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Title IMPACT OF DARK TRIAD PERSONALITY, GENERAL INSECURITY ON COLLECTIVE ACTION: ROLE OF MORALITY AND PERCEIVED SOCIAL INJUSTICE AMONG YOUNG ADULTS

Author(s) Walijha Mehmood

Abstract The study examined the impact of dark triad personality traits (narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism) and general insecurity on collective action i.e. activism and radicalism, among young adults. It further explored the mediating role of perceived social injustice and the moderating role of morality, as well as group differences on study variables. A cross-sectional design was employed in two phases, phase I involved pilot testing, while phase II was conducted for main study. Data were collected from 301 university students (139 males, 162 females; age 17–26 years) from Rawalpindi and Islamabad, using self-report measures through convenience sampling. Findings of correlation analyses showed that psychopathy and narcissism were positively associated with radicalism, whereas Machiavellianism and general insecurity were positively associated with activism. Morality did not significantly moderate the relationships between dark triad personality and collective action. Mediation analysis indicated that perceived social injustice significantly mediated the association between Machiavellianism and activism, general insecurity and activism, also narcissism and radicalism. Group differences revealed that younger participants (ages 17–19) reported higher insecurity, stronger binding morality, and greater collective action intentions. Females scored higher on insecurity and morality (particularly in care and fairness). Participants with stronger ethnic identity reported higher scores on perceived social justice and morality. Students involved in gender-related group identity scored higher on psychopathy, activism, and radicalism. The findings of the study offer valuable insight about the relationships of dark triad personality, general insecurity, morality, perceived injustice and collective action.

Type Thesis/Dissertation MS

Faculty Social Sciences

Department Psychology

Language English

Publication Date 2026-01-09

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