Moral Foundations Partially Explain the Associations of Machiavellianism, Grandiose Narcissism, and Psychopathy With Homonegativity and Transnegativity

• Published in: Journal of homosexuality Vol. 71; no. 3; pp. 775 - 802
• Main Authors: Kay, Cameron S., Dimakis, Sarah
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Routledge 23.02.2024; Taylor & Francis LLC
• Subjects: Antisocial Personality Disorder; Associations; Attitudes; Dark Triad; homonegativity; Humans; Loyalty; Machiavellianism; moral foundations; Morals; Narcissism; Personality traits; Prejudice; Psychopathology; psychopathy; Purity; Racism; Sexual and Gender Minorities; sexual prejudice; transnegativity; transprejudice; psychopathy; Dark Triad; Machiavellianism; sexual prejudice; transprejudice; homonegativity; narcissism; transnegativity; moral foundations
• ISSN: 0091-8369; 1540-3602
• DOI: 10.1080/00918369.2022.2132576

People with antagonistic (or "dark") personality traits (e.g., Machiavellianism, grandiose narcissism, and psychopathy) are reportedly more racist, sexist, and xenophobic than their non-antagonistic counterparts. In the present studies (N 1  = 709; N 2  = 267), we examined whether people with antagonistic personality traits are also more likely to express homonegative and transnegative attitudes, and, if so, whether this can be explained by their endorsement of the moral foundations. We found that people high in Machiavellianism, grandiose narcissism, and psychopathy are more likely to endorse homonegative and transnegative views. The associations of Machiavellianism and psychopathy with homonegativity and transnegativity were primarily explained by low endorsement of individualizing moral foundations (i.e., care and fairness), while the association of narcissism with these beliefs was primarily explained by high endorsement of the binding moral foundations (i.e., loyalty, authority, and purity). These findings provide insight into the types of people who harbor homonegative and transnegative attitudes, and how differences in moral foundations contribute to these associations.