Seeing the darkness: identifying the Dark Triad from emotionally neutral faces

Recent studies have established the degree of agreement for the detection of personality traits using composite images derived from individuals scoring ‘high’ or ‘low’ on these traits. The present study requested to re-examine these findings by presenting all possible combinations deriving from a Dark Trait (Machiavellianism, Psychopathy, and Narcissism) × Trait Level (‘low’, ‘high’) factorial design, for images of female and male faces taken from the Personality Faceaurus. The female participants exhibited markedly lower success in detecting Narcissism, particularly for male faces, and better success in detecting both Machiavellianism and Psychopathy. For the male participants, one notes the relatively lower success at detecting Psychopathy for female faces, and the relatively lower success at detecting Narcissism for male faces.