that Machiavellian males displayed more self-
promoting behaviours on Facebook compared to
males without the Machiavellian characteristic. These
findings suggest that as a result of a link between
self-promotion on Facebook and Machiavellian
characteristics being shown, it could be assumed that
some characteristics of the Dark Triad may be linked
to Facebook. Therefore, supporting the idea that the
way people use Facebook may be influenced by what
characteristics they possess.
Whilst this link between Dark Triad characteristics is
shown with Facebook in general, it doesn’t mention
how these characteristics may be related to more
specific circumstances. Therefore, giving rise to the
question as to whether Dark Triad characteristics are
present in more specific uses of Facebook such as
using Facebook to see the activity of others through
looking at their profiles (Facebook Surveillance). To
investigate this idea, research such as Marshall found
that Facebook Surveillance is positively related to
distress (Marshall, 2012). This is relevant as some
research has suggested that some forms of distress
such as break-up distress is positively correlated with
the Dark Triad characteristic Machiavellianism (Moroz,
Chen, Daljeet & Campbell, 2018). As a result of this
research, it therefore suggests that a link between
Dark Triad characteristics and Facebook Surveillance
may exist.
To explore this potential link between Dark Triad
characteristics and Facebook Surveillance, the current
study aims to explore how both Machiavellianism
and Narcissism influence Facebook Surveillance.
To observe these variables, a multiple regression
was chosen to measure how the predictor variables
Machiavellianism and Narcissism influence the
outcome variable Facebook Surveillance.
Method
Participants
During the study, a total of 230 participants took
part in the survey. These participants consisted of 94
Males and 136 Females. The age of these participants
ranged from 18 to 37 years of age, with a mean
age of 20 and a standard deviation of 1.83. The
participants were recruited by undergraduates from
Keele University using an opportunity sample.
Design
The study consisted of the participants taking part in
a survey. A multiple regression was used to measure
how both the predictor variables Machiavellianism
and Narcissism influenced the outcome variable
Facebook Surveillance.
Materials
The participants were given an online survey to
complete during the study. This survey consisted
of three scales that measured both Machiavellian
and Narcissistic characteristics, as well as Facebook
Surveillance.
Machiavellianism
The survey used a Machiavellianism scale that
consisted of items from Jones and Paulhus’ paper
on the Short Dark Triad (Jones and Paulhus,
2014). These items were used to measure
Machiavellian characteristics in the participants.
These characteristics displayed by the participants
were measured in the survey by using items such
as “Whatever it takes, you must get the important
people on your side”. The participants answered these
items by selecting how much they agreed with each
of the items shown. These items were answered
on a five-point Likert scale ranging from “Disagree
Strongly” to “Agree Strongly”.
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