The Faculty of Media and Communications, Belgrade
Institute of Criminological and Sociological Research, Belgrade
Received: November 5, 2022
Revision received: March 21, 2023
Accepted: March 22, 2023
UDK: 159.923.072(497.11) 159.942.6.072(497.11)
Pages: 1-20
Traits such as psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and narcissism are commonly used to describe the dark side of human personality. These traits, collectively known as the dark personality triad (Paulhus, 2014), have been the focus of research by psychologists seeking a more nuanced understanding of negative personality traits. To further explore this subject, researchers have included subclinical sadism, also known as everyday sadism (Buckels et al., 2013), and developed a new classification called the dark tetrad (Međedović & Petrović, 2015). The dark tetrad encompasses various negative traits and characteristics that are associated with personal and social problems, and are considered undesirable (Jonason et al., 2010). The pervasiveness of these personality traits in popular culture and their impact on interpersonal relationships and the workplace (Sedikides et al., 2004) make deeper research into the dark tetrad potentially beneficial for individuals, especially from the perspective of romantic relationships. Previous studies have shown a correlation between dark traits and affective attachment dimensions (Nickisch et al., 2020), as well as between jealousy and affective attachment (Knobloch et al., 2001; Marshall et al., 2013; Karakurt, 2001), supporting the expectation of affective attachment playing a mediating role in this research.
KEY WORDS: dark triad / machiavellianism / psychopathy / narcissism / sadism / avoidance / anxiety
