Data_Sheet_1_The Dark Side of Emotion Recognition – Evidence From Cross-Cultural Research in Germany and China.pdf

BackgroundThe dark triad of personality (DT) comprises three antisocial personality traits (i.e., narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy) that are characterized by callousness and the motive to elevate the self while derogating other people. Previous research indicates that the positive relationship between the DT traits and interpersonally deviant behaviors is especially pronounced at high levels of emotional abilities. This has also been referred to as dark Emotional Intelligence (EI). Since prior studies predominantly examined dark EI via trait-approach, the present study targeted at providing evidence for dark EI using a behavioral measure of EI, namely emotion recognition performance. In order to study the robustness and cross-cultural validity of findings, parallel investigations were conducted in Germany and China. MethodsA total of N = 198 German (age: M = 23.40, SD = 5.88, 130 female) and N = 223 Chinese (age: M = 19.01, SD = 1.06, 105 female) participants took part in an online survey and completed a set of questionnaires in German and Mandarin translations, respectively. DT traits were assessed by means of the Short Dark Triad Scale. As a behavioral measure of emotional abilities, participants completed the Eyes Test for pairs of eyes of Caucasian and Asian models. Moreover, participants filled in the Emotional Manipulation Scale for the assessment of emotionally manipulative tactics. ResultsEffects were highly gender- and culture-dependent. Among German females, Machiavellianism and narcissism showed the strongest positive associations with emotionally manipulative tactics at high levels of emotion recognition performance. A similar pattern of results was found among German males for psychopathy. None of the effects was observed in the Chinese female or male samples. DiscussionThe present findings indicate that emotional abilities may constitute risk factors with the potential to promote rather than to prevent deviant behaviors especially in samples from Western cultures with pronounced scores on DT personality traits. Limitations and psychometric properties are discussed.背景：黑暗三人格（Dark Triad of Personality, DT）包含三种反社会人格特质，即自恋（narcissism）、马基雅维利主义（Machiavellianism）与精神病态（psychopathy），其核心特征为冷酷无情，兼具抬高自我、贬损他人的动机。既往研究表明，黑暗三人格特质与人际越轨行为之间的正相关关系，在情绪能力水平较高时尤为显著，这一现象也被称为黑暗情绪智力（dark Emotional Intelligence, dark EI）。由于此前的研究大多通过特质取向方法探究黑暗EI，本研究旨在采用情绪识别表现这一情绪能力行为测量指标，为黑暗EI提供实证依据。为验证研究结果的稳健性与跨文化效度，本研究分别在德国与中国开展平行调查。 方法：共计198名德国被试参与实验（年龄：均值M=23.40，标准差SD=5.88，其中女性130名），223名中国被试参与实验（年龄：均值M=19.01，标准差SD=1.06，其中女性105名）。所有被试均完成线上调查，并分别填写德语版与普通话版问卷套装。黑暗三人格特质采用简版黑暗三人格量表（Short Dark Triad Scale）进行评估。作为情绪能力的行为测量指标，被试完成了针对白人与亚裔面孔眼部的眼神读心测试（Eyes Test）。此外，被试还填写了情绪操纵量表（Emotional Manipulation Scale）以评估其情绪操纵策略。 结果：研究效应具有显著的性别与文化依赖性。在德国女性被试中，当情绪识别表现水平较高时，马基雅维利主义与自恋与情绪操纵策略呈现最强的正相关关系。德国男性被试中也观测到类似的结果模式，仅针对精神病态维度。而在中国女性与男性被试样本中，均未观测到此类效应。 讨论：本研究结果表明，情绪能力或为一类风险因素，在黑暗三人格特质得分较高的西方文化样本中，其可能会促进而非抑制越轨行为。本研究最后讨论了研究的局限性与心理测量学属性。