If you have to negotiate business with a narcissist or psychopath, you鈥檙e better off doing it on Facebook, according to UBC Okanagan researchers.
In one of the first studies of its kind, the researchers at the 麻豆精选 campus found that traditionally successful manipulators who are classified as being part of the "Dark Triad"鈥攑eople with narcissistic, psychopathic or Machiavellian tendencies鈥攄on鈥檛 send very compelling online messages.
鈥淭he results of this study are pretty clear鈥攐nce you remove non-verbal cues such as body language from the equation, the ability to smoke out narcissists and psychopaths becomes easier,鈥� said UBCO鈥檚 Michael Woodworth, a professor of psychology. 鈥淲e can also conclude that it is very likely that the qualities that allow these people to successfully charm, manipulate, intimidate or exploit others appear to require a live, in-person audience.鈥�
The study, titled The Dark Side of Negotiation, was conducted between October 2013 and February 2014 and included more than 200 Canadian university students, a proportion of whom were identified as having various qualities on the Dark Triad, or DT for short, spectrum.
After being randomly assigned to either a face-to-face or computer-mediated contact group, the students were asked to negotiate for concert tickets, either as a buyer or a seller, with the ultimate goal of achieving maximum financial benefit for themselves.
Consistent with other studies, Woodworth鈥檚 research concluded that those who ranked higher on the DT spectrum were more successful in face-to-face negotiations than they were online. Surprisingly, the research also concluded that higher-ranking DT participants were 12.5 percent less successful in online negotiations than those ranking lower on the spectrum.
Students鈥� placement on the spectrum varied depending on individual characteristics and attributes.
Each of the three parts of the DT has distinct traits. Psychopaths tend to lack empathy and be anti-social. Narcissists lean toward grandiosity and self-adoration. People with Machiavellian qualities are goal-oriented, calculated manipulators.
鈥淲hile there has long been a fascination with DT personalities and how they can impact ordinary people, little has been studied as to how these people behave online,鈥� said Woodworth.
鈥淲hat this research tells us is that if you want to be confident in your ability not be taken in by these types of known manipulators, you鈥檙e probably better off dealing with them online.鈥�
Working with Woodworth on the project were honours student Lisa Crossley, graduate student Pamela Black and UBC professor emeritus Bob Hare. The study was published this month in the journal of Personality and Individual Differences.
Woodworth and Crossley are now conducting similar DT research involving deception.
