I think this study lacks information about the criteria by which the scales were inadequate. You just say people found it inaccurate without explaining why.
We tried to find out whether the dark triad test and Deenz dark triad personality scale are accurate in measuring the dark side of personality.
Is this a linkpost to a particular paper?
It would be helpful to say so at the beginning of the post and to have a link to that paper right there (it is probably better to just use the LessWrong linkpost format).
Dark Triad, the group of three traits—Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy—has been studied by well-known researchers Delroy L. Paulhus and Kevin M. Williams, and they published their study in a research paper in 2002. The research suggests that every individual exhibits socially unstable traits, mainly focusing on Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy.
Machiavellianism was named after the Italian diplomat, author, philosopher, and historian Niccolò Machiavelli. In his book "The Prince," he suggests and justifies that leaders use manipulation and deceit to achieve personal goals.
Narcissism is characterized by a grandiose sense of self-importance, beliefs of being unique, and a lack of empathy.
Psychopathy, also known as antisocial personality, involves a lack of empathy and a willingness to engage in impulsive behaviors. Psychopaths use manipulative tactics to achieve personal goals."
The research paper gained a lot of popularity among psychologists and attracted more research and researchers started developing screening tools. There are only a few screening tools available that have been validated. The first validated test is the Short Dark Triad (SD3) A Brief Measure of Dark Personality Traits and Deenz dark triad personality scale.
Short Dark Triad (SD3)
We tried to find out whether the dark triad test and Deenz dark triad personality scale are accurate in measuring the dark side of personality. We started by asking participants to provide feedback through a private forum and a survey. Finally, 209 participants provided feedback on SD3 and DDTPS-33.
Among these 209 participants, 88 provided negative feedback and marked the SD3 as inaccurate.
Twenty-one participants were not completely sure about the results, and they skipped some items as they were irrelevant to them. Seventy participants said that the SD3 is accurate but needs improvements. Thirty participants said the SD3 is very accurate at assessing the traits.
Deenz Dark Triad Personality Scale
We found the research paper on ResearchSquire on the validation and reliability of DDTPS-33 with 0.85 internal consistency. Our 209 participants provided mixed feedback about the test. Ten participants said that the test needs improvements and item reduction; they did not mention whether the test was accurate or not. Seventy-five participants said the test was modestly accurate but needs improvement. Forty participants found the test accurate and valid in measuring the traits. Eighty-four participants found the test inaccurate.
Conclusion
From the above experience, we found that Dark Triad personality scales are designed for educational purposes and cannot be used to measure socially unacceptable traits. While these tools might be improving in accuracy, personality assessment, in general, is a complex field, and no test is perfect.
References and resources
Research on the Dark Triad (Paulhus and Williams, 2002)
The Dark Triad of Personality: A 10 Year Review : Adrian Furnham1 , Steven C. 202
Deenz Dark Triad Personality Scale: Development, Validation, and Reliability: https://www.researchsquare.com/article/rs-3565477/v1
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1073191113514105
https://drdeenz.com/dark-triad-test/