#darktetrad — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #darktetrad, aggregated by home.social.
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DATE: August 10, 2026 at 04:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Psychopathic individuals more tolerant of online dating deception, study finds
Most dating-app users strongly disapprove of people lying about their gender, appearance or age, but deception about weight receives considerably more tolerance, according to research published in Behaviour Information Technology. Greater acceptance of some lies was also associated with psychopathic personality traits and, to a lesser extent, gender and education.
Research suggests that men and women may misrepresent different characteristics when seeking partners: men are reportedly more likely to exaggerate their status, resources or height, while women may be more likely to misrepresent their weight or appearance.
Such deception is not always equivalent to catfishing or romance fraud, but it may still damage trust. Discovering that a prospective partner has misrepresented themselves can reduce the likelihood that a first date develops into a relationship. Nevertheless, relatively little research has examined which dating-app deceptions people consider unacceptable and whether personality influences these judgments.
Olga Bogolyubova, originally affiliated with the University of Malta when the study was conducted, surveyed 796 current or former dating-app users. Participants were aged 18 to 67, with an average age of 27.96. The sample included 393 men, 392 women, eight people who selected another gender category and three who did not report their gender.
Participants read six hypothetical dating-app scenarios. These described people lying about their age, gender, appearance, weight, socioeconomic status or relationship status. Examples included using a model’s photograph, claiming to be single while married and posing as another gender for entertainment. Each participant randomly received male or female versions of the scenarios.
They rated each behavior on a seven-point scale ranging from “entirely unacceptable” to “entirely acceptable.” Participants also completed a questionnaire measuring four dark personality traits: psychopathy, narcissism, Machiavellianism and sadism.
These four characteristics collectively make up what psychologists refer to as the “Dark Tetrad.” Narcissism is generally characterized by a grandiose sense of self-importance, a feeling of entitlement, and a deep need for admiration. Machiavellianism involves a cynical, manipulative, and highly strategic approach to social interactions, where individuals prioritize their own interests and calculate how to use others to their advantage.
Psychopathy typically manifests as high impulsivity, thrill-seeking, callousness, and a pronounced lack of empathy for others. Finally, sadism refers to the tendency to derive enjoyment, amusement, or satisfaction from inflicting physical or psychological distress on others.
The nature of the lie made a substantial difference in how participants reacted. Deception about gender was strongly rejected by 93.1% of participants, followed by appearance at 90.6%, age at 81.6%, relationship status at 78.5% and socioeconomic status at 71%.
Only 37.7% strongly rejected the weight deception. In that scenario, a person understated their weight by 40 pounds—approximately 18 kilograms—and avoided posting full-body photographs. Bogolyubova suggested that this difference may have appeared relatively moderate to participants and therefore less serious than using an entirely different person’s photograph or concealing a marriage.
Psychopathy was the most consistent personality factor. Higher scores predicted a greater likelihood of not strongly rejecting deception about gender and relationship status. Among participants who did not already classify deception as unacceptable, higher psychopathy was also associated with greater acceptance of lies concerning age, appearance and relationship status. Notably, the study assessed personality characteristics along a continuum; it did not diagnose participants as “psychopaths.”
As Bogolyubova concluded, “psychopathy emerged as the most consistent individual difference associated with tolerance for deception in online dating.”
Gender differences were also present. Men were less likely than women to strongly reject deception involving age, socioeconomic status and relationship status. Women judged lies about age and relationship status less harshly when the person engaging in the deception was female. However, the size of these differences was small, meaning gender provided only limited information about an individual’s response.
Additionally, lower educational attainment predicted greater acceptance of age and appearance deception among participants who did not strongly reject those behaviors.
Some limitations are to be noted. The study utilized a convenience sample, self-reported attitudes and hypothetical scenarios that had not been independently validated. Some personality measures were also less reliable than desirable, and attitudes do not necessarily predict behavior.
The study, “Perceptions of deceptive self-presentation in online dating: unacceptable or not? The role of gender and dark personality traits,” was authored by Olga Bogolyubova.
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #OnlineDatingDeception #DarkTetrad #PsychopathyInDating #DatingAppEthics #CatfishAwareness #GenderDeception #WeightMisrepresentation #DatingSafety # trustInDating #DigitalDatingResearch
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DATE: August 10, 2026 at 04:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Psychopathic individuals more tolerant of online dating deception, study finds
Most dating-app users strongly disapprove of people lying about their gender, appearance or age, but deception about weight receives considerably more tolerance, according to research published in Behaviour Information Technology. Greater acceptance of some lies was also associated with psychopathic personality traits and, to a lesser extent, gender and education.
Research suggests that men and women may misrepresent different characteristics when seeking partners: men are reportedly more likely to exaggerate their status, resources or height, while women may be more likely to misrepresent their weight or appearance.
Such deception is not always equivalent to catfishing or romance fraud, but it may still damage trust. Discovering that a prospective partner has misrepresented themselves can reduce the likelihood that a first date develops into a relationship. Nevertheless, relatively little research has examined which dating-app deceptions people consider unacceptable and whether personality influences these judgments.
Olga Bogolyubova, originally affiliated with the University of Malta when the study was conducted, surveyed 796 current or former dating-app users. Participants were aged 18 to 67, with an average age of 27.96. The sample included 393 men, 392 women, eight people who selected another gender category and three who did not report their gender.
Participants read six hypothetical dating-app scenarios. These described people lying about their age, gender, appearance, weight, socioeconomic status or relationship status. Examples included using a model’s photograph, claiming to be single while married and posing as another gender for entertainment. Each participant randomly received male or female versions of the scenarios.
They rated each behavior on a seven-point scale ranging from “entirely unacceptable” to “entirely acceptable.” Participants also completed a questionnaire measuring four dark personality traits: psychopathy, narcissism, Machiavellianism and sadism.
These four characteristics collectively make up what psychologists refer to as the “Dark Tetrad.” Narcissism is generally characterized by a grandiose sense of self-importance, a feeling of entitlement, and a deep need for admiration. Machiavellianism involves a cynical, manipulative, and highly strategic approach to social interactions, where individuals prioritize their own interests and calculate how to use others to their advantage.
Psychopathy typically manifests as high impulsivity, thrill-seeking, callousness, and a pronounced lack of empathy for others. Finally, sadism refers to the tendency to derive enjoyment, amusement, or satisfaction from inflicting physical or psychological distress on others.
The nature of the lie made a substantial difference in how participants reacted. Deception about gender was strongly rejected by 93.1% of participants, followed by appearance at 90.6%, age at 81.6%, relationship status at 78.5% and socioeconomic status at 71%.
Only 37.7% strongly rejected the weight deception. In that scenario, a person understated their weight by 40 pounds—approximately 18 kilograms—and avoided posting full-body photographs. Bogolyubova suggested that this difference may have appeared relatively moderate to participants and therefore less serious than using an entirely different person’s photograph or concealing a marriage.
Psychopathy was the most consistent personality factor. Higher scores predicted a greater likelihood of not strongly rejecting deception about gender and relationship status. Among participants who did not already classify deception as unacceptable, higher psychopathy was also associated with greater acceptance of lies concerning age, appearance and relationship status. Notably, the study assessed personality characteristics along a continuum; it did not diagnose participants as “psychopaths.”
As Bogolyubova concluded, “psychopathy emerged as the most consistent individual difference associated with tolerance for deception in online dating.”
Gender differences were also present. Men were less likely than women to strongly reject deception involving age, socioeconomic status and relationship status. Women judged lies about age and relationship status less harshly when the person engaging in the deception was female. However, the size of these differences was small, meaning gender provided only limited information about an individual’s response.
Additionally, lower educational attainment predicted greater acceptance of age and appearance deception among participants who did not strongly reject those behaviors.
Some limitations are to be noted. The study utilized a convenience sample, self-reported attitudes and hypothetical scenarios that had not been independently validated. Some personality measures were also less reliable than desirable, and attitudes do not necessarily predict behavior.
The study, “Perceptions of deceptive self-presentation in online dating: unacceptable or not? The role of gender and dark personality traits,” was authored by Olga Bogolyubova.
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #OnlineDatingDeception #DarkTetrad #PsychopathyInDating #DatingAppEthics #CatfishAwareness #GenderDeception #WeightMisrepresentation #DatingSafety # trustInDating #DigitalDatingResearch
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DATE: August 10, 2026 at 04:00PM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Psychopathic individuals more tolerant of online dating deception, study finds
Most dating-app users strongly disapprove of people lying about their gender, appearance or age, but deception about weight receives considerably more tolerance, according to research published in Behaviour Information Technology. Greater acceptance of some lies was also associated with psychopathic personality traits and, to a lesser extent, gender and education.
Research suggests that men and women may misrepresent different characteristics when seeking partners: men are reportedly more likely to exaggerate their status, resources or height, while women may be more likely to misrepresent their weight or appearance.
Such deception is not always equivalent to catfishing or romance fraud, but it may still damage trust. Discovering that a prospective partner has misrepresented themselves can reduce the likelihood that a first date develops into a relationship. Nevertheless, relatively little research has examined which dating-app deceptions people consider unacceptable and whether personality influences these judgments.
Olga Bogolyubova, originally affiliated with the University of Malta when the study was conducted, surveyed 796 current or former dating-app users. Participants were aged 18 to 67, with an average age of 27.96. The sample included 393 men, 392 women, eight people who selected another gender category and three who did not report their gender.
Participants read six hypothetical dating-app scenarios. These described people lying about their age, gender, appearance, weight, socioeconomic status or relationship status. Examples included using a model’s photograph, claiming to be single while married and posing as another gender for entertainment. Each participant randomly received male or female versions of the scenarios.
They rated each behavior on a seven-point scale ranging from “entirely unacceptable” to “entirely acceptable.” Participants also completed a questionnaire measuring four dark personality traits: psychopathy, narcissism, Machiavellianism and sadism.
These four characteristics collectively make up what psychologists refer to as the “Dark Tetrad.” Narcissism is generally characterized by a grandiose sense of self-importance, a feeling of entitlement, and a deep need for admiration. Machiavellianism involves a cynical, manipulative, and highly strategic approach to social interactions, where individuals prioritize their own interests and calculate how to use others to their advantage.
Psychopathy typically manifests as high impulsivity, thrill-seeking, callousness, and a pronounced lack of empathy for others. Finally, sadism refers to the tendency to derive enjoyment, amusement, or satisfaction from inflicting physical or psychological distress on others.
The nature of the lie made a substantial difference in how participants reacted. Deception about gender was strongly rejected by 93.1% of participants, followed by appearance at 90.6%, age at 81.6%, relationship status at 78.5% and socioeconomic status at 71%.
Only 37.7% strongly rejected the weight deception. In that scenario, a person understated their weight by 40 pounds—approximately 18 kilograms—and avoided posting full-body photographs. Bogolyubova suggested that this difference may have appeared relatively moderate to participants and therefore less serious than using an entirely different person’s photograph or concealing a marriage.
Psychopathy was the most consistent personality factor. Higher scores predicted a greater likelihood of not strongly rejecting deception about gender and relationship status. Among participants who did not already classify deception as unacceptable, higher psychopathy was also associated with greater acceptance of lies concerning age, appearance and relationship status. Notably, the study assessed personality characteristics along a continuum; it did not diagnose participants as “psychopaths.”
As Bogolyubova concluded, “psychopathy emerged as the most consistent individual difference associated with tolerance for deception in online dating.”
Gender differences were also present. Men were less likely than women to strongly reject deception involving age, socioeconomic status and relationship status. Women judged lies about age and relationship status less harshly when the person engaging in the deception was female. However, the size of these differences was small, meaning gender provided only limited information about an individual’s response.
Additionally, lower educational attainment predicted greater acceptance of age and appearance deception among participants who did not strongly reject those behaviors.
Some limitations are to be noted. The study utilized a convenience sample, self-reported attitudes and hypothetical scenarios that had not been independently validated. Some personality measures were also less reliable than desirable, and attitudes do not necessarily predict behavior.
The study, “Perceptions of deceptive self-presentation in online dating: unacceptable or not? The role of gender and dark personality traits,” was authored by Olga Bogolyubova.
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #OnlineDatingDeception #DarkTetrad #PsychopathyInDating #DatingAppEthics #CatfishAwareness #GenderDeception #WeightMisrepresentation #DatingSafety # trustInDating #DigitalDatingResearch
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DATE: August 7, 2026 at 10:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Dark personality traits linked to problematic social media use via jealousy and cyberstalking
A recent study published in Current Psychology indicates that individuals with antagonistic personality traits tend to develop problematic social media habits driven by jealousy and a desire to monitor their romantic partners online. The research suggests that traits such as narcissism and psychopathy foster specific types of relationship insecurity. This insecurity can prompt individuals to engage in cyberstalking, which then escalates into broader patterns of social media addiction.
Problematic social media use involves a pattern of compulsive digital engagement that interferes with daily life and mental well-being. People struggling with this issue often use social platforms to regulate their mood and experience negative feelings when offline. They also tend to face interpersonal conflicts due to their excessive screen time. Past research points to personality as a major factor in how people interact with digital platforms.
The Dark Tetrad is a psychological framework that groups together four malevolent personality traits. Machiavellianism involves manipulativeness and the strategic exploitation of others. Psychopathy is characterized by impulsivity, a lack of empathy, and a constant search for stimulation. Narcissism centers on grandiosity, a sense of entitlement, and a desire for dominance. Sadism refers to the tendency to derive pleasure from inflicting suffering on others.
Marco Giancola, a researcher at the Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences at the University of L’Aquila, designed the present study along with his colleagues to explore the missing links between these traits and digital habits. “Previous research revealed that the Dark Tetrad, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, narcissism, and sadism, is associated with problematic social media use and cyberstalking,” Giancola said. “However, we knew much less about the psychological processes that might link these traits to this pattern of problematic behavior.”
“We examined whether different forms of jealousy could help explain why individuals with higher levels of Dark Tetrad traits may engage in cyberstalking and, ultimately, develop more compulsive and unregulated patterns of social media use,” Giancola explained.
Jealousy is a complex emotion triggered by a perceived threat to a valued relationship. Psychologists divide jealousy into three distinct categories. Emotional jealousy involves reactive feelings like fear or sadness in response to a threat. Cognitive jealousy involves intrusive thoughts, suspicions, and anxiety about potential infidelity. Behavioral jealousy includes overt actions taken to monitor a partner and verify those suspicions.
To explore these psychological pathways, scientists surveyed 300 adults between the ages of 18 and 65. The sample had an average age of roughly 36 years and was predominantly female, making up 80 percent of the participants. All participants were currently in a romantic relationship and used at least one social media platform daily. The participants completed an online questionnaire between October 2024 and February 2025.
The survey included established psychological scales to measure the traits in question. A 12-item questionnaire assessed Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism, while a separate 10-item scale evaluated tendencies toward sadistic behavior. The researchers also assessed intimate partner cyberstalking using a 21-item scale, asking participants if they engaged in specific online surveillance tactics.
Another 15-item scale measured the three dimensions of jealousy regarding the participant’s current romantic partner. Finally, the researchers measured problematic social media use with a six-item assessment. This scale asked how often participants felt an urge to use social media, used it to forget personal problems, or tried to cut down their use without success. During their statistical analyses, the researchers controlled for the participants’ age, sex, and years of education.
The data indicated a sequential psychological chain of events linking dark personality traits to excessive social media use. Individuals scoring higher in Machiavellianism, psychopathy, narcissism, or sadism also reported higher levels of both cognitive and behavioral jealousy. These participants experienced more intrusive suspicions about their partners and engaged in more active monitoring behaviors.
These cognitive and behavioral forms of jealousy, in turn, predicted higher engagement in intimate partner cyberstalking. Cyberstalking then predicted higher overall scores for problematic social media use. The authors observed a sequential path where antagonistic personality traits foster specific jealousy-related thoughts and actions. These thoughts and actions encourage cyberstalking, which then fuels a compulsive pattern of social media engagement.
“The overall statistical models explained approximately 33% to 35% of the variance in problematic social media use, which suggests that the combination of personality, jealousy, cyberstalking, and the demographic variables included in the analysis was meaningfully related to the outcome,” Giancola told PsyPost. “However, these findings should not be interpreted as indicating that personality alone determines how someone uses social media.”
Interestingly, emotional jealousy did not act as a bridge between the Dark Tetrad and cyberstalking. “The most interesting finding was that cognitive and behavioral jealousy played a role in the pathway, whereas emotional jealousy did not,” Giancola said. “In other words, merely experiencing an emotional reaction to a potential relational threat did not appear to be the central mechanism.”
Instead, the proactive thoughts and controlling behaviors characteristic of cognitive and behavioral jealousy fueled the cyberstalking. “The relevant processes were persistent suspicions, intrusive thoughts about possible infidelity, and overt attempts to verify or monitor a partner’s behavior,” Giancola said. “This distinction suggests that what individuals think and do in response to jealousy may be more important for cyberstalking and problematic social media use than the emotional intensity of jealousy itself.”
Cyberstalking requires a massive investment of time and attention. Perpetrators spend hours scrutinizing shared posts, analyzing their partner’s online presence, and monitoring interactions. This obsessive engagement can easily shift from a goal-directed surveillance behavior to a generalized, compulsive pattern of social media use. The initial desire to reassert control over a romantic partner morphs into an inability to regulate one’s digital habits.
“One important takeaway is that problematic social media use may sometimes be driven by very specific interpersonal motives, rather than simply by entertainment, habit, or the desire to remain connected,” Giancola said. “For some individuals, repeated social media use may be reinforced by suspicions about a romantic partner and by attempts to monitor or control that partner’s online behavior.”
“Our findings suggest a possible sequence: darker personality tendencies are associated with more suspicious thoughts and jealousy-related monitoring behaviors, which are then associated with cyberstalking and higher levels of problematic social media use,” Giancola noted. “In practical terms, repeatedly checking a partner’s profiles, messages, followers, or interactions may provide temporary reassurance, but it can also reinforce insecurity, surveillance, and compulsive engagement with social media.”
Giancola pointed out that the same platform used for communication or entertainment can easily become a tool for reassurance-seeking and interpersonal control. “I believe the findings highlight the importance of considering the relational context of problematic social media use,” he said. “From a prevention perspective, interventions may benefit from addressing not only the amount of time people spend online, but also the motives underlying their use.”
“Psychoeducation concerning healthy relationship boundaries, uncertainty tolerance, emotional regulation, and respectful digital behavior may help reduce both intrusive monitoring and compulsive social media engagement,” Giancola added.
The cross-sectional design of the survey means the data only capture a single moment in time. The findings indicate an association between these variables but cannot establish a definitive cause-and-effect relationship.
“The most important caveat is that our study was cross-sectional,” Giancola said. “Although we tested a theoretically informed sequential mediation model, we cannot establish causality. The study examined associations between continuously distributed psychological characteristics in a non-clinical sample, not fixed categories of people or clinical diagnoses.”
Additionally, approximately 80 percent of the sample was female, which limits the ability to generalize the findings to men. “An important next step will be to replicate the findings using longitudinal designs in which personality, jealousy, cyberstalking, and problematic social media use are assessed at different points in time,” Giancola said. “This would allow us to examine whether suspicious thoughts and monitoring behaviors predict cyberstalking and subsequent difficulties in regulating social media use.”
Future research could also incorporate more diverse samples and investigate how specific platform features facilitate digital surveillance within romantic relationships. “It would also be useful to examine more balanced and culturally different samples and to investigate how specific features of social media platforms, such as activity indicators, location sharing, follower lists, and visible interactions, may facilitate digital surveillance within romantic relationships,” Giancola said.
The study, “The sequential mediating role of jealousy and cyberstalking in the relationship between the dark tetrad and problematic social media use,” was authored by Marco Giancola, Elisa Galli, and Massimiliano Palmiero.
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #DarkTetrad #JealousyCyberstalking #ProblematicSocialMediaUse #Narcissism #Psychopathy #Machiavellianism #RelationshipJealousy #CyberstalkingAwareness #DigitalWellbeing #SocialMediaAddiction
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DATE: August 7, 2026 at 10:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Dark personality traits linked to problematic social media use via jealousy and cyberstalking
A recent study published in Current Psychology indicates that individuals with antagonistic personality traits tend to develop problematic social media habits driven by jealousy and a desire to monitor their romantic partners online. The research suggests that traits such as narcissism and psychopathy foster specific types of relationship insecurity. This insecurity can prompt individuals to engage in cyberstalking, which then escalates into broader patterns of social media addiction.
Problematic social media use involves a pattern of compulsive digital engagement that interferes with daily life and mental well-being. People struggling with this issue often use social platforms to regulate their mood and experience negative feelings when offline. They also tend to face interpersonal conflicts due to their excessive screen time. Past research points to personality as a major factor in how people interact with digital platforms.
The Dark Tetrad is a psychological framework that groups together four malevolent personality traits. Machiavellianism involves manipulativeness and the strategic exploitation of others. Psychopathy is characterized by impulsivity, a lack of empathy, and a constant search for stimulation. Narcissism centers on grandiosity, a sense of entitlement, and a desire for dominance. Sadism refers to the tendency to derive pleasure from inflicting suffering on others.
Marco Giancola, a researcher at the Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences at the University of L’Aquila, designed the present study along with his colleagues to explore the missing links between these traits and digital habits. “Previous research revealed that the Dark Tetrad, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, narcissism, and sadism, is associated with problematic social media use and cyberstalking,” Giancola said. “However, we knew much less about the psychological processes that might link these traits to this pattern of problematic behavior.”
“We examined whether different forms of jealousy could help explain why individuals with higher levels of Dark Tetrad traits may engage in cyberstalking and, ultimately, develop more compulsive and unregulated patterns of social media use,” Giancola explained.
Jealousy is a complex emotion triggered by a perceived threat to a valued relationship. Psychologists divide jealousy into three distinct categories. Emotional jealousy involves reactive feelings like fear or sadness in response to a threat. Cognitive jealousy involves intrusive thoughts, suspicions, and anxiety about potential infidelity. Behavioral jealousy includes overt actions taken to monitor a partner and verify those suspicions.
To explore these psychological pathways, scientists surveyed 300 adults between the ages of 18 and 65. The sample had an average age of roughly 36 years and was predominantly female, making up 80 percent of the participants. All participants were currently in a romantic relationship and used at least one social media platform daily. The participants completed an online questionnaire between October 2024 and February 2025.
The survey included established psychological scales to measure the traits in question. A 12-item questionnaire assessed Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism, while a separate 10-item scale evaluated tendencies toward sadistic behavior. The researchers also assessed intimate partner cyberstalking using a 21-item scale, asking participants if they engaged in specific online surveillance tactics.
Another 15-item scale measured the three dimensions of jealousy regarding the participant’s current romantic partner. Finally, the researchers measured problematic social media use with a six-item assessment. This scale asked how often participants felt an urge to use social media, used it to forget personal problems, or tried to cut down their use without success. During their statistical analyses, the researchers controlled for the participants’ age, sex, and years of education.
The data indicated a sequential psychological chain of events linking dark personality traits to excessive social media use. Individuals scoring higher in Machiavellianism, psychopathy, narcissism, or sadism also reported higher levels of both cognitive and behavioral jealousy. These participants experienced more intrusive suspicions about their partners and engaged in more active monitoring behaviors.
These cognitive and behavioral forms of jealousy, in turn, predicted higher engagement in intimate partner cyberstalking. Cyberstalking then predicted higher overall scores for problematic social media use. The authors observed a sequential path where antagonistic personality traits foster specific jealousy-related thoughts and actions. These thoughts and actions encourage cyberstalking, which then fuels a compulsive pattern of social media engagement.
“The overall statistical models explained approximately 33% to 35% of the variance in problematic social media use, which suggests that the combination of personality, jealousy, cyberstalking, and the demographic variables included in the analysis was meaningfully related to the outcome,” Giancola told PsyPost. “However, these findings should not be interpreted as indicating that personality alone determines how someone uses social media.”
Interestingly, emotional jealousy did not act as a bridge between the Dark Tetrad and cyberstalking. “The most interesting finding was that cognitive and behavioral jealousy played a role in the pathway, whereas emotional jealousy did not,” Giancola said. “In other words, merely experiencing an emotional reaction to a potential relational threat did not appear to be the central mechanism.”
Instead, the proactive thoughts and controlling behaviors characteristic of cognitive and behavioral jealousy fueled the cyberstalking. “The relevant processes were persistent suspicions, intrusive thoughts about possible infidelity, and overt attempts to verify or monitor a partner’s behavior,” Giancola said. “This distinction suggests that what individuals think and do in response to jealousy may be more important for cyberstalking and problematic social media use than the emotional intensity of jealousy itself.”
Cyberstalking requires a massive investment of time and attention. Perpetrators spend hours scrutinizing shared posts, analyzing their partner’s online presence, and monitoring interactions. This obsessive engagement can easily shift from a goal-directed surveillance behavior to a generalized, compulsive pattern of social media use. The initial desire to reassert control over a romantic partner morphs into an inability to regulate one’s digital habits.
“One important takeaway is that problematic social media use may sometimes be driven by very specific interpersonal motives, rather than simply by entertainment, habit, or the desire to remain connected,” Giancola said. “For some individuals, repeated social media use may be reinforced by suspicions about a romantic partner and by attempts to monitor or control that partner’s online behavior.”
“Our findings suggest a possible sequence: darker personality tendencies are associated with more suspicious thoughts and jealousy-related monitoring behaviors, which are then associated with cyberstalking and higher levels of problematic social media use,” Giancola noted. “In practical terms, repeatedly checking a partner’s profiles, messages, followers, or interactions may provide temporary reassurance, but it can also reinforce insecurity, surveillance, and compulsive engagement with social media.”
Giancola pointed out that the same platform used for communication or entertainment can easily become a tool for reassurance-seeking and interpersonal control. “I believe the findings highlight the importance of considering the relational context of problematic social media use,” he said. “From a prevention perspective, interventions may benefit from addressing not only the amount of time people spend online, but also the motives underlying their use.”
“Psychoeducation concerning healthy relationship boundaries, uncertainty tolerance, emotional regulation, and respectful digital behavior may help reduce both intrusive monitoring and compulsive social media engagement,” Giancola added.
The cross-sectional design of the survey means the data only capture a single moment in time. The findings indicate an association between these variables but cannot establish a definitive cause-and-effect relationship.
“The most important caveat is that our study was cross-sectional,” Giancola said. “Although we tested a theoretically informed sequential mediation model, we cannot establish causality. The study examined associations between continuously distributed psychological characteristics in a non-clinical sample, not fixed categories of people or clinical diagnoses.”
Additionally, approximately 80 percent of the sample was female, which limits the ability to generalize the findings to men. “An important next step will be to replicate the findings using longitudinal designs in which personality, jealousy, cyberstalking, and problematic social media use are assessed at different points in time,” Giancola said. “This would allow us to examine whether suspicious thoughts and monitoring behaviors predict cyberstalking and subsequent difficulties in regulating social media use.”
Future research could also incorporate more diverse samples and investigate how specific platform features facilitate digital surveillance within romantic relationships. “It would also be useful to examine more balanced and culturally different samples and to investigate how specific features of social media platforms, such as activity indicators, location sharing, follower lists, and visible interactions, may facilitate digital surveillance within romantic relationships,” Giancola said.
The study, “The sequential mediating role of jealousy and cyberstalking in the relationship between the dark tetrad and problematic social media use,” was authored by Marco Giancola, Elisa Galli, and Massimiliano Palmiero.
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #DarkTetrad #JealousyCyberstalking #ProblematicSocialMediaUse #Narcissism #Psychopathy #Machiavellianism #RelationshipJealousy #CyberstalkingAwareness #DigitalWellbeing #SocialMediaAddiction
-
DATE: August 7, 2026 at 10:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Dark personality traits linked to problematic social media use via jealousy and cyberstalking
A recent study published in Current Psychology indicates that individuals with antagonistic personality traits tend to develop problematic social media habits driven by jealousy and a desire to monitor their romantic partners online. The research suggests that traits such as narcissism and psychopathy foster specific types of relationship insecurity. This insecurity can prompt individuals to engage in cyberstalking, which then escalates into broader patterns of social media addiction.
Problematic social media use involves a pattern of compulsive digital engagement that interferes with daily life and mental well-being. People struggling with this issue often use social platforms to regulate their mood and experience negative feelings when offline. They also tend to face interpersonal conflicts due to their excessive screen time. Past research points to personality as a major factor in how people interact with digital platforms.
The Dark Tetrad is a psychological framework that groups together four malevolent personality traits. Machiavellianism involves manipulativeness and the strategic exploitation of others. Psychopathy is characterized by impulsivity, a lack of empathy, and a constant search for stimulation. Narcissism centers on grandiosity, a sense of entitlement, and a desire for dominance. Sadism refers to the tendency to derive pleasure from inflicting suffering on others.
Marco Giancola, a researcher at the Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences at the University of L’Aquila, designed the present study along with his colleagues to explore the missing links between these traits and digital habits. “Previous research revealed that the Dark Tetrad, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, narcissism, and sadism, is associated with problematic social media use and cyberstalking,” Giancola said. “However, we knew much less about the psychological processes that might link these traits to this pattern of problematic behavior.”
“We examined whether different forms of jealousy could help explain why individuals with higher levels of Dark Tetrad traits may engage in cyberstalking and, ultimately, develop more compulsive and unregulated patterns of social media use,” Giancola explained.
Jealousy is a complex emotion triggered by a perceived threat to a valued relationship. Psychologists divide jealousy into three distinct categories. Emotional jealousy involves reactive feelings like fear or sadness in response to a threat. Cognitive jealousy involves intrusive thoughts, suspicions, and anxiety about potential infidelity. Behavioral jealousy includes overt actions taken to monitor a partner and verify those suspicions.
To explore these psychological pathways, scientists surveyed 300 adults between the ages of 18 and 65. The sample had an average age of roughly 36 years and was predominantly female, making up 80 percent of the participants. All participants were currently in a romantic relationship and used at least one social media platform daily. The participants completed an online questionnaire between October 2024 and February 2025.
The survey included established psychological scales to measure the traits in question. A 12-item questionnaire assessed Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism, while a separate 10-item scale evaluated tendencies toward sadistic behavior. The researchers also assessed intimate partner cyberstalking using a 21-item scale, asking participants if they engaged in specific online surveillance tactics.
Another 15-item scale measured the three dimensions of jealousy regarding the participant’s current romantic partner. Finally, the researchers measured problematic social media use with a six-item assessment. This scale asked how often participants felt an urge to use social media, used it to forget personal problems, or tried to cut down their use without success. During their statistical analyses, the researchers controlled for the participants’ age, sex, and years of education.
The data indicated a sequential psychological chain of events linking dark personality traits to excessive social media use. Individuals scoring higher in Machiavellianism, psychopathy, narcissism, or sadism also reported higher levels of both cognitive and behavioral jealousy. These participants experienced more intrusive suspicions about their partners and engaged in more active monitoring behaviors.
These cognitive and behavioral forms of jealousy, in turn, predicted higher engagement in intimate partner cyberstalking. Cyberstalking then predicted higher overall scores for problematic social media use. The authors observed a sequential path where antagonistic personality traits foster specific jealousy-related thoughts and actions. These thoughts and actions encourage cyberstalking, which then fuels a compulsive pattern of social media engagement.
“The overall statistical models explained approximately 33% to 35% of the variance in problematic social media use, which suggests that the combination of personality, jealousy, cyberstalking, and the demographic variables included in the analysis was meaningfully related to the outcome,” Giancola told PsyPost. “However, these findings should not be interpreted as indicating that personality alone determines how someone uses social media.”
Interestingly, emotional jealousy did not act as a bridge between the Dark Tetrad and cyberstalking. “The most interesting finding was that cognitive and behavioral jealousy played a role in the pathway, whereas emotional jealousy did not,” Giancola said. “In other words, merely experiencing an emotional reaction to a potential relational threat did not appear to be the central mechanism.”
Instead, the proactive thoughts and controlling behaviors characteristic of cognitive and behavioral jealousy fueled the cyberstalking. “The relevant processes were persistent suspicions, intrusive thoughts about possible infidelity, and overt attempts to verify or monitor a partner’s behavior,” Giancola said. “This distinction suggests that what individuals think and do in response to jealousy may be more important for cyberstalking and problematic social media use than the emotional intensity of jealousy itself.”
Cyberstalking requires a massive investment of time and attention. Perpetrators spend hours scrutinizing shared posts, analyzing their partner’s online presence, and monitoring interactions. This obsessive engagement can easily shift from a goal-directed surveillance behavior to a generalized, compulsive pattern of social media use. The initial desire to reassert control over a romantic partner morphs into an inability to regulate one’s digital habits.
“One important takeaway is that problematic social media use may sometimes be driven by very specific interpersonal motives, rather than simply by entertainment, habit, or the desire to remain connected,” Giancola said. “For some individuals, repeated social media use may be reinforced by suspicions about a romantic partner and by attempts to monitor or control that partner’s online behavior.”
“Our findings suggest a possible sequence: darker personality tendencies are associated with more suspicious thoughts and jealousy-related monitoring behaviors, which are then associated with cyberstalking and higher levels of problematic social media use,” Giancola noted. “In practical terms, repeatedly checking a partner’s profiles, messages, followers, or interactions may provide temporary reassurance, but it can also reinforce insecurity, surveillance, and compulsive engagement with social media.”
Giancola pointed out that the same platform used for communication or entertainment can easily become a tool for reassurance-seeking and interpersonal control. “I believe the findings highlight the importance of considering the relational context of problematic social media use,” he said. “From a prevention perspective, interventions may benefit from addressing not only the amount of time people spend online, but also the motives underlying their use.”
“Psychoeducation concerning healthy relationship boundaries, uncertainty tolerance, emotional regulation, and respectful digital behavior may help reduce both intrusive monitoring and compulsive social media engagement,” Giancola added.
The cross-sectional design of the survey means the data only capture a single moment in time. The findings indicate an association between these variables but cannot establish a definitive cause-and-effect relationship.
“The most important caveat is that our study was cross-sectional,” Giancola said. “Although we tested a theoretically informed sequential mediation model, we cannot establish causality. The study examined associations between continuously distributed psychological characteristics in a non-clinical sample, not fixed categories of people or clinical diagnoses.”
Additionally, approximately 80 percent of the sample was female, which limits the ability to generalize the findings to men. “An important next step will be to replicate the findings using longitudinal designs in which personality, jealousy, cyberstalking, and problematic social media use are assessed at different points in time,” Giancola said. “This would allow us to examine whether suspicious thoughts and monitoring behaviors predict cyberstalking and subsequent difficulties in regulating social media use.”
Future research could also incorporate more diverse samples and investigate how specific platform features facilitate digital surveillance within romantic relationships. “It would also be useful to examine more balanced and culturally different samples and to investigate how specific features of social media platforms, such as activity indicators, location sharing, follower lists, and visible interactions, may facilitate digital surveillance within romantic relationships,” Giancola said.
The study, “The sequential mediating role of jealousy and cyberstalking in the relationship between the dark tetrad and problematic social media use,” was authored by Marco Giancola, Elisa Galli, and Massimiliano Palmiero.
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #DarkTetrad #JealousyCyberstalking #ProblematicSocialMediaUse #Narcissism #Psychopathy #Machiavellianism #RelationshipJealousy #CyberstalkingAwareness #DigitalWellbeing #SocialMediaAddiction
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I saw another article today of some random famous person accusing another random famous person of being a #Psychopath and I feel compelled to point out two very important facts about #Psychopathy:
1. Psychopathy is only one thing, extreme (ie., as good as complete) empathy deficiency. The rest of what happens in the mind of a Psychopath is just what human beings are without empathy.
2. Intentionally using emotionally-charged words for their effect rather than their meaning, often in order to manipulate people, such as occurs as an aspect of attention-seeking behaviour patterns, is consistent with psychopathic personality traits as a whole, although typically favoured by the #NarcissistNow, more than ever before, ignore what people say and look hard at what they do
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I saw another article today of some random famous person accusing another random famous person of being a #Psychopath and I feel compelled to point out two very important facts about #Psychopathy:
1. Psychopathy is only one thing, extreme (ie., as good as complete) empathy deficiency. The rest of what happens in the mind of a Psychopath is just what human beings are without empathy.
2. Intentionally using emotionally-charged words for their effect rather than their meaning, often in order to manipulate people, such as occurs as an aspect of attention-seeking behaviour patterns, is consistent with psychopathic personality traits as a whole, although typically favoured by the #NarcissistNow, more than ever before, ignore what people say and look hard at what they do
-
I saw another article today of some random famous person accusing another random famous person of being a #Psychopath and I feel compelled to point out two very important facts about #Psychopathy:
1. Psychopathy is only one thing, extreme (ie., as good as complete) empathy deficiency. The rest of what happens in the mind of a Psychopath is just what human beings are without empathy.
2. Intentionally using emotionally-charged words for their effect rather than their meaning, often in order to manipulate people, such as occurs as an aspect of attention-seeking behaviour patterns, is consistent with psychopathic personality traits as a whole, although typically favoured by the #NarcissistNow, more than ever before, ignore what people say and look hard at what they do
-
I saw another article today of some random famous person accusing another random famous person of being a #Psychopath and I feel compelled to point out two very important facts about #Psychopathy:
1. Psychopathy is only one thing, extreme (ie., as good as complete) empathy deficiency. The rest of what happens in the mind of a Psychopath is just what human beings are without empathy.
2. Intentionally using emotionally-charged words for their effect rather than their meaning, often in order to manipulate people, such as occurs as an aspect of attention-seeking behaviour patterns, is consistent with psychopathic personality traits as a whole, although typically favoured by the #NarcissistNow, more than ever before, ignore what people say and look hard at what they do
-
I saw another article today of some random famous person accusing another random famous person of being a #Psychopath and I feel compelled to point out two very important facts about #Psychopathy:
1. Psychopathy is only one thing, extreme (ie., as good as complete) empathy deficiency. The rest of what happens in the mind of a Psychopath is just what human beings are without empathy.
2. Intentionally using emotionally-charged words for their effect rather than their meaning, often in order to manipulate people, such as occurs as an aspect of attention-seeking behaviour patterns, is consistent with psychopathic personality traits as a whole, although typically favoured by the #NarcissistNow, more than ever before, ignore what people say and look hard at what they do
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A survey of 677 people assessed generative AI use, tolerance of uncertainty, and dark personality traits. Those with the most problematic genAI use had higher narcissism, Machiavellianism, sadism, and intolerance of uncertainty. Vertical individualism--a focus on status, achievement, and acceptance of inequality--partially or fully mediated the relationships.
Summary: https://www.psypost.org/narcissistic-individuals-are-more-prone-to-problematic-use-of-generative-ai/
Original paper: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40359-026-05012-4
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A survey of 677 people assessed generative AI use, tolerance of uncertainty, and dark personality traits. Those with the most problematic genAI use had higher narcissism, Machiavellianism, sadism, and intolerance of uncertainty. Vertical individualism--a focus on status, achievement, and acceptance of inequality--partially or fully mediated the relationships.
Summary: https://www.psypost.org/narcissistic-individuals-are-more-prone-to-problematic-use-of-generative-ai/
Original paper: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40359-026-05012-4
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A survey of 677 people assessed generative AI use, tolerance of uncertainty, and dark personality traits. Those with the most problematic genAI use had higher narcissism, Machiavellianism, sadism, and intolerance of uncertainty. Vertical individualism--a focus on status, achievement, and acceptance of inequality--partially or fully mediated the relationships.
Summary: https://www.psypost.org/narcissistic-individuals-are-more-prone-to-problematic-use-of-generative-ai/
Original paper: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40359-026-05012-4
-
A survey of 677 people assessed generative AI use, tolerance of uncertainty, and dark personality traits. Those with the most problematic genAI use had higher narcissism, Machiavellianism, sadism, and intolerance of uncertainty. Vertical individualism--a focus on status, achievement, and acceptance of inequality--partially or fully mediated the relationships.
Summary: https://www.psypost.org/narcissistic-individuals-are-more-prone-to-problematic-use-of-generative-ai/
Original paper: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40359-026-05012-4
-
A survey of 677 people assessed generative AI use, tolerance of uncertainty, and dark personality traits. Those with the most problematic genAI use had higher narcissism, Machiavellianism, sadism, and intolerance of uncertainty. Vertical individualism--a focus on status, achievement, and acceptance of inequality--partially or fully mediated the relationships.
Summary: https://www.psypost.org/narcissistic-individuals-are-more-prone-to-problematic-use-of-generative-ai/
Original paper: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40359-026-05012-4
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DATE: July 14, 2026 at 08:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Narcissistic individuals are more prone to problematic use of generative AI
URL: https://www.psypost.org/narcissistic-individuals-are-more-prone-to-problematic-use-of-generative-ai/
A survey of generative artificial intelligence users found that people with pronounced narcissism are more prone to problematic use of generative artificial intelligence. In women, this association was fully mediated by vertical individualism, an orientation that emphasizes personal independence and autonomy alongside competition, achievement, status, and acceptance of inequality between individuals. In men, the association was partially mediated by vertical individualism and intolerance of uncertainty. The paper was published in BMC Psychology.
Problematic use of generative AI refers to a pattern of excessive, poorly controlled, or harmful engagement with generative artificial intelligence tools that causes significant difficulties in a person’s daily life. It may involve spending excessive amounts of time interacting with AI systems, repeatedly using them despite negative consequences, or feeling unable to reduce their use.
People with problematic generative AI use may become overly dependent on generative AI for work, studying, decision-making, creativity, social interaction, or emotional support. Such use can interfere with academic performance, occupational responsibilities, relationships, sleep, or other important activities. Some individuals may increasingly rely on AI to avoid difficult tasks, uncertainty, boredom, loneliness, or unpleasant emotions. Problematic use may also involve compulsive checking, repeated prompting, or persistent engagement that resembles other forms of problematic digital technology use.
Another concern is cognitive overreliance, in which users increasingly delegate thinking, writing, problem-solving, or judgment to AI systems and become less willing to perform these activities independently. Problematic use does not simply mean frequent use, because intensive AI use can be adaptive and productive when it remains controlled and does not cause impairment. The concept is still emerging, but the term is best used to describe AI use characterized by impaired control, functional impairment, psychological dependence, or continued engagement despite meaningful negative consequences.
Study author Kağan Kırcaburun, an assistant professor at Düzce University in Turkey, investigated the relationship between dark personality traits and problematic generative AI use. He was particularly interested in exploring the possible mediating roles of cultural orientations of individualism and intolerance of uncertainty in this relationship. He noted that previous studies already linked problematic technology use with dark personality traits, but that only one very recent study had specifically examined the relationship between those traits and problematic generative AI use.
He conducted an online survey via Prolific. Participants were 677 individuals who reported active use of generative artificial intelligence. Their average age was about 40 years, and 50% of them were men.
The survey contained assessments of problematic generative AI use (the Problematic GAI Use Scale, created by adapting items of a scale designed to measure the problematic use of conversational artificial intelligence), intolerance of uncertainty (the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale), individualistic orientation (the Individualism and Collectivism Scale), and dark personality traits (the Dark Triad Dirty Dozen Scale and the Short Sadistic Impulses Scale).
Dark personality traits are socially aversive characteristics associated with self-interest, manipulation, emotional coldness, and disregard for others. There are four of them: Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy, and sadism. Machiavellianism involves strategic manipulation, cynicism, and a willingness to exploit people to achieve personal goals. Narcissism is characterized by grandiosity, entitlement, a strong need for admiration, and sensitivity to threats to one’s self-image. Psychopathy involves callousness, low empathy, impulsivity, and limited remorse. Sadism makes a person prone to deriving pleasure or satisfaction from humiliating, hurting, or controlling others.
Results indicated that participants with more pronounced problematic use of generative AI tended to show somewhat higher narcissism, slightly higher Machiavellianism, and sadism. More pronounced problematic use of generative AI was also associated with higher intolerance for uncertainty and higher vertical individualism.
Intolerance of uncertainty is the tendency to find uncertain or unpredictable situations distressing and to react negatively to not knowing what may happen. Vertical individualism is a cultural orientation that values personal independence and competition while accepting inequality in status, achievement, and power.
Further analysis indicated that, among women, vertical individualism fully mediated the relationship between problematic generative AI use and narcissism. For men, vertical individualism and intolerance of uncertainty partially mediated the relationship. Study authors proposed that narcissism leads to more pronounced vertical individualism and that this pronounced vertical individualism makes an individual prone to problematic use of generative AI.
“Overall, the findings highlight the central role of individualistic value orientations and uncertainty-related processes in explaining how dark personality traits contribute to PGAIU [problematic use of generative AI],” the study author concluded.
The study contributes to the scientific understanding of problematic use of generative AI. However, it should be noted that the design of the study does not allow any causal inferences to be derived from the results. Additionally, all data were based on self-reports, leaving the possibility that reporting bias might have affected the results. Finally, because the average levels of problematic AI use in this sample were relatively low, the findings may reflect variations in general engagement rather than clinically significant problematic use.
The paper, “Dark Tetrad traits and problematic generative artificial intelligence use: the serial mediating role of individualism and intolerance of uncertainty,” was authored by Kağan Kırcaburun.
URL: https://www.psypost.org/narcissistic-individuals-are-more-prone-to-problematic-use-of-generative-ai/
-------------------------------------------------
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-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #Narcissism #GenerativeAI #ProblematicAIUse #DarkTetrad #VerticalIndividualism #IntoleranceOfUncertainty #AIInfluence #DigitalWellbeing #AIandPsychology #MentalHealthTech
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DATE: July 14, 2026 at 08:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Narcissistic individuals are more prone to problematic use of generative AI
URL: https://www.psypost.org/narcissistic-individuals-are-more-prone-to-problematic-use-of-generative-ai/
A survey of generative artificial intelligence users found that people with pronounced narcissism are more prone to problematic use of generative artificial intelligence. In women, this association was fully mediated by vertical individualism, an orientation that emphasizes personal independence and autonomy alongside competition, achievement, status, and acceptance of inequality between individuals. In men, the association was partially mediated by vertical individualism and intolerance of uncertainty. The paper was published in BMC Psychology.
Problematic use of generative AI refers to a pattern of excessive, poorly controlled, or harmful engagement with generative artificial intelligence tools that causes significant difficulties in a person’s daily life. It may involve spending excessive amounts of time interacting with AI systems, repeatedly using them despite negative consequences, or feeling unable to reduce their use.
People with problematic generative AI use may become overly dependent on generative AI for work, studying, decision-making, creativity, social interaction, or emotional support. Such use can interfere with academic performance, occupational responsibilities, relationships, sleep, or other important activities. Some individuals may increasingly rely on AI to avoid difficult tasks, uncertainty, boredom, loneliness, or unpleasant emotions. Problematic use may also involve compulsive checking, repeated prompting, or persistent engagement that resembles other forms of problematic digital technology use.
Another concern is cognitive overreliance, in which users increasingly delegate thinking, writing, problem-solving, or judgment to AI systems and become less willing to perform these activities independently. Problematic use does not simply mean frequent use, because intensive AI use can be adaptive and productive when it remains controlled and does not cause impairment. The concept is still emerging, but the term is best used to describe AI use characterized by impaired control, functional impairment, psychological dependence, or continued engagement despite meaningful negative consequences.
Study author Kağan Kırcaburun, an assistant professor at Düzce University in Turkey, investigated the relationship between dark personality traits and problematic generative AI use. He was particularly interested in exploring the possible mediating roles of cultural orientations of individualism and intolerance of uncertainty in this relationship. He noted that previous studies already linked problematic technology use with dark personality traits, but that only one very recent study had specifically examined the relationship between those traits and problematic generative AI use.
He conducted an online survey via Prolific. Participants were 677 individuals who reported active use of generative artificial intelligence. Their average age was about 40 years, and 50% of them were men.
The survey contained assessments of problematic generative AI use (the Problematic GAI Use Scale, created by adapting items of a scale designed to measure the problematic use of conversational artificial intelligence), intolerance of uncertainty (the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale), individualistic orientation (the Individualism and Collectivism Scale), and dark personality traits (the Dark Triad Dirty Dozen Scale and the Short Sadistic Impulses Scale).
Dark personality traits are socially aversive characteristics associated with self-interest, manipulation, emotional coldness, and disregard for others. There are four of them: Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy, and sadism. Machiavellianism involves strategic manipulation, cynicism, and a willingness to exploit people to achieve personal goals. Narcissism is characterized by grandiosity, entitlement, a strong need for admiration, and sensitivity to threats to one’s self-image. Psychopathy involves callousness, low empathy, impulsivity, and limited remorse. Sadism makes a person prone to deriving pleasure or satisfaction from humiliating, hurting, or controlling others.
Results indicated that participants with more pronounced problematic use of generative AI tended to show somewhat higher narcissism, slightly higher Machiavellianism, and sadism. More pronounced problematic use of generative AI was also associated with higher intolerance for uncertainty and higher vertical individualism.
Intolerance of uncertainty is the tendency to find uncertain or unpredictable situations distressing and to react negatively to not knowing what may happen. Vertical individualism is a cultural orientation that values personal independence and competition while accepting inequality in status, achievement, and power.
Further analysis indicated that, among women, vertical individualism fully mediated the relationship between problematic generative AI use and narcissism. For men, vertical individualism and intolerance of uncertainty partially mediated the relationship. Study authors proposed that narcissism leads to more pronounced vertical individualism and that this pronounced vertical individualism makes an individual prone to problematic use of generative AI.
“Overall, the findings highlight the central role of individualistic value orientations and uncertainty-related processes in explaining how dark personality traits contribute to PGAIU [problematic use of generative AI],” the study author concluded.
The study contributes to the scientific understanding of problematic use of generative AI. However, it should be noted that the design of the study does not allow any causal inferences to be derived from the results. Additionally, all data were based on self-reports, leaving the possibility that reporting bias might have affected the results. Finally, because the average levels of problematic AI use in this sample were relatively low, the findings may reflect variations in general engagement rather than clinically significant problematic use.
The paper, “Dark Tetrad traits and problematic generative artificial intelligence use: the serial mediating role of individualism and intolerance of uncertainty,” was authored by Kağan Kırcaburun.
URL: https://www.psypost.org/narcissistic-individuals-are-more-prone-to-problematic-use-of-generative-ai/
-------------------------------------------------
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#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #Narcissism #GenerativeAI #ProblematicAIUse #DarkTetrad #VerticalIndividualism #IntoleranceOfUncertainty #AIInfluence #DigitalWellbeing #AIandPsychology #MentalHealthTech
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DATE: July 14, 2026 at 08:00AM
SOURCE: PSYPOST.ORG** Research quality varies widely from fantastic to small exploratory studies. Please check research methods when conclusions are very important to you. **
-------------------------------------------------TITLE: Narcissistic individuals are more prone to problematic use of generative AI
URL: https://www.psypost.org/narcissistic-individuals-are-more-prone-to-problematic-use-of-generative-ai/
A survey of generative artificial intelligence users found that people with pronounced narcissism are more prone to problematic use of generative artificial intelligence. In women, this association was fully mediated by vertical individualism, an orientation that emphasizes personal independence and autonomy alongside competition, achievement, status, and acceptance of inequality between individuals. In men, the association was partially mediated by vertical individualism and intolerance of uncertainty. The paper was published in BMC Psychology.
Problematic use of generative AI refers to a pattern of excessive, poorly controlled, or harmful engagement with generative artificial intelligence tools that causes significant difficulties in a person’s daily life. It may involve spending excessive amounts of time interacting with AI systems, repeatedly using them despite negative consequences, or feeling unable to reduce their use.
People with problematic generative AI use may become overly dependent on generative AI for work, studying, decision-making, creativity, social interaction, or emotional support. Such use can interfere with academic performance, occupational responsibilities, relationships, sleep, or other important activities. Some individuals may increasingly rely on AI to avoid difficult tasks, uncertainty, boredom, loneliness, or unpleasant emotions. Problematic use may also involve compulsive checking, repeated prompting, or persistent engagement that resembles other forms of problematic digital technology use.
Another concern is cognitive overreliance, in which users increasingly delegate thinking, writing, problem-solving, or judgment to AI systems and become less willing to perform these activities independently. Problematic use does not simply mean frequent use, because intensive AI use can be adaptive and productive when it remains controlled and does not cause impairment. The concept is still emerging, but the term is best used to describe AI use characterized by impaired control, functional impairment, psychological dependence, or continued engagement despite meaningful negative consequences.
Study author Kağan Kırcaburun, an assistant professor at Düzce University in Turkey, investigated the relationship between dark personality traits and problematic generative AI use. He was particularly interested in exploring the possible mediating roles of cultural orientations of individualism and intolerance of uncertainty in this relationship. He noted that previous studies already linked problematic technology use with dark personality traits, but that only one very recent study had specifically examined the relationship between those traits and problematic generative AI use.
He conducted an online survey via Prolific. Participants were 677 individuals who reported active use of generative artificial intelligence. Their average age was about 40 years, and 50% of them were men.
The survey contained assessments of problematic generative AI use (the Problematic GAI Use Scale, created by adapting items of a scale designed to measure the problematic use of conversational artificial intelligence), intolerance of uncertainty (the Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale), individualistic orientation (the Individualism and Collectivism Scale), and dark personality traits (the Dark Triad Dirty Dozen Scale and the Short Sadistic Impulses Scale).
Dark personality traits are socially aversive characteristics associated with self-interest, manipulation, emotional coldness, and disregard for others. There are four of them: Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy, and sadism. Machiavellianism involves strategic manipulation, cynicism, and a willingness to exploit people to achieve personal goals. Narcissism is characterized by grandiosity, entitlement, a strong need for admiration, and sensitivity to threats to one’s self-image. Psychopathy involves callousness, low empathy, impulsivity, and limited remorse. Sadism makes a person prone to deriving pleasure or satisfaction from humiliating, hurting, or controlling others.
Results indicated that participants with more pronounced problematic use of generative AI tended to show somewhat higher narcissism, slightly higher Machiavellianism, and sadism. More pronounced problematic use of generative AI was also associated with higher intolerance for uncertainty and higher vertical individualism.
Intolerance of uncertainty is the tendency to find uncertain or unpredictable situations distressing and to react negatively to not knowing what may happen. Vertical individualism is a cultural orientation that values personal independence and competition while accepting inequality in status, achievement, and power.
Further analysis indicated that, among women, vertical individualism fully mediated the relationship between problematic generative AI use and narcissism. For men, vertical individualism and intolerance of uncertainty partially mediated the relationship. Study authors proposed that narcissism leads to more pronounced vertical individualism and that this pronounced vertical individualism makes an individual prone to problematic use of generative AI.
“Overall, the findings highlight the central role of individualistic value orientations and uncertainty-related processes in explaining how dark personality traits contribute to PGAIU [problematic use of generative AI],” the study author concluded.
The study contributes to the scientific understanding of problematic use of generative AI. However, it should be noted that the design of the study does not allow any causal inferences to be derived from the results. Additionally, all data were based on self-reports, leaving the possibility that reporting bias might have affected the results. Finally, because the average levels of problematic AI use in this sample were relatively low, the findings may reflect variations in general engagement rather than clinically significant problematic use.
The paper, “Dark Tetrad traits and problematic generative artificial intelligence use: the serial mediating role of individualism and intolerance of uncertainty,” was authored by Kağan Kırcaburun.
URL: https://www.psypost.org/narcissistic-individuals-are-more-prone-to-problematic-use-of-generative-ai/
-------------------------------------------------
Private, vetted email list for mental health professionals: https://www.clinicians-exchange.org
Unofficial Psychology Today Xitter to toot feed at Psych Today Unofficial Bot @PTUnofficialBot
-------------------------------------------------
#psychology #counseling #socialwork #psychotherapy @psychotherapist @psychotherapists @psychology @socialpsych @socialwork @psychiatry #mentalhealth #psychiatry #healthcare #depression #psychotherapist #Narcissism #GenerativeAI #ProblematicAIUse #DarkTetrad #VerticalIndividualism #IntoleranceOfUncertainty #AIInfluence #DigitalWellbeing #AIandPsychology #MentalHealthTech
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CW: Analysis: Political Landscape, Moral Grandstanding, and the Dark Tetrad.
After watching Maternal Instinct, I decided to watch some follow-up videos regarding the defendant because this particular case heavily involved fraud and deception. As someone that is interested in the intersection of psychology, criminology, and cybersecurity (i.e., behavioral analysis and threat hunting), I found this case to be particularly interesting regarding the social engineering tactics involved.
While doing research, I stumbled upon the "Dark Tetrad." While I was already somewhat familiar with the Dark Triad, this adds new elements to that existing psychological research regarding the pleasure from other's suffering. I couldn't help but to look back and consider my own online trolling/angry responses regarding the polarized political climate over the last decade. While I have since stepped back from social media (and really all big tech controlled environments), I couldn't help but feel guilty about my past behavior after reading about the dark tetrad.
In digital spaces, we often witness users flippantly applying maximum-severity labels (e.g., "Nazi") to minor policy disagreements. While tribalism explains the majority, psychological research shows that some of the instigators of these trends often exhibit Dark Tetrad traits such as sadism and Machiavellianism. For them, the label isn't historical analysis; it’s a high-potency payload used deliberately to cause psychological distress and social chaos.
From a threat assessment perspective, this creates a lot of noise and a "Boy Who Cried Wolf" vulnerability. When the baseline social alarm system is constantly blaring false positives over trivial matters, society's ability to recognize and respond to a genuine, cascading systemic crisis is catastrophically degraded.
Mainstream social architectures are built to optimize engagement by exploiting these dark psychological traits. By rewarding outrage with visibility, algorithms allow malicious actors to manipulate the middle ground out of existence. They weaponize moral grandstanding to convert ordinary users into force multipliers for polarization.
Moving to decentralized spaces like Mastodon isn't just about escaping noise; it’s about choosing a platform architecture that refuses to incentivize moral grandstanding and Dark Tetrad manipulation. In cybersecurity, we rely on logs and objective data. We need to apply that same analytical discipline to how we evaluate and filter human behavior online.
#InfoSec #Cybersecurity #Psychology #Criminology #DarkTetrad #DarkTriad
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CW: Analysis: Political Landscape, Moral Grandstanding, and the Dark Tetrad.
After watching Maternal Instinct, I decided to watch some follow-up videos regarding the defendant because this particular case heavily involved fraud and deception. As someone that is interested in the intersection of psychology, criminology, and cybersecurity (i.e., behavioral analysis and threat hunting), I found this case to be particularly interesting regarding the social engineering tactics involved.
While doing research, I stumbled upon the "Dark Tetrad." While I was already somewhat familiar with the Dark Triad, this adds new elements to that existing psychological research regarding the pleasure from other's suffering. I couldn't help but to look back and consider my own online trolling/angry responses regarding the polarized political climate over the last decade. While I have since stepped back from social media (and really all big tech controlled environments), I couldn't help but feel guilty about my past behavior after reading about the dark tetrad.
In digital spaces, we often witness users flippantly applying maximum-severity labels (e.g., "Nazi") to minor policy disagreements. While tribalism explains the majority, psychological research shows that some of the instigators of these trends often exhibit Dark Tetrad traits such as sadism and Machiavellianism. For them, the label isn't historical analysis; it’s a high-potency payload used deliberately to cause psychological distress and social chaos.
From a threat assessment perspective, this creates a lot of noise and a "Boy Who Cried Wolf" vulnerability. When the baseline social alarm system is constantly blaring false positives over trivial matters, society's ability to recognize and respond to a genuine, cascading systemic crisis is catastrophically degraded.
Mainstream social architectures are built to optimize engagement by exploiting these dark psychological traits. By rewarding outrage with visibility, algorithms allow malicious actors to manipulate the middle ground out of existence. They weaponize moral grandstanding to convert ordinary users into force multipliers for polarization.
Moving to decentralized spaces like Mastodon isn't just about escaping noise; it’s about choosing a platform architecture that refuses to incentivize moral grandstanding and Dark Tetrad manipulation. In cybersecurity, we rely on logs and objective data. We need to apply that same analytical discipline to how we evaluate and filter human behavior online.
#InfoSec #Cybersecurity #Psychology #Criminology #DarkTetrad #DarkTriad
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A dark triad or tetrarad exhibits 3 to 4 sets of signs that categorize them as such. You may interact with people in your life who fit these categories. If you do, it might be best not to. #darktriad #darktetrad
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this is important enough won’t yadda yadda: this is #sociopath Stephen Miller upping the ante for the #DemocraticParty #machiavellians : he wants the party designated a domestic #terrorist group.
knowing what i know of the Democratic Party machiavellians like Biden, Pelosi, Schumer, they truly believe letting the GOP go full fascist will make them win elections.
yes, they’re that deluded.
and all of us outside this #DarkTetrad psychosociological #dystopia lose this game of chicken.
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this is important enough won’t yadda yadda: this is #sociopath Stephen Miller upping the ante for the #DemocraticParty #machiavellians : he wants the party designated a domestic #terrorist group.
knowing what i know of the Democratic Party machiavellians like Biden, Pelosi, Schumer, they truly believe letting the GOP go full fascist will make them win elections.
yes, they’re that deluded.
and all of us outside this #DarkTetrad psychosociological #dystopia lose this game of chicken.
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this is important enough won’t yadda yadda: this is #sociopath Stephen Miller upping the ante for the #DemocraticParty #machiavellians : he wants the party designated a domestic #terrorist group.
knowing what i know of the Democratic Party machiavellians like Biden, Pelosi, Schumer, they truly believe letting the GOP go full fascist will make them win elections.
yes, they’re that deluded.
and all of us outside this #DarkTetrad psychosociological #dystopia lose this game of chicken.
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this is important enough won’t yadda yadda: this is #sociopath Stephen Miller upping the ante for the #DemocraticParty #machiavellians : he wants the party designated a domestic #terrorist group.
knowing what i know of the Democratic Party machiavellians like Biden, Pelosi, Schumer, they truly believe letting the GOP go full fascist will make them win elections.
yes, they’re that deluded.
and all of us outside this #DarkTetrad psychosociological #dystopia lose this game of chicken.
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this is important enough won’t yadda yadda: this is #sociopath Stephen Miller upping the ante for the #DemocraticParty #machiavellians : he wants the party designated a domestic #terrorist group.
knowing what i know of the Democratic Party machiavellians like Biden, Pelosi, Schumer, they truly believe letting the GOP go full fascist will make them win elections.
yes, they’re that deluded.
and all of us outside this #DarkTetrad psychosociological #dystopia lose this game of chicken.
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@stalbaum @randahl
#DemocracyInAStranglehold
(2/n)...happened in the country of Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité, are long overdue.
The #US must come to a standstill, the other beaches of government will not be able to reign in their #DarkTetrad brother, the #Excecutive branch."if #Trump wants his play at history of being the next #GeorgeBush II, someone said something once about history repeating itself,..."
In my view, #History never repeats itself. It is Chaotic in a systems-theory meaning:
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@stalbaum @randahl
#DemocracyInAStranglehold
(2/n)...happened in the country of Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité, are long overdue.
The #US must come to a standstill, the other beaches of government will not be able to reign in their #DarkTetrad brother, the #Excecutive branch."if #Trump wants his play at history of being the next #GeorgeBush II, someone said something once about history repeating itself,..."
In my view, #History never repeats itself. It is Chaotic in a systems-theory meaning:
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@stalbaum @randahl
#DemocracyInAStranglehold
(2/n)...happened in the country of Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité, are long overdue.
The #US must come to a standstill, the other beaches of government will not be able to reign in their #DarkTetrad brother, the #Excecutive branch."if #Trump wants his play at history of being the next #GeorgeBush II, someone said something once about history repeating itself,..."
In my view, #History never repeats itself. It is Chaotic in a systems-theory meaning:
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@stalbaum @randahl
#DemocracyInAStranglehold
(2/n)...happened in the country of Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité, are long overdue.
The #US must come to a standstill, the other beaches of government will not be able to reign in their #DarkTetrad brother, the #Excecutive branch."if #Trump wants his play at history of being the next #GeorgeBush II, someone said something once about history repeating itself,..."
In my view, #History never repeats itself. It is Chaotic in a systems-theory meaning:
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@stalbaum @randahl
#DemocracyInAStranglehold
(2/n)...happened in the country of Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité, are long overdue.
The #US must come to a standstill, the other beaches of government will not be able to reign in their #DarkTetrad brother, the #Excecutive branch."if #Trump wants his play at history of being the next #GeorgeBush II, someone said something once about history repeating itself,..."
In my view, #History never repeats itself. It is Chaotic in a systems-theory meaning:
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#MidleEastWar #Israel #Iran #USA #USpol
This is an interesting perspective, /s: however with the leaders of the 4 biggest nations, all of which are ruthless narcicists, at least one of which is even a #DarkTetrad, and a #Sociopath, who is the figure head of a decades long political coup, who has all but obliterated the democratic system of checks and balances and, possibly soon, even the separation of powers, and who controls the mightiest army in history,...does it still matter? /s
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#MidleEastWar #Israel #Iran #USA #USpol
This is an interesting perspective, /s: however with the leaders of the 4 biggest nations, all of which are ruthless narcicists, at least one of which is even a #DarkTetrad, and a #Sociopath, who is the figure head of a decades long political coup, who has all but obliterated the democratic system of checks and balances and, possibly soon, even the separation of powers, and who controls the mightiest army in history,...does it still matter? /s
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#MidleEastWar #Israel #Iran #USA #USpol
This is an interesting perspective, /s: however with the leaders of the 4 biggest nations, all of which are ruthless narcicists, at least one of which is even a #DarkTetrad, and a #Sociopath, who is the figure head of a decades long political coup, who has all but obliterated the democratic system of checks and balances and, possibly soon, even the separation of powers, and who controls the mightiest army in history,...does it still matter? /s
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#MidleEastWar #Israel #Iran #USA #USpol
This is an interesting perspective, /s: however with the leaders of the 4 biggest nations, all of which are ruthless narcicists, at least one of which is even a #DarkTetrad, and a #Sociopath, who is the figure head of a decades long political coup, who has all but obliterated the democratic system of checks and balances and, possibly soon, even the separation of powers, and who controls the mightiest army in history,...does it still matter? /s
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#MidleEastWar #Israel #Iran #USA #USpol
This is an interesting perspective, /s: however with the leaders of the 4 biggest nations, all of which are ruthless narcicists, at least one of which is even a #DarkTetrad, and a #Sociopath, who is the figure head of a decades long political coup, who has all but obliterated the democratic system of checks and balances and, possibly soon, even the separation of powers, and who controls the mightiest army in history,...does it still matter? /s
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Guess whose social media app broadcast live the #homicide of a political hopeful, woman, a mayoral candidate in #mexico ?
Clearly a paid hit, orchestrated by the #DarkTetrad CEO of Facebook himself, presumably to prop up his failing company;
never underestimate someone who has all 4 of the Dark Tetrad characteristics.
And a very bad shopping addiction.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/mexican-mayoral-candidate-gunned-down-204329065.html
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Guess whose social media app broadcast live the #homicide of a political hopeful, woman, a mayoral candidate in #mexico ?
Clearly a paid hit, orchestrated by the #DarkTetrad CEO of Facebook himself, presumably to prop up his failing company;
never underestimate someone who has all 4 of the Dark Tetrad characteristics.
And a very bad shopping addiction.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/mexican-mayoral-candidate-gunned-down-204329065.html
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@[email protected] @HistoPol
And, according to some, Dark Tetrad + spitefulness = Dark Pentad
#DarkTetrad #DarkPentad -
@_9CL7T9k8cjnD_ @HistoPol
And, according to some, Dark Tetrad + spitefulness = Dark Pentad
#DarkTetrad #DarkPentad -
@_9CL7T9k8cjnD_ @HistoPol
And, according to some, Dark Tetrad + spitefulness = Dark Pentad
#DarkTetrad #DarkPentad -
@_9CL7T9k8cjnD_ @HistoPol
And, according to some, Dark Tetrad + spitefulness = Dark Pentad
#DarkTetrad #DarkPentad -
@_9CL7T9k8cjnD_ @HistoPol
And, according to some, Dark Tetrad + spitefulness = Dark Pentad
#DarkTetrad #DarkPentad -
Seeing some recent posts about Dark Triad personality traits. In addition to Dark Triad (#narcissism, #machiavellianism, #psychopathy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_triad), Dark Tetrad adds #sadism; Dark Pentad includes #spitefulness
#DarkTriad #DarkTetrad #DarkPentad #trump #ElonMusk #MAGA -
Seeing some recent posts about Dark Triad personality traits. In addition to Dark Triad (#narcissism, #machiavellianism, #psychopathy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_triad), Dark Tetrad adds #sadism; Dark Pentad includes #spitefulness
#DarkTriad #DarkTetrad #DarkPentad #trump #ElonMusk #MAGA -
Seeing some recent posts about Dark Triad personality traits. In addition to Dark Triad (#narcissism, #machiavellianism, #psychopathy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_triad), Dark Tetrad adds #sadism; Dark Pentad includes #spitefulness
#DarkTriad #DarkTetrad #DarkPentad #trump #ElonMusk #MAGA -
No, not quite. - If you check into the #Atlantic article, a #DarkTriad becomes a #DarkTetrad if a person also is a #Sadist, too.
In other words, a #DarkTriad will be a subset of a #DarkTetrad, but not all #DarkTriads (quite a few, actually) will be #DarkTetrads, too. ,)
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No, not quite. - If you check into the #Atlantic article, a #DarkTriad becomes a #DarkTetrad if a person also is a #Sadist, too.
In other words, a #DarkTriad will be a subset of a #DarkTetrad, but not all #DarkTriads (quite a few, actually) will be #DarkTetrads, too. ,)
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No, not quite. - If you check into the #Atlantic article, a #DarkTriad becomes a #DarkTetrad if a person also is a #Sadist, too.
In other words, a #DarkTriad will be a subset of a #DarkTetrad, but not all #DarkTriads (quite a few, actually) will be #DarkTetrads, too. ,)
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No, not quite. - If you check into the #Atlantic article, a #DarkTriad becomes a #DarkTetrad if a person also is a #Sadist, too.
In other words, a #DarkTriad will be a subset of a #DarkTetrad, but not all #DarkTriads (quite a few, actually) will be #DarkTetrads, too. ,)
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No, not quite. - If you check into the #Atlantic article, a #DarkTriad becomes a #DarkTetrad if a person also is a #Sadist, too.
In other words, a #DarkTriad will be a subset of a #DarkTetrad, but not all #DarkTriads (quite a few, actually) will be #DarkTetrads, too. ,)
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Donald Trump viewed as higher in Dark Tetrad traits than Joe Biden, study finds https://www.psypost.org/donald-trump-viewed-as-higher-in-dark-tetrad-traits-than-joe-biden-study-finds/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #DonaldTrump #JoeBiden #DarkTetrad #Psychology #Election2020
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Donald Trump viewed as higher in Dark Tetrad traits than Joe Biden, study finds https://www.psypost.org/donald-trump-viewed-as-higher-in-dark-tetrad-traits-than-joe-biden-study-finds/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #DonaldTrump #JoeBiden #DarkTetrad #Psychology #Election2020
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Donald Trump viewed as higher in Dark Tetrad traits than Joe Biden, study finds https://www.psypost.org/donald-trump-viewed-as-higher-in-dark-tetrad-traits-than-joe-biden-study-finds/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #DonaldTrump #JoeBiden #DarkTetrad #Psychology #Election2020
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Donald Trump viewed as higher in Dark Tetrad traits than Joe Biden, study finds https://www.psypost.org/donald-trump-viewed-as-higher-in-dark-tetrad-traits-than-joe-biden-study-finds/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #DonaldTrump #JoeBiden #DarkTetrad #Psychology #Election2020
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New psychology research reveals differences in fertility outcomes linked toDark Tetrad traits in criminal populations https://www.psypost.org/fertility-outcomes-differ-among-dark-tetrad-traits-in-criminal-populations/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #Psychology #Research #Fertility #CriminalBehavior #DarkTetrad
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New psychology research reveals differences in fertility outcomes linked toDark Tetrad traits in criminal populations https://www.psypost.org/fertility-outcomes-differ-among-dark-tetrad-traits-in-criminal-populations/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #Psychology #Research #Fertility #CriminalBehavior #DarkTetrad
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New psychology research reveals differences in fertility outcomes linked toDark Tetrad traits in criminal populations https://www.psypost.org/fertility-outcomes-differ-among-dark-tetrad-traits-in-criminal-populations/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #Psychology #Research #Fertility #CriminalBehavior #DarkTetrad
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New psychology research reveals differences in fertility outcomes linked toDark Tetrad traits in criminal populations https://www.psypost.org/fertility-outcomes-differ-among-dark-tetrad-traits-in-criminal-populations/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #Psychology #Research #Fertility #CriminalBehavior #DarkTetrad