#DarkTriad

A sweeping new global study shows that people living in societies plagued by corruption, inequality, poverty, and violence are significantly more likely to develop what psychologists term “dark” personality traits, including psychopathy, narcissism, and machiavellianism—a finding with profound implications for social policy and Thai society. Researchers from the University of Copenhagen, analyzing data from nearly 2 million individuals across 183 countries, report that social adversity is a strong predictor of psychological tendencies towards selfishness, aggression, and exploitation, raising key questions about how governance and environment shape the character of entire populations (Phys.org, news.ku.dk).

Could a person’s face betray their darkest personality traits? A recent study featured in international news coverage, including a widely read article on Newsweek, has sparked lively debate with the claim that psychopathy and other so-called “dark triad” traits—narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy—can indeed be detected from someone’s facial appearance alone. Drawing insights from the latest scientific advances, the study challenges traditional notions about whether people can reliably spot dangerous or manipulative individuals by their looks—a topic with major implications for Thai society, given the importance placed on first impressions, face, and social harmony.