Know a “dark personality?” A new study explores how psychopaths and narcissists choose their careers. Take note. The dark side might even help us to.

A new study published in Personality and Individual Differences delved deep into “the dark triad” of man: psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and narcissism. Whereas previous research lumped these traits together, the latest sought to break them into distinct pathways that guide individuals towards a career or vocation.  

After surveying 600 undergraduates at a U.S. university, the research team could state, without a doubt, that “the dark side” in both men and women is attracted to power and persuasion.

And, with the insights gleaned from this study, organizations can spot toxic leadership and also educators who might want to guide individuals with darker traits towards healthier choices, Phys reports.

Do you have a dark personality? It’s okay

Researchers have just begun examining how dark personality traits are related to vocational interests, though they’ve examined their impact in workplace or vocational contexts for decades.

“Recently, there has been a growing fascination among personality and organizational psychologists on ‘dark’ career choices,” study authors continued.

Who knew? Who knew that psychologists were so blunt and upfront about “DT?” Dark traits. What to do with them? That’s the question. First, according to the authors of this study, researchers have to understand them individually.

Most studies to date treated DT traits as “unidimensional constructs,” as stated in the study. The facets of DT in relation to vocational interests had yet to be explored. Addressing this gap in research, they broke up the triarchic model of psychopathy: Boldness, Meanness, Disinhibition, Two-Dimensional Machiavellianism, and Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry.

Separating them broadened the perspective on the dark side. Dark people aren’t all bad, and light people aren’t all good. The ying and the yang. That way, researchers could break out of that paradigm themselves to identify the positive in the shadow, such as social influence and high self-esteem.

Which careers attracted these personalities?

The results spoke to the true value of breaking down this dark but sacred triad into distinct classes.

Health science attracted the Bold. The Mean, carrying limited empathy and heightened hostility, gravitated towards technology and hands-on mechanical work. The Impulsives were the creatives of the group.

The Machiavellians — the cynics — were inclined towards leadership roles, funny enough, where they might be able to manipulate or exploit others. However, those within this class of DT “who related to the tactics,” according to Phys, but not the domination, directed these dark energies into the creative arts and nature, choosing to work with animals. They actually avoided working with people. Probably for the best.

Narcissists desired both influence and creative expression.

Above all, approaching the triad individually enabled researchers to identify one overarching theme they shared— they search for roles rooted in power and persuasion. Both men and women.

But the study only investigated students. The research would have to extend into the professional realm to deepen these burgeoning understandings of how the dark facets of ourselves operate, suggesting even the necessity of the shadow as that might be directing our career choices through the world.

But that aside, the study concentrates on “dark” vocational preferences, offering practical insights for organizational scientists to understand how dark personalities are likely to enter, and even thrive in, certain work environments that fit their dispositional tendencies, the study concludes.