<
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/10/dark-triads-toxic-personalities/675683/>
"We all have stories of meeting people who appeared wonderful at first but
turned out to be just awful. Perhaps it was a charming suitor, or a charismatic
colleague, or a fascinating new friend. They attracted you on initial
impression, but before long, you started to notice behaviors that gave you
pause. Maybe it was a little shading of the truth here and there, or a bit too
much vanity and selfishness. Perhaps they constantly played the victim, or took
credit for other people’s work.
Or maybe your disillusionment with the person was not gradual, but through a
dramatic—and dramatically unpleasant—episode. All it may take is a minor
disagreement, and suddenly, you get screamed at, threatened with retaliation,
or reported to HR. This kind of encounter leaves you, understandably, baffled,
hurt, and confused.
Very likely, this person was a “Dark Triad” personality. The term was coined by
the psychologists Delroy Paulhus and Kevin Williams in 2002 for people with
three salient personality characteristics: narcissism, Machiavellianism, and a
measurable level of psychopathy. These people confuse and hurt you, because
they act in a way that doesn’t seem to make sense. As one scholar aptly
described the ones whose behavior shades more obviously into psychopathy, these
are “social predators who charm, manipulate, and ruthlessly plow their way
through life, leaving a broad trail of broken hearts, shattered expectations,
and empty wallets.”
But at least these people are rare, right? Wrong. Dark Triads counted for about
one in 14 people in an international population sample, a proportion that means
all of us will meet them on a regular basis in love, in work, in politics,
and—most obviously—on social media. For the sake of our happiness, well-being,
and wallets, we need to understand them, learn how to identify them, and steer
clear of them whenever we can—so that we can find better companions instead."
Via
What Could Go Right? October 26, 2023:
https://theprogressnetwork.org/brazil-amazon-deforestation-slowing/
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
