Anja Wertag

By Anja Wertag

Callousness or low empathy is a key feature of the so-called dark personality traits, in which the interest has been exponentially rising. The most prominent dark personality traits models are the Dark Triad, comprising three distinct, but overlapping traits: Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy, and the Dark Tetrad, with the addition of sadism. Although both theoretical conceptualizations and empirical findings point to impaired empathy as the core of dark personalities, the associations between specific forms of empathy and dark traits are not so consistent. Thus, this chapter aims to provide a critical review of existing findings on the relationship between dark personality traits and specific forms of empathy. Moreover, it aims to offer interesting insights into empathy intervention possibilities in individuals with pronounced dark traits.

Part of the book: Empathy

By Bojana M. Dinić, Tanja Jevremov and Anja Wertag

In this chapter, through the results of bibliometric analysis, publication trends and emerging themes in narcissism research will be discussed with a focus on various models and dimensions of narcissism, measurement issues, and adaptive and maladaptive aspects of narcissism. Although narcissism research started within the fields of clinical psychology and psychopathology, subclinical narcissism soon became investigated within social psychology and personality psychology. With the popularization of the Dark Triad concept, interest in narcissism also increased. Therefore, a historical review of narcissism research will be presented through bibliometric analysis, along with assessing novel trends in narcissism research. Finally, guidelines for improving narcissism research and directions for moving forward in this field will be given.

Part of the book: Psychology of Narcissism

By Anja Wertag and Bojana M. Dinić

Part of the book: Psychology of Narcissism