The dark-ego-vehicle principle, or DEVP, was proposed by Ann Krispenz and Alex Bertrams to explain a puzzling pattern observed in earlier research: individuals with dark personality traits appear disproportionately drawn to certain forms of activism and ideologies. According to the principle, such individuals may not be genuinely convinced by a political cause. Instead, they instrumentalize the ideology or movement as a vehicle for satisfying ego-focused needs, such as expressing aggression, seeking thrills, or legitimizing hostile behavior under the banner of a righteous cause. Prior studies had linked the principle to environmental, feminist, anti-sexual-assault, and LGBQ activism—domains typically associated with the political left—leaving open the question of whether the mechanism was truly ideologically neutral.

The abortion debate offered an ideal testing ground. Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in its 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling, abortion regulation has shifted to individual states, producing a patchwork in which the procedure remains legal in some states and banned in others. This change gave new momentum to protest activity and, in some cases, radicalization on both sides. Roughly 52 percent of U.S. adults hold pro-choice attitudes and 44 percent pro-life attitudes, meaning the issue divides the population almost evenly and provides two directly opposed activist communities with comparable social visibility.

For the preregistered study, the researchers recruited 872 U.S. participants through the platform Prolific, deliberately sampling people who self-identified as either pro-choice (57.5 percent) or pro-life (42.5 percent). Participants completed the Five-Factor Narcissism Inventory-Short Form, which distinguishes antagonistic narcissism from its grandiose and vulnerable components, along with the Activism and Radicalism Intention Scales. The latter separates activism—the readiness to engage in legal, nonviolent political action such as rallies and petitions—from radicalism, defined as the endorsement of illegal or violent means for political ends. The team also measured altruism, left-wing and right-wing authoritarianism, and social dominance orientation.

The results were striking in their symmetry. Higher antagonistic narcissism correlated with higher abortion-related radicalism intention in the total sample (a rank correlation of .41), in the pro-choice group (.37), and in the pro-life group (.46)—effects the authors characterize as large to very large by contemporary psychological standards. Crucially, the relationship survived statistical controls for age, gender, altruism, and the other narcissism facets, and it remained robust even when ordinary legal activism intention was included as an additional covariate. Contrary to the researchers’ preregistered expectation that the link would be stronger among pro-choice supporters, the correlation did not differ significantly between the two groups.

The shape of the relationship, however, differed in an intriguing way. In the pro-choice group, radicalism intention rose roughly linearly across the entire range of antagonistic narcissism. In the pro-life group, the relationship was u-shaped: relatively flat at low to moderate levels, then accelerating sharply at the highest levels of the trait. The authors interpret this asymmetry through the lens of ideology. Strong pro-life supporters in the United States typically adhere to a conservative worldview that emphasizes law and order, so law-violating radicalism may clash with the broader value system in which their activism is embedded. Only at extreme levels of antagonistic narcissism—where self-restriction is particularly low—does that internal brake appear to give way.

A floodlight analysis using the Johnson-Neyman technique added further nuance. Across most of the sample, spanning antagonistic narcissism scores from about one standard deviation below to one above the mean, pro-choice participants reported significantly higher radicalism intentions than pro-life participants. At the extremes, the two trajectories converged and crossed, with the pro-life curve steepening until it overtook the pro-choice curve. The researchers caution that statistical power was limited at the tails of the distribution, but the crossing pattern suggests that the most antagonistic individuals in both camps may ultimately be similarly willing to endorse violent tactics.

The auxiliary findings reinforced the picture of two ideologically distinct but psychologically parallel radicalisms. In the pro-choice group, radicalism intention was strongly associated with left-wing authoritarianism, particularly its dimension of antihierarchical aggression—the belief that existing authorities may be overthrown by any means necessary, including violence. In the pro-life group, radicalism intention was linked to social dominance orientation, the preference for group-based hierarchies and aggressive domination of out-groups, but not to right-wing authoritarianism, which emphasizes submission to authority. The authors note that this pattern underscores the aggressive nature of radicalized abortion activism on both sides: the ideological attitudes that predicted radicalism are precisely those whose theoretical definitions include a proneness to political violence.

The researchers are careful to stress what the study does not show. Abortion-related stances or activism are not inherently radical or narcissistic; altruism was indeed positively associated with ordinary activism intention, indicating that many participants engage in the movement for genuinely prosocial reasons, whether protecting women’s rights or the lives of the unborn. The concern is narrower: a minority of antagonistic individuals within each movement may exploit the cause for personal gratification, and their potential for illegal or violent behavior could inflict reputational damage that erodes public support and could even be wielded against the movement by its opponents. Peaceful activist groups, the authors suggest, should be aware of such narcissistic adversaries within their own ranks.

Like all studies in this literature, the work carries limitations. The cross-sectional design can establish only concurrent associations, not the causal or temporal dynamics the DEVP predicts, and the motivational mechanisms at the theory’s core—sensation seeking and aggression expression—were not directly measured. The U.S. sample and the self-selected pro-choice or pro-life identification may also constrain generalizability. Future research, the authors argue, should test the principle longitudinally and in other contested domains, such as gun control, where opposing camps hold strong contrary convictions. If the dark-ego-vehicle principle holds, antagonistic narcissists on the left and right should each endorse unlawful violence in defense of their own side—further evidence that for some individuals, the cause is less a conviction than a costume.

Subject of Research: The role of antagonistic narcissism in radicalized pro-choice and pro-life abortion activism and the ideological impartiality of the dark-ego-vehicle principle

Article Title: Ideological impartiality of the dark-ego-vehicle principle: antagonistic narcissism is associated with pro-choice as well as pro-life radicalism intention

Article References: Krispenz, A., & Bertrams, A. (2026). Ideological impartiality of the dark-ego-vehicle principle: antagonistic narcissism is associated with pro-choice as well as pro-life radicalism intention. Current Psychology, 45(18), Article 1537. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-026-10086-9

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s12144-026-10086-9

Keywords: antagonistic narcissism, dark-ego-vehicle principle, abortion activism, radicalization, pro-choice, pro-life, political violence, left-wing authoritarianism, social dominance orientation, dark personality traits, Dobbs v. Jackson, preregistered study

The research conducted by Hu and Zhao specifically targets vocational school students—a demographic often underrepresented in psychological cyberbullying research—providing a crucial perspective on how personality factors converge with environmental and cognitive mediators to influence cyberbullying behavior. The study is seminal in its application of moderated mediation modeling, which allows for the examination of indirect pathways and conditional effects among these variables, painting a more comprehensive picture of the mechanisms at play than traditional correlation or regression analyses. By examining this precise population, the researchers offer targeted insights that hold implications for tailored interventions and prevention strategies within vocational education settings, where students might face unique social and psychological pressures.

Dark personality traits refer to a cluster of socially aversive characteristics that include Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy—collectively known as the “Dark Triad.” Individuals exhibiting these traits often display manipulative behaviors, a lack of empathy, and a heightened need for dominance or recognition. Previous studies have linked these traits to various forms of aggressive and antisocial behaviors offline, but their intersection with online behaviors, especially cyberbullying, remains a critical field of inquiry. Hu and Zhao’s research confirms that these darker traits significantly correlate with increased engagement in cyberbullying, aligning with theoretical assertions that individuals with these characteristics may exploit the relative anonymity and disinhibition provided by the digital environment to perpetrate harm.

However, what makes this investigation particularly compelling is its exploration of the mediating and moderating processes that influence the pathway from dark personality traits to cyberbullying behavior. The authors propose that certain cognitive and emotional factors mediate this relationship, meaning that dark traits alone do not directly cause cyberbullying but operate through these intermediate psychological processes. Simultaneously, the moderation component indicates that the strength or direction of these indirect effects can vary under specific conditions, such as social support levels or individual differences in moral reasoning, highlighting the complexity of human behavior in cyber contexts.

One of the prominent mediators considered in the study is moral disengagement, a psychological mechanism wherein individuals rationalize or justify unethical behavior, thereby alleviating guilt or cognitive dissonance associated with harmful actions. Moral disengagement has been documented extensively as a facilitator of various forms of aggression, allowing perpetrators to circumvent the internalized social norms that typically inhibit such conduct. Hu and Zhao’s analysis reveals that malevolent personality traits increase the likelihood of moral disengagement, which in turn elevates the risk of engaging in cyberbullying. This mediational pathway underscores how cognitive distortions serve as crucial psychological levers through which dark traits translate into harmful digital behaviors.

Moreover, the study examines the moderating influence of factors such as perceived social support and emotional regulation capabilities. Social support, often conceptualized as the perceived availability of assistance and understanding from peers, family, or teachers, can act as a buffering agent against aggressive behaviors. Vocational school students who report higher levels of social support demonstrate a weakened link between moral disengagement and cyberbullying, suggesting that empathetic and reinforcing social networks may mitigate the expression of their darker personality-driven impulses. Similarly, emotional regulation—the capacity to manage and respond to emotional experiences adaptively—interacts with these variables to influence cyberbullying tendencies, pointing to potential avenues for psychological resilience-building interventions.

The methodology employed in this study exemplifies robust research design. The authors utilized validated psychological assessment tools to quantify levels of dark traits, moral disengagement, social support, and cyberbullying prevalence. By harnessing moderated mediation structural equation modeling (SEM), the study dissects how these latent constructs operate in interrelation, controlling for confounding variables and ensuring the reliability of findings. This analytical approach highlights the intricate, layered nature of cyberbullying etiology, moving beyond simplistic cause-effect paradigms toward integrative frameworks that account for psychological, cognitive, and environmental factors dynamically interacting.

Importantly, the focus on vocational school students enriches the literature by illuminating how contextual educational environments shape behavioral outcomes. Vocational students often navigate challenging academic and social landscapes, sometimes characterized by less institutional support and different peer dynamics compared to traditional academic tracks. Understanding how dark traits manifest and are mediated and moderated within this population allows educators and policymakers to develop targeted prevention strategies that acknowledge the unique psychosocial realities faced by these youths, potentially curbing the incidence of cyberbullying and enhancing overall well-being.

From a practical standpoint, the implications of Hu and Zhao’s findings are profound. Interventions designed to reduce cyberbullying need to incorporate components addressing moral disengagement processes, perhaps through cognitive-behavioral techniques that promote empathy cultivation and moral reasoning skills. Additionally, bolstering social support networks within vocational school settings could serve as a protective mechanism, drawing on peer-led initiatives, mentorship programs, and teacher training to foster positive relational climates. Emotional regulation training also emerges as a promising pathway, equipping students with healthier coping strategies to manage negative emotions that might otherwise precipitate aggressive online behaviors.

The study further challenges simplistic conceptualizations of cyberbullying as merely a behavioral issue, emphasizing its deep psychological roots tied to personality and cognition. This perspective encourages a multidisciplinary approach, integrating insights from personality psychology, developmental psychology, educational psychology, and cyberpsychology to address the phenomenon holistically. Future research could build on these findings by exploring longitudinal data to capture how these relationships evolve over time and by expanding samples to different cultural and educational contexts to examine generalizability and cultural moderators.

Moreover, the advent of increasing digital immersion and the evolution of online platforms necessitate continuous updating of research frameworks to capture emerging cyberbullying modalities, including multimodal harassment, image-based abuse, and algorithmically amplified aggression. The insights provided by Hu and Zhao’s study on personality-driven cyberbullying contribute meaningfully to this growing knowledge base, offering a sophisticated lens through which to interpret and intervene in digital aggressive behaviors among young populations.

In conclusion, Hu and Zhao’s (2025) research articulates a compelling model that intricately connects dark personality traits, cognitive moral disengagement, and social-emotional moderators in understanding cyberbullying among vocational school students. Their work emphasizes the necessity of addressing psychological predispositions and environmental factors in tandem to effectively mitigate cyber aggression in increasingly complex digital ecosystems. As educational institutions grapple with the challenges of fostering safe and supportive online communities, this study offers both a theoretical foundation and practical directions for meaningful action to curb cyberbullying and promote healthier adolescent development in the digital age.

Subject of Research: The relationship between dark personality traits and cyberbullying behavior among vocational school students, analyzed through a moderated mediation model.

Article Title: The relationship between dark traits and cyberbullying behavior among vocational school students: a moderated mediation model.

Article References:
Hu, W., Zhao, B. The relationship between dark traits and cyberbullying behavior among vocational school students: a moderated mediation model. BMC Psychol 13, 833 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-025-03188-9

Image Credits: AI Generated