Motivation and emotion/Book/2021/Dark triad personality and motivation

Dark triad personality and motivation:
How do the dark triad personality traits influence motivation?

Multimedia presentation (3 min)

Overview

Figure 1. Visual representation of the Dark Triad of Psychology

This chapter explores the motivation behind malevolent behaviour and motivation. Malevolent motivation is first described and analysed. The "Dark triad" of psychology is then presented and broken down into the three components of narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism. The relationship between these components and motivations is also explored. It is concluded that malevolent behaviour is the by-product of a lack of social education and there is no direct link between motivation and the dark triad of psychology. This is reinforced with a case study of Carl Jung to support this claim.

Focus questions: What is malevolent motivation? What are the personality traits of the dark triad? Can malevolent motivation be sublimated for the greater good of the individual?

Malevolent motivation

There are various basic motivation theories and models that can be used to define the cause of malevolent behaviour. However, to articulate that there is one answer for the question "what motivates an individual to engage in behaviour that is malevolent in nature" is not simple. Malevolent behaviour is the means / method an individual uses to achieve a result. The motivation is what causes someone to desire this result, therefore most members of society engage in behaviour that is not considered malevolent to achieve this result and this is the ethically appropriate method to do so.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a commonly used theory to describe human motivation on a tier-based needs hierarchy (Neubauer & Martskvishvili, 2018). An analysis of Maslow’s model illustrates that humans are driven by a "need" and their cognitive drive is to ensure that this need is met. For example, one of the priority bottom tier needs is to drink water. The cognitive process for humans to achieve this need is to spark a biological process that triggers an individual’s brain to recognise they need to drink water to satiate this need (Stricker & Sved, 2000). Alderfer offered a refined version of this hierarchy of needs. The major notable difference in this refined version of the hierarchy is that Alderfer did not believe you needed to satiate a tier to move on to the next (Alderfer, 1969). For example, Maslow stated that you must fulfil the bottom tier before moving up to the next tier. Alderfer stated that people were not bound by this sequential need dynamic, rather that there were simply different "clusters of needs" that humans would attempt to achieve on a multifaceted level. The key message from these motivational models is that humans are motivated by a sense of needing to fulfil a need in their life as they believe they do not possess an adequate amount of whatever this need may be, like water from the above example. McClelland’s acquired needs human motivation theory also supports this key takeaway. McClelland’s theory states that humans have three implicit motives, achievement, power, and affiliation (McClelland, 1987). McClelland’s theory also focuses on the theme of desiring something the individual believes they do not possess.

Motivation in the context of malevolent behaviour can be linked to these theories/models. It is the behaviour not the motivation that determines whether it is malevolent or not. Therefore, the motivation for malevolence is more likely caused by a lack of social education rather than a direct motivation to engage in malevolent behaviour (Jacobs & Slabbert, 2019). For example: Two people are motivated to increase their wealth. One person is appropriately socially educated and works hard to save their money and invest in legal options to increase their wealth. The second person is not socially literate and engages in deviant behaviour that falls under the dark triad and proceeds to increase their wealth by extorting others and putting others in worse financial situations to increase their own. Both are driven by the same motivation; however, it is the lack of social education that causes malevolent behaviour. Malevolent behaviour is often referred to as the dark triad of psychology and falls under: Narcissism, Psychopathy and Machiavellianism.

The dark triad

Narcissism

Narcissism is one of the three ‘dark personality traits’ that make up the dark triad of psychology. Narcissism can be further broken down into four categories in which the individual has delineated from the social norm, these categories are: Leadership/Authority, Superiority/Arrogance, Self-absorption/Self-admiration, and exploitative/entitlement. ("PEP Web - On Narcissism: An Introduction", 2021). Trait based models feature narcissism as an individual torn between feelings of incredible grandiosity and vulnerability (Miller, Lynam, Hyatt & Campbell, 2017). This link between spectrum extremes of emotions could be viewed as a foundation for the motivation of this behaviour. Narcissists possess many traits. A key theme relates to an expressed belief that they are of amplified importance in comparison to those in their immediate and wider environment. Narcissism can be considered a dark personality trait due to the way it can influence people to act in extreme ways and be too dependent on seeking external validation. This external validation would be the opposite of achieving self-actualisation in Maslow’s model. Below are nine behavioural signs of a narcissist (Cuhna, 2021):

9 Symptoms of Narcissism 1. Grandiosity 2. Excessive need for admiration 3. Superficial and exploitative relationships 4. Lack of empathy 5. Identity disturbance 6. Difficulty with attachment and dependency 7. Chronic feelings of emptiness and boredom 8. Vulnerability to life transitions 9. Narcissistic Personality disorder is a is a significant risk factor for suicide and suicidal attempts

Motivation for Narcissism

There are three main implicit motives for humans. These are achievement, affiliation, and power. In the case of narcissistic behaviour, it is likely affiliation that is the cause for the behaviour (Schultheiss, 2008). A traditional view of need formation is linked to the individual believing they lack in a certain area. In the case of narcissism, the need for affiliation could be caused by the feeling that the individual believes they lack affiliation within their environment. Narcissists are diagnosed by their outward expression of grandiosity and excessive need for admiration which supports the claim that narcissistic behaviour is driven by a need for affiliation. Narcissistic behaviour is the individual’s effort to increase their sense of self worth and seek this self-worth through the external validation of others (Baumeister et al., 2000). A 2005 study proposed a solution for ‘bridging the gap’ between cognitive-psychological and neurobiological theories of emotion in terms of dynamic systems modelling. This study explored the link between an individual’s biological need for homeostasis and the cognitive drive for a state of emotional equilibrium (Van Honk et al., 2005). This connection between homeostasis on a biological level and on a cognitive emotional level can assist to explain the motivation for narcissism. Narcissistic behaviour is caused by the emotional need for affiliation, the need is linked to feeling that the individual lacks affiliation which triggers the biological mechanism to seek out a feeling of homeostasis. People who are outwardly narcissistic in nature may be suffering internally from a feeling as if they are not adequately received within their environment. Receiving the external validation they crave creates a sense that the person is indeed good enough for those around them. This external validation therefore leads to the feeling of emotional homeostasis. This positive feedback loop is the reason affiliation is the implicit motive for narcissistic behaviours in humans.

Psychopathy

Psychopathy is the second of the three ‘dark personality traits’ that make up the dark triad of psychology. The poor behavioural control and antisocial behaviour that accompanies psychopathy mimics the behaviours common to those with conduct disorders. It is as if psychopathic people lack the ability to feel empathy and register the emotions of other people (Anderson & Kiehl, 2014). The discrepancy between psychopaths and understanding emotions on the social plane could be cause for the aggressive and anti-social behaviour associated with the personality cluster that psychopaths fall under (Beltri & Fuentes, 2021). Psychopathy can be illustrated by a lack of empathy and sense of carelessness regarding a person’s well-being. A psychopathic personality can be considered a dark personality trait as they do not seem to be bound by conventional morality when interacting with people within their environment. Below are 7 behavioural signs of a psychopath.

7 signs of a psychopath 1. Socially irresponsible behaviour 2. Disregarding or violating the rights of others 3. Inability to distinguish between right and wrong 4. Difficulty with showing remorse or empathy 5. Tendency to lie often 6. Manipulating and hurting others 7. General disregard towards safety and responsibility (Legg, 2021)

Motivation for psychopathic behaviour

The implicit motive for psychopathic behaviour is best articulated by a desire for power over others. Psychopathic traits illustrate how the individual lacks empathy and is apathetic to the emotions and needs of those around them (Coid, 2002). The implicit motive therefore is focused on the individual's desire to promote their own goals which is why people with psychopathic tendencies can appear to be self-centred in their quest for increasing their own sense of power. The social interactions of a psychopath are a by-product of their own journey to increase their sense of behaviour. This means the motivation for psychopathy is to satisfy their need for power. This motivation is very similar to a mentally healthy person’s need for self-actualisation as depicted by Maslow’s model (Maslow & Lewis, 1987). Therefore, whilst the motivation can be considered healthy, it is the method of achieving the result that turns individuals toward deviant and unsociable behaviour. This is the reason that psychopathy is considered a part of the dark triad of psychology, due to the way psychopathic individuals interact with those around them in their environment. Another potential cause for this continued behaviour is best explained by examining Skinner’s model of instrumental/ operant conditioning. In the mind of an individual suffering from psychopathy, there is a positive reward for their socially deviant behaviour which encourages this behaviour to continue (Skinner, 1971). The reason for this positive feedback loop is due to the way the individual receives a reward, which is their perceived increase in power, which reinforces this style of behaviour to continue in the future as the individual has now created a heuristic in their mind that deviant behaviour equals enhancing their position. This explains how power is the implicit motive that causes behaviours to engage in psychopathic behaviour.

Machiavellianism

Machiavellianism is the third and final of the three ‘dark personality traits’ that make up the dark triad of psychology. Machiavellianism can be described as a personality trait that denotes cunningness. Machiavellianism dates back to the 16th century philosophical thinker, Niccolò Machiavelli (Mansfield, 2021). Whilst the initial motivation for Machiavellianism grossly referred to political dynamics, modern day Machiavellianism relates more to the social plane and how an individual navigates it with a drive to use whatever means necessary to gain power (Towler, 2021). The motivation for Machiavellian behaviour can be linked to its symptoms. A drive for power. This sense of needing more might be connected to an internal sense that the individual is lacking or even insecure within this area. Whilst a drive for more would be a sign of a motivated individual, Machiavellianism is a dark trait as it focuses on the scope of using and exploiting others to achieve this goal (Muris et al., 2017).

5 signs of Machiavellian personality 1. A fixation on power 2. A cynical worldview 3. Willingness to exploit others 4. Self-centred desire to conquer 5. Gaslighting others (Towler, 2021)

Figure 2. Niccolò Machiavelli (3 May 1469 - 21 June 1527)

Motivation for Machiavellian behaviour

The implicit motive for Machiavellianism is achievement. Similarly, to psychopathy, it can be considered that a drive for achievement, along with the other implicit motives listed in McClelland’s motivation theory model, are not malevolent in nature rather it is the actions taken to achieve these motives that warrant whether a behaviour is malevolent or not (Ball, 2012). Individuals who engage in behaviour that is considered Machiavellian are driven by the need to achieve. When Machiavellian behaviour originated in the renaissance setting, the achievement was focused on political power. However, understanding the context of the renaissance it can be said that political power was amongst the highest achievement as this was a time where local families could rule cities, hence why achievement was shaped as political power (Pocock, 1981). In a modern setting, Machiavellian behaviour is driven by a desire to achieve in a financial setting as well as political. A colloquial example is the wall street workers depicted in ‘American Psycho’, members of society who are apathetic and driven to use each other for any means necessary to bolster their own position and hence increase their ‘sense of achievement’ (Ferdian, 2019). Individuals engage in Machiavellian behaviour because on a psychological level, the individuals believe those around them possess the necessary skills, power or assets and can be used to advantage themselves. This relates to the previous theme of an individual believing they ‘lack’ in an area and are motivated to fulfill this ‘need’. Therefore, deviant members of society engage in the unsociable behaviour that denotes Machiavellianism as they attempt to ‘achieve’ within their environment in a way they believe their peers and colleagues have achieved in ways they are envious of.

Pick a response An individual has recently moved to a new city and is feeling very vulnerable to this transition. They present to a therapist and state they feel they are very sad without their old network of friends, the individual says they feel empty and bored constantly and miss the compliments and affection they use to receive from their old home. This individual use to be the star football player in their local community and was very popular. Which dark triad personality do they likely belong? Narcissism Psychopathy Machiavellianism

Notable Figure - Niccolò Machiavelli

"Emancipated politics from theology and moral philosophy. He undertook to describe simply what rulers did and thus anticipated what was later called the scientific spirit in which questions of good and bad are ignored, and the observer attempts to discover only what really happens". (Kaplan, 2005)

See Figure 2.

Sublimation of Maladaptive Behaviours

There is a consistent theme behind the motivation of malevolent behaviour that makes up the Dark Triad of Psychology. This theme is the lack of social education for individuals trying to satiate their needs and desires. This means the motivation for this behaviour is not the issue, rather it is the method. However, what if a new approach was adopted when viewing these deviant behaviours. Theoretically, these deviant and malevolent behaviours could be sublimated to motivate individuals to achieve their goals more efficiently in a different context or environment. Narcissistic, psychopathic, and Machiavellian members of society already possess a skill trait that bounds them to be outsiders in typical roles within their environment, so perhaps an efficient solution is to apply their skill traits to a context that could benefit from their atypical social attitudes and behaviours.

Narcissism is driven by the implicit motive of affiliation. In theory if a narcissistic person was psychoeducated to associate themselves with a group/ political party then their narcissistic methods could be better served to network and create positive image/ reputation for said group. The narcissist wants to be externally validated and perceived as special, so this attitude could be translated to an ideal or a group to better enhance their image. This is one example of how a socially deviant psychological profile can be sublimated to enhance the relationship between motivation and the behaviour used to achieve the need. Similarly psychopathic tendencies could be sublimated for a greater cause. Psychopathic behaviour is marked by a lack of regard for others, this could be best sublimated into roles where a general level of apathy and lack of empathy is sought after. Roles such as insurance auditors, loan specialists and military careers are all pathways that can be best suited for people who are not easily swayed to feel sympathetic towards other members of society. However, the sublimation of this deviant behaviour could be considered unethical and as the motivation for psychopathic behaviour was previously stated as an implicit motive for power, it calls to action another ethical line of thinking of whether it is morally okay to put psychopathic individuals in roles of power. If there was going to be further study into this area of deviant sublimation, it would be recommended that this ethical dilemma is the first to be explored.

Machiavellianism could also be sublimated to enhance the relationship between deviant behaviour and motivation for the better. Machiavellian individuals are proactive in utilising the resources they have available in their environment, in a competitive business industry Machiavellian behaviour can innovate the process of marketing and create new opportunities to enhance relationships between people. This is a third and final example of the potential positive effects of sublimating deviant behaviour. This process of sublimating the behaviour is theoretically possible on the basis that there is no direct motivation for deviant behaviour rather that it is a by-product of a lack of social education. Motivation can still be considered an inherently good thing for humans; it is up to the way the individual interacts with their relationship with motivation that determines whether it is good or not. The concluding statement regarding motivation and deviant behaviour is that people are motivated to act in ways considered malevolent because they believe it is okay to ignore the needs of other people to meet their own personal needs. On a smaller scale, who can claim they have lived a life free of being momentarily selfish to seek personal gratification at the risk of denying someone else the same level of gratification, however this opens a philosophical discussion not related to motivation and its interactions with deviant behaviour. This is another area that can be recommended to be explored next on this topic.

Case Study

Carl Jung’s theory regarding the four forms of self is a good example to use to understand the role of sublimated deviant behaviour in a modern context. Carl Jung's theory revolves around how people perceive themselves and refers to one of the hidden sides of people characteristic as ‘the shadow’. Jung believed to achieve his model’s version of self-actualisation one would need to ‘embrace the shadow’. (Ellin, 2001) If an individuals ‘shadow’ involved one of the three dark triads of personality then this is further evidence to support the claim that malevolent behaviour can be sublimated for the better. That better being driven by motivation. In terms of why an individual would use malevolent social behaviour can be linked to personality types. For example, using the ‘Big 5’ personality scale, known as OCEAN or CANOE, a person who is high on agreeableness is prone to being taken advantage of in their life, however by ‘embracing the shadow’ and employing one of the triarchs of the dark triad of psychology they they could ameliorate this high level of agreeableness and find balance in their life.

Members of society can be proactive in their approach to understanding their own motivation and exploring the dynamic between their ‘shadow’ and how they can efficiently achieve what they are motivated to achieve. One example of this is the interaction of external introjected motivation with internal identified motivation. Individuals who internalise their introjected motivation may complete tasks to a poor standard because they are not utilising their motivation to the best of their abilities. By switching their perspective to using identified motivation, that is motivation where an individual knows what they need to perform but not yet acting on it, they can ‘embrace the shadow’ and complete tasks to a higher standard than before (Vlachopoulos & Karageorghis, 2005). This is another context that displays why adopting Carl Jung’s theory is a strong case study to support sublimating the dark triad of psychology to enhance an individual’s relationship with motivation.

Conclusion

There are many different models that can be used and adapted to explain motivation in humans. Whether this motivation is implicit on a cognitive level or driven on a tier based hierarchical needs basis, humans will vary their approach to satiate these needs. Some members of society will engage in malevolent behaviour to achieve these needs, not because they are directly motivated to engage in these behaviours, but rather because they lack the social education to know engaging in these malevolent behaviours is ethically wrong in the social environment. The relationship between the dark triad of psychology, meaning Narcissism, Psychopathy and Machiavellianism can be highlighted by understanding what these behaviours mean and how they can be sublimated to enhance the relationship between malevolent behaviour and motivation. There is evidence to support sublimation of behaviour which can be found through a case study of Carl Jung’s theory and his message to ‘embrace the shadow’. The final recommendations to continue to explore this subject is to look at the ethical validity of putting high risk malevolent individuals in positions of power and the potential social consequences of doing so.

Key finding

Malevolent behaviour is the by-product of poor social education, people are not directly motivated to engage in narcissism, psychopathy or Machiavellianism

See also

• Morality as a psychological need (Book chapter, 2021)
• Narcissism and emotion (Book chapter, 2022)
• Sublimation (Book chapter, 2021)
• Psychopathy and violence (Book chapter, 2021)

References

CQ Net - Management skills for everyone. CQ Net - Management skills for everyone!. <https://www.ckju.net/en/dossier/machiavellianism-what-it-how-recognize-and-cope-machiavellians>

Van Honk, J., & Schutter, J. L. G. (2005). Dynamic brain systems in quest for emotional homeostasis. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 28(2), 220-221. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X05490044

Vlachopoulos, S. P., & Karageorghis, C. I. (2005). Interaction of external, introjected, and identified regulation with intrinsic motivation in exercise: relationships with exercise enjoyment. Journal of Applied Biobehavioral Research, 10(2), 113-132. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1111/j.1751-9861.2005.tb00007.x

External links

• In the mind of a psychopath (TED, 2020)
• Malevolent motivation on the social plane (NCBI, 2019)
• The psychology of narcissism (TED, 2016)
• What Machiavellian really means (TED, 2019)