People who engage in environmental activism tend to score higher on several “dark” personality traits, including Machiavellianism and narcissism, according to a survey of 839 working adults in Germany.
The study, “The dark side of environmental activism”, by Hannes Zacher, appeared in the March 2024 issue of Personality and Individual Differences (volume 219).
Looking past the Big Five
Earlier research on the personalities of environmental activists mostly looked at the Big Five traits, such as openness and agreeableness. The potential “dark side” of activists’ personality had been neglected, Zacher writes.
He examined the dark triad (Machiavellianism, psychopathy and narcissism) along with three facets of left-wing authoritarianism: antihierarchical aggression, anticonventionalism and top-down censorship. The data came from 839 employed individuals in Germany.
What the survey found
Environmental activism was positively associated with Machiavellianism, narcissism, antihierarchical aggression and anticonventionalism.
Most of these associations remained significant after the analysis controlled for the Big Five, demographic characteristics, political orientation and right-wing authoritarianism. In other words, the links were not simply explained away by those other traits and background factors.
Psychopathy and top-down censorship were not among the traits the study reported as linked to activism.
The data are correlational, so they show which traits go together rather than whether one causes the other. Zacher presents the result as a complement to the positive side of activism: in addition to its potential benefits, activism may also have “a dark side in terms of activists’ personality.”
Study Details:
- Title: The dark side of environmental activism
- Authors: Hannes Zacher
- Journal: Personality and Individual Differences
- Publication Date: March 2024
- DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2023.112506