Dark triad test

What is the dark triad?

Psychologists Delroy Paulhus and Kevin Williams coined the term in 2002 for three overlapping, socially "dark" traits found in ordinary people:

• Narcissism: grandiosity, a hunger for admiration and entitlement.
• Machiavellianism: a cynical view of people and a willingness to manipulate them strategically.
• Psychopathy: boldness and impulsivity combined with low empathy and guilt.

All three share a core of callousness: putting your own interests first at the expense of others.

Not a diagnosis

This test measures everyday traits that vary across everyone. A high score does not mean you have narcissistic or antisocial personality disorder, which only a qualified clinician can diagnose. The statements are our own and are not taken from clinical instruments.

Want to focus on one trait? Take the shorter narcissist test or psychopath test.

Questions people ask

What is a normal dark triad score?

Most people score low to moderate on all three traits. Very high scores on all three are rare.

Which dark triad trait is the most harmful?

Research usually finds psychopathy, especially its cold, callous side, is most linked with harm to others, followed by Machiavellianism.

What is the light triad?

A set of opposite traits described by Scott Barry Kaufman and colleagues in 2019: faith in humanity, humanism and treating others as ends in themselves (Kantianism).