Towards a Psychological Portrait of a Typical Villain o Characteristics of a Compelling Villain: A Look into the Making of

TOWARDS A PSYCHOLOGICAL PORTRAIT OF A TYPICAL VILLAIN: The nine traits of evil people according to the “dark personality theory”

“The General Dark Factor of Personality” (D-factor) is a concept put forward by a research team from Denmark and Germany. The study hypothesizes that some individuals’ personalities have a “dark core” depicting to what extent they are ‘evil’. The research was conducted by Morten Moshagen14 along with Benjamin E. Hilbig15 and Ingo Zettler16 .

The D-factor is defined as “the basic tendency to maximize one’s own utility at the expense of others, accompanied by beliefs that serve as justifications for one’s malevolent behaviors.”17

Those with the highest scores in the D-factor tests are likely to do their utmost to accomplish their goals, even if the process is detrimental to others. In certain circumstances, the purpose itself may be causing distress to others.

The researchers predicted that it was conceivable to measure maliciousness the way intelligence is estimated; ergo, they identified nine traits that evil people will presumably display.

1) Egoism: The tendency to consider only one’s interest. It is an excessive selfconcern, sometimes to the detriment of others’ well-being. 2) Machiavellianism: This trait is centered on cunning, duplicity, and manipulative behavior. It also refers to a lack of moral code. 18

14 Morten Moshagen is a professor of Psychology at Ulm University, Germany. 15 Benjamin E. Hilbig is a professor of Psychology at the University of KoblenzLandau, Germany. 16Ingo Zettler is a professor of Psychology at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. 17 Utility maximization refers to people’s attempts to maximize their positive outcomes, such as money, power, pleasure, and other desired goals.

18 The word originates from the Italian philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli’s political treatise The Prince, written in the 1500s, that puts forth “the end justifies the means” behavior.

3) Moral disengagement: The theory argues that individuals are disposed to cognitively set apart the moral component from an otherwise unprincipled act to rationalize engaging in it (Bandura et al., 1996; Bandura, 1999, 2015). Such individuals contrive extenuating circumstances to justify unethical behaviors. 4) Narcissism: An excessive self-admiration and interest in one’s physical appearance. Pathological narcissism is fueled by a sense of grandiosity that induces a lack of empathy, attention-seeking, and superiority complex.

Figure 10: NARCISSUS: The vanity of human beings19 5) Psychological entitlement: An inflated sense of deservingness and selfimportance, as well as exaggerated expectations to receive special treatment without reciprocating (Fisk, 2010; Grubbs & Exline, 2016). It is the elemental belief that one merits more than others do.

6) Psychopathy: is characterized by the lack or absence of empathy, detachment, and a lack of remorse. Other traits include antisocial behavior, impulsivity, and manipulation. 7) Sadism: The enjoyment of inflicting suffering on others. 8) Self-interest: The pursuit of one’s advantage without regard for others. Personal interests encompass material goods, social status, academic achievement, etc. 9) Spitefulness: An inclination to harm others socially, financially, physically, or else ways, together with being vindicative.

19 Narcissus is a painting by the Italian Baroque master Caravaggio, painted circa 1597–1599.