What characterises a dark empath? The science behind the buzzword

Many of us like a new way of labeling people in our lives, and in recent months, you may have noticed an increasing interest in “dark empaths”. “They seem sensitive and attentive – but they really want to handle you,” THE Tutor Recently written, while Tiktok influencers often declare it “the most dangerous type of personality”.

This month, a reader asked me to clarify the science behind the fashion in fashion. What characterizes a dark empath? And how would we know if we meet one?

The concept was born from research examining the so-called dark triad of personality traits: psychopathy (insensitive, anti-social behavior), narcissism (excessive personal interest and law) and Machiavellianism (a penchant for manipulation). For a long time, the dark triad coincides with a lack of care and concerns with others.

This changed with a historic 2021 document from Nadja Heym and his colleagues from Nottingham Trent University, United Kingdom. Evaluating nearly 1000 participants, they confirmed that many people with black triad do not have the capacity or inclination to place themselves in place of others. But a significant subset – about 175 – had high levels of psychopathy, narcissism and Machiavellianism, while also doing a standard measurement of empathy. They said they were sensitive to the way others felt annoying, for example, and said that the emotional states of people had a strong effect on their own mood.

Heym and his team labeled these “dark empathes” people. Other analyzes have suggested that these people tend to be less aggressive and more extroverted than their less empathetic counterparts, but they have demonstrated much more hostile behavior than the average person. The Dark Empath, concluded the researchers, “partly maintains an antagonistic nucleus”, despite their gregarious exterior – a wolf in sheep’s clothes.

The observation raises many questions. Psychologists distinguish cognitive empathy (the ability to think about the point of view of others) from affective empathy (the visceral feeling that has just seen the emotions of others). It is not yet clear if the dark empaths show a preponderance from one to the other. Nor do we know how their behavior differs from one situation to another.

Although I am curious to know the answers to these questions, this research does not yet tell us much about the means to manage these people. For the moment, I would continue to look for the classic red flags of toxic behavior – such as attempts to keep you on an emotional edge of a knife through flattery and threats – and find ways to establish new limits. Labels like “Dark Empath” may seem sexy, but their actions are just as ugly as your garden variety intimidator.

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