Romance and dimly-lit settings are so closely associated in our minds that we automatically think a date or evening with a special someone will go better in the dark. If it weren’t for the belief that love requires darkness to bloom, modern-day candle producers would go out of business. As it turns out, however, there are some people who are particularly likely to benefit in night’s shadows. Ironically, those individuals with some of the so-called “dark triad” personality traits may be the ones who have better luck with finding a partner when the lights are in fact turned down.
The dark triad in psychology refers to the combination of Machiavellianism (the tendency to coldly manipulate people), psychopathy (lack of empathy and remorse) and narcissism (excessive self-focus). People high in all three of these qualities are dangerous characters indeed. As you might imagine, not only do they use people but they are exceptionally good at getting others to swallow their bait. In terms of your mental health, you want to stay away from people with the dark triad personality, but you may find it difficult to resist their superficial charm and appeal.
In an intriguing hypothesis, Humboldt University of Berlin psychologist John Rauthmann and his colleagues (2014) proposed that you’re most subject to the influence of the dark triad when the environmental conditions themselves are dark. These tendencies in general lead men, they maintained, to be particularly likely to use women for their own sexual purposes. What's more, under cover of darkness, exploitative men are better able to engage in the so-called “shady operations” that would allow them to avoid detection because they’re literally less visible than they are under the bright glare of the sun.
Dark days and stormy nights make us feel more vulnerable in general. What better frame of mind to bring an unsuspecting woman under the guise of your protection? As Rauthmann and his team hypothesized: “dark personalities should be able to take advantage of less light to successfully lure mates into their fangs” (p. 58).
To test their hypothesis, the research team devised an ingenious experimental field study in which they observed their darkly-personified men as they approached possible dates on the street. The 59 men in the study went up to nearly 1400 women on the street (only 1/3 of whom were single) while the research assistants unobtrusively followed them. The men’s task was to obtain the women’s contact information. The weather conditions were not even as extreme as night vs. day but instead involved either dark/cloudy vs. bright/sunny skies.
If the “veil of darkness” hypothesis were correct, the men with dark triad personalities should have better luck with their intended targets under cloudy than sunny conditions. To test the hypothesis, the women approached on the street rated the man on his attractiveness, likeability, and adept he was at gaining the information he sought. The observers also rated the interactions, as did the male would-be suitors.
As it turned out, the hypothesis was partially correct: Of the three dark triad traits, only Machiavellianism served to allow the men to gain greater advantage over their unsuspecting prey. To explain this finding, the researchers propose that men high in Machiavellianism (but not psychopathy or narcissism) feel somehow more self-confident and attractive under the cover of a dark afternoon sky.
In the statistical model they developed to parse the effect, Rauthmann and his collaborators reasoned that Machiavellians in general tend to feel pretty good about themselves, but especially when the light is dimmer and softer. Because they probably have done better in the past under cover of darkness, the low light brings out their self-assurance and confidence. They then become more likely to approach their potential target with self-assured smiling and physical aplomb. Under cover of darkness the women, for their part, may be less able to detect the signs perhaps of insincerity their radar might otherwise pick up. Notably, the authors controlled for the men’s attractiveness, so these effects occurred regardless of whether the men were handsome or plain.
The Machiavellian man profits from the cover of darkness, then, but not the psychopath or the narcissist. The unique combination he represents of immorality, cynicism, exploitation of others, and the ability to manipulate people makes him the ideal stealth Romeo. Emboldened by lighting conditions that disguise his coldness and desire to use people, he becomes even more appealing than he might otherwise be.
One fascinating angle of this study is the fact that it was carried out in a naturalistic setting. There was no reason for the female “participants” to fake their responses because they didn’t know they were being observed. Ethically, of course, the researchers were required to debrief them (inform them afterwards about the study’s purpose). Furthermore, the women could choose not to have their data included, and about 30% made that decision.
It’s possible, given the voluntary nature of the participation after the fact, that the effects of the study were even underestimated because those were in relationships may have been afraid to let on that they’d given out their contact information to a male stranger. Another proviso is that the men in the study could only approach women they truly wanted to get to know. Also, the observers placed safeguards on the situation by interrupting any interactions they thought were inappropriate. When you move psychology research from the lab to real life, ethical controls become particularly crucial.
The upshot of the study is clear. If you’re a woman, you’re more susceptible to the advances of a manipulative male when the environmental conditions are gloomy rather than cheerful. The next time a man steps out of nowhere and presents himself as honestly interested in you, it may be worth stepping into the light to see if that suave veneer can indeed withstand your scrutiny.
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Copyright Susan Krauss Whitbourne, Ph.D. 2014
Reference:
Rauthmann, J. F., Kappes, M., & Lanzinger, J. (2014). Shrouded in the Veil of Darkness: Machiavellians but not narcissists and psychopaths profit from darker weather in courtship. Personality And Individual Differences, 6757-63. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2014.01.020
Image source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Candlelight_dinners.jpg