Coauthored By Christian Hart, Ph.D., and Peyton Yarbrough, M.S.
On social media and in everyday conversations, words like “narcissist” and “pathological liar” get thrown around a lot. But people often misuse these terms to the point that the real meaning gets lost. People often label someone a narcissist to describe a self-obsessed liar who manipulates and gaslights others for positive attention or personal gain usually in the context of romantic relationships. While this notion is not entirely wrong, other personality traits predict lying much better than narcissism.
Dark Traits
In our recent research, we investigated how certain dark personality traits are linked to lying. The dark traits we studied were:
• Callousness: Not caring about other people’s feelings or having a lack of empathy.
• Sadism: Experiencing enjoyment or pleasure in others’ suffering.
• Vindictiveness: Seeking revenge on those who they believe have wronged them.
• Narcissism: Inflated self-importance and belief they deserve more than others.
• Deceitfulness: The tendency to engage in deceptive behavior for personal gain.
Types of Lies
We explored how those personality traits are associated with telling three types of lies:
• Altruistic Lies: Lies told to benefit others or spare their feelings (“I love your new haircut!”).
• Vindictive Lies: Lies told to hurt others (spreading false rumors).
• Self-Serving Lies: Lies told to benefit oneself or make oneself look better (lying on a resume).
Findings
Our results showed that narcissism was surprisingly one of the weakest dark personality traits in predicting the various types of lies. Narcissism was not related at all to telling altruistic lies. While narcissism was connected to telling self-serving and vindictive lies, the other four dark traits were stronger predictors.
Narcissism Doesn’t Explain Lying
Why doesn’t narcissism explain lying as much as you might think? While narcissists see themselves as special and deserving, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re motivated to harm or exploit others. Other dark traits, like sadism, callousness, and vindictiveness are more clearly tied to unethical behavior. Narcissists might misrepresent themselves to protect their image, but that’s quite different from feeling inclined to harm or take advantage of others. It’s also worth noting that narcissists often score high in other dark traits, and it’s possible those traits, not narcissism itself, drive harmful actions.
Look beyond narcissism when thinking about why people lie or manipulate others. Understanding the context and motivation behind a lie can provide deeper insight into a person’s behavior. Traits like callousness, vindictiveness, and sadism may better help explain why someone chooses to deceive, whether to harm others or to serve their own interests.
The Takeaway
Understanding the different traits that drive lying and manipulation can help you navigate your relationships and avoid being duped. Maybe it is time to stop relying on overused labels like narcissist to explain the liars and manipulators we encounter. We should pay more attention to signs of the other dark traits. This insight can help us all maintain healthier boundaries and make better decisions about whom to trust. Ultimately, being informed about dark traits can empower you to avoid those who use lies and manipulation to harm and control. The next time someone uses narcissism to explain a person’s prolific lying, you might consider that other dark traits may better account for their dishonesty.
This is based on the thesis research of master’s student Peyton Yarbrough, M.S.