Empirical literature examining the Dark Tetrad consistently demonstrates that sadism and narcissism are positively correlated as part of the broader cluster of dark, antagonistic personality traits.
Evidence for · 5
Communal Narcissism and Sadism as Predictors of Everyday Vigilantism
2023 · cited by 7
Communal narcissism and sadism were both found to be positively related to vigilantism and cruel behaviors (Birkholz et al., 2023).
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More for · 4
The Dark Tetrad Personality Traits of Tax Avoidance in the Manufacturing Small and Medium Enterprises; an Empirical Evidence from Indonesia
2024 · cited by 2
Individuals possessing the Dark Tetrad traits, including narcissism and sadism, are more prone to justifying and engaging in harmful behaviors (Pratama et al., 2024).
Spiritual well-being and "dark" personality traits: Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy, and sadism.
2026 · cited by 0
Both narcissism and sadism are part of the Dark Tetrad core and show shared variance and positive intercorrelations (Zenkova et al., 2026).
Self-Construal as a Predictor of Antagonistic Personality Traits.
2026 · cited by 0
Studies examining the Antagonistic or Dark Tetrad consistently group and find positive correlations among Machiavellianism, psychopathy, narcissism, and sadism (Nathanson et al., 2026).
Personality and situational predictors of insider threat: a vignette study.
2026 · cited by 0
Measures of the Dark Tetrad demonstrate strong positive intercorrelations among its constituent traits, including sadism and narcissism (Gaughan et al., 2026).