The Dark Triad personality test

[Jon]

There is a great fun little text you can do to assess your personality on 3 traits:

1. Machiavellian
2. Narcissism
3. Psychopathy

It only takes 5 minutes! Lets us know how you get on.

Please note that if you cannot get access to this test because of your location, there are other tests of the same name out there.

The Dark Triad Personality Test: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20151123-how-dark-is-your-personality

 

[Bee]

 

[Jon]

When I took the test, I was slightly higher than average for psychopathy. I save midges out of my car so I know I am not the violent type. But perhaps I have a disconnect of sorts. For the record, I do love horrors!!

 

[FiFi]

Sums me up I think!

 

[Bee]

Sums me up I think!

We got the same! Perhaps it's a female thing? (Chuckles, knowing that the men will blanche at the thought....)

 

[Jon]

Fifi, I got that too. I don't know why others keep saying I am Frequently Vile!

The bit I find most interesting is the score for the 3 things they measure you for: machiavellianism, narcissism and psychopathy.

 

[Insane_AI]

I usually forgive out of self-preservation and laziness however when someone forces my hand, I tend to go to extremes to teach / remind them that it is a bad idea to cultivate me as an enemy; these situations usually revolve around my family being hurt rather than myself.

 

[Jon]

Hey it's great to see people taking this simple test. Very quick to do and a bit of fun. Gets you thinking about the different aspects of your personality. The Hexaco test is more in depth, takes a bit longer but is great for discovering new things about yourself.

Found here: https://themindtavern.com/community/threads/the-hexaco-personality-inventory-take-the-test-now.87/

I would then print out your results or screen shot them for future reference. Perhaps they have a pdf of your results you can download.

 

[fatmt]

 

[Jon]

Do you feel you are a manipulative person?

 

[fatmt]

Do you feel you are a manipulative person?

I largely participate in these tests just for fun. I do not believe they can accurately portray a person's character traits. You effectively are pigeonholing personalities with a bunch of questions like these.

Not to mention, there's some of these questions where there is no right answer:

It's not wise to tell your secrets - well, if they are secrets, by definition you shouldn't tell them
There are things you should hide from other people because they don’t need to know - Another oxymoron, if they don't need to know, why tell?
Make sure your plans benefit you, not others - there's no way to agree/disagree with this one, there is no consideration for alternatives such as plans that benefit you and others. It's a bit like someone forcing you to answer either Yes or No to "have you stopped beating your wife?"

 

[Jon]

The Dark Triad test is probably a piece of crap, but I did have one friend I know take the test and they aced the machiavellianism part. They said they don't consider it being manipulative. Rather, they said engineering things to your advantage is just being smart. So they admitted their behaviour and backward rationalised it.

The Hexaco test is much more accurate, in my view. It is based on years of psychological research and generally accepted theories of the 5 main personality categories..

 

[fatmt]

I did have one friend I know take the test and they aced the machiavellianism part. They said they don't consider it being manipulative. Rather, they said engineering things to your advantage is just being smart. So they admitted their behaviour and backward rationalised it.

This is one of those things that depend on context and meaning. If we go by the dictionary's explanation of the term 'manipulative':

Oxford dictionary :"exercising unscrupulous control or influence over a person or situation"​

Cambridge dictionary: "A manipulative person tries to control people to their advantage"​

Collins dictionary: "If you describe someone as manipulative, you disapprove of them because they skilfully force or persuade people to act in the way that they want. "​

​

So each of them assigns a negative connotation to the word albeit with varying degrees of disapproval. So I think, saying 'manipulative' tends to have a pessimistic tone, whichever way you use it.

• What about children? Especially at a young age, they learn how to get their own way by crying, lying or acting out. Is that manipulative?
• What about advertisements and marketing? They maximise the benefits a product or service may have, while minimising any weakness. Is that manipulative?
• What about politics?

 

[Jon]

I think all your bullet points are manipulative. Then you can ask the question, "Do the means justify the ends?"

 

[fatmt]

Then you can ask the question, "Do the means justify the ends?"

Well, that is a blanket question, which is difficult to answer. I would say that some means justify some ends.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Took the test.

"Infrequently Vile" - Very low on psychopathy, low on narcissism, above the middle on Machiavellanism.