The Antihero in Popular Culture: Life History Theory and the Dark Triad Personality Traits
Review of General Psychology © 2012 American Psychological Association 2012, Vol. 16, No. 2, 192–199 1089-2680/12/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0027914 The Antihero in Popular Culture: Life History Theory and the Dark Triad Personality Traits Peter K. Jonason Gregory D. Webster University of Western Sydney University of Florida David P. Schmitt Norman P. Li Bradley University Singapore Management University Laura Crysel University of Florida The Dark Triad of personality is composed of narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism. Despite the common belief that these traits are undesirable, the media is awash with characters that embody the Dark Triad. Characters like Gregory House, M.D., Batman (a.k.a. the Dark Knight), and James Bond all embody these traits and are some of the most popular media franchises today. As entertaining as these characters are, they provide us with a window into the dark side of human nature. Instead of treating the dark side of human nature as inherently maladaptive, we provide an alternative view that, despite their costs, traits like these can confer reproductive and survival benefits for the individual. In so doing, we review the research on the Dark Triad traits and provide a theoretical account for how these traits can confer some positive benefits. To facilitate comprehension, we provide examples taken from the media to show how evolutionary psychology and popular culture intersect. Keywords: Dark Triad, narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, Life History Theory The Dark Triad, composed of subclinical narcissism, psychopathy, Schmitt, 2009; Jonason, Valentine, Li, & Harbeson, 2011). Not and Machiavellianism, has become an increasingly popular constel- surprisingly, these traits have repeatedly been seen as part of the lation of traits (see Figure 1).
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