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The Dark Side of Human Values: How Values are Related to Bright and Dark Personality Traits

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 February 2021

Gabriel Lins de Holanda Coelho Open the ORCID record for Gabriel Lins de Holanda Coelho [Opens in a new window] ,
Paul H. P. Hanel ,
Renan Pereira Monteiro ,
Roosevelt Vilar  and
Valdiney V. Gouveia
Gabriel Lins de Holanda Coelho*
Affiliation:
University College Cork (Ireland)
Paul H. P. Hanel
Affiliation:
University of Essex (UK)
Renan Pereira Monteiro
Affiliation:
Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso (Brazil)
Roosevelt Vilar
Affiliation:
Massey University (New Zealand)
Valdiney V. Gouveia
Affiliation:
Universidade Federal da Paraíba (Brazil)
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Gabriel Lins de Holanda Coelho. University College Cork. School of Psychology. Cork (Ireland). E-mail: linshc@gmail.com
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Abstract

In the present research, we replicate and extend previous findings on the relations between human values and bright\dark traits of personality, using the functional theory of human values (Gouveia, 2013). Specifically, we assessed which dark traits are associated with human values and whether the dark traits explained variance in values beyond the bright traits (Big Five). While prior research has investigated the relations between the three sets of constructs mainly in Western countries, we tested whether the findings hold in Brazil (N = 819). Although values are defined as positive constructs, several value subfunctions were positively correlated with the dark traits (e.g., excitement values with narcissism), while other relations were negative. Controlling for participants' age and gender, hierarchical regressions further revealed that dark traits explain variance in values beyond bright traits, although overall bright traits were more strongly associated with values than dark traits. Together, our findings replicate previous research. Implications for our understanding of the Dark Triad and cross-cultural research are discussed.

Keywords

Big FiveDark Triadhuman values
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 24 , 2021 , e11
Copyright
© Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2021

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Footnotes

Conflict of Interest: The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.

Funding Statement: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

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