Dark Triad Dirty Dozen
DTDDPermission: Free for research use. Free for non-commercial academic research, with no licence fee. Cite the original publication.
A 12-item brief measure of the Dark Triad (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy), with four items per trait.
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Reliability & validation
Subscales
Known limitations
Very brief; the 4-item subscales under-represent each construct relative to longer measures (e.g., the SD3), and the psychopathy subscale tends to be least reliable.
Original citation
Jonason, P. K., & Webster, G. D. (2010). The Dirty Dozen: A concise measure of the dark triad. Psychological Assessment, 22(2), 420-432.
https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019265Questions researchers ask
What does the DTDD measure?
A 12-item brief measure of the Dark Triad (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy), with four items per trait.
How many items does the DTDD have?
The Dark Triad Dirty Dozen (DTDD) has 12 items across 3 subscales: Machiavellianism, Narcissism, Psychopathy.
Is the DTDD free to use?
The DTDD is free to use for non-commercial academic research. You don't need to pay a license fee, but you should always cite the original publication.
Is the DTDD reliable?
Validation studies report Cronbach's α of 0.69–0.78. See the reliability section for the population studied and full statistics.
Who developed the DTDD, and how do I cite it?
Jonason, P. K., & Webster, G. D. (2010). The Dirty Dozen: A concise measure of the dark triad. Psychological Assessment, 22(2), 420-432. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019265
Related scales
Library entry verified July 2026. Metadata is provided for reference; item wording is available inside Folio Surveyor, subject to each instrument's licensing.