The relationship between character strengths and the Dark Triad

Abstract

This study aimed to verify the mean difference of the 24 character strengths considering the level of each character strength in relation to the Dark Triad of personality. A total of 284 people participated in the study, responding to the Character Strength Scale and to the Short Dark Triad. Among them, 71.5% were female, with a mean age of 29.06 years (SD = 9.73). For Machiavellianism and psychopathy, specific strengths are characterized by their underuse, while for narcissism, apart from modesty, character strengths are overused. Accordingly, we conclude that the underuse and overuse of character strengths can result in negative outcomes in addition to the socially valued positive aspects.