Light & Dark Triad Test

It places you along three personality dimensions psychologists call the Dark Triad — Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and Psychopathy — and frames them against their 'lighter' counterparts. Everyone scores somewhere on each; the result is the shape of your mix, not a label.

The three traits come from Paulhus & Williams (2002), who introduced the 'Dark Triad' as a way to study everyday (subclinical) versions of these tendencies. The Light/Dark framing follows Scott Barry Kaufman and colleagues (2019). We wrote our own questions inspired by this research — we don't use any official instrument.

No. These traits exist on a continuum in the general population, and a moderate amount of any of them can be adaptive — confidence, strategic thinking, or composure under pressure. A high score is information about a tendency, not a verdict on your character.

Absolutely not. This is a self-reflection test, not a clinical assessment. It cannot diagnose narcissistic personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder, or any condition. If these questions raise real concerns, talk to a qualified mental-health professional.

Kaufman and colleagues described a 'Light Triad' — Faith in Humanity, Humanism, and Kantianism (treating people as ends, not means) — as the everyday opposite of the dark traits. Most people are a blend: lower on a dark scale usually means you lean toward its lighter counterpart.

No. It is inspired by the published Dark Triad research but uses our own items. It is not the SD3 (Short Dark Triad), the Dirty Dozen, IDRlabs' test, or any clinical, hiring, or licensed instrument.

They are fairly stable but not fixed. Life stage, relationships, and deliberate effort can shift them. This is a snapshot of where you are now — retake it later and compare.

Only if you finish — we save the result so you get a shareable link. We don't collect personal info; the test is fully anonymous.