Short Dark Triad (SD3) Assessment

Introduction:

The Short Dark Triad (SD3) screen presents a concise self-report inventory measuring the three socially aversive “dark” personality traits: Machiavellianism, Narcissism, and Psychopathy. Each statement invites you to consider ordinary attitudes and actions, enabling the tool to approximate how strongly these traits influence your habitual choices, motivations, and interpersonal style across diverse situations.

Behind the scenes the assessment groups nine conceptually distinct statements under each trait, records your agreement on a five-point scale, and calculates a trait average from 1.00 to 5.00. These averages are then compared with peer-reviewed community norms so you can see clearly where your tendencies fall relative to diverse adult samples worldwide.

Use this self-assessment as a private reflection aid when examining how strategic, self-focused, or impulsive your everyday conduct may be; answer swiftly and honestly—overthinking skews the pattern. Because everything computes locally, no registration, login, or external storage is involved, keeping insights solely on your device. Results do not constitute a clinical diagnosis.

Technical Details:

The SD3 quantifies each dark trait by averaging your responses to nine Likert-scaled items tailored to capture manipulation, entitlement, or callous thrill-seeking respectively.

The resulting scores span 1.00–5.00 and are juxtaposed with normative means to highlight elevations exceeding one standard deviation.

Internally the tool labels items M1–M9, N1–N9, and P1–P9, stores numeric values from 1 to 5, and updates running totals in real time before division, ensuring negligible latency even on modest mobile devices.

• Each response is cast as an integer 1–5.
• Totals update immediately after every selection.
• Averages are rounded to two decimals for readability.
• A charting layer renders bar heights proportionate to scores.

All processing occurs client-side, so no personal data leaves your browser.

Calculations & Scoring:

The tool performs three identical averaging operations—one per trait—using the steps below.

Step-by-Step Guide:

Follow these steps to complete the assessment and view your results.

1. Click Start to load the first statement.
2. Select the option that best describes you, marked 1 (Disagree) to 5 (Agree).
3. Use the on-screen list to revisit any unanswered items.
4. Watch the progress bar reach 100 % as you answer all 27 statements.
5. After the final choice, the summary card and bar chart appear automatically.
6. Scroll down to inspect your item-by-item responses and print the table if desired.

FAQ:

Quick answers to common questions about the SD3 screen.

Troubleshooting:

If something unexpected occurs, try the suggestions below.

Progress bar stuck at 0 % – Scroll to confirm you answered the statement; a missing radio selection pauses progress updates.

Chart not displaying – Disable any content blockers that might prevent the charting layer from rendering.

Scores show “NaN” – Refresh and answer every question; incomplete data prevents averaging.

Print layout misaligned – Use landscape orientation and reduce margins in your print dialog.

Glossary:

Key terms used throughout this assessment.

Machiavellianism

A strategic, manipulative interpersonal style.

Narcissism

An inflated sense of self-importance and entitlement.

Psychopathy

Callousness and thrill-seeking with low impulse control.

Likert Scale

Five-point agreement scale ranging from disagree to agree.

Standard Deviation

Statistic describing score spread around the mean.