Relationships between the Dark Triad and Justification of Morally Debatable Behaviors in College Students

Abstract

The present study examined the relationship between Dark Triad personality traits and moral judgments in a sample of 68 undergraduate students recruited from psychology courses at a southeastern university.  All participants volunteered through an online system and received course research credit for participation. Participants completed the Short Dark Triad Measure to assess levels of psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and narcissism, as well as the Revised Morally Debatable Behaviors Scale (MDBS-R), in a controlled laboratory setting.  Individuals with strong psychopathic traits were predicted to report greater endorsement of morally debatable behaviors. Pearson correlation analyses were conducted to examine associations between Dark Triad traits and moral judgment outcomes. There were significant positive correlations between psychopathy and MDBS-R overall, MDBS-R honesty-dishonesty, as well as significant positive correlations between Machiavellianism and MDBS-R overall, MDBS-R honesty-dishonesty, and MDBS-R personal-sexual. The current study expanded previous research by examining what impacts the moral dilemma decision-making skills of individuals with psychopathic tendencies.