Mediating Roles of Impulsivity and Risk-Taking in the Links of the Dark Triad with Flirting and Dating via Social Media

Abstract

With the acceleration of communication and access to information, individuals have begun to date via social networking sites. Although online dating has spread among university students recently, studies on this topic are very limited. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of the Dark Triad personality traits (i.e., Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism) on using Social Networking Sites (SNS) to find partners and face-to-face meeting/dating after flirting via the internet (i.e., face-to-face dating with a partner met via SNS). Furthermore, it was also aimed to identify the mediating roles of risk-taking and impulsivity in the relationships mentioned above. Data were collected from 358 University students (223 females and 135 males) who volunteered to complete the survey packages. The data was analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The age of the participants ranged between 18 and 49 (M = 22.67, SD= 2.83). The results revealed that narcissism was linked to using SNS to find partners, and impulsivity fully mediated the relationships of Machiavellianism with using SNS to find partners. In addition, the links of psychopathy with using SNS to find partners were partially mediated by impulsivity, with risk-taking fully mediating the effects of psychopathy and narcissism on face-to-face dating with a partner met via SNS. The present research revealed that impulsivity and risk-taking were the common attitudes underlying the links of psychopathy and narcissism with dating someone met via SNS. For individuals who score high on Machiavellianism, a low level of impulsivity is a protective factor; whereas a high level of impulsivity is a triggering factor that leads those with high psychopathy scores to search for partners via SNS. Contrary to expectations, narcissism was not directly associated with face-to-face dating a partner who was met via SNS. This finding may be related to the unidimensional measurement of narcissism, since grandiose narcissism is more likely to be positively associated with this risky and confident behavior, whereas vulnerable narcissism is less likely to have such an association.

Keywords

• Dating via social network sites
• impulsivity
• risk-taking
• the Dark Triad personality traits

Sosyal Medya Üzerinden Flört ve Karanlık Üçlü Kişilik Özellikleri Arasındaki İlişkide Dürtüsellik ve Risk Almanın Aracılık Etkileri

Abstract

İletişimin ve bilgiye erişimin hızlanmasıyla birlikte, bireylerin sosyal paylaşım siteleri yardımı ile partner bulma davranışları da artmaktadır. Son yıllarda, üniversite öğrencileri arasında internet üzerinden flörtleşme yaygınlaşmaya başlasa da bu konudaki çalışmalar oldukça sınırlıdır. Bu çalışmanın amacı, Karanlık Üçlü kişilik özelliklerinin (Makyavelizm, psikopati ve narsisizm), partner bulmak için sosyal paylaşım sitelerini kullanma ve sosyal paylaşım siteleri aracılığıyla flört ettikten sonra yüz yüze görüşme davranışları üzerindeki etkilerini araştırmaktır. Ayrıca, Karanlık Üçlü kişilik özelliklerinin, partner bulmak için sosyal paylaşım sitelerini kullanma ve sosyal paylaşım siteleri aracılığıyla flört ettikten sonra yüz yüze görüşme davranışları ile ilişkilerinde, risk alma ve dürtüselliğin aracı rolleri incelenmiştir. Araştırmaya gönüllü olarak katılan 358 üniversite öğrencisinden (223 kadın ve 135 erkek) veriler toplanmış ve Yapısal Eşitlik Modellemesi (YEM) kullanılarak analiz edilmiştir. Katılımcıların yaş aralıkları 18 ve 49 arasında değişmektedir (Ort.= 22,67, SS = 2,83). Sonuçlar, narsisizmin partner bulmak için sosyal paylaşım sitelerini kullanma ile ilişkili olduğunu ve dürtüselliğin, Makyavelizm ve partner bulmak için sosyal paylaşım sitelerini kullanma arasındaki ilişkiye aracılık ettiğini göstermiştir. Ek olarak, dürtüselliğin psikopatinin partner bulmak için sosyal paylaşım sitelerini kullanma davranışıyla ilişkisinde aracılık ettiği ve risk alma tutumunun da psikopati ve narsisizmin sosyal paylaşım siteleri üzerinden tanışılan bir partnerle yüz yüze görüşme davranışına aracılık ettiği bulunmuştur. Bu araştırma, dürtüsellik ve risk almanın, psikopati ve narsisizm ile sosyal paylaşım siteleri aracılığıyla tanışılan biriyle yüz yüze tanışma arasındaki ilişkinin altında yatan ortak tutumlar olduğunu göstermiştir. Makyavelizm skoru yüksek olan bireyler için düşük düzeyde dürtüsellik koruyucu bir faktörken; yüksek düzeyde dürtüsellik, psikopati puanı yüksek olanları sosyal ağlar üzerinden eş aramaya iten tetikleyici bir faktördür. Beklenenin aksine, narsisizm, sosyal paylaşım siteleri aracılığıyla tanışılan bir partnerle yüz yüze görüşme ile doğrudan ilişkili bulunmamıştır. Bu bulgu, narsisizmin tek boyutlu ölçümüyle ilgili olabilir, çünkü bu riskli ve yüksek özgüven içeren davranışla büyüklenmeci narsisizmin pozitif yönde, kırılgan narsisizmin ise negatif yönde ilişkili olması daha olasıdır.

Keywords

• Sosyal ağ siteleri üzerinden flört
• dürtüsellik
• risk alma
• Karanlık Üçlü kişilik özellikleri

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