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Marie Lanen
Head of parenting sections (baby, pregnancy, family), psychology and beauty
When we talk about happiness or happy people, we tend to think of kind people, caring profiles… And yet, according to a study a certain type of personality (not really kind) is happier than others. Doctissimo enlightens you.
Could happiness be correlated with certain personality traits? Researchers from the University of Sydney in Australia looked into the question. The results of their study reveal that it is not necessarily kind and caring people who are the happiest…
Narcissists are said to be happy and satisfied with their lives
To carry out this work and attempt to answer the question, the researchers’ analysis included 16 cross-sectional studies. Results ? It appears that narcissistic personalities are generally happier compared to Machiavellian personalities and psychopaths (the three bringing together what we call The Dark Triad).
“To date, no systematic review or meta-analysis has similarly examined whether the Dark Triad is associated with happiness. Therefore, the present study fills this gap in the literature by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the link between the Dark Triad and happiness” introduce the researchers.
Narcissistic profiles would therefore tend to be happier because they benefit from a rich social life, which is also necessary to satisfy their increased needs for attention and admiration. On the other hand, these profiles are generally extroverted, sociable and have significant energy; positive qualities that reinforce the feeling of satisfaction and happiness.
If according to this study narcissistic people are more likely to be happy; Pascal Coudrec, psychologist and psychoanalyst whom we interviewed in a previous article, specifies that “Being a narcissistic pervert can be accompanied by other disorders and in particular lead to all kinds of addictions.
Good in his body, good in his head!
Psychopaths and Machiavellian personalities more prone to depression
Unlike narcissistic personalities, psychopaths present more depressive symptoms. Indeed, this type of profile is generally much less inclined to socialize. Moreover, unlike narcissists who do not necessarily resort to violence, psychopaths are more likely to use force to achieve their ends. Their inability to regulate their emotions, or even their absence of emotion, prevents them from achieving happiness.
According to the researchers, it is also possible that “deception and manipulation of highly Machiavellian individuals backfires, causing them to lose their social reputation and social support, so that they do not have access to social resources that could help them regulate their emotions. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that people with Machiavellianism and psychopathy will be less happy due to their increased level of depressive symptoms.“
Slide: 7 sentences pronounced by a narcissistic pervert caught in the act of infidelity