Citation

Lämmle L, Oedl C, Ziegler M. Pers. Individ. Dif. 2014; 67: 87-91.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.paid.2013.12.024

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The present study aims to investigate whether our dark side not only leads to aggressive behavior against others but also to direct deliberate self-harming behavior when the ego is threatened. One hundred and seventy two students of sports science were recruited as participants (60.7% female) with a mean age of 20.98 (SD = 1.95). Participants filled out the German versions of the NPI, Mach IV and the SRP-III. To assess direct deliberate self-harming behavior, a white-noise-aggression to others and to self paradigm was used.

FINDINGS revealed that mainly the common core of the dark side of personality and not its facets (only narcissism to a very small extent) predicted direct deliberate self-harming behavior. These results highlight the necessity for researching this "vulnerable dark side" to obtain a better understanding of the Dark Triad members acting in situations with ego-threats (especially self-esteem threats).