The Relationship Between Dark Personality Traits and Moral Hypocrisy: The Mediating Role of Moral Disengagement

Purpose: The current study investigated the relationship between dark personality traits, moral hypocrisy, and moral disengagement in accordance with life history theory and social cognitive theory. Methods: Two types of moral hypocrisy were examined using questionnaires with moral scenarios and behavioral experiments: interpersonal moral hypocrisy (ie, moral double standards) and intrapersonal moral hypocrisy (ie, misalignment between words and deeds). A sample of 638 students (384 females, 60.19%) aged 18 to 25 years (Mage = 22.53, SDage = 1.81) was recruited at a Chinese university using a convenience sampling method. Results: Results showed that Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy were positively associated with moral hypocrisy. In addition, moral disengagement partially mediated the relationship between Machiavellianism and moral hypocrisy, partially mediated the relationship between narcissism and moral hypocrisy, and fully mediated the relationship between psychopathy and moral hypocrisy. Conclusion: These findings advanced the understanding of the relationship between dark personality traits and moral hypocrisy and shed light on how to prevent moral hypocrisy.