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Objective: The objective of this study is to investigte a relationship between the dimensions of the dark triad (Machiavellism, Psychopathy, Narcissism) and the individual interaction styles of a teacher (Leadership, Helpful, Understanding, Student-teacher responsibility, Uncertain, Dissatisfied, Objecting, Strict) Theoretical Framework: The dark triad is a set of three personality traits, namely narcissism, machiavellianism, and psychopathy, which are associated with manipulative and exploitative behaviors in interpersonal relationships. This paper examines the relationship between the dark triad and teachers' interaction styles. Specifically, it explores how teachers with high levels of dark triad traits may interact with students in ways that are detrimental to the students' academic and social development.
Method: The battery of questionnaires used contained demographic questions at the start, concerning age and gender, teaching profession (preschool/primary teacher, lower or higher secondary teacher, teaching assistant, school principal). The preferred interaction styles of teachers were measured via the Questionnaire of teacher interaction style – self-evaluation, which leans of the teacher interaction behaviour model according to Wubbels et al. (1987) stemming from Leary´s personality model (Leary, 1957) and it measures eight sectors of teacher behaviour: Leadership, helpful, understanding, student-teacher responsibility, uncertain, dissatisfied, objecting, strict. To measure the presence of the so-called dark triad in the personality of the participants we used the Dark Triad Dirty Dozen questionnaire (Jonason, Webster, 2010).
Results and Discussion: We found that all three dimensions of the dark triad – Machiavellism, Psychopathy and Narcissism show a medium strength negative relationship to the interaction styles Leadership, Helpful, Understanding and Student-teacher responsibility. All the dimensions of the dark triad – Machiavellism, Psychopathy and Narcissism had a medium strength positive relationship with the interaction styles Uncertain, Dissatisfied, Objecting. A weak positive relationship between the dark triad dimension Machiavellism and the interaction style Strict. Between the dark triad dimensions Psychopathy and Narcissism and the interaction style Strict, no relationship was found.
Research Implications: The practical and theoretical implications of this research are discussed, providing insights into how the results can be applied or influence practices in the field of education. In relation to this, researchers emphasise the importance of prevention and interventions aimed mainly at the development of emotional intelligence, communicational skills and the creation of positive relationships. This can help minimise the negative influence of the dark triad on teacher interactions and relationships to students.
Originality/Value: This study contributes to the literature by showing correlations between the dimensions of the dark triad and teachers' preferred interaction styles. In addition to the importance of prevention, we also highlight issues in the selection of candidates for the teaching profession.
