y., Kolbert, J. B., & Parys, K. (2018). Callous-unemotional traits, relational and social aggression, and interpersonal maturity in a sample of behaviorally disordered adolescents. Journal of applied school psychology, 34(1), 65-85. https://doi.org/10.1080/15377903.2017.1345814
Dahlen, E. R., Czar, K. A., Prather, E., & Dyess, C. (2013). Relational aggression and victimization in college students. Journal of college student development, 54(2), 140-154.
Deason, D. L., Dahlen, E. R., Madson, M. B., & Bullock-Yowell, E. (2019). Five-factor model of personality, social anxiety, and relational aggression in college students. Journal of College Student Development, 60(1), 110-114.
Geng, Y. G., Sun, Q. B., Huang, J. Y., Zhu, Y. Z., and Han, X. H. (2015). The dark twelve and short dark triad scale: examination of two Chinese versions of dark triad measurement tools. Chin. J. Clin. Psychol. 23, 246–250. doi: 10.16128/j.cnki.1005-3611.2015.02.013
Giammarco, E. A., & Vernon, P. A. (2014). Vengeance and the Dark Triad: The role of empathy and perspective taking in trait forgivingness. Personality and individual differences, 67, 23-29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.02.010
Jonason, P. K., & Kroll, C. H. (2015). A multidimensional view of the relationship between empathy and the dark triad. Journal of Individual Differences. https://doi.org/10.1027/1614-0001/a000166
Law, H., & Falkenbach, D. M. (2018). Hostile attribution bias as a mediator of the relationships of psychopathy and narcissism with aggression. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 62(11), 3355-3371. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X17742614
Liang, F. H. (2006). A study on relational aggression behavior of high school students and its influencing factors. Zhejiang University.
Ma, A. (2012). Relative deprivation and social adaptation: mediating effects and moderating effects. Acta Psychol. Sin. 44, 377–387. doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2012.00377
Osgood, J. M., Yates, H. K., Adler, A. B., Dyches, K. D., & Quartana, P. J. (2021). Tired and angry: Sleep, mental health, and workplace relational aggression. Military psychology, 33(2), 80-91. https://doi.org/10.1080/08995605.2021.1897490
Fang-Ying, Q. U. A. N. (2019). The Prediction of Hostile Attribution Bias on Reactive Aggression and the Mediating Role of Revenge Motivation. Journal of Psychological Science, 42(6), 1434.
Keep Learning
Socratic questions for a college class to discuss this paper:
- How might cultural differences influence the relationship between Dark Triad traits and relational aggression? What aspects of Chinese culture could potentially impact these findings?
- What are the ethical considerations in studying and potentially intervening in personality traits like the Dark Triad? How do we balance individual differences with societal well-being?
- How might the relationships observed in this study manifest differently in online versus face-to-face interactions? What unique challenges does social media present in terms of relational aggression?
- What other mediating or moderating factors might be worth exploring in the relationship between Dark Triad traits and relational aggression?
- How might these findings inform intervention strategies for reducing relational aggression in educational or workplace settings?
- What are the potential long-term consequences of relative deprivation and hostile attribution bias on an individual’s social relationships and mental health?
- How might gender roles and societal expectations influence the expression of Dark Triad traits and relational aggression?
- What are the implications of these findings for leadership and organizational behavior? How might Dark Triad traits impact team dynamics and workplace relationships?
- How do the concepts of relative deprivation and hostile attribution bias relate to broader societal issues, such as social inequality or political polarization?
- What neurological or biological factors might underlie the relationships observed in this study? How might future research incorporate neuroscientific approaches to study these phenomena?
