A primary contention of evolutionary models of the Dark Triad traits (i.e., narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism) is that they are adaptations for dealing with adverse socioecological circumstances. In this study (N = 557), we collected data from two countries that differ in socioecological conditions (i.e., Turkey and Australia). We measured perceptions of a dangerous and competitive world and individual differences in the Dark Triad traits. Turkish participants were higher in the Dark Triad traits than Australian participants were. All the Dark Triad traits were correlated with a competitive but not a dangerous worldview. Country-level differences in the Dark Triad traits were mediated by competitive worldviews, but not dangerous worldviews, and those effects were similar in each sex. And rates of narcissism depended on participant’s sex and country. This study provided the first attempt to understand country-level differences in the Dark Triad traits using a life history framework.

Researchers have grown considerably interested in three related, aversive personality traits, known as the Dark Triad, composed of narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. Narcissism is characterized by a sense of grandiosity, egotism, self-orientation, and lack of empathy (Turner & Webster, 2018), Machiavellianism is associated with manipulative behavior, self-interest, exploitation of others, and a ruthless lack of morality (Jones, 2016), and psychopathy is linked with reckless, cruel and callous attitudes, antisocial selfish behavior, and a lack of empathic skill and remorse (Cale & Lilienfeld, 2002). One reason for the considerable interest in these traits was their integration into a life history paradigm (Jonason, Koenig, & Tost, 2010). However, few studies have examined the role of context in predicting individual differences in the Dark Triad traits (Jones & Paulhus, 2010). This is essential because life history theory is about how organisms solve their adaptive tasks within some socioecology; that is, it is inherently interactionist. Particularly difficult environments may activate decisionmaking heuristics in people’s brains that recalibrate their default slow response to the world (Mace, 2000) towards a faster solution as seen in individual differences in the Dark Triad traits. In this study, we sampled participants from Australia and Turkey to test a condition-dependent hypothesis of the Dark Triad traits. While the countries might be economically tied (Turner, 2018), they differ in terms of the safety and competitiveness their citizens experience. Australia is the 13th safest country in in the world, whereas Turkey is 149th (Institute for Economics and Peace, 2018).