← Studies
# 6liveSep 2, 2026
The Dark Tetrad
What dark personality research calls four.
The tetrad appears as one thing more than it is four, and what the four share is a single socionics dichotomy.
Machiavellianism is the near-mirror of HEXACO's Honesty-Humility in Study 2 - at -.81.
MachiavellianismNarcissismPsychopathySadism
What each trait marks
Two peak on the same row and two have it second.
names
| Machiavellianism | Narcissism | Psychopathy | Sadism | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extraversion·Introversion | +0.13 | +0.55 | +0.39 | +0.16 |
| Intuiting·Sensing | −0.04 | −0.20 | −0.09 | −0.11 |
| Thinking·Feeling | +0.08 | +0.15 | +0.37 | +0.16 |
| Perceiving·Judging | +0.19 | −0.01 | +0.59 | +0.10 |
| Benevolism·Antagonism | −0.68 | −0.41 | −0.53 | −0.62 |
| Passionarism·Transactionalism | −0.23 | +0.18 | +0.11 | +0.19 |
| Invariant Stability·Contextual Pliancy | −0.25 | +0.10 | −0.05 | −0.03 |
| Reactance·Acceptance | −0.09 | +0.20 | +0.10 | +0.09 |
| Hor. Individualism·Ver. Collectivism | −0.20 | −0.03 | −0.02 | −0.19 |
| Positive Focus·Negative Focus | −0.05 | −0.01 | +0.07 | −0.11 |
| Elaborating·Satisficing | +0.18 | +0.04 | −0.05 | +0.18 |
| Affective Gravity·Affective Buoyancy | −0.33 | −0.18 | −0.11 | +0.03 |
| Aff. Openness·Aff. Sealedness | −0.32 | −0.26 | −0.22 | −0.20 |
| Vivid Representation·Gist Representation | −0.11 | −0.09 | −0.09 | +0.04 |
| Field Coupling·Field Decoupling | −0.05 | −0.02 | +0.06 | −0.07 |
Pearson cross-correlations.
How much is one thing
55% of the four is one shared thing pulling on each about equally.
| against each other | its own | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mach | Narc | Psych | Sad | kept | |
| Machiavellianism | · | 70% | |||
| Narcissism | +0.31 | · | 82% | ||
| Psychopathy | +0.49 | +0.39 | · | 63% | |
| Sadism | +0.43 | +0.29 | +0.49 | · | 71% |
Kept is how much of a trait the other three do not cover.
The core, and what each keeps of its own
The core has no row of its own - it lands where all four already read, and harder.
| shared | specific to each | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D, what the four hold in common | Machiavellianism, net of the other three | Narcissism, net of the other three | Psychopathy, net of the other three | Sadism, net of the other three | |
| Extraversion·Introversion | +0.42 | −0.12 | +0.46 | +0.24 | −0.06 |
| Intuiting·Sensing | −0.15 | +0.05 | −0.18 | −0.00 | −0.06 |
| Thinking·Feeling | +0.26 | −0.11 | +0.02 | +0.34 | +0.00 |
| Perceiving·Judging | +0.29 | −0.03 | −0.23 | +0.65 | −0.18 |
| Benevolism·Antagonism | −0.75 | −0.37 | −0.13 | −0.07 | −0.29 |
| Passionarism·Transactionalism | +0.09 | −0.40 | +0.18 | +0.10 | +0.24 |
| Invariant Stability·Contextual Pliancy | −0.08 | −0.29 | +0.17 | +0.02 | +0.05 |
| Reactance·Acceptance | +0.10 | −0.20 | +0.19 | +0.07 | +0.08 |
| Hor. Individualism·Ver. Collectivism | −0.15 | −0.18 | +0.02 | +0.13 | −0.16 |
| Positive Focus·Negative Focus | −0.04 | −0.05 | −0.01 | +0.15 | −0.15 |
| Elaborating·Satisficing | +0.12 | +0.17 | +0.01 | −0.21 | +0.18 |
| Affective Gravity·Affective Buoyancy | −0.20 | −0.33 | −0.12 | +0.02 | +0.19 |
| Aff. Openness·Aff. Sealedness | −0.34 | −0.21 | −0.15 | −0.01 | −0.03 |
| Vivid Representation·Gist Representation | −0.08 | −0.09 | −0.06 | −0.07 | +0.13 |
| Field Coupling·Field Decoupling | −0.03 | −0.07 | −0.03 | +0.13 | −0.09 |
Pearson cross-correlations.
Where each type lands
The four rank the types almost identically: one type bottom of all four, two trading the top.
| Machiavellianism | Narcissism | Psychopathy | Sadism | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ILESeeker | −0.31 | +0.09 | +0.28 | −0.07 |
| SEIIdyllist | −0.22 | −0.41 | −0.29 | −0.29 |
| ESEConvivant | −0.30 | +0.09 | −0.29 | −0.19 |
| LIIAnalyst | −0.36 | −0.22 | −0.34 | −0.24 |
| EIEDramatist | +0.21 | +0.32 | +0.03 | +0.28 |
| LSIInspector | +0.20 | +0.11 | +0.04 | +0.27 |
| SLEMarshal | +0.23 | +0.44 | +0.63 | +0.40 |
| IEIMystic | +0.15 | −0.22 | +0.04 | +0.08 |
| SEEPolitician | +0.44 | +0.52 | +0.48 | +0.27 |
| ILISkeptic | +0.31 | −0.21 | +0.24 | +0.19 |
| LIEEntrepreneur | +0.31 | +0.28 | +0.27 | +0.09 |
| ESIGuardian | −0.12 | −0.17 | −0.41 | −0.02 |
| LSEAdministrator | −0.04 | +0.25 | −0.05 | −0.01 |
| EIIHumanist | −0.38 | −0.58 | −0.77 | −0.43 |
| IEERaconteur | −0.03 | −0.03 | +0.01 | −0.23 |
| SLIArtisan | −0.10 | −0.24 | +0.11 | −0.14 |
Functions
All four run with Se, Psychopathy against Fi just as hard - the largest cell here.
| Machiavellianism | Narcissism | Psychopathy | Sadism | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NiTemporal Intuition | +0.43 | −0.06 | +0.33 | +0.28 |
| NePossibilities Intuition | −0.34 | −0.22 | −0.09 | −0.35 |
| SiComfort Sensing | −0.35 | −0.28 | −0.19 | −0.32 |
| SePower Sensing | +0.47 | +0.52 | +0.62 | +0.49 |
| TiStructural Logic | −0.15 | +0.05 | +0.04 | +0.13 |
| TeBusiness Logic | +0.17 | +0.21 | +0.19 | +0.08 |
| FiRelational Ethics | −0.11 | −0.34 | −0.66 | −0.29 |
| FeEmotive Ethics | −0.14 | +0.09 | −0.32 | −0.04 |
| QiIndividual Autonomy | −0.27 | −0.13 | −0.14 | −0.12 |
| QeAversive Reactivity | +0.17 | +0.44 | +0.30 | +0.27 |
| DiCollective Heteronomy | +0.05 | −0.35 | −0.24 | −0.04 |
| DeSocial Plasticity | +0.07 | +0.10 | +0.13 | −0.08 |