Trauma and the Dark Triad
Trauma and the Dark Triad
“A cluster of personality traits that are associated with criminal psychopathy. The cluster includes psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism” (Bartol et al., page 225). Like many other personality disorders, the traits of the ‘dark triad’ can be found rooted within traumatic experiences early in life. Each trait is a stand-alone characteristic describing aspects of the personality, and they work in combination with each other allowing the dark triad traits to further develop. What is the relationship of early life trauma as it relates to the dark triad traits?
John Bowlby, a British psychiatrist, provided the ‘attachment theory’ as part of the relationship between childhood trauma and the development of psychopathic traits. He theorized, through his “’maternal deprivation hypothesis’…that if a child’s attachment to a mother figure is broken, it damages their social, emotional, and intellectual development…Bowlby found that a lack of attachment resulted in what he called ‘affectionless psychopathy’, the inability to empathize with other people or to form meaningful relationships with them’” (psychologytoday.com). A second aspect in relating trauma to psychopathy in the dark triad, is a defense mechanism of becoming emotionally numb. In this, “some children respond to deprivation and trauma by ‘closing in’ on themselves and unconsciously disconnecting themselves from other people and from the world” (psychologytoday.com). Bond or other emotional connections are not made; what would be a protective factor has turned into a risk factor. Emotional underdevelopment and lack of emotional coping skills, contributed to the inability to show empathy, a characteristic of psychopathy.
The second personality trait within the dark triad is narcissism, which is also developed as a trauma response. Narcissism can be developed in early childhood as a response to parental neglect or inconsistent parenting. It is in these inadequate child-parent relationship, that can lead to the child not developing good self-esteem or self-worth. Without having positive and constant interactions with parents, the child is left to seeking validation from others. Part of the development of narcissistic traits is displayed by grandiosity and inflated sense of importance. Due to needing to seek validation, the characteristics observed can range from constant need for admiration, to be the center of attention, and a belief of superiority above all. The over glorification of self is the trauma response for feelings of inadequacy as a child. As narcissists grow through their childhood experiences while learning how to survive, the individual can become very skilled in manipulation, exploitation of others, and develop charisma to achieve what they want, no matter the price.
The third trait in the dark triad rooted in early trauma, is Machiavellianism. This trait is “characterized by focus on one’s own ambition and interests and adopting a utilitarian perspective in interactions with others…are prone to lying for personal gain and engaging in manipulative tactics to achieve success…tend to disregard ethical values” (files.eric.ed.gov). This trait is the culmination of childhood traumas mixed with the need to survive. As this type of behavior is reinforced through the life cycle of achieving positive outcomes, it becomes an effective way for the individual to further protect themselves. This trait, along with psychopathy and narcissism, is founded in a lack of emotional connections and relationships, in response to trauma early in life, without ever developing empathy or care for anyone but themselves.
Early life trauma is experienced differently for every individual; how one copes with this trauma is also different for everyone. With survival of these trauma paramount, individuals turn to themselves to develop the necessary tools to make it out of traumatic situations. While these three distinct personality traits can be recognized in every single person separately, not all use them in devious ways. It is the combination of these three traits working together that become the dark triad.
Resources:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/out-of-the-darkness/202404/the-roots-of-evil
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1394069.pdf
Bartol, C. R., & Bartol, A. M. (2021). Criminal behavior: a psychological approach (12th ed.). Pearson Education/Prentice Hall; Pearson.