Hedonism, Achievement, and Power: Universal values that characterize the Dark Triad

• Using a sample of Swedes and Americans, the Dark Triad and universal values were measured.
• Machiavellianism and narcissism were positively associated with the values Achievement and Power.
• Psychopathy was positively associated with the values Hedonism, and Power.
• The Dark Triad traits explained variance over the Big Five traits in values.
• We argue that the former account for a system of dark values.

Using a sample of Swedes and Americans (N = 385), we attempted to understand the Dark Triad traits (i.e., Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) in terms of universal social values. The Dark Triad traits correlated significantly with all 10 value types, forming a sinusoid pattern corresponding to the value model circumplex. In regression analyses, Machiavellianism and narcissism were positively associated with the values Achievement and Power, while psychopathy was positively associated with the values Hedonism, and Power. In addition, the Dark Triad traits explained significant variance over the Big Five traits in accounting for individual differences in social values. Differences between the Swedish and the US sample in the social value Achievement was mediated by the Dark Triad traits, as well as age. Given the unique complex of values accounted for by the Dark Triad traits compared to the Big Five traits, we argue that the former account for a system of self-enhancing “dark values”, often hidden but constantly contributing in evaluations of others.