Short Dark Triad

What it measures

Measures the three dark personality traits: narcissism (grandiosity, entitlement), Machiavellianism (strategic manipulation, cynicism), and psychopathy (callousness, impulsivity). Widely used in social, personality, and organisational psychology.

Response format

Likert (1–5, strongly disagree to strongly agree)

Representative items

• I know that I am special because everyone keeps telling me so. (Narcissism)
• It's not wise to tell your secrets. (Machiavellianism)
• People who mess with me always regret it. (Psychopathy)
• Make sure your plans benefit yourself, not others. (Machiavellianism)
• I like to get revenge on authorities. (Psychopathy)

Usage notes & scoring

Three subscales should be interpreted separately — the traits are moderately correlated but distinct. Freely available. Lower internal consistency is expected given item brevity.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Jones, D.N., & Paulhus, D.L. (2014). Introducing the Short Dark Triad (SD3): A brief measure of dark personality traits. Assessment, 21(1), 28–41.

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