The Dark Side of Personality

"Dark personality traits -- such as the Dark Triad of narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism -- are often connected with destructive behaviors and interpersonal problems. Even traits that may appear to be superficially positive, such as perfectionism and fearless dominance, can have dark characteristics associated with negative consequences. Understanding these traits will play an integral role in treating individuals who exhibit dark, unhealthy characteristics. This book brings together a diverse panel of experts who seek to unite personality psychology and clinical psychology with complex, nuanced perspectives on a variety of personality traits. The contributors synthesize recent research that connects pathological personality features to the Big Five personality dimensions, creating an interdisciplinary taxonomy of dark personality traits. In addition to the Dark Triad and seemingly positive traits with dark characteristics, this taxonomy includes traits that have been largely ignored in the broader psychological literature, like spitefulness, as well as traits that have not been included in previous discussions of dark personality traits, such as authoritarianism. Chapters explore both maladaptive and adaptive features of these traits, including how to address them in clinical settings. The final chapter provides a thorough review of common themes, clinical implications, and research goals across all traits" -- Back cover.