Investigating the Effects of Dark Triad and Anonymity on Exclusionary Cyber Aggression: A Social Media Experiment

This study investigated the complex relationship between the Dark Triad (DT) and anonymity levels in the context of cyber aggression on social media. By employing an experimental design, the study aimed to bridge the gap between traditional survey-based experiments and real-time online interactions among social media users. Participants (<i>N</i> = 115) from Taiwan took part a 2 × 2 experimental design, which varied along two factors: anonymity (high vs. low) and DT (high vs. low). Over the course of a four-day simulated exclusionary cyber aggression event, participants' attitudes were measured via surveys, while their aggressive behaviors were assessed using the polling function on social media. The findings revealed that participants with high DT exhibited significantly higher levels of cyber aggression under the low-anonymity condition compared to those with low DT. However, there was no difference between groups under the high-anonymity condition. Notably, no significant differences were found in attitudes towards cyber aggression. This study makes a significant contribution by employing a simulated cyber aggression scenario that captures participants' real-time attitudes and behaviors, rather than relying solely on self-report measures, as is common in previous research.