Three Personality Traits to Watch out For!

yoza.ossan (37)in #psychology • 7 years ago

Three Personality Traits to Watch out For!

So along with the good traits that we see in people such as warmth, kindness, intro and extroversion theres a subset of "dark" traits that people can develop. These three main ones Narcissism, Machiavellianism and Psychopathy are generally considered undesired and even dangerous and are mostly found in folks who use interpersonal social dynamics to exploit others for their own personal gain or status advancement such as politicians and criminals.

Lets Take a little look at these traits individually...

Narcissism

In a society of social media where selfies are the norm we are breeding a generation where narcissism is encouraged and in some cases even required to get ahead. But we are talking about a deep rooted sense of superiority over other people due to a bigger follower/view count. It manifests in folks as a strong sense of confidence and charisma that can be very useful in politics or business. Narcissistic people are usually very sensitive to criticism and are prone to boasting and arrogance (think Kardashians, Kanye West) and with that superiority complex comes selfishness and little to no sense of empathy.

Machiavellianism

This is in most cases the center of this "dark trio" of personality traits but isnt as common as Narcissism. Machiavellian personalities see every social situation as a tactical decision or point of leverage that they can manipulate or twist. Instead of viewing other folks as humans with feelings and lives of their own they see them as chess pieces with skills they can use to accomplish their own goals. Machiavellian people subject others, usually those closest to them, to emotional confusion (think Joker, Harley Quinn dynamic) that leads to deep rooted dependence and submission. They bend their victims to do their bidding with this emotional manipulation. They also employ duplicity, faking their own importance to ensnare and outwit. Again with this trait comes an inflated sense of self importance and a misguided sense of morality and decreased emotional quotient.

Psychopathy

In this context of a "Dark Triad" this trait demonstrates itself as folks inability to feel guilt or remorse. They have no problem making harmful or negative behavior and often seem "unable" to feel guilt or remorse. While others may be quite stoic, stoicism is not to be confused with psychopathy (think Ron Swanson, parks and rec) and suppress their emotions, psychopathy is the actual neurological inability to feel, whether too little or at all. This allows them to do anything they want with little fear of repurcussions. This makes them extremely volatile and unpredictable.