Dark Triad and Sports Ethics: In-Depth Examination of Prosocial and Antisocial Behavior

Yıl 2026, Cilt: 28 Sayı: 1 , 57 - 68 , 30.03.2026

Samet Sağ , Ercan Polat , Sabiha Gizem Engin

https://doi.org/10.62425/rses.1818134

https://izlik.org/JA94EK93KR

Öz

This study investigates the relationship between Dark Triad personality traits (Machiavellianism, Narcissism, and Psychopathy) and prosocial and antisocial behaviors within the sports context. Data were collected online from 667 athletes aged between 15 and 44 and analyzed using the structural equation modeling approach (PLS-SEM). The Dark Triad Scale was employed to assess personality characteristics, while the Prosocial and Antisocial Behavior in Sport Scale (PABSS) measured behavioral tendencies. Reliability, validity, discriminant validity, and multicollinearity analyses confirmed the adequacy of the measurement model. A structural model was developed to explore the interplay between the Dark Triad traits and prosocial and antisocial behaviors, and its theoretical validity was largely supported. Out of eight proposed hypotheses, six were accepted, indicating a strong overall model fit. Findings revealed that psychopathy and Machiavellianism were positively associated with antisocial behavior. Psychopathy fostered antisocial tendencies while decreasing prosocial engagement. Conversely, Machiavellianism unexpectedly exhibited a positive correlation with prosocial behavior, suggesting that Machiavellian individuals might act prosocially for social approval or personal gain. In contrast, psychopathy was found to enhance antisocial behaviors and suppress prosocial ones due to diminished empathy and a tendency toward aggression. These results indicate that dark personality traits are not exclusively detrimental; rather, their behavioral expressions in sport may vary depending on individual motivations and contextual factors. Overall, this study contributes to the growing literature on personality dynamics in sport psychology by elucidating the complex interactions of dark personality dimensions with moral and social conduct in athletic settings.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Machiavellianism , narcissism , psychopathy , sport ethics

Karanlık Üçlü ve Spor Etiği: Prososyal ve Antisosyal Davranışların Derinlemesine İncelenmesi

https://izlik.org/JA94EK93KR

Öz

Bu çalışma, Karanlık Üçlü kişilik özellikleri (Makyavelcilik, Narsisizm ve Psikopati) ile spor ortamındaki prososyal ve antisosyal davranışlar arasındaki ilişkiyi incelemektedir. Araştırma, 15–44 yaş aralığındaki 667 sporcudan çevrim içi olarak toplanan verilerle yürütülmüş ve Yapısal Eşitlik Modellemesi (PLS-SEM) yöntemiyle analiz edilmiştir. Katılımcıların kişilik özelliklerini belirlemek için Karanlık Üçlü Ölçeği, prososyal ve antisosyal davranış eğilimlerini ölçmek için ise Sporda Prososyal ve Antisosyal Davranış Ölçeği (PABSS) kullanılmıştır. Geçerlik, güvenirlik, ayırt edici geçerlik ve çoklu doğrusal bağlantı analizleri, ölçüm modelinin yeterliliğini doğrulamıştır. Karanlık Üçlü kişilik özellikleri ile davranışsal eğilimler arasındaki ilişkileri açıklayan bir yapısal model geliştirilmiş ve bu modelin kuramsal geçerliği büyük ölçüde desteklenmiştir. Sekiz hipotezden altısı kabul edilmiş, modelin genel uyumu güçlü bulunmuştur. Bulgular, psikopati ve makyavelciliğin antisosyal davranışla pozitif ilişkili olduğunu göstermiştir. Psikopati antisosyal eğilimleri artırırken prososyal davranışları azaltmıştır. Buna karşın, makyavelcilik beklenmedik biçimde prososyal davranışla pozitif ilişki sergilemiş, bu durum makyavelci bireylerin sosyal onay veya ödül motivasyonuyla prososyal davranış gösterebileceğini düşündürmüştür. Sonuç olarak, karanlık kişilik özelliklerinin yalnızca olumsuz etkilerle sınırlı olmadığı; bireysel motivasyonlar ve bağlamsal faktörlere göre farklı dinamikler gösterebildiği ortaya konmuştur.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Makyavelizm , narsisizm , psikopati , spor etiği

Kaynakça

• Albayrak, A. S. (2005). Çoklu Doğrusal Bağlantı Halinde Enküçük Kareler Tekniğinin Alternatifi Yanlı Tahmin Teknikleri Ve Bir Uygulama. Uluslararası Yönetim İktisat ve İşletme Dergisi, 1(1), 105-126.
• Alemdag, S. (2019). Investigation of prosocial and antisocial behaviors of young athletes in terms of moral decision making attitudes. Pedagogics, Psychology, Medical-Biological Problems of Physical Training And Sports, (3), 112-117.
• Barry, C. T., Lui, J. H., & Anderson, A. C. (2017). Adolescent narcissism, aggression, and prosocial behavior: The relevance of socially desirable responding. Journal of Personality Assessment, 99(1), 46-55.
• Baughman, H. M., Dearing, S., Giammarco, E., & Vernon, P. A. (2012). Relationships between bullying behaviours and the Dark Triad: A study with adults. Personality and Individual Differences, 52(5), 571-575.
• Blair, R. J. R. (2005). Applying a cognitive neuroscience perspective to the disorder of psychopathy. Development and Psychopathology, 17(3), 865-891.
• Christie, R., & Geis, F. L. (1970). Studies in Machiavellianism. Academic Press.
• Cohen, L., Manion, L., & Morrison, K. (2017). Action research. In Research methods in education (pp. 440-456). Routledge.
• Damon, W., Lerner, R. M., & Eisenberg, N. (Eds.). (2006). Handbook of child psychology, social, emotional, and personality development. John Wiley & Sons.
• Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39-50.
• Furnham, A., Richards, S. C., & Paulhus, D. L. (2013). The Dark Triad of personality: A 10 year review. Social And Personality Psychology Compass, 7(3), 199-216.
• Gao, Y., & Raine, A. (2010). Successful and unsuccessful psychopaths: A neurobiological model. Behavioral Sciences & The Law, 28(2), 194-210.
• Garson, G. D. (2016). Partial Least Squares Regression and Structural Equation Models, School of Public & International Affairs, North Carolina State University. Statistical Associates Blue Book Series.
• Giammarco, E. A., & Vernon, P. A. (2015). Interpersonal guilt and the dark triad. Personality and Individual Differences, 81, 96-101.
• Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., Sarstedt, M., Danks, N. P., & Ray, S. (2021). Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) using R: A workbook (p. 197). Springer Nature.
• Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C., & Sarstedt, M. (2016). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) Sage Publications. Thousand Oaks, CA, USA.
• Hair, J. F., Matthews, L. M., Matthews, R. L., & Sarstedt, M. (2017). PLS-SEM or CB-SEM: updated guidelines on which method to use. International Journal of Multivariate Data Analysis, 1(2), 107-123.
• Hair, J. F., Ringle, C.M., & Sarstedt, M. (2011). PLS-SEM: Indeed a silver bullet. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, Vol. 19(2), 139-151.
• Hair, J. F., Sarstedt, M., Hopkins, L., & Kuppelwieser, V. G. (2014). Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM): An emerging tool in business research. European Business Review, 26(2), 106-121.
• Hare, R. D. (1999). Without conscience: The disturbing world of the psychopaths among us. The Guilford Press.
• Hare, R. D., & Neumann, C. S. (2008). Psychopathy as a clinical and empirical construct. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 4, 217-246.
• Henseler, J., Hubona, G., & Ray, P. A. (2016). Using PLS path modeling in new technology research: updated guidelines. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 116(1), 2-20.
• Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2015). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(1), 115–135.
• Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sinkovics, R. R. (2009). The use of partial least squares path modeling in international marketing. In New challenges to international marketing (pp. 277-319). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
• Jonason, P. K., Li, N. P., & Teicher, E. A. (2010). Who is James Bond? The Dark Triad as an agentic social style. Individual differences research, 8(2), 111.
• Jones, D. N., & Mueller, S. M. (2021). Is Machiavellianism dead or dormant? The perils of researching a secretive construct. Journal of Business Ethics, 1-15.
• Jones, D. N., & Paulhus, D. L. (2011). Differentiating the Dark Triad within the interpersonal circumplex. In L. M. Horowitz & S. Strack (Eds.), Handbook of interpersonal psychology: Theory, research, assessment, and therapeutic interventions (pp. 249–267). John Wiley & Sons.
• Jones, D. N., & Paulhus, D. L. (2014). Introducing the Short Dark Triad (SD3): A brief measure of dark personality traits. Assessment, 21(1), 28-41.
• Kavussanu, M., & Al-Yaaribi, A. (2021). Prosocial and antisocial behaviour in sport. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 19(2), 179-202.
• Kavussanu, M., & Boardley, I. D. (2009). The prosocial and antisocial behavior in sport scale. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 31(1), 97-117.
• Kavussanu, M., Seal, A. R., & Phillips, D. R. (2006). Observed prosocial and antisocial behaviors in male soccer teams: Age differences across adolescence and the role of motivational variables. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 18(4), 326-344.
• Kılınç, H., & Fırat, M. (2017). Opinions of expert academicians on online data collection and voluntary participation in social sciences research. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 17(5), 1461–1486.
• Koçak, İ., & Sezen-Balçıkanlı, G. S. (2024). Prosocial and antisocial behaviors of athletes in martial arts. SPORMETRE Beden Eğitimi ve Spor Bilimleri Dergisi, 22(1), 27-40.
• Krabbe, P. (2016). The measurement of health and health status: Concepts, methods and applications from a multidisciplinary perspective. Academic Press.
• Maffly-Kipp, J., Graham, J., & Efferson, L. M. (2023). The relationship between psychopathy and moral identity: Implications for moral behavior. Journal of Personality, 91(4), 523-540. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12659
• Nicholls, A. R., Madigan, D. J., Backhouse, S. H., & Levy, A. R. (2019). Personality traits and performance enhancing drugs: The Dark Triad and doping attitudes among competitive athletes. Personality and Individual Differences, 141, 107-110.
• Özsoy, E., Rauthmann, J.F., Jonason, P.K., & Ardıç, K. (2017). Reliability and validity of the Turkish versions of Dark Triad Dirty Dozen (DTDD-T), Short Dark Triad (SD3-T), and Single Item Narcissism Scale (SINS-T). Personality and Individual Differences, 117, 11-14.
• Paulhus, D. L., & Williams, K. M. (2002). The Dark Triad of personality: Narcissism, machiavellianism, and psychopathy. Journal of Research in Personality, 36(6), 556-563. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0092-6566(02)00505-6
• Pechorro, P., Curtis, S., DeLisi, M., Maroco, J., & Nunes, C. (2022). Dark Triad psychopathy outperforms self-control in predicting antisocial outcomes: A structural equation modeling approach. European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education, 12(6), 549-562.
• Peeters, M., Cillessen, A. H., & Scholte, R. H. (2010). Climbing the popularity ladder: Interpersonal aggression and prestige in adolescent peer groups. Journal of Adolescence, 33(5), 703-710.
• Raskin, R., & Terry, H. (1988). A principal-components analysis of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory and further evidence of its construct validity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(5), 890.
• Roberts, R., Woodman, T., Lofthouse, S., & Williams, L. (2015). Not all players are equally motivated: The role of narcissism. European Journal of Sport Science, 15(6), 536-542.
• Rutten, E. A., Biesta, G. J., Deković, M., Stams, G. J. J., Schuengel, C., & Verweel, P. (2010). Using forum theatre in organised youth soccer to positively influence antisocial and prosocial behaviour: A pilot study. Journal of Moral Education, 39(1), 65-78.
• Sage, L., Kavussanu, M., & Duda, J. (2006). Goal orientations and moral identity as predictors of prosocial and antisocial functioning in male association football players. Journal of Sports Sciences, 24(05), 455-466.
• Sezen-Balçıkanlı, G. (2013). The Turkish adaptation of the prosocial and antisocial behavior in sport scale (PABSS). International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 3(18), 271-276.
• Sukys, S., Majauskiene, D., & Dumciene, A. (2017). The effects of a three-year integrated Olympic education programme on adolescents’ prosocial behaviours. European Journal of Sport Science, 17(3), 335-342.
• Vaughan, R., Madigan, D. J., Carter, G. L., & Nicholls, A. R. (2019). The Dark Triad in male and female athletes and non-athletes: Group differences and psychometric properties of the Short Dark Triad (SD3). Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 43, 64-72.
• Wai, M., & Tiliopoulos, N. (2012). The affective and cognitive empathic nature of the dark triad of personality. Personality and individual differences, 52(7), 794-799.
• Wertag, A., Ribar, M., & Bratko, D. (2018). The relations of basic and dark personality traits with prosocial tendencies: Exploring gender differences. Psihološka İstraživanja, 21(2), 201-216.
• Wetzels, M., Odekerken-Schröder, G., & Van Oppen, C. (2009). Using PLS path modeling for assessing hierarchical construct models: Guidelines and empirical illustration. MIS Quarterly, 177-195.
• White, B.A. (2014). Who cares when nobody is watching? Psychopathic traits and empathy in prosocial behaviors. Personality and Individual Differences, 56, 116-121.
• Zettler, I., & Hilbig, B. E. (2010). Honesty-humility and a person-situation interaction at work. European Journal of Personality, 24(7), 569-582.