Skip to main content
Take Test
NarcissismPsychologyPsychopathy

Dark Triad Test

The Dark Triad is a personality inventory that explores the socially undesirable traits of Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and Psychopathy. The Dark Triad test is often used by police and the courts, in psychiatric wards and evaluations, and even in big corporations. Studies have shown that people who score high on the Dark Triad are more likely to commit crimes or get in trouble with the law and also more likely to cause social distress among their friends or problems for their workplace. On the other hand, studies have also shown that Dark Triad individuals are often perceived as possessing leadership qualities and that they have high social status and comparative ease of attaining desirable sex partners.

Question 1 of 36

I despise people who can't control their emotions.

Disagree
Agree

NEXT

The CT-DT3© is not the equivalent of the SD3© (Short Dark Triad).

The CT-DT3© is the property of IDR Labs International. The SD3© is the property of Daniel N. Jones, Delroy L. Paulhus, and the 'Assessment' Journal, as published by Sage, which focuses on articles advancing clinical assessment science and practice.

The three socially dark characteristics of Machiavellianism, Narcissism, and Psychopathy are often conceptualized as three interrelated traits known collectively as the Dark Triad. This test aims to measure the respondent's Dark Triad traits according to brief and easy-to-answer test items that nevertheless provide an accurate measure for the individual's Dark Triad traits. Numerous peer-reviewed studies (see references on the result page) were analyzed and used to determine the structure of this test, as well as the benchmarks and population averages used. Together, these studies inform the theoretical and methodical background of the CT-DT3©, yielding dependable and substantial measures of the Dark Triad traits.

Although both are designed to measure Dark Triad traits, the CT-DT3© should not be confused with the SD3©, as authored by Daniel N. Jones and Delroy L. Paulhus. However, both are professionally-designed personality tests (or inventories) meant for measuring traits pertaining to the dark personality triad of Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and Psychopathy. The CT-DT3© is the property of IDR Labs International. The SD3© (Short Dark Triad) is the property of Daniel N. Jones, Delroy L. Paulhus, and the 'Assessment' psychological Journal. The authors of this online personality test are certified in the use of multiple personality tests and have worked professionally with typology and personality testing. The results of our online Dark Triad personality test are provided for educational purposes only, solely "as-is," and should not be construed as providing professional or certified advice of any kind. For more on our online personality test, please consult our Terms of Service.

References

  • Dowgwillo & Pincus: Differentiating Dark Triad Traits Within and Across Interpersonal Circumplex Surfaces (Assessment 2016) 1073191116643161.
  • Furham, Richard & Paulhus: The Dark Triad of Personality: A 10 Year Review (Social and Personality Psychology Compass Volume 7, Issue 3, 2013) pp. 199-216.
  • Jonason, Kaufman, Webster & Geher: What Lies Beneath the Dark Triad Dirty Dozen: Varied Relations with the Big Five (Individual Differences Research 2013, Vol 11. No. 2) pp. 81-90.
  • Jonason & Webster: The Dirty Dozen: A Concise Measure of the Dark Triad (Psychological Assessment, Vol 22(2), Jun 2010) pp. 420-432.
  • Jones & Paulhus: Introducing the Short Dark Triad SD3 (Assessment 21.1 2014) pp. 28-41.
  • Kajonius, Persson, Rosenberg & Garcia: The (Mis)measurement of the Dark Triad Dirty Dozen: Exploitation at the Core of the Scale (PeerJ 2016) DOI 10.7717/peerj.1748.

Why Use This Test?

1. High validity and reliability. There is good scientific evidence that the three Dark Triad traits are solid as constructs and that the Dark Triad framework should be admitted into the mainstay of scientific personality testing.

2. Free. This online personality test is delivered to you free of charge and will allow you to obtain your scores on all three Dark Triad traits.

3. Benchmarked to population averages. While there are other Dark Triad personality tests in existence, ours is one of the few to link the respondent's Dark Triad scores to a benchmark of population averages, as determined by peer-reviewed personality studies.

4. Statistical controls. Test scores are logged into an anonymized database. Statistical analysis of the test is conducted to ensure maximum accuracy and validity of the test scores.

5. Made by professionals. The authors of this free online personality test are certified in the use of different personality tests and have worked professionally with personality typology and personality testing.