IN THE CONSTELLATION OF DARK PERSONALITY TRAITS: A SCOPING REVIEW OF THE DARK PERSONALITY CORE

Since the emergence of the Dark Triad/Dark Tetrad personality constructs, a growing body of literature has suggested a common core underlying socially aversive behaviors. With a multitude of diverse explanations on the horizon, the literature has become ambiguous and vague within the context of the dark personality framework, warranting further clarity. A scoping literature review was conducted by electronically searching five databases, yielding 12 articles included in the investigation. The results support the notion that the field of dark personality traits can progress from factorial trait labels toward a perspective where aversive traits are seen as emergent from interactions between individual components. These traits manifest as the most prominent candidate for the dark core, the Dark Factor of Personality (D), which encompasses the general tendency of malevolent characters in normal populations. The most notable measures in this context are the HEXACO model, with an emphasis on the Honesty-Humility dimension, and the D70, a set of items providing the most comprehensive representation of D. It is concluded that manifested socially aversive behaviors, accompanied by beliefs that serve as justifications, parallel two main components: the Antagonism component (promoting disutility for others) and the Emotional component (deficits in affective empathy).