The word dark is commonly used in psychological science, most typically to collectively describe the personality traits of narcissism, psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and sadism (i.e., the Dark Tetrad [D4]). However, some researchers have argued that the field should adopt alternative terms because dark is stigmatizing, sensationalistic, and imprecise. One empirical issue that has arisen as part of this broader debate is how laypeople perceive the term (in relation to alternatives) when it is applied to the D4. To address this matter, laypeople (total N = 753) evaluated dark alongside some popular alternative terms for characterizing the D4 traits. Although participants generally did not perceive dark as less accurate than alternatives (e.g., antagonistic, socially aversive), they did perceive dark as less scientific-sounding and less appropriate for professional use (clinical and research use). Furthermore, perceptions of dark varied across some moral and sociopolitical variables, suggesting that perceptions of the term are variable across people. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

While bystander reactions to violence against humans have been well studied, less is known about how people react to animal abuse. We studied whether the same psychological predictors are relevant to reactions to the abuse of animals and humans. We examined the role of Dark Tetrad traits (Narcissism, psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and sadism), ideologies of superiority (social dominance orientation and speciesism-the belief in human superiority over nonhuman animals), as well as moral disengagement, self-efficacy, and descriptive social norms in predicting reactions to animal and child abuse. In a survey study (N = 518), participants indicated their general reactions to animal abuse as well as how they would react in a situation depicting the abuse of a dog and a child. The general reactions to animal abuse were best predicted by the Dark traits and the endorsement of the ideologies of superiority, most significantly, sadism, and speciesism. Both animal and child abuse elicited high and comparable levels of active response intentions. Bystander reactions in the case of animal abuse were differentiated by moral disengagement and perceived self-efficacy as well as ideologies of dominance, gender, and sadism. Reactions to child abuse were primarily predicted by gender, self-efficacy, and sadism, as well as moral disengagement and SDO. We propose that strengthening self-efficacy and reexamining moral disengagement strategies are crucial to violence prevention, as well as espousing a critical outlook toward ideologies of superiority over both humans and nonhuman animals.

The Dark Tetrad traits are increasingly studied constructs but remain relatively underexplored in relation to sleep health, particularly regarding everyday sadism. The present study examined whether Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy, and sadism uniquely predict multiple dimensions of sleep health. Self-report data were collected from an online sample (N = 422) assessing Dark Tetrad traits alongside sleep outcomes measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the Sleep Hygiene Index. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed psychopathy to be the most consistent positive predictor of poorer sleep outcomes, including sleep disturbances, daytime dysfunction, and global sleep dysfunction. In contrast, narcissism showed several negative associations with sleep outcomes once shared variance with other dark traits was controlled, suggesting a suppression effect. Machiavellianism showed no reliable unique associations with sleep variables, whereas sadism demonstrated a small association with global sleep dysfunction but was not reliably associated with specific sleep components. Overall, the findings suggest that Dark Tetrad traits may relate to sleep health through partially distinct behavioural pathways, with the clearest associations emerging for subjective sleep experiences captured by the PSQI rather than core physiological sleep parameters.

The Short Dark Tetrad scale (SD4) is a brief self-report instrument designed to assess four socially aversive or antagonistic personality traits: subclinical Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy, and sadism. The purpose of the present study was to provide an extended psychometric evaluation of the Polish version of SD4 (SD4-PL). Following translation and cultural adaptation of the 28 original items, data were collected using an online survey. After data screening, the final analytic sample comprised 931 Polish adults (mean age = 34.64 years, SD = 10.98; 76.8% women). To provide a comprehensive psychometric evaluation, the validation strategy combined split-sample exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, ordinal CFA with WLSMV estimation, comparisons of one-factor, correlated four-factor, higher-order, bifactor, and merged-factor models, item-level diagnostics, internal consistency coefficients, convergent and discriminant validity indices, direct validation of the sadism subscale with the Comprehensive Assessment of Sadistic Tendencies (CAST), and an exploratory assessment of gender invariance. The correlated four-factor model showed partially acceptable fit in the full sample (CFI = .926, TLI = .919, RMSEA = .082, SRMR = .085) and was broadly replicated in the holdout sample. The bifactor model provided the strongest fit (CFI = .959, TLI = .952, RMSEA = .063, SRMR = .067), suggesting that SD4-PL scores reflect both specific dark/antagonistic traits and a broader common antagonistic core. Reliability was acceptable for narcissism, psychopathy, sadism, and the total score, although reliability for Machiavellianism was weaker (alpha = .67, omega = .68). The sadism subscale showed strong convergent validity with the CAST total score (r = .661). The SD4-PL may therefore be useful as a brief measure of dark/antagonistic traits in Polish-speaking adults, but interpretation of individual subscales, especially Machiavellianism and gender comparisons, should remain cautious.

This systematic review aimed to synthesize the available scientific evidence on the relationship between psychopathy and sadism. It was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 guidelines and prospectively registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO, CRD420261394636). Included studies had to assess both constructs using validated instruments such as the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), the Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (SRP), the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (LSRP), the Psychopathic Personality Inventory-Revised (PPI-R), or the Triarchic Psychopathy Measure (TriPM) for psychopathy and clinical or behavioral scales for sadism or sexual sadism. A literature search was performed in PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Web of Science using terms related to psychopathy, sexual violence, sexual aggression, and sadism, combined with Boolean operators. Two reviewers independently performed study selection and data extraction, while methodological quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS), Cochrane Risk of Bias version 2 (RoB 2), and AMSTAR-2 (A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews 2) tools. The certainty of the evidence was evaluated using the GRADE framework. According to the PRISMA flowchart, 1,061 records were identified. After removing 239 duplicates and applying the selection criteria, 18 studies (19 reports) involving 12,302 participants with a mean age of 34.01 ± 9.98 years were included. The evidence consisted of 16 observational studies and two meta-analyses. The studies primarily focused on forensic, clinical, and prison populations, and there was a predominant representation from Europe and the Americas (42.11% each). The studies used validated instruments, such as the PCL-R, LSRP, SRP, and TriPM, as well as specific scales for sexual and everyday sadism. Meta-analyses identified moderate to significant positive correlations between global psychopathy and sadism (r = 0.24, 95% CI: 0.16-0.34, p < 0.001) and between psychopathy and sexual sadism (r = 0.33, 95% CI: 0.21-0.44, p < 0.001). However, there was high heterogeneity (I[2] = 84.5-92.3%). Individual studies revealed positive correlations between psychopathy and sadism ranging from low to moderate (r = 0.16-0.53). However, some studies found no significant associations. Individuals with sadistic characteristics generally had higher psychopathy scores than non-sadistic subjects. Significant differences in PCL-R scores were observed between sadistic and non-sadistic groups (21.49 vs. 17.12; p = 0.004; d = 0.59) and between sexual offenders with and without sadism (27.0 vs. 19.0; p = 0.01). Nevertheless, some findings were contradictory, with studies failing to identify a specific relationship between psychopathy and sexual sadism. Analysis of the psychopathic dimensions revealed that the antisocial, impulsive, and affective components exhibited the strongest associations with sadism. The antisocial facet predicted sexual aggression (r = 0.48, β = 0.26, p < 0.001), and the affective dimension showed significant associations with sexual sadism (β = 0.27). In dimensional models, "malice" and disinhibition were the components most strongly related to sadism, while audacity showed weak associations. Among a non-forensic population, latent correlations between psychopathy and everyday sadism were very high (ρ = 0.94-0.98), suggesting a possible conceptual overlap between the two constructs.

Following Freud's (1920) comment on the possibility of accepting or dismissing the death drive based on the subjectivity of the reader, arguments are presented from those of us who reject the supposed death drive, influenced by the consideration, among other things, of the subjective causes that may have led Freud to conceptualize it. In doing so, references are made to this line of thought as discussed by Ferenczi, and I add some personal (subjective, of course) reflections.

Previous research documented that Dark Tetrad (DT) traits and diminished cognitive abilities represent risk factors for antisocial behaviour. In the present cross-sectional study we tested the hypothesis that cognitive styles reflected in overconfidence, intuitive, simplistic, and fast thinking may mediate the links between DT and antisocial behaviour (N = 514). Our results showed that DT traits, with an emphasis on sadism and psychopathy, are positively correlated with antisocial behaviour, and certain cognitive styles: positive associations with overconfidence in physical appearance and dichotomous thinking and negative with overconfidence in moral quality. Detected correlations were mostly low in effect sizes. Furthermore, cognitive styles like incorrect responses on cognitive reflection test and various types of overconfidence (in physical appearance, intellectual ability and cognitive reflection) predicted antisocial behaviour in regression models. However, the path analysis showed that cognitive styles did not mediate the associations between DT traits and antisocial behaviour. Hence, the results of present research suggest that dark personality characteristics and cognitive styles like overconfidence and diminished logical reasoning are distinct risk factors for antisocial behaviour which has both conceptual and practical implications.

The rise of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) has expanded the landscape of cyberbullying, necessitating an examination of the psychological and demographic factors underlying these behaviors. This two-wave longitudinal study (N = 1,019) investigated the associations between Dark Tetrad, gender, age, and GAI-involved cyberbullying (GAICB) over a 6-month interval. Hierarchical linear regressions indicated that psychopathy and male gender were longitudinal predictors of GAICB at Time 2, even after controlling for baseline behaviors at Time 1. While sadism was significant in the baseline model, its effect became nonsignificant after accounting for prior GAICB. Machiavellianism, narcissism, and age showed no significant effects. These results suggest that psychopathy and gender may be associated with AI-driven aggression, warranting further research into targeted prevention strategies.

Paraphilic interests concerning individuals who are unwilling or unable to consent are risk factors for sexual offending. Treatment may help mitigate this risk and alleviate distress. The current study collected data on six such interests (pedophilia, hebephilia, exhibitionism, frotteurism, coercive sexual sadism, and biastophilia), as well as distress, sexual offending, help-seeking, satisfaction with sex life, and social acceptance in a population-based quota sample of 6491 Czechs. About 9% of the population reported at least one of the studied paraphilic interests, with estimates ranging from 0.9% to 4.5%. There were strong positive links between the paraphilic interests and detected sexual offending, with a median odds ratio of 7.56 (range: 5.09-19.54). Findings were mixed with regard to differences in sexual satisfaction or social acceptance when comparing participants with and without paraphilic interests. Fewer than half of individuals with a paraphilic interest associated with nonconsent reported distress, and among those, only a few reported help-seeking during the last five years. The most frequently reported reason for not seeking help was a lack of interest in such services, rather than a lack of services, shame, or stigma. Results indicate that treatment motivation and distress may be less prevalent, and issues related to sexual life satisfaction and acceptance less severe, among people with paraphilic interests associated with nonconsent in the general population than previously assumed.