In recent years, the scientific community has shown growing interest in examining how dark personality traits (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and subclinical psychopathy) affect leadership performance and organizational dynamics. These traits, typically linked to manipulative behavior, egocentrism, and lack of empathy, may also confer certain adaptive advantages in highly competitive environments (Paulhus and Williams, 2002). In this regard, the so-called Dark Triad of personality has been associated with dysfunctional behaviors, such as the instrumentalization of others, lack of empathy, and the pursuit of personal gain through interpersonal exploitation (Aluja et al., 2022; Doerfler et al., 2021; Duradoni et al., 2023; Junca-Silva and Silva, 2023; Nguyen et al., 2021). Its presence in the workplace can significantly deteriorate the organizational climate, increasing conflict, reducing employee cooperation, and negatively affecting workers’ psychological well-being.

Specifically, Machiavellianism is defined by a strategic orientation toward personal goal achievement through manipulation and the use of others as instruments (Christie and Geis, 1970). Narcissism, in turn, is characterized by a grandiose self-image, an intense need for admiration, and a limited capacity for empathy (Morf and Rhodewalt, 2001). Subclinical psychopathy in work settings is associated with emotional insensitivity, impulsivity, and a tendency toward moderate antisocial behavior (Babiak and Hare, 2006).

Nevertheless, these traits do not invariably lead to negative outcomes in organizational settings. In certain contexts, such as those demanding high competitiveness or rapid decision-making, individuals with elevated scores in one or more of these traits may exhibit strategic advantages (Kaufmann et al., 2021; McLarty and Holt, 2019). For example, narcissism can be linked to high levels of self-confidence and charisma, qualities that, under specific conditions, may facilitate leadership, particularly when modulated by prosocial traits that foster cooperation and ethical integrity (Brunzel, 2021; Fatfouta, 2019). In this sense, the relationship between leadership and dark personality traits constitutes a complex paradigm. While these traits may be related to valuable competencies in demanding contexts—such as persuasiveness, stress resilience, or risk-taking—when dysregulated, they may trigger interpersonal conflicts, unethical organizational practices, and the degradation of the workplace climate.

Within the field of personality psychology, the Dark Triad has likewise garnered increasing attention as a cluster of traits with significant implications for interpersonal and social behavior. While these traits share common elements, such as manipulation, lack of empathy, and egocentric orientation, each exhibits distinct characteristics: Machiavellianism is linked to a calculating and manipulative disposition; narcissism to an inflated self-image and a sense of superiority; and subclinical psychopathy to impulsivity, emotional detachment, and lack of remorse. Despite their frequent joint examination, it is essential to analyze their interaction with other personality traits to more deeply understand their impact across diverse contexts.

The scientific literature suggests that the effects of Dark Triad traits on job performance do not operate in isolation, but rather depend significantly on their interaction with other personality components (Miao et al., 2019). Certain trait combinations may either mitigate or intensify their influence in organizational settings. For instance, a high level of conscientiousness, a trait from the Five-Factor Model, may moderate the expression of Machiavellian tendencies, leading to strategic behavior that does not compromise the ethical standards of the organization. This integrative perspective enables the identification of personality configurations that promote both high performance and prosocial adaptation, as well as those that may give rise to dysfunctional behaviors with negative consequences for both individual and collective well-being (Ellen et al., 2021; Kowalski et al., 2021; Musek and Grum, 2021; Rico-Bordera et al., 2023).

Moreover, other personality traits such as humility and kindness, though not explicitly included in the Five-Factor Model, have been shown to play a significant role in modulating the effects of the Dark Triad. These traits can act as protective factors against narcissistic, Machiavellian, or psychopathic behaviors by fostering more ethical, cooperative, and empathetic interactions in the workplace (Howard and Van Zandt, 2020; Hudson, 2023; Puthillam et al., 2020).

Beyond deficit-centered models, contemporary motivational research suggests that the expression of dark traits in achievement contexts can be channeled adaptively when the social environment nurtures individuals’ basic psychological needs. Drawing on Self-Determination Theory (SDT), recent evidence in the educational field shows that frustration versus support of these needs is systematically associated with maladaptive versus adaptive functioning, including the ability to persevere and self-regulate effort. In this vein, using a large adolescent sample, Trigueros and García-Mas (2025) demonstrated that need frustration predicts lower grit and resilience, as well as less self-determined forms of regulation. Importantly, their analyses support the role of novelty as a fourth basic need alongside autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Complementarily, Trigueros et al. (2025) highlighted that interpersonal need-supportive behaviors among peers (e.g., fostering a partner’s autonomy, reinforcing competence, and promoting relational bonds) are positively related to engagement, grit, resilience, and intrinsic motivation, whereas need-thwarting behaviors show the opposite pattern. Although these studies were conducted in physical education settings, their mechanisms are general: when individuals perceive opportunities for volition, efficacy, supportive relationships, and novelty, they show enhanced self-regulation and persistence in the face of adversity.

Transposed to organizational psychology, these findings offer a constructive and complementary lens for interpreting the Dark Triad in the workplace. First, a need-supportive organizational climate, characterized by autonomy-supportive leadership, competence scaffolding, relational integration, and opportunities for novelty and innovation, may moderate how agentic and risk-taking tendencies linked to narcissism or psychopathy are expressed, channeling them toward functional outcomes such as proactive problem-solving, creative initiative, or crisis decision-making, rather than interpersonal exploitation. Conversely, need-thwarting climates, marked by controlling supervision, feedback that undermines competence, social exclusion, or monotonous/repetitive tasks, are likely to exacerbate Machiavellian instrumentalism or impulsive, disengaged styles, with negative implications for ethics and team climate.

The evidence regarding novelty as a psychological need is particularly relevant in contexts that value innovation. The finding that novelty frustration co-occurs with lower resilience and grit (Trigueros and García-Mas, 2025) suggests a concrete design lever: structuring jobs that are not only autonomous and socially integrated, but also varied and stimulating. In parallel, peer dynamics, team norms that either support or thwart needs, mirror classroom findings: peer support predicts higher perseverance and wellbeing (Trigueros et al., 2025). Consequently, rather than treating dark traits as uniformly detrimental (or advantageous), an integrative approach should consider how cultural and organizational structures shape the motivational context in which these traits are expressed. This complementary perspective aligns with our focus on the adaptive expressions of dark traits and provides a theoretical rationale for examining how sociocultural and sociodemographic factors modulate their manifestation in the workplace and across countries.

Despite the marked increase in research on the Dark Triad in workplace settings, much of the empirical evidence has been derived from homogeneous samples or single-country studies, often without sufficiently accounting for cultural differences. However, cultural factors play a critical role in shaping the social acceptance and behavioral expression of specific personality traits. Likewise, age group, professional occupation, and gender can act as influential sociodemographic moderators of behaviors related to manipulation, impulsivity, or emotional insensitivity. This highlights the need for more diverse and culturally sensitive approaches in this area of research. In this regard, several authors have noted that impulsivity and other psychopathic traits have a significant genetic basis; nonetheless, their expression can vary substantially depending on the cultural context (Larsson et al., 2006). In line with this, Matsunaga et al. (2000), in a study involving Japanese participants, identified clinical similarities between individuals with bulimia nervosa and those with multiple impulsivity traits when compared to Western populations, suggesting the presence of cross-cultural commonalities in the expression of these traits.

With respect to gender, the literature has documented notable differences in the manifestation of traits associated with the Dark Triad, particularly impulsivity. Prior studies have found that men tend to exhibit higher levels of impulsivity in both action execution and decision-making (Nautiyal et al., 2016; Yarmush et al., 2016). Chen et al. (2022) similarly reported that male participants scored higher than females across all assessed dimensions of impulsivity. However, they also observed conflicting findings regarding the neural correlates of these traits. Specifically, women demonstrated stronger correlations than men between sensation-seeking and the volume of brain structures such as the insula, putamen, and inferior frontal gyrus, as well as between positive urgency and the volume of the cingulate cortex, insula, and inferior frontal gyrus.

Complementarily, Rochat (2022) has highlighted that empathy also shows significant variation across developmental stages, influenced by early socialization factors, structural and functional brain differences, and both genetic and hormonal components. While there is broad consensus regarding the higher levels of impulsivity typically observed in males, the underlying neural mechanisms appear to differ by gender, underscoring the importance of incorporating this variable into studies on impulsivity and its psychological and biological correlates (Chen et al., 2022; Eisenberg et al., 2007; Yarmush et al., 2016).

Although certain personality traits, such as impulsivity, have a substantial genetic basis, their expression and social acceptance are modulated by cultural and gender-related factors. This reality underscores the need for an integrative research approach that systematically considers these variables. The lack of comparative studies examining such interactions in distinct occupational contexts, such as those of Chile and Spain, constitutes a significant limitation in understanding the cultural, sociodemographic, and gender-specific nuances of organizational behavior. Moreover, this gap hinders the development of intervention strategies tailored to specific contextual realities.

Based on these considerations, the primary aim of the present study was to analyze potential differences in the dimensions of dark personality (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) in workplace settings in Chile and Spain, with particular attention to cultural, sociodemographic, and gender-based differences. From a methodological standpoint, the comparison between Spain and Chile minimizes translation bias through the use of instruments administered in the same language (linguistic control), thereby enhancing both construct and measurement validity (Arenas-Gaitán et al., 2011). Theoretically, the two countries exhibit distinct cultural profiles across classical dimensions (e.g., power distance, uncertainty avoidance, and masculinity/individualism), which may modulate the expression and social valuation of dark traits and related behaviors (Hofstede, 2011). From an applied perspective, their organizational systems and labor markets share sufficient proximity to ensure comparability, while also displaying differences that enable the identification of potential moderating effects of culture and organizational climate (socio-organizational variation). In this line, the following research hypotheses have been formulated:

H_1a (sex-factors). Men will score higher than women on the three dimensions of the TOP (EGO, IMPO, NCI). This expectation is grounded in the seminal Dark Triad model (Paulhus and Williams, 2002), in meta-analytic evidence documenting sex differences in narcissism (Grijalva et al., 2015a), and in neurobehavioral findings showing greater impulsivity among males (Chen et al., 2022).

The results indicated no statistically significant differences in the three theoretical dimensions of the TOP based on the defined age groups, country of origin, or declared profession of the participants. However, gender-based differences were identified, with men scoring higher than women across all dimensions (M ♂ > M ♀ in EGO, IMPO, and NCI; F_{(1, 171)} = 4.91–9.73, p = 0.028–0.002, η² = 0.028–0.054) (Table 3).

Although both women and men tend, on average, to slightly disagree with narcissistic, Machiavellian, or psychopathic statements, men do so to a lesser extent, bringing their responses closer to the neutral midpoint (neutral point = 4). Considering a statistical power of 1-β ≈ 0.95, the risk of committing a Type II error is low. Moreover, the effect sizes range between 0.028 and 0.054, which, according to conventional benchmarks (0.01 = small, 0.06 = medium), fall within the small but consistent range. Despite the presence of real differences, gender accounts for only 2.8 to 5.4% of the variance in each trait, indicating that most variability is explained by factors other than gender. Consequently, the absolute difference between men and women is approximately three-tenths of a point, which likely reflects a gradient of expression rather than a clinically meaningful gap.

Men scored higher than women on five subscales: Need to Exercise Authority (T_Aut), Sense of Superiority (T_Sup), Harshness (T_Dur), Impulsivity (T_Imp), and Concealment of the Truth (T_Ocu) (Table 4). The first three belong to the EGO and IMPO dimensions and reflect a firm self-concept of leadership, a conviction of being superior to others, and a belief in strength as a means of achievement. The latter two correspond to the psychopathic (NCI) component, indicating emotional dysregulation and a willingness to lie for personal gain. Although the mean differences approach 3–4 points (p = 0.034–0.008), both groups remain within the 46–54 range, categorized as average or typical for the normative group. Thus, men tend to express a slightly greater inclination toward authority, superiority, and instrumental harshness, though without reaching high-risk levels that would compromise workplace coexistence.

Regarding geographic origin, the Chilean subsample scored higher than the Spanish subsample on the subscales Leadership Attribution (T_Lid) and Risk-Seeking (T_Rie), two core traits of work-oriented narcissism. The Chilean averages (≈ 51–52) are approximately one decile above the Spanish averages (≈ 48), remaining within the normative range and associated with modest effect sizes (η² ≈ 0.03). These values suggest that the differences may reflect cultural nuances (e.g., appreciation of entrepreneurship or visible leadership in Latin American contexts) rather than substantial variations in the presence of dark traits.

The age-based analysis revealed a single significant contrast on the Sense of Superiority scale, which was higher in the oldest group (64–80 years) compared to the middle-aged group (42–52 years) (Table 5). While the older group reached a mean of 51.7 points and the middle-aged group fell to 47.2, both remained within the typical or average range for the trait. A life-course explanation may account for this difference: as individuals accumulate professional experience, senior workers tend to reaffirm their expertise, resulting in a more prominent self-perception relative to younger colleagues. However, the effect size was small to moderate (η² = 0.056) and did not extend to other dimensions such as impulsivity or harshness, which generally tend to decline with age. Nonetheless, these findings should be interpreted with caution, as confirmation would require group sizes ≥ 30, allowing the Central Limit Theorem to ensure greater variance stability.

The professional category proved to be significant on the Leadership Attribution scale (T_Lid). Managerial and executive staff (Category 2) reached a mean score of 55.9 (classified as moderate-high), clearly surpassing both technical and scientific professionals (49.0) and all other occupational groups (42–50) (Table 6). The effect size (η² = 0.090) was the largest observed in the study, and the statistical power (0.84) supports the reliability of this finding. According to these results, individuals in leadership positions report a higher self-perception of leadership, which is consistent both with the demands of their roles and with self-selection processes, whereby individuals with a stronger (adaptive) narcissistic orientation are more likely to pursue positions of power.

No significant differences were found across professions in traits such as harshness, impulsivity, or emotional coldness. This supports the notion that the Dark Triad is not a defining feature of ordinary occupational life, except in its component of self-attributed leadership.

Culture plays a significant role in shaping how individuals express dark personality traits. According to Hofstede’s (2001) model of cultural dimensions, factors such as individualism versus collectivism may moderate the social acceptance and expression of egocentric, manipulative, or emotionally insensitive behaviors. In this regard, recent research has suggested that in more collectivist cultures such as Chile, manifestations of Machiavellianism tend to be less explicit or direct than in more individualistic cultures such as Spain (López et al., 2019).

In line with these cultural considerations, evidence suggests that the interplay between Dark Triad traits and certain contextual moderators may, in Chile, foster both leadership attribution and risk propensity. At the individual level, narcissism has been positively associated with the emergence of leadership (though not necessarily with its effectiveness), a circumstance that increases the likelihood that such individuals will be perceived and selected as leaders (Grijalva et al., 2015a; Grijalva et al., 2015b). In parallel, dark traits, particularly subclinical psychopathy, have been linked to heightened sensation-seeking and risk-taking behaviors, as well as to the perception that such behaviors can yield benefits in competitive environments (Kennedy et al., 2021). At the situational level, climates characterized by high organizational politics and low accountability tend to amplify and “reward” instrumental behaviors associated with the Dark Triad, facilitating their visibility and advancement (Cohen, 2016). Moreover, in Latin America, there is emerging evidence that certain productive contexts value adaptability and self-promotion, showing positive associations between dark traits and work behaviors related to risk-taking (Jahanshahi et al., 2023). In this regard, more charismatic or participatory leadership cultures, together with organizational settings perceived as ambiguous or politicized, may be catalyzing leadership attribution and risk-taking in Chile as compared to Spain.

Notwithstanding the above, empirical evidence indicates that dark traits are frequently associated with antisocial behaviors and unethical attitudes across diverse cultural contexts. For instance, these traits have been shown to predict academic dishonesty (Curtis, 2023) and ethically questionable consumer practices (Egan et al., 2014) in international samples, suggesting a relative universality in their behavioral impact. However, the specific expression of these traits may differ significantly depending on the cultural context. Brownell et al. (2023), for example, identified nonlinear relationships between levels of dark traits in business founders and organizational performance, indicating that moderate levels of such traits may be adaptive in certain entrepreneurial environments. These findings point to the possibility that prevailing norms and values in a given culture, particularly in business settings, can modulate whether these traits function as adaptive or dysfunctional.

The scientific literature underscores the complexity and multidimensionality of dark personality traits, as well as the need to consider them in interaction with cultural, sociodemographic, and gender variables (Hofstetter and Filsinger, 2023; Rogoza and Cieciuch, 2018). Although the effects of the Dark Triad demonstrate a certain degree of cross-cultural consistency, it is likely that social norms, shared values, and culturally embedded role expectations influence how these traits are expressed in specific contexts. Consequently, further cross-cultural research is needed to deepen our understanding of the intricate interactions between personality and culture.

At the same time, numerous studies have documented significant gender differences in the expression of dark traits. In general terms, men tend to score higher than women in Machiavellianism and subclinical psychopathy, whereas gender differences in narcissism have produced more mixed results (Grijalva et al., 2015a; Grijalva et al., 2015b). These disparities may be mediated by sociocultural factors, gender norms, and social expectations tied to traditional role patterns. In this regard, Miller et al. (2010) proposed the concept of the Vulnerable Dark Triad (VDT), which includes vulnerable narcissism, the secondary factor of psychopathy, and traits associated with borderline personality disorder. This framework suggests the existence of subtypes or differential profiles within the Dark Triad traits, whose expression may vary according to gender and other contextual factors.

The contrasts conducted in the present study reveal a specific pattern characterized by small-to-moderate effect sizes (η² = 0.026–0.090) and statistical power values that only occasionally reach the optimal threshold (1-β = 0.57–0.84). Therefore, the practical relevance of the observed differences should be interpreted with caution. Given that most of the obtained scores fall within the normative average range, the identified differences appear to reflect sample characteristics related to role, such as being male, Chilean, older, or holding a managerial position, rather than pathological deviations in personality.

As a result, the findings outline a profile of the worker who, when occupying positions of authority or possessing greater professional experience, tends to perceive themselves as a competent leader, somewhat superior and willing to act decisively. However, extreme emotional coldness, interpersonal cynicism, and manipulative concealment do not show systematic increases across any of the variables examined.