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Personality and Individual Differences 116 (2017) 336–342
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Personality and Individual Differences
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/paid
The Dark Triad and compassion: Psychopathy and narcissism's unique
connections to observed suffering
Sherman A. Lee ⁎, Jeffrey A. Gibbons
Christopher Newport University, United States
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history:
Received 30 March 2017
Received in revised form 7 May 2017
Accepted 8 May 2017
Available online 12 May 2017
Keywords:
Dark Triad
Compassion
Empathy
Emotion regulation
a b s t r a c t
Past studies have linked the Dark Triad (DT) traits to dispositional empathy, but not to compassionate feelings in
response to observed suffering. To fill this void in the literature, we examined the influence of the DT traits on
state compassion using validated film methodology. One hundred and fifty-six college students viewed a
movie scene of a distraught child watching his father die. The results revealed that while psychopathy was a negative predictor of compassion for the child, narcissism was a positive predictor. These DT traits explained compassion beyond the contribution of demographics, grief symptoms, and trait compassion. Furthermore, empathic
and emotion processes uniquely mediated each of the DT and compassion connections. We discuss our results
in terms of the callousness theory of DT and narcissism's positive correlation with compassion and empathy.
© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
Researchers have shown great interest in socially aversive personality traits in nonclinical samples over the last decade. Machiavellianism,
psychopathy, and narcissism, collectively known as the Dark Triad (DT),
have proven to be more than just cardinal descriptions of cartoon villains, famous criminals, and maniacal leaders (Paulhus & Williams,
2002). Rather, studies of this constellation of traits have deepened our
understanding of the darker side of personality and how it is expressed
in average people (Paulhus, 2014). For instance, DT traits have been
shown to predict a wide range of meaningful outcomes from mating behavior and academic cheating to prejudice and aggressive tendencies
(Furnham, Richards, & Paulhus, 2013). Within this growing literature,
one line of inquiry that warrants exploration is the link between the
DT and compassion. Although many investigations have examined the
relations of the DT with trait empathy, research has not explicitly studied compassion, which is surprising given that callousness in response
to other individuals' needs is believed to be a unifying feature of the
DT (Paulhus, 2014). The goal of the current study was to fill the void
in the literature by examining compassion as a reaction to observed
suffering.
Compassion is a unique emotional response to someone's suffering
that is characterized by both the feelings of sorrow and concern for
the sufferer and a strong desire to alleviate their suffering (Goetz,
Keltner, & Simon-Thomas, 2010). Although compassion is distinct
from, but highly influenced by empathic processes, it has been shown
⁎ Corresponding author at: Department of Psychology, Christopher Newport University,
1 Avenue of the Arts, Newport News, VA 23606, United States.
E-mail address: sherman.lee@cnu.edu (S.A. Lee).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.05.010
0191-8869/© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
to be the primary emotional driver of altruistic action (Lim & DeSteno,
2016). As the key to prosocial behavior, compassion has been central
to the teachings of major religious traditions and of keen interest to scientists investigating the origins of altruism and violence (Lama &
Ekman, 2008). Common conclusions about this emotion are that people
vary to the degree they experience compassion when they encounter
suffering and these differences are attributed to a variety of personlevel factors. For instance, social class (Steller, Manzo, Kraus, & Keltner,
2012), dispositional empathy (Masten, Morelli, & Eisenberger, 2011),
and trait compassion (Lim & DeSteno, 2016) have all been found to influence compassion. Although the DT traits have not been explicitly
linked to compassion, the literature demonstrates that personality traits
impact this prosocial emotion.
Despite the lack of empirical work relating the DT traits to compassion, researchers have shown a developing interest in the connections
with trait empathy that provide insights into this proposed relationship.
The literature has shown many examples where trait empathy is inversely associated with psychopathy (Giammarco & Vernon, 2014;
Jonason & Krause, 2013; Jonason & Kroll, 2015), Machiavellianism
(Giammarco & Vernon, 2014; Jonason & Krause, 2013; Jonason &
Kroll, 2015; Wai & Tiliopoulos, 2012), and narcissism (Delič, Novak,
Kovačič, & Avsec, 2011; Giammarco & Vernon, 2014). These findings reinforce the negative reputation of the DT, and they support a basic theoretical proposal that a lack of empathy is an underlying element that
binds these traits together (Paulhus, 2014).
However, the link between the DT and empathy is not straightforward in the case of narcissism. Although narcissism has shown negative
correlations with trait empathy, which is consistent with the other DT
traits, many studies have reported positive correlations between these
two constructs (Jonason & Krause, 2013; Jonason & Kroll, 2015; Vonk,
S.A. Lee, J.A. Gibbons / Personality and Individual Differences 116 (2017) 336–342
Zeigler-Hill, Mayhew, & Mercer, 2013; Wai & Tiliopoulos, 2012). The
reason for this inconsistency continues to be unknown, but some viable
theories explaining the positive association between narcissism and
empathy have been proposed. For instance, researchers have suggested
that the high empathy exhibited by some narcissists actually reflects a
bias in their reporting of emotions (Wai & Tiliopoulos, 2012). Despite
the fact that many narcissists are no more gifted than others at reading
others' emotions, narcissists still have a tendency to rate themselves
higher in emotional competence than their counterparts (Ames &
Kammrath, 2004; Petrides, Vernon, Schermer, & Veselka, 2011). This
propensity to exaggerate empathic ability could reflect both the narcissists' unrealistic sense of superiority (Wai & Tiliopoulos, 2012) as well as
their high emotional expressiveness (Lyons & Brockman, 2017). On the
other hand, other researchers have suggested that some narcissists may
actually possess empathic tendencies. Vonk et al. (2013), for example,
argue that some narcissists may rely on empathy to maintain their social bonds and their fragile self-worth. Being empathic in this instrumental sense can help narcissists take advantage of others in order to
fulfill their interpersonally based needs (Jonason & Kroll, 2015).
Taken together, the literature demonstrates that the DT traits are
generally inversely associated with trait empathy, except in the case
of narcissism where the findings are mixed. The DT literature has also
focused on trait empathy and not on compassion as a feeling state.
Therefore, the current study sought to address this gap in the literature
by examining the predictive relation between the DT traits and state
compassion using a sample of college students. We chose film methodology in the current study because it is a highly effective, reliable, and
ecologically valid means for eliciting strong emotional responses in a
laboratory setting (Rottenberg, Ray, & Gross, 2007).
Given the trends found in previous research, we made the following
predictions. First, we expected Machiavellianism and psychopathy to be
negative predictors of compassion because these traits tend to be associated with low levels of dispositional empathy. Because empathy and
compassion are closely related emotions, we believe that this similarity
will also extend to the results of this study. Second, we expected narcissism to be a positive predictor of compassion because narcissists tend to
be biased in their reporting of emotions. Moreover, because compassion
is a moral emotion that was measured using self-report ratings, we believed that the narcissists would use that opportunity to express their
emotions and self-righteous superiority over others.
We statistically tested these predictions using a hierarchical multiple
regression analysis. Because variables such as demographics, trait
compassion, neuroticism, grief symptoms from an important loss, and
337
cohort size may confound the results of the study, we used the variables
that were correlated with state compassion as statistical controls. We
also examined the mediating effects of emotion and empathic processes
reported during the film study in order to provide explanatory accounts
for the specific links found between the DT traits and state compassion.
In particular, changes in sadness and anxiety states were evaluated because they reflect the basic emotions that are central to the subjective
experience of compassion (Goetz et al., 2010). Emotional empathy
(i.e., feeling others' emotions) and perspective taking (i.e., understanding how others' may feel) were also evaluated because they represent
the two basic facets of the empathy construct that are often implicated
in the initiation of compassion (Lama & Ekman, 2008). Finally, a series of
psychometric analyses were also conducted to ensure that state compassion, as it is the central variable of the current study, was reliably
and validly measured.
2. Method
2.1. Participants and procedure
Data from 156 college students (M age = 19.15) were used for
this study. Most of the participants were White (n = 120),
women (n = 128), and of Christian faith (n = 115). Nine participants
were excluded from the analyses for not following protocols. The
study took place in an auditorium style classroom using a small group
format (Mgroup = 13.38), consistent with previous film studies (Gross
& Levenson, 1995). After obtaining consent, participants completed a series of pre-film measures. Next, participants watched three film clips,
edited and validated for affective science research (Gross & Levenson,
1995; Rottenberg et al., 2007; Samson, Kreibig, Soderstrom, Wade, &
Gross, 2016), which were each followed by post-film measures. Films
#1 (neutral) and #3 (neutral) were uneventful scenes of people in public
places that were used as baselines for calculating changes in sadness and
anxiety states (Rottenberg et al., 2007). Film #2 (death) is a scene from a
1979 movie, The Champ, which shows an emotional young boy reacting
to his father dying. This death scene has been shown to reliably elicit sad
emotional responses in college students (Gross & Levenson, 1995).
2.2. Measures
2.2.1. Pre-film measures
The Dark Triad traits were assessed using Jonason and Webster's
(2010) 12-item measure (αglobal = 0.84; αnarcissism = 0.84;
Table 1
Factor loadings and descriptive statistics of the state empathy and state compassion items.
#
Item
F1
F2
F3
M
SD
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
I put myself in the young boy's place.
I felt as if I was the young boy in the film clip.
I imagined myself as the young boy.
I experienced what the young boy was experiencing.
I found it difficult to see the young boy's point of view.a
It was easy for me to understand how the young boy was feeling.
I was able to relate to how the young boy was feeling.
It was easy to take on the young boy's perspective.
I felt sorry for the young boy.
I felt concerned for the young boy.
It broke my heart to see the young boy in that condition.
I did not feel very much sorrow or concern for the young boy.a
I felt an overwhelming desire to comfort the young boy.
I felt a strong desire to end the young boy's emotional pain.
I wished that I could help the young boy feel better.
I really wanted to soothe the young boy.
0.251
0.194
0.254
0.247
0.120
0.069
0.207
0.265
0.622
0.631
0.680
0.523
0.838
0.814
0.881
0.877
0.785
0.874
0.827
0.483
0.060
0.145
0.221
0.260
0.127
0.121
0.216
0.090
0.223
0.213
0.217
0.283
0.292
0.110
0.172
0.347
0.414
0.877
0.690
0.756
0.352
0.336
0.276
0.125
0.060
0.131
0.134
0.120
1.93
1.26
1.54
1.41
0.43
2.68
2.12
2.56
3.58
3.26
3.18
0.35
2.57
2.47
2.88
2.74
1.34
1.34
1.42
1.31
0.82
1.21
1.33
1.25
0.84
1.07
1.18
0.82
1.34
1.27
1.19
1.31
Note. Item number = #; factors for pattern/structure coefficient loadings (F1, F2, F3);
State emotional empathy (items 1–4; F2); state perspective taking (items 5–8; F3);
State compassion (items 9–16; F1); M = mean; SD = standard deviation.
Italics indicates the target of the emotion.
a
Reverse score item.
338
S.A. Lee, J.A. Gibbons / Personality and Individual Differences 116 (2017) 336–342
Table 2
Zero-order correlations among main study variables.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
DT
PSY
NAR
MAC
N
TC
GRF
AX-REAC
AX-RECO
SD-REAC
SD-RECO
PT
EE
COMP
M
SD
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
2.21
1.65
2.86
2.12
2.74
3.97
0.84
1.15
−0.76
1.82
−1.79
2.73
1.54
3.04
0.63
0.71
0.89
0.86
1.02
0.77
0.62
0.96
0.93
1.04
1.05
0.94
1.16
0.93
–
0.68⁎⁎
0.77⁎⁎
0.89⁎⁎
0.26⁎⁎
−0.23⁎⁎
−0.05
−0.08
0.13
−0.05
0.06
−0.14
−0.02
−0.13
–
0.21⁎⁎
0.47⁎⁎
0.00
−0.53⁎⁎
−0.13
−0.19⁎
0.18⁎
−0.19⁎
0.22⁎⁎
−0.33⁎⁎
−0.23⁎⁎
−0.47⁎⁎
–
0.49⁎⁎
0.35⁎⁎
0.06
0.04
0.07
−0.02
0.14
−0.14
0.05
0.20⁎
0.19⁎
–
0.20⁎
−0.14
−0.03
−0.10
0.15
−0.10
0.09
−0.08
−0.07
−0.10
–
0.14
0.20⁎
−0.03
0.07
0.08
−0.08
0.02
0.08
0.14
–
0.26⁎⁎
0.26⁎⁎
−0.13
0.31⁎⁎
−0.31⁎⁎
0.43⁎⁎
0.41⁎⁎
0.65⁎⁎
–
0.17⁎
−0.13
0.30⁎⁎
−0.30⁎⁎
0.34⁎⁎
0.37⁎⁎
0.26⁎⁎
–
−0.64⁎⁎
0.70⁎⁎
−0.70⁎⁎
0.17⁎
0.41⁎⁎
0.45⁎⁎
–
−0.48⁎⁎
0.55⁎⁎
−0.16⁎
−0.32⁎⁎
−0.26⁎⁎
–
−0.93⁎⁎
0.28⁎⁎
0.46⁎⁎
0.62⁎⁎
–
−0.27⁎⁎
−0.45⁎⁎
−0.58⁎⁎
–
0.49⁎⁎
0.44⁎⁎
–
0.52⁎⁎
Note. DT = Dark Triad composite; PSY = psychopathy; NAR = narcissism; MAC = Machiavellianism; N = neuroticism; TC = trait compassion; GRF = grief symptoms; AX-REAC = anxiety reactivity; AX-RECO = anxiety recovery; SD-REAC = sadness reactivity; SD-RECO = sadness recovery; PT = state perspective taking; EE = state emotional empathy; COMP = state
compassion.
⁎ p b 0.05.
⁎⁎ p b 0.01.
αMachiavellianism = 0.77; αpsychopathy = 0.75). Trait compassion was measured using Hwang, Plante, and Lackey's (2008) 5-item measure (e.g., “I
tend to feel compassion for people, even though I do not know them.”;
α = 0.89). Neuroticism was measured with Gosling, Rentfrow, and
Swann's (2003) 2-item measure (e.g., “I see myself as anxious, easily
upset.”; α = 0.75). Grief symptoms experienced from an important
loss were assessed using Lee's (2015) 16-item measure (e.g., “Preoccupied with the deceased.”; α = 0.91). All these measures utilized an
agreement scale (1 = strongly disagree; 5 = strongly agree), excluding
the assessment of grief, which was based on a frequency scale (0 =
not at all; 4 = nearly every day). Except for the DT traits, all these measures and demographic variables were examined for their confounding
influences.
2.2.2. Post-film measures
After viewing each of the three film clips, participants rated how
they felt, with an intensity scale (0 = not at all; 1 = slightly; 2 = moderately; 3 = quite a bit; 4 = extremely), about a series of emotion states.
Sadness was assessed using three adjectives (i.e., upset, sad, and depressed) from Lee, Roberts, and Gibbons' (2013) grief measure (αf1 =
0.72; αf2 = 0.84; αf3 = 0.79). Anxiety was assessed using three adjectives (i.e., calm, tense, and worried) from Marteau and Bekker's
(1992) anxiety measure (αf1 = 0.62; αf2 = 0.76; αf3 = 0.69). Adjective
ratings were averaged together to form composite scores for each respective emotion. In addition, a series of repeated-measures ANOVAs
demonstrated that the sadness and anxiety scores were expectedly
highest following film #2 (death) relative to film #1 (neutral) and film
#3 (neutral).
To compute two parameters of change in sadness and anxiety states
(i.e., reactivity and recovery), the composite scores were then converted
into simple change scores. Specifically, reactivity refers to the increase
in feeling intensity experienced after watching the death scene. This
index was calculated as the difference between feelings assessed after
film #1 (neutral) and the feelings assessed after film #2 (death). Recovery refers to how much residual feelings remained after watching the
neutral film clip that followed the death scene. Recovery was calculated
as the difference between feelings assessed after film #3 (neutral) and
the feelings assessed after film #2 (death). Because these emotion processes captured the changes in feeling states experienced during the
film study, they were used to examine the validity of the state compassion measure and for mediation analyses.
State compassion and two dimensions of empathy (i.e., perspective
taking and emotional empathy) were assessed after viewing film #2
(death) using the same intensity scaling as the emotion processes. Perspective taking (α = 0.82) and emotional empathy (α = 0.88) were
assessed using Lee's (2009) 4-item measures of state empathy, while
an 8-item measure of state compassion was developed from Lee's
(2009) state sympathy scale. It is important to note that state compassion and empathy were only evaluated after film #2 because these emotions are directed toward the grieving child. Because the neutral film
clips (#1 and #3) have no particular object to feel compassion or empathy toward, those emotions were not measured for those films.
Fig. 1. Mediating effect of emotional empathy on the association between narcissism and state compassion. Note. Two-sided bias-corrected bootstrap procedure (95% confidence intervals;
2000 samples). Above values reflect standardized regression coefficients. * p b 0.05. *** p b 0.001.
S.A. Lee, J.A. Gibbons / Personality and Individual Differences 116 (2017) 336–342
339
Fig. 2. Mediating effect of perspective taking on the association between psychopathy and state compassion. Note. Two-sided bias-corrected bootstrap procedure (95% confidence
intervals; 2000 samples). Above values reflect standardized regression coefficients. *** p b 0.001.
Like sadness and anxiety, the measures of perspective taking and
emotional empathy were also used for mediation analyses, while the
measure of state compassion was used as the criterion variable for the
study. At the end of the study, participants also completed a form that
asked them if they wanted to volunteer their time to help bereaved individuals (22.4% = yes) and the number of hours per week they were
available (Mhours = 6.94). This assessment of volunteer intention was
used to examine the validity of the state compassion measure.
3. Results
3.1. Psychometric analyses of the state compassion measure
A series of analyses were performed on the measure of state compassion to ensure that the construct was appropriately assessed (see
Tables 1 and 2). First, the results of a principal axis factor analysis
(varimax rotation) determined that the state compassion items loaded
strongly on their own factor (N 0.50 loadings; convergent validity) and
not with the perspective taking and emotional empathy factors (b 0.35
cross-loadings; discriminant validity). Second, correlations between
state compassion and trait compassion (r = 0.65), intention to volunteer (r = 0.23), and number of hours intended to volunteer (r = 0.17)
supported the measure's construct validity by being consistent with
previous research (Lim & DeSteno, 2016). Last, state compassion was associated with increased sadness (r = 0.62) and anxiety (r = 0.45) immediately after viewing the death scene and then prolonged feelings
of sadness (r = −0.58) and anxiety (r = −0.26) minutes later. These
correlations further support the validity of the state compassion measure by following a pattern associated with the experience of
compassion (Goetz et al., 2010). Collectively, these results demonstrate
that the state compassion measure exhibits solid psychometric
properties.
3.2. Associations between the Dark Triad and state compassion
Bivariate correlations were run to identify the DT traits that were associated with state compassion and the variables that should be used as
control variables in the regression model. The results showed that
psychopathy (r = −0.47) and narcissism (r = 0.19) were the only DT
traits correlated with state compassion. Because women (r = 0.40),
Whites (r = 0.25), Christians (r = 0.17), grief (r = 0.26), and trait compassion (r = 0.65) were also correlated with state compassion, they
were subsequently used as control variables.
A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was performed to clarify
the predictive relation between the relevant DT traits and state
compassion. Preliminary analyses revealed no problems associated with
singularity, multicollinearity, dependence of errors, normality, linearity,
homoscedasticity of residuals, or outliers. The analysis was performed in
two steps. In the first step, when the control variables were entered into
the model, women (β = 0.16, p b 0.05), Whites (β = 0.18, p b 0.01),
and trait compassion (β = 0.54, p b 0.001) were predictors, whereas
Christians (β = 0.04, p = 0.64, ns) and grief (β = 0.08, p = 0.22, ns)
were not, adjusted R2 = 0.47, F(5, 150) = 28.27, p b 0.001. In the second
step, when the DT traits were entered into the model, the control
variables of Whites (β = 0.16, p b 0.01) and trait compassion (β =
0.44, p b 0.001) continued to be predictors, while Christians (β = 0.02,
p = 0.71, ns), grief (β = 0.08, p = 0.20, ns), and women (β = 0.12,
p = 0.05, ns) were not. The DT traits of narcissism (β = 0.17, p b 0.05)
and psychopathy (β = −0.21, p b 0.01) were also predictors, whereas
Fig. 3. Mediating effect of emotional empathy on the association between psychopathy and state compassion. Note. Two-sided bias-corrected bootstrap procedure (95% confidence
intervals; 2000 samples). Above values reflect standardized regression coefficients. ** p b 0.01. *** p b 0.001.
340
S.A. Lee, J.A. Gibbons / Personality and Individual Differences 116 (2017) 336–342
Fig. 4. Mediating effect of sadness reactivity on the association between psychopathy and state compassion. Note. Two-sided bias-corrected bootstrap procedure (95% confidence intervals;
2000 samples). Above values reflect standardized regression coefficients. * p b 0.05. *** p b 0.001.
Machiavellianism was not (β = 0.002, p = 0.98, ns), adjusted R2 = 0.50,
F(8, 147) = 20.42, p b 0.001. These results not only demonstrated DT
traits unique predictive relationship with state compassion, but that
these traits also accounted for an additional 3% of variance above and
beyond control variables, F(8, 147) = 20.42, p b 0.001.
3.3. Empathy and emotional processes as mediators
A series of mediation analyses were conducted to examine the separate influences of empathy (i.e., perspective taking and emotional empathy) and emotion processes (i.e., reactivity and recovery of anxiety
and sadness states) on the relation between the relevant DT traits (i.e.,
narcissism and psychopathy) and state compassion (see Figs. 1–7).
We focused our analyses on variables that were interrelated and tested
mediators one at a time to determine independent effects (Kenny,
2016).
The first model tested emotional empathy's mediating influence on
the relationship between narcissism and state compassion. The results
showed that emotional empathy completely mediated the narcissismcompassion link (β from 0.19 to 0.08). The second set of models tested
the independent mediating influences of empathy (i.e., perspective taking and emotional empathy) and emotion processes (i.e., sadness and
anxiety) on the relationship between psychopathy and state compassion. The results showed that perspective taking (β from − 0.46 to
−0.36), emotional empathy (β from −0.46 to −0.37), sadness reactivity (β from − 0.46 to − 0.36), sadness recovery (β from − 0.46 to
−0.35), anxiety reactivity (β from −0.46 to −0.39), and anxiety recovery (β from −0.46 to −0.43), each partially mediated the psychopathycompassion link. Overall, these findings indicate that empathic and
emotional processes have mediating effects on the relationship between the DT traits and state compassion.
4. Discussion
The purpose of the current study was to examine the predictive relation between the DT traits and state compassion using validated film
methodology. Although previous DT studies have explored links with
trait empathy, no study to date has extended this line of research to
the construct of compassion. Unlike the empathy research, which usually displays the similarities between the DT traits, the results of this study
highlighted their distinct qualities as each of the DT traits exhibited
unique relations with state compassion. These differences were found
in both the bivariate associations between the DT and compassion, as
well as their mediating pathways through empathy and emotional
processes.
Psychopathy exhibited the strongest and most conceptually consistent patterns among the DT. Consistent with our hypothesis, psychopathy was a negative predictor of state compassion. In fact, psychopathy
was such a robust predictor that it uniquely explained compassion
scores over and above demographics, grief symptoms, and trait compassion. This result was not surprising given that psychopathy has also
been associated with many anti-compassionate characteristics, such as
being emotionally abusive (Carton & Egan, 2017) and exhibiting low
levels of empathy (Jonason & Kroll, 2015) and care for others' plights
(Blair, 1999).
Further analyses revealed that the psychopathy-compassion connection was mediated, in part, by empathic and emotional processes.
In other words, during the viewing of the sad film clip, those individuals
demonstrating psychopathic propensities tended not to empathically
Fig. 5. Mediating effect of sadness recovery on the association between psychopathy and state compassion. Note. Two-sided bias-corrected bootstrap procedure (95% confidence intervals;
2000 samples). Above values reflect standardized regression coefficients. ** p b 0.01. *** p b 0.001.
S.A. Lee, J.A. Gibbons / Personality and Individual Differences 116 (2017) 336–342
341
Fig. 6. Mediating effect of anxiety reactivity on the association between psychopathy and state compassion. Note. Two-sided bias-corrected bootstrap procedure (95% confidence intervals;
2000 samples). Above values reflect standardized regression coefficients. * p b 0.05. *** p b 0.001.
see the child's point of view (perspective taking) nor did they deeply
feel the child's inner experiences (emotional empathy). Although
many participants naturally felt sadness and anxiety after watching
the death scene (emotional reactivity) and held on to these feelings minutes later (prolonged emotion recovery), individuals high in psychopathy generally did not experience this pattern. Rather, they appeared
remarkably unmoved and unaffected by feelings of sorrow and concern.
This coldhearted response to suffering corroborates the central features
of psychopathy as well as emphasizing the importance of callousness in
conceptualizing the DT (Paulhus, 2014).
The next notable finding was the positive association between narcissism and state compassion. Like psychopathy, narcissism explained
unique variance in state compassion beyond the effects of other relevant variables. Furthermore, the mediation analysis revealed that the
compassion that the narcissists experienced during the sad film was
fully explained by their emotional empathy for the distraught child.
These findings not only confirmed our prediction, but they were also
in keeping with our proposal that the narcissists will report relatively
high compassion ratings because of their emotionally expressive proclivities (Lyons & Brockman, 2017) and need to display their superiority
(Wai & Tiliopoulos, 2012).
Although the results with narcissism are in line with our theoretical
proposals, they do not rule out the possibility that the child in the film
clip actually empathically moved some narcissists. Vonk et al. (2013)
reasoned that some narcissists, such as ones displaying pathological
grandiosity, demonstrate empathic tendencies to maintain their self-esteem. Because narcissists rely on interpersonal feedback to bolster their
fragile self-image, some of them may develop empathic habits to maintain the social connections upon which they are psychologically reliant.
In support of this perspective, researchers have found that some
narcissists show heightened empathic characteristics, as measured by
fantasy empathy (Vonk et al., 2013), emotional intelligence (Petrides
et al., 2011) and emotion recognition ability (Konrath, Corneille,
Bushman, & Luminet, 2014). Therefore, the results of the current study
may have showcased this phenomenon as well.
The lack of correlation between Machiavellianism and state compassion was not expected. Much like psychopathy, previous research has
typically shown that Machiavellianism is negatively correlated with
trait empathy (e.g., Jonason & Kroll, 2015). However, the magnitude of
the relation is often relatively small. Although we are not certain
about the reason that this trend did not persist in the current study,
we suspect that the trait empathy scales were sensitive enough to tap
into the negative views held by Machiavellians (Jones & Paulhus,
2009), whereas the state compassion measure was not. As the selfreporting of compassion in the current study did not hold any obvious
strategic advantages, this aspect of Machiavellianism (Jones & Paulhus,
2009) was also not elicited. Therefore, the attitudinal and strategic dimensions that were not present in the measurement of state compassion may explain these null findings.
Another null finding worth discussing was the lack of correlation between the composite DT and state compassion. At first glance, this nonsignificant connection seems to challenge the basic notion that callousness lies at the heart of the DT. However, the results also demonstrated
that the composite DT was inversely associated with trait level compassion, in support of the callousness proposal. These patterns seem to reflect the findings of past personality psychologists; broad personality
traits are limited in their ability to predict specific behaviors (Epstein,
1979). Researchers have found that broad level dispositions are better
at predicting broad behaviors that are aggregated together, rather
than specific ones. Due to the similar findings in other DT research
Fig. 7. Mediating effect of anxiety recovery on the association between psychopathy and state compassion. Note. Two-sided bias-corrected bootstrap procedure (95% confidence intervals;
2000 samples). Above values reflect standardized regression coefficients. * p b 0.05. *** p b 0.001.
342
S.A. Lee, J.A. Gibbons / Personality and Individual Differences 116 (2017) 336–342
(e.g., Jonason, Kavanagh, Webster, & Fitzgerald, 2011), we believe that
these measurement level effects applied to this study as well.
The results of the current study must be qualified by some limitations. First, we only evaluated self-reported feelings, which is just one
aspect of the emotion system. Although feelings serve an important
function of integrating relevant information and guiding responses
(Frijda, Manstead, & Fischer, 2004), future research would benefit
from including other domains, such as behavioral and physiological,
for a more comprehensive perspective on emotion. Second, we used
simple change scores to capture changes in emotions. Although this approach is commonly used in emotion research (e.g., Hemenover, 2003),
it does not adjust for error. Replication of this study using latent variable
modeling with a large sample could provide more reliable estimates of
change than the approach used here. The final limitation concerns our
use of a homogenous sample composed primarily of White, emerging
adult women. Although our sample is demographically similar to the
ones evaluated at other universities, replication of the current research
with non-student groups could extend the generalizability of the results
in the current study.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Win Kent, Ben Pearce, Summer Bledsoe and
the rest of the EP lab for their assistance and support of this project. This
article is dedicated to the loving memory of Mr. Tigger Brambley.
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