Dark Triad and schadenfreude: Mediating role of moral disengagement and relational aggression

The current study tested mediating roles of moral disengagement and relational aggression between Dark Triad and schadenfreude. 309 adults completed online survey comprising Short Dark Triad, the Moral Disengagement, Relational Aggression in Friendships scales and author-generated measure of expressed schadenfreude. Higher levels of psychopathy, narcissism and Machiavellianism were associated with higher levels of schadenfreude, moral disengagement and relational aggression. Moral disengagement and relational aggression mediated the effects of psychopathy, narcissism and Machiavellianism on expressed schadenfreude. The findings suggest that individuals who have dark personalities are likely disengage morally and have tendency of relational aggression expressed more schadenfreude. Findings and implication of future research are discussed.