New research has found that people with “dark” personality characteristics, such as psychopathy and narcissism, are less likely to comply with efforts to impede the spread of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and more likely to stockpile goods such as food and toilet paper.
Two new studies, both published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, reinforce previous findings that the “Dark Triad” of narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism is associated with ignoring preventative COVID-19 measures.
But the new research indicates that health beliefs and situational perceptions may play a more important role than personality traits alone.
“Our lab is interested in examining how personality factors are related to human functioning, including subjective well-being and mental health,” said Magdalena Zemojtel-Piotrowska, the corresponding author of one of the new studies.
“The pandemic created an extremely interesting situation for cross-cultural psychologists, especially those interested in the link between personality, social beliefs, and subjective well-being. The coronavirus outbreak is a medical as well as a social problem, as it forces us all to adopt specific behaviors to control the situation (like physical distancing or wearing masks).”
“COVID-19 affected virtually every society but did so in different ways. Some societies deal with the pandemic very effectively and without serious panic (like the Netherlands or Poland) and some were affected dramatically (like Iran or Brazil),” explained Zemojtel-Piotrowska, an associate professor and head of the Cross-Cultural Psychology Centre at the University of Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski in Warsaw.
“We looked at how culturally-conditioned personality factors (so-called ‘dark’ personality traits) impacted the effectiveness of dealing with the pandemic.”
For their study, the researchers surveyed 755 individuals in Poland between March 15 and 29, during the 3rd and 4th week of governmental restrictions. They found that participants who scored higher on a measure of Dark Triad traits were less likely to engage in preventive behaviors (such as washing hands more often and not leaving the home unless necessary) and more likely to engage in hoarding behaviors.
But much of this relationship was explained by health beliefs about COVID-19.
“So-called dark personality is not as problematic in the face of the pandemic as one could assume. The most important is what such people think about the coronavirus and about adopting preventive measures. One could expect that narcissists just do not care about others and therefore refuse to adopt to social rules recommended by medical experts. Yet, the picture is more complex,” Zemojtel-Piotrowska told PsyPost.
“Narcissistic people engage more in hoarding, and they do so because they are self-centered and because they are afraid of the coronavirus. However, there is a difference between collective narcissists (who are very strongly and blindly attached to their own group) and people characterized by dark traits (people who are self-centered and attached just to themselves).”
“Collective narcissists do not engage less in preventive behaviors, while dark triad personalities do. Dark personalities engage less in prevention only because they do not believe in the utility of preventative measures. They do not believe in effectiveness of such behaviors and they see more barriers to adopt them,” Zemojtel-Piotrowska said.
“So being ‘dark’ is important for behaviors during the pandemic, but ‘dark’ people engage in hoarding mostly because of their personality, while their preventative behaviors are conditioned by their beliefs about the coronavirus.”
“We cannot change a personality, but we could change the beliefs. So, the main practical finding is that we could encourage egocentric ‘dark’ people to adopt preventative measures by showing them that prevention works and it is not as demanding as they seem to assume.”
Like all research, the study includes some limitations.
“Our study was conducted in one culture – in an affluent, stable European society, not seriously affected by the coronavirus,” Zemojtel-Piotrowska said. “We do not know why exactly people with dark personalities tend to buy more supplies – because they are more greedy or they are more competitive than others or they more take care about their personal comfort due to their feelings of entitlement.”
In another study, from the University of Warsaw, 263 individuals from Poland completed an online questionnaire between April 14 and April 30, at the height of governmental restrictions. In line with the other studies, the researchers found that heightened agreeableness was associated with greater compliance with COVID-19 guidelines, while narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism were linked to reduced compliance.
But the researchers found that “the way people perceived the situation explained more variance in compliance than the Big Five traits and the Dark Triad traits.” Those who believed the COVID-19 situation was characterized by duty and was negative in nature were more likely to comply with the restrictions, while those who viewed the situation as a mating opportunity were less likely to comply.
“Perceiving a situation as dutiful entails that effort is necessary to fulfill some obligations, which in the current research might be governmental restrictions and a sense of moral obligation to protect fellow countrymen. The COVID-19 pandemic might be perceived as a threat and elicit tension, and anxiety, which, in turn, translates into compliance,” the researchers said.
“By contrast, people who viewed the situation as conducive to sex, love, and romance, complied less with restrictions. It is possible that seeing sexual opportunities overrides potential threats related to health or breaking rules.”
The researchers also found that people who scored higher on measures of narcissism, psychopathy, or Machiavellianism were more likely to view the COVID-19 situation as positive in nature, possibly because they viewed the circumstances as ripe for exploitation.
Of course, not everyone who defies coronavirus restrictions or stockpiles goods does so because of dark personality characteristics. When it comes to understanding behaviors during the coronavirus pandemic, there are many factors at play, the authors of the study said.
The study, “Adaptive and maladaptive behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic: The roles of Dark Triad traits, collective narcissism, and health beliefs,” was authored by Bartlomiej Nowak, Pawel Brzoska, Jarosław Piotrowski, Constantine Sedikides, Magdalena Zemojtel-Piotrowsk, and Peter K. Jonason.
The study, “Who complies with the restrictions to reduce the spread of COVID-19?: Personality and perceptions of the COVID-19 situation“, was authored by Marcin Zajenkowski, Peter K. Jonason, Maria Leniarska, and Zuzanna Kozakiewicz.
(Image by Ben Kerckx from Pixabay)
