New research provides evidence that women with high levels of psychopathy are more likely to engage in physical, verbal, and indirect aggression against other women. The study indicates that while women generally favor covert competitive tactics, those with specific dark personality traits may bypass these social norms to target rivals directly. These findings were published in Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences.
Evolutionary theory suggests that humans compete for access to romantic partners through a process known as intrasexual selection. This competition can manifest in various ways depending on the sex of the individual. For women, biological factors related to reproduction play a significant role in shaping these competitive strategies.
The theory of obligatory parental investment notes that women face higher biological costs in reproduction than men. Because women carry the fetus during gestation and often care for infants, they must protect their physical well-being to ensure the survival of their offspring. This biological reality implies that direct physical confrontation is a high-risk strategy for women.
Consequently, evolutionary psychologists have observed that women typically compete using low-risk, indirect strategies. These tactics often include spreading rumors, gossiping, or social exclusion. These methods allow women to damage a rival’s reputation and reduce their attractiveness to potential mates without facing the danger of physical injury.
Despite this general tendency toward indirect aggression, individual differences in personality can alter these behaviors. Previous science has identified a cluster of personality traits known as the Dark Tetrad. This cluster includes narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadism.
Machiavellianism involves a tendency to be manipulative and deceptive to achieve one’s goals. Narcissism is characterized by a sense of entitlement and a desire for admiration. Psychopathy is linked to high impulsivity, low empathy, and a lack of emotional attachment. Sadism involves the enjoyment of inflicting suffering or pain on others.
“We were primarily interested in the role of dark personality traits and intrasexual competition in women, where the research shows a positive association between the two. There was a gap where most of this research did not include sadism, which comprises the dark tetrad personality traits,” said study author Ray Garza Jr., an assistant professor of psychology and director of the Evolutionary Visual Lab at Texas A&M International University.
“We know that women tend to use more covert methods to compete with other women, such as verbal and indirect strategies, which typically are not high-risk compared to physical aggression. We were able to fill in the gap by also collecting women’s responses on their use of verbal, indirect (i.e., rumor spreading), and physical aggression.”
For their study, the research team recruited 136 women to participate in the study. The participants were students at a university in South Texas. The sample was predominantly Hispanic, with most participants identifying as being of Mexican descent. The average age of the participants was approximately 23 years old.
The participants completed an online survey consisting of three standardized psychological scales. The first measure was the Intrasexual Competition Scale. This tool assesses an individual’s attitude toward competing with members of the same sex for romantic partners. It includes items that measure how threatened a woman feels by attractive rivals.
The second measure was the Short Dark Tetrad scale. This assessment evaluates the four dark personality traits. Participants rated their agreement with statements reflecting manipulative tendencies, callousness, self-importance, and enjoyment of others’ suffering. This allowed the researchers to create a profile of each participant’s personality regarding these specific traits.
The third measure was the Direct and Indirect Aggression Scale. This instrument asks participants to report their actual engagement in aggressive behaviors. It is divided into three categories. Physical aggression includes actions such as hitting or shoving. Verbal aggression involves name-calling or yelling. Indirect aggression consists of malicious gossip or social exclusion.
The researchers analyzed the data to determine which personality traits predicted the different types of aggression. They also examined whether the general drive to compete explained the relationship between personality and aggression. The results provided a detailed look at how dark personality traits manifest in competitive contexts.
The analysis showed that women who scored higher on the Intrasexual Competition Scale also tended to score higher on Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sadism. This indicates that women with these traits are more likely to view other women as rivals. Narcissism was the exception, as it did not correlate with intrasexual competition.
Psychopathy emerged as the most consistent predictor of aggressive behavior. Women with higher levels of psychopathy were significantly more likely to report using physical aggression. This finding is notable because it contradicts the general evolutionary trend of women avoiding physical risks. It appears that the lack of empathy and impulsivity associated with psychopathy may override the instinct for self-preservation in competitive scenarios.
“Most research has shown that women do not utilize physical aggression because of its high-risk nature,” Garza told PsyPost. “We did find that dark personality traits predict physical aggression as well. Women do act out physically in situations that threaten their reproductive relevant goals, such as when other women target their sexual history.”
Psychopathy also predicted the use of verbal and indirect aggression. This suggests that women high in this trait utilize a versatile arsenal of competitive tactics. They do not limit themselves to covert methods but are willing to employ whatever strategy is available. They appear less concerned with the social or physical repercussions of their actions.
Sadism showed a specific relationship with verbal aggression. Women who scored high on sadism were more likely to use verbal attacks against others. The researchers propose that verbal aggression offers immediate feedback. The perpetrator can instantly see the distress they cause the victim.
This immediate reaction aligns with the sadistic desire to derive pleasure from another’s suffering. In contrast, sadism did not predict indirect aggression. Indirect tactics like rumor-spreading take time to cause harm. The delayed nature of indirect aggression may be less satisfying to individuals with high levels of sadism.
The researchers also found a negative relationship between narcissism and verbal aggression. Women with higher narcissism scores were less likely to engage in verbal attacks. Narcissists often seek to maintain a superior self-image. Engaging in overt verbal altercations might be viewed as beneath them or damaging to their social standing.
“The research should convey that some women are more inclined to use verbal, indirect, and physical aggression, but these behaviors are mostly driven by psychopathy and sadism,” Garza explained. “It could be argued that women with higher levels of psychopathy and sadism are better at implementing competitive strategies, and potentially expecting retaliation.”
As with all research, there are some limitations to consider. The sample size was relatively small and consisted of university students. This specific demographic may not represent the behavior of women in different age groups or socioeconomic environments.
“One could argue that older women may not use these strategies, as they are more common in reproductive aged women,” Garza noted. “From a practical viewpoint, we know that people act out aggressively, whether at school or at the workplace, and these findings may shed light onto the underlying traits associated with such behaviors.”
The study also relied on self-reported measures. Participants may not always be truthful about their aggressive behaviors due to social desirability bias. Women high in dark traits might be more willing to admit to aggression, which could influence the results. Future research could benefit from using experimental designs that observe behavior in real-time.
“One common misconception is that these behaviors are inherently bad,” Garza said. “But we interpret these behaviors and dark personality traits as being adaptive to one’s environment and fitness related threats.”
The researchers suggest that future studies should investigate the cognitive mechanisms behind these behaviors. For instance, they propose examining how women with dark personality traits process visual cues. Understanding how these women perceive threatening facial expressions could offer deeper insight into their aggressive responses. The current study serves as a step toward understanding the complex interplay between personality and female competition.
The study, “Psychopathy Predicts the Use of Physical, Verbal, and Indirect Aggression in Women,” was authored by Ray Garza, Jenna D. Arsuaga, and Farid Pazhoohi.
