A note on light and dark
This terminology of light and dark can have very different meanings, depending on the topic it is in reference to. Here, when talking about personality tendencies, dark denotes a detrimental effect and light denotes a positive effect, with a focus on the impact and influence on others. In psychoanalytic theory, light means what is in conscious awareness within the self, and dark means that which is not in the light of conscious awareness, i.e., the unconscious. There is not the same implication of ‘good’ and ‘bad’. The two can easily become conflated however, thinking that something in the dark within us represents something bad. Really, it simply refers to something that is not (yet) in our conscious awareness.

In 2002, the Dark Triad became the next big thing in understanding human personality. Researchers Paulhus and Williams[1] mapped a construct constituting the ‘dark’ aspects of humanity, uncovering three distinct yet related facets; Machievellianism, narcissism and psychopathy. The Dark Triad joined other prominent models, the Five Factor Model[2] and HEXACO,[3,4] in becoming a heavy focus of personality research. Dark Triad personalities have shown relationship with workplace, education, intimate, interpersonal and antisocial behaviours.[5]

Seventeen years later, a new concept emerged. While the Dark Triad has provided a focus for lessening the impacts of the darker facets of human nature, it paints a somewhat limited view of the fullness of what it means to be human. ‘What about the light side of humanity?’, these new researchers asked, leading the development of a Light Triad,[6] encompassing factors of humanism, Kantianism, and faith in humanity.

As a relative newcomer to the stage of personality research, there is limited research as yet exploring the outcomes of high or low Light Triad nature, however the construct itself has demonstrated its own unique place in understanding personality. The Light Triad shows strong association with Agreeableness of the Five Factor Model and with Honesty-Humility of the HEXACO model, and a moderate negative correlation with the Dark Triad model. It has shown itself to be more than simply the opposite of the Dark Triad, with both dark and light evident in people simultaneously, and studies concluded that “the absence of darkness does not necessarily indicate the presence of light”.[6,7]

One of the main proponents of the Light Triad went on to explore measurement of paradoxical concepts of healthy selfishness and pathological altruism in 2020.[8] These concepts had been identified in previous work. Healthy selfishness was noted as a “healthy respect for one’s own health, growth, happiness, joy, and freedom [which] can have a positive impact both on the self and on others”.[9] Pathological altruism acknowledges the unintended negative consequences of seeming altruism on the self and others despite the best conscious intentions.[10]

We might say that there is a generally and commonly accepted understanding that selfishness is bad and being selfless is good, and we may have ideas of what this looks like and know how to act out selfishness and selflessness. This research acknowledges that it is not just behaviour that is important, but also the motivation behind and the impact of the behaviour.

Interesting findings out of this research included that the Light Triad was positively associated with healthy selfishness yet showed no relationship with pathological altruism. The researchers concluded that caring for oneself is strongly tied to caring for others. Pathological altruism, on the other hand, was associated with vulnerable narcissism, related strongly to sensitivity of the perception by others. In other words, there is a need to be seen in a certain way by other people that drives behaviour that, on the surface, may by considered altruistic and ‘helping’ in intent.[8]

In practical terms, we may be able to recognise a truth in that we cannot care for others adequately if we do not care first for ourselves. This means putting ourselves first when it counts. Putting ourselves first can counterintuitively be an act of benevolence and giving towards others if it means we are then better able to give our best towards altruistic acts in a more long-term and sustainable manner. It represents a core of giving. It is healthy to do our best to ensure that we are in peak wellbeing, even if it may be perceived on the surface, and in the short term, as selfishness.

Conversely, we can do things for others purely to suit ourselves. Maybe it is because we want to impress others, or to make someone specific see us in a certain light, or to vindictively prove someone wrong who is trying to hold us accountable for prior damaging behaviour. Or we have a deep underlying wound that unconsciously drives us to seek validation from others, and we gain this validation through appearing selfless. These motivations are ultimately about how we look to others and reflect a core of self-focus and of inadvertently using others as a means to an end.

How do we know whether our selfishness is healthy, or our altruism is pathological? We can honestly reflect on the outcomes of our behaviour on ourselves and others, and we can consider this over the short and long term. We may want to explore our motivations, which can be more challenging as there can be feelings of shame or obligation influencing us strongly and blocking our honest self-appraisal. This is an area where a therapist can support self-reflection with compassion and a lack of judgement towards better self-understanding and positive redirection.

Often in therapy there can be a lot of focus on holding back the darkness, and I find it comforting to now see researchers actively turning their view towards the light. The light and the dark are not mirror opposites – they are different qualities that we each possess and are part of our essential human make up.

This is a positive reminder of what it means to work therapeutically with people. In therapeutic work, we are not simply seeking to identify darkness, or diagnoses of pathology; we also seek the light. We want and need to involve the whole person in the therapeutic process. Both aspects have their own purpose and power. In the light we find our strength and the trust in ourselves to face the darkness; in the darkness we find our catalyst to pursue the light.

First published at inpositivehealth.com/the-light-side-of-personality

References

1. Paulhus DL, Williams KM. The Dark Triad of personality: Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. Journal of Research in Personality. 2002;36(6):556-63. doi: 10.1016/S0092-6566(02)00505-6.
2. Costa PT, McCrae RR, Dye DA. Facet Scales for Agreeableness and Conscientiousness: A Revision of the NEO Personality Inventory. Pers Individ Differ. 1991;12(9):887-98. doi: 10.1016/0191-8869(91)90177-D.
3. Ashton MC, Lee K. A theoretical basis for the major dimensions of personality. European journal of personality. 2001;15(5):327-53. doi: 10.1002/per.417.
4. Lee K, Ashton MC. Psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and Narcissism in the Five-Factor Model and the HEXACO model of personality structure. Pers Individ Differ. 2005;38(7):1571-82. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2004.09.016.
5. Furnham A, Richards SC, Paulhus DL. The Dark Triad of Personality: A 10 Year Review. Social and Personality Psychology Compass. 2013;7(3):199-216. doi: 10.1111/spc3.12018.
6. Kaufman SB, Yaden DB, Hyde E, Tsukayama E. The Light vs. Dark Triad of Personality: Contrasting Two Very Different Profiles of Human Nature. Front Psychol. 2019;10:467. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00467.
7. Lukic P, Zivanovic M. Shedding light on the Light Triad: Further evidence on structural, construct, and predictive validity of the Light Triad. Pers Individ Differ. 2021;178:110876. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2021.110876.
8. Kaufman SB, Jauk E. Healthy Selfishness and Pathological Altruism: Measuring Two Paradoxical Forms of Selfishness. Front Psychol. 2020;11:1006-. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01006.
9. Maslow AH. Is human nature basically selfish? In: Hoffman E, editor. Future Visions: The Unpublished Papers of Abraham Maslow. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publicactions; 1943/1996. p. 107–14.
10. Oakley B, Knafo A, McGrath M. Pathological altruism – An introduction. In: Oakley B, Knafo A, Madhavan G, Wilson DS, editors. Pathological altruism. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 2012. p. 3–9.

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