RELATIONSHIPS
Looking Out for the Dark Triad Partner
Who doesn’t love that bad boy who’s oozing with charisma, or that naughty girl that turns everybody’s heads? Attractive as they might be, they may have traits that you’d want to be wary of before getting yourself involved. As a matter of fact, scientists now have a term for such traits: dark triad personality.
This is the trifecta of machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy. When put together, these traits create a world of hurt for the people who least expect or deserve it. If you think you’ve snagged yourself a dark triad partner but can’t confirm it, here are some things to look out for:
Frequent Lying
It should come as no surprise that people who score high in the dark triad traits are quite at ease with lying. The interesting part here is that the pattern of lying will depend on which of the three dark traits a person scores highest in.
For example, those who score high in machiavellianism tell more white lies compared to those who are more narcissistic, since their specialty is lying to make themselves look good. Those high in psychopathy troublingly need no discernable reason to lie at all, but do so frequently.
Tendency to Stray
As with lying, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to be on the lookout for cheating. After all, those with dark triad traits are often callous and impulsive enough to act on whatever sexual desire they may have at any given time.
What separates those who score high in one trait over the others is how they respond to the outcomes of their cheating. Psychopathic partners often find themselves breaking up the relationship or being broken up with. Machiavellians, on the other hand, tend to find ways to manipulate their partners into salvaging the relationship.
Short-Term and Superficial
This is not to say that every person with a history of short-term relationships is someone to watch out for. However, those high in the dark triad traits do tend to forgo serious and committed relationships in favor of short-term ones. This habitual choice even shows in what kind of short-term fun they are most into.
Narcissists seem to favor one-night-stands. Psychopaths show a preference for booty calls. And Machiavellians display a preference for partners with high social statuses.
Jealousy
By now, you may think that dark triad individuals may not care much to warrant feelings of jealousy. That couldn’t be further from the truth. As much as they cheat, they also tend to anticipate being cheated on. This often comes in the form of preventive jealousy.
Their reactions to this, as with the other things to look out for, will vary. Some may get revenge in anticipation of being victimized by cheating. Others might claim so, but also desire enough emotional control over their significant others to stop themselves from ending the relationship.
Knowing how to choose better partners can be difficult enough at times — and oftentimes the price of failure may be shacking up with a dark triad partner, which is more than anyone is willing to put up with. With the things on this list now on your mind, keep your guard up and be on the lookout for any suspicious behavior.
Bottom line is, get to know someone better before acting on your attraction. It is better to be slow, but thorough, than to be in haste and make a mistake.
