The dark side of humor: analyzing the relationship between dark triad traits, humor styles, and bullying in university students

Abstract This research uses a self-report questionnaire to examine how humour styles based on Martin’s taxonomy (affiliative, self-enhancing, aggressive, and self-defeating) may moderate the relationship between Dark Triad personality traits (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) and bullying behaviors among 662 university students. Significant positive correlations between Dark Triad traits and bullying emerged, as well as gender, with males scoring higher in all variables. Moderation analyses showed that affiliative humour reduced the impact of narcissism on bullying, while aggressive enhanced it. Additionally, self-enhancing and aggressive humour increased the impact of psychopathy on bullying behaviors. These results suggest that humour styles play a crucial role in the dynamics of bullying in relation to Dark Triad personality traits, offering new insights for intervention strategies.