Dark personality traits linked to “virtuous victim signaling” and exploitation of accusations

Researchers have replicated and expanded a prior study to investigate the role of dark tetrad traits in “virtuous victim signaling.” Across three studies,, the findings confirmed that narcissism and Machiavellianism are linked to this signaling strategy. They also revealed that sadism, while unrelated to signaling itself, plays a role in exploiting accusations against others for personal satisfaction. The results were published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences.

The dark tetrad refers to a group of personality traits that are socially aversive and often associated with manipulation, exploitation, and harm to others. These traits include narcissism (an inflated sense of self-importance and entitlement), Machiavellianism (a manipulative and cynical approach to relationships and social influence), psychopathy (a lack of empathy and impulsive antisocial behavior), and sadism (a tendency to derive pleasure from causing harm to others). Together, these traits can drive behaviors that exploit social and moral norms for personal gain, often at the expense of others.

Virtuous victim signaling combines the display of two types of signals—victimhood and virtue—to elicit sympathy, aid, or social advantages. A person engaging in this behavior publicly communicates their suffering, disadvantage, or oppression while also projecting an image of high moral character. This dual signaling has been shown to influence others, encouraging resource transfers or leniency while shielding the individual from moral scrutiny.

For example, someone might emphasize their hardships alongside their charitable efforts, gaining both support and a reputation for moral integrity. However, previous research has suggested that such signals may not always reflect genuine victimhood or altruism but rather serve as strategic tools used by individuals with dark personality traits.

The new research aimed to deepen our understanding of virtuous victim signaling by replicating earlier findings and expanding the scope to explore additional dynamics. While previous studies linked this behavior to narcissism and Machiavellianism, the researchers sought to test the robustness of these associations using alternative measures of victim signaling and to explore the potential role of sadism in exploiting victim-related dynamics.

“I was fascinated to understand why people make displays of virtue and victimhood: What is the reward? And who does this? People who internalize virtue and have suffered outsized harms? Or people who specialize in shows of virtue and claims of harm?” said study author Timothy Bates, a professor of psychology at the University of Edinburgh.

The researchers carried out three studies using a total of 1,500 participants from the United Kingdom, recruited via an online platform.

In the first study, the researchers sought to replicate findings from earlier work that connected virtuous victim signaling with the dark personality traits of narcissism and Machiavellianism. They recruited 750 participants from the United Kingdom, all of whom completed a series of validated questionnaires. To account for potential confounding factors, the researchers also collected data on demographic variables, fantasy proneness, and indicators of actual victimization, such as physical or mental health issues.

The results confirmed that virtuous victim signaling is strongly associated with both narcissism and Machiavellianism. Importantly, these associations persisted even after controlling for demographic measures predicting actual victimhood, suggesting that the behavior is more strategic than circumstantial. These findings supported the idea that virtuous victim signaling is a tool for social influence used by individuals with dark traits.

Building on the results of the first study, the researchers designed a second study to test the robustness of their findings by using an alternative measure of victim signaling. While the first study used the Victim Signaling Scale developed in previous research, the second study employed the Tendency for Interpersonal Victimhood Scale, which captures a broader range of victim-related behaviors, such as the desire for recognition as a victim and moral elitism.

The second study also included a measure of self-esteem to ensure that the observed effects of narcissism and Machiavellianism were not merely byproducts of low self-regard. Like the first study, this second study involved 750 participants recruited from the same population.

The findings from the second study closely mirrored those of the first. Narcissism and Machiavellianism remained strong predictors of virtuous victim signaling, even when using a different measure of victimhood. Additionally, self-esteem did not significantly affect the results, further ruling out alternative explanations. These findings solidified the conclusion that narcissistic and Machiavellian traits drive virtuous victim signaling, regardless of how victimhood is measured.

Bates was surprised by “the shear strength of the finding: It replicated over and over, in different samples and across different measures. It was much stronger than the great majority of social findings.”

While the first two studies focused on how dark traits influence the act of signaling victimhood and virtue, in their third study the researchers explored whether sadism contributes to exploiting victim-related situations. They hypothesized that individuals high in sadism might not engage in virtuous victim signaling themselves but could exploit accusations against others for personal enjoyment or gain.

To investigate this, Bates and his colleagues developed a new “victimizer scale,” which measured behaviors such as participating in public shaming or canceling individuals accused of wrongdoing. The third study involved 442 participants who had also participated in the second study, allowing for continuity in examining dark traits across different contexts.

The results showed that sadism did not predict virtuous victim signaling but was associated with exploitative behaviors toward accused individuals. Those high in sadism reported deriving pleasure from actions like canceling others, shaming, or scapegoating. Machiavellianism also emerged as a strong predictor of such behaviors, reflecting the calculated opportunism often linked to this trait. These findings suggested that while sadism does not motivate victim signaling, it plays a distinct role in leveraging victim-related dynamics to harm others under the guise of moral righteousness.

The research highlights the importance of questioning the motivations behind behaviors like virtuous victim signaling. Bates emphasized the need for society “not to take behavior at face value, but to ask what the motivation is” and to consider “who benefits” from such actions. “Hopefully, over time this work turns into cultural advice about how to recognize signalling and avoid the negative consequences imposed on society by opposing such behavior.”

As with all research, there are limitations. The studies relied on self-reported data, which may introduce biases, and were conducted in a single cultural context (the United Kingdom). Future research could explore the interplay between these traits and other situational or environmental factors that influence signaling behaviors.

“We’re currently testing ways in which darker human traits are adapted to transfer resources from moral communities via other strategies beyond virtuous-victim signalling,” Bates said.

“Thank you everyone for your interest,” he added. “One step to learn more about this is to examine the actual virtuous victimhood items — You will see this in everyday behavior afterwards.”

The study, “Virtuous victimhood as a Dark Triad resource transfer strategy,” was authored by Timothy C. Bates, Ciara Grant, Leila Hobbs, Claire Johnston, Shahrzad Moghaddam, and Kate Sinclair.