Welcome to the Jangle: Comparing the Empirical Profiles of the “Dark” Factor and Antagonism

Abstract

This study examines the congruency between the recently introduced Dark Factor of Personality (D) and Antagonism (A; low Agreeableness) from the Five-Factor Model of personality. Using two samples (Ns of 365 and 600), we examined simple zero-order correlations between D and A (rs of .69 and .64). In addition, we used a range of relevant external criteria (e.g., antisocial behavior, aggression, domains and facets of personality, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders [DSM] personality disorders [PDs], impulsivity, and political skill) to examine the degree of absolute similarity in the relations that D and A bear to these criteria. These similarity coefficients were then compared with the similarities produced by measures of constructs different from D and A but similar among themselves (i.e., psychopathy and narcissism in both samples, plus depression in Sample 1). The degree of similarity between D and A (rICCs = .96 and .93) is consistent with what is observed between other measures of the same construct. We conclude that D and A yield largely identical empirical correlates and thus likely represents an instance of the jangle fallacy. We believe that future efforts would be better spent furthering the literature around the well-established Agreeableness versus Antagonism construct.