Pathological Personality Traits and Self-Reported Managerial Leadership: A Comparison of the Dirty Dozen and Five-Factor Model Antagonistic Triad Measure.

Abstract

This study (N = 427) examined the predictive and incremental validity of two Dark Triad (DT) measures-the Dirty Dozen (DD) and the Five-Factor Model Antagonistic Triad Measure (FFM ATM)-in relation to self-reported managerial leadership. Prior research shows that unidimensional DT measures like the DD may obscure nuanced trait-outcome relations. In contrast, the FFM ATM disaggregates DT traits into both core personality components (Antagonism, Emotional Stability, Impulsivity, Agency) and traditional DT subscales (e.g., Psychopathy comprises Antagonism, Emotional Stability, and Impulsivity). Results showed that the FFM ATM provided significantly stronger prediction and incremental validity across leadership dimensions. Both its empirically derived core factors and multidimensional DT subscales explained nearly all variance in leadership outcomes and consistently outperformed the DD in predictive accuracy. These findings highlight the value of capturing the multidimensional structure of DT traits when examining their distinct and overlapping relations with leadership. The results support the use of theoretically grounded, empirically robust instruments like the FFM ATM over brief omnibus measures to provide a more precise understanding of how individual differences in DT traits relate to managerial leaderships.