The Attractiveness of Women with “Dark” Personality: A Brief Report
Articles
Tadas Vadvilavičius
Vytautas Magnus University image/svg+xml
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1920-1959
Jovita Janavičiūtė-Pužauskė
Vytautas Magnus University image/svg+xml
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7021-5806
Kristina Žardeckaitė-Matulaitienė
Vytautas Magnus University image/svg+xml
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8874-0668
Published 2026-06-09
https://doi.org/10.15388/Psichol.2027.76.1
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Keywords

Dark Triad
attractiveness
quasi-experiment
gender norms

How to Cite

Vadvilavičius, T., Janavičiūtė-Pužauskė, J., & Žardeckaitė-Matulaitienė, K. (2026). The Attractiveness of Women with “Dark” Personality: A Brief Report. Psichologija, 76, 8-16. https://doi.org/10.15388/Psichol.2027.76.1

Abstract

As we discuss in this paper, physical attractiveness is not the only way to define a person`s appeal. We suggest that personality traits also have an impact on the perceived attractiveness of a person. The main objective of this paper was to assess the men’s perspective on the attraction of women with characteristics of Dark Triad traits (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy). This study was based on a quasi-experimental design in which 94 men participated. Participants were randomly presented with one of two scenarios about the day of woman X, where the expression of the Dark Triad personality traits (low and high) was manipulated. Our research results revealed that women with a high level of Dark Triad traits are perceived by men to be less attractive (n = 52) than women with a low level of Dark Triad traits (n = 42). Our results partially support the idea that women are perceived as more attractive if they meet certain gender norms such as being friendly, community-oriented, being less aggressive, and non-manipulative.

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