“Sole-cause” and “spuriousness” theses: The Dark Triad and Low Self-Control in Female Deviance

• In Event: Poster Session 2

Abstract

Common misattributions ascribed to self-control theory include both the “sole cause” as well as the “spuriousness” theses. These assume that only low self-control matters in understanding deviance and crime. Gottfredson and Hirschi (2020) recently restated their position, again framing low self-control as a probabilistic construct important in understanding variability in deviance, neither the sole predictor nor the one responsible for any other correlate of deviance and crime. The present investigation tested the direct effects of the Dark Triad and low self-control and the extent to which each uniquely explained variance in deviance, in a sample of college-age females (N = 322, M = 19.28, SD = 2.64). Anonymous, self-report data were collected using an online survey. Correlational evidence indicated that Machiavellianism and psychopathy, but not narcissism, and low self-control were each positively associated with deviance. Consistent with Gottfredson and Hirschi’s reaffirmed position about the importance of low self-control, particularly vis-à-vis other individual difference measures, hierarchical regression analyses showed that psychopathy (only) reached significance in the final model step, which also included a significant effect by low self-control. Additional analyses will replicate model tests on national samples of Czech and US college-age females.

Authors

• Shabnam Ghorbani Kalkhajeh, University of Kentucky

• Eyitayo Akomolafe, University of Kentucky

• Alexander T. Vazsonyi, University of Kentucky