The personality profile of a cyberbully: Examining the Dark Triad

• The Dark Triad traits (Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy) are related positively to student reports of cyberbullying.
• Of the three Dark Triad traits, psychopathy is a unique predictor of cyberbullying.
• Personality plays an important role in the perpetration of both visual and text-based cyberbullying messages.

The present study examined the relationships between the Dark Triad personality traits and self-reported cyberbullying behaviors. College students (N = 227) completed a questionnaire and reported on their trait Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism, and the degree to which they cyberbullied (i.e., both visual and text based bullying) others in the past year. Correlations revealed that all three Dark Triad traits were related positively with cyberbullying. However, multiple regression analysis revealed that of the three Dark Triad traits, psychopathy emerged as the unique predictor of cyberbullying. These findings reinforce extant research suggesting that personality traits are important predictors of computer-mediated behavior.