People with certain dark personality traits may be especially drawn to online political participation — particularly if they also experience fear of missing out (FoMO) and have lower cognitive ability. A new cross-national study published in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications examined how several traits interact to predict digital political engagement across eight countries. The observed patterns suggest that emotion-driven traits, rather than deliberative thinking, may play a key role in motivating online political behavior.
Most research on personality and political participation has focused on broad traits like the Big Five. But less attention has been paid to how darker traits—like psychopathy and narcissism—might shape who participates in politics, especially in the digital realm. Previous findings have shown that individuals high in these traits often seek power and attention, both of which can be satisfied through political engagement. Yet, studies have mainly focused on offline behavior and Western populations.
The rise of social media has opened new channels for political action. It has also created environments that reward impulsivity, emotional expression, and the desire for attention—traits closely tied to psychopathy, narcissism, and FoMO. At the same time, people vary in their ability to critically evaluate information, raising the question of whether cognitive ability moderates how personality traits translate into political participation. The researchers aimed to explore how these psychological and cognitive factors interact to shape online political behavior across cultures.
“I’m particularly interested in how citizens engage with political information on social media platforms, especially in ways that translate into online political activities such as discussion and participation,” explained study author Saifuddin Ahmed, an assistant professor at Nanyang Technological University and director of the Social Media and Political Engagement (SMAPE) Lab.
“When analysing such behaviour, it becomes essential to ask not only how are individuals participating but who is participating as well. This is because participation is far from uniform, differences in personality traits and cognitive styles are likely to play a significant role. Therefore, in this paper, we aim to examine how personality differences distinguish those who are more active from those who are less active in online political activities.”
The researchers conducted a large-scale survey in June 2022 using data from over 8,000 participants in eight countries: the United States, China, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. They used quota sampling to match national distributions of age and gender, and the survey was administered in local languages where appropriate. Participants completed validated questionnaires assessing psychopathy, narcissism, fear of missing out (FoMO), and cognitive ability.
Online political participation was measured by asking how often participants engaged in six different online political activities (such as commenting on political posts or sharing political content) over the past year. Psychopathy and narcissism were assessed using a short version of the Dark Triad scale. FoMO was measured through a series of questions asking about anxiety related to missing out on others’ experiences. Cognitive ability was assessed using the Wordsum test, a vocabulary-based measure often used as a proxy for general intelligence.
To better isolate the effects of personality and cognitive traits, the researchers also controlled for age, gender, education, income, political interest, and both traditional and social media news consumption.
Across all eight countries, higher levels of psychopathy and FoMO were consistently linked to greater online political participation. In contrast, narcissism was only associated with political participation in three countries: the United States, the Philippines, and Thailand. This suggests that psychopathy and FoMO may be more universal predictors of online political activity, while the influence of narcissism could be shaped by cultural norms.
Cognitive ability, on the other hand, showed a consistent negative relationship with online political participation. In all countries studied, individuals with higher cognitive scores were less likely to engage in online political activities. This pattern was especially strong in Singapore and Malaysia.
The researchers also examined how cognitive ability influenced the relationships between personality traits and political participation. Among individuals with lower cognitive ability, the link between psychopathy and political engagement was stronger in five countries: the United States, China, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines. A similar pattern was found for FoMO in several countries. In these contexts, people who scored high in psychopathy or FoMO and low in cognitive ability were the most active in online politics.
The one notable exception was China. In that country, psychopathy was more strongly associated with political engagement among individuals with higher cognitive ability. This indicates that the dynamics between personality, cognition, and political behavior can differ across national or cultural settings.
“The most important takeaway from this study is that psychopathy and fear of missing out (FoMO) are strong and consistent predictors of online political participation across countries,” Ahmed told PsyPost. “Moreover, the combination of high psychopathy and low cognitive ability appears to drive the highest levels of engagement, highlighting that those most active in online political spaces are often motivated less by civic-mindedness and more by psychological and cognitive factors. This underscores the importance of considering personality-cognition interactions when understanding who participates in digital political discourse and why.”
The results suggest that emotional and impulsive traits may drive some people to become more involved in online politics, particularly if they lack strong critical thinking skills. People high in psychopathy may be attracted to the combative, attention-seeking nature of digital political discourse. Those high in FoMO may engage politically online to avoid feeling left out, even if they lack a deep interest in political issues.
Meanwhile, individuals with higher cognitive ability may be more cautious or selective in their online political engagement. They may be better at evaluating the quality of information, recognizing misinformation, or assessing the risks of political expression in online spaces. This could explain why cognitive ability weakens the effect of dark personality traits on political participation in most countries.
In collectivist societies like China, Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam, narcissism was not significantly linked to political participation. This may reflect cultural norms that discourage overt self-promotion or public displays of individual importance. In contrast, more individualistic societies like the United States and the Philippines may provide a more fertile ground for narcissists to seek attention through political activity.
The findings raise questions about the nature and quality of online political participation. If people who are more impulsive, emotionally driven, or self-focused are also more politically active online, what does this mean for democratic discourse in digital spaces? Previous research suggests that individuals high in psychopathy and narcissism are more likely to spread misinformation, engage in online harassment, and promote extreme views. This study adds to the concern that these traits may disproportionately influence online political conversations.
The strong role of FoMO also suggests that some political participation may be driven less by civic interest and more by anxiety about being left out. While this could broaden participation and attract younger people into political discourse, it also raises the risk that such engagement is superficial, reactive, or vulnerable to manipulation.
The consistent negative association between cognitive ability and online political activity may seem counterintuitive, especially given that political engagement is often considered a sign of informed citizenship. But in digital spaces, where barriers to participation are low and emotionally charged content spreads quickly, participation may not always reflect informed deliberation. Instead, it may be driven by impulsivity, sensation-seeking, or a desire for visibility.
“The findings align with existing knowledge on the relationship between psychopathy and narcissism in offline political participation,” Ahmed said. “However, the consistency of fear of missing out as a predictor across contexts, as well as the moderating effect of cognitive ability across contexts, were surprising outcomes.”
This study offers a comprehensive look at how personality and cognitive traits shape online political behavior, but it is not without limitations. The measures of psychopathy and narcissism were based on self-report, which can be subject to bias. The Wordsum test, while widely used, captures only one dimension of cognitive ability. The study also did not distinguish between different types of online political participation—such as constructive engagement versus spreading misinformation.
“Readers should be mindful of the limitations inherent in the analytical approach and the measures employed,” Ahmed noted. “Although every effort was made to validate these measures, all survey-based tools, not only this study, carry certain constraints. Even so, the findings remain valuable in shedding light on how personality and cognitive factors shape patterns of political engagement online.”
Future research could examine how specific subtypes of narcissism and psychopathy relate to different forms of political engagement. Longitudinal or experimental designs could help clarify whether these traits predict changes in behavior over time or whether online participation feeds back into personality development. Cultural differences also warrant closer study, particularly regarding how social norms and media environments influence the psychological roots of political behavior.
“We are now exploring the effects of dark triads in other forms of political engagements,” Ahmed added. “The findings raise important questions about the nature and quality of online political participation, as well as what might be required to foster a more balanced and inclusive form of civic engagement.”
“If certain personality traits and cognitive factors disproportionately drive participation, there is a risk that online political spaces may overrepresent voices shaped by these traits, potentially influencing the tone, content, and polarization of discourse. This has implications not only for understanding who participates, but also for how democratic dialogue is shaped in digital environments.”
The study, “Dark personalities in the digital arena: how psychopathy and narcissism shape online political participation,” was authored by Saifuddin Ahmed and Muhammad Masood.
