The Relationships between the Dark Triad and Manipulation Strategies

Abstract

The purpose of the present research was to examine the relationship between Dark Triad (Machiavellianism, Narcissism, and Psychopathy) and manipulation strategies (Terashima & Kodama, 2004). Participants were 210 Japanese undergraduates who completed the Short Dark Triad (SD3-J) and the scale of manipulation strategies. Structural equation modeling showed that Machiavellianism and Psychopathy were positively affected by manipulating others from both superior and inferior positions, as well as by manipulation of feelings. Narcissism had a positive effect on the manipulation of feelings from a superior position. The results indicate that there is evidence of the validity of the SD3-J and people who have high Dark Triad tendencies tend to use not only the manipulation of behavior from the superior position, but also the manipulation of feelings from the inferior position.