Skip to main content
Personality: dark traits and pathology

Short Dark Tetrad.

SD4

What it measures
Dark Tetrad: Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy, sadism (7 items each)
Length and format
28 items. 5-pt Likert (agreement) (self-report questionnaire)
Language versions
Growing fast: ZH (C-SD4), PL, RO (Romanian), + others since 2021.
Normative data
Normative data for this instrument is held in our reference library. The per-population breakdown is not published here.
Licence
open with attribution

Licence classification is a research judgement by the catalogue’s authors, not legal advice, and it can be out of date. Confirm terms with the copyright holder or publisher before using an instrument, especially for commercial use.

Reference
Paulhus, D. L., Buckels, E. E., Trapnell, P. D., & Jones, D. N. (2021). Screening for dark personalities: The Short Dark Tetrad (SD4). European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 37(3), 208-222.

Choosing between this and the alternatives

We do not deliver this instrument. If you are selecting a measure for a research programme, a national survey or an assessment product, and the question is which instrument, in which language, against which norms and under which licence, that is the work we do.

Talk to us about instrument selection