Study: Night owls are meaner compared to early risers

Study links staying up late with dark personality traits like narcissism, psychopathy

DETROIT – Are you one of those people who likes to stay up until the early morning hours? You may want to take a second to give yourself a quick

SURVEY: Are you a night owl or early riser?

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once-over because a new study published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences links a tendency to stay up late with what psychologists call the "Dark Triad" of personality traits: narcissism, psychopathy and Machiavellianism. The study authors, led by Peter K. Johnson of the University of Western Sydney in Australia, write:

We propose that in order to best enact a "cheater strategy" those high on the Dark Triad traits should have optimal cognitive performance and, thus, have a night-time chronotype. Such a disposition will take advantage of the low light, the limited monitoring and the lessened cognitive processing of morning-type people.