Objective: To explain and predict unethical behavior, much attention has been
devoted to the “Dark Triad of Personality”, a set of three socially aversive person-
ality traits: Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy. Despite its popular-
ity, research on the Dark Triad has been beset by recurring concerns surrounding
the distinctiveness of its components. Herein, we propose an alternative theoreti-
cal view that conceptualizes the Dark Triad traits as specific manifestations of the
common core of aversive traits (conceptualized as the Dark Factor of Personality,
D) flavored by unique, essentially non-aversive characteristics.
Method: In two studies (total N > 1000), we test this idea by examining the con-
ceptual and empirical overlap and specificity of the Dark Triad traits vis-à-vis D
and each other.
Results: Findings support the conceptualization of the Dark Triad traits as fla-
vored manifestations of D and also reveal a marked discrepancy between the cur-
rent conceptualization of the Dark Triad traits and the empirical structure of its
subdimensions. In fact, evidence clearly failed to support the existence of a triad
of traits.
Conclusion: Conceptualizing single aversive traits as a conjunction of core D
aspects and essentially non-aversive characteristics (admiration; disinhibition vs.
planfulness; vulnerability vs. boldness) holds promise to move the field forward.