Ostalo

https://doi.org/10.24869/psyd.2025.205

A scoping review of research literature exploring the manifestations and correlates of dark personality traits in political figures

Alexander Smith orcid.org/0000-0002-1769-5684 ; Graduate School for Health Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland ; Department of Forensic Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Stefanie Hachen ; Department of Forensic Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Dinesh Bhugra ; Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
Agustín Artese ; Institute of Latin American and Caribbean Studies, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Sissel Guttormsen ; Institute for Medical Education, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
Michael Liebrenz ; Department of Forensic Psychiatry, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

Sažetak

Background: Amidst escalating global crises and societal polarisation, dark personality traits (i.e., Machiavellianism; narcissism;
psychopathy; and sadism) have attracted increasing attention within sociopolitical and academic discourse, fuelling much
speculation about the perceived aversive characters and behaviours of political figures. Despite this, no prior review has systematically
explored the manifestations and correlates of dark traits amongst these subpopulations.
Methods: This scoping review aimed to map the breadth of empirical evidence and methodologies investigating Machiavellianism,
narcissism, psychopathy, sadism, and their integrative typologies (the Dark Triad and the Dark Tetrad) in real-life past/present
politicians and candidates. Following JBI and PRISMA-ScR guidelines, systematic keyword searches were conducted in Scopus,
PubMed, and APA PsycNet, supplemented by searches of Google Scholar and reference list snowballing. English-language articles
from 2002 (marking the formal description of the Dark Triad) to 2025 were considered. Subsequently, eligible records were extracted
and narratively synthesised to describe key concepts and findings.
Results: n = 40 studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Most focussed on past/present politicians and candidates in a single jurisdiction
(70.0%), notably the United States (50.0%), and 30.0% examined international figures. Over 60% assessed multiple dark traits,
whilst 37.5% analysed singular trait expressions, most commonly narcissism (25.0%). Third-party expert- and lay-rater personality
evaluations constituted the primary sole or combined methodology (80.0%). 17.5% of designs partially or fully involved direct politician
participation. Throughout the reviewed literature, dark traits exhibited composite, context-dependent associations with adaptive and maladaptive
outcomes, particularly for elections and voter interactions, and to lesser extent for leadership performance and policymaking.
Conclusions: This scoping review mapped a multidisciplinary evidence base on dark personality traits in politics, highlighting
contingent and complex correlates across different methodologies and settings. Nevertheless, extant, relevant English-language research
has largely concentrated on dark traits in Western democracies, thereby warranting expanded cross-cultural initiatives, though
adverse sociopolitical trends may currently impair such endeavours.

Ključne riječi

Dark traits; dark triad; dark tetrad; personality profiling; politicians

Hrčak ID:

335974

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/335974

Datum izdavanja:

1.9.2025.

Posjeta: 1.289 *