The Role of Belief in a Just World and the Dark Triad Personality Traits in Predicting Driving Behavior

Objective: The present study aimed to examine the role of belief in a just world and the dark triad personality traits in predicting driving behavior. Methods and Materials: The research design was correlational based on regression analysis, and the method of data collection was survey-based. The statistical population consisted of all drivers in the city of Shiraz in the year 2024. From this population, a purposive sample of 209 individuals was selected. Participants completed the Manchester Driving Behavior Questionnaire (MDBQ), the Dark Triad Personality Scale (DTPS), and the Belief in a Just World Questionnaire (BFWQ). Data were analyzed using SPSS version 26 at a significance level of 0.05. Findings: The findings indicated that Machiavellianism (β = 0.234, p = .001), psychopathy (β = 0.176, p = .013), and narcissism (β = 0.166, p = .013) were significant and positive predictors of driving behavior. Collectively, the dark triad personality traits explained 18.40% of the variance in driving behavior. In contrast, belief in a just world was not significantly correlated with driving behavior (p > .05). Conclusion: Overall, the results of this study demonstrated that the dark triad personality traits play a significant role in explaining driving behavior, emphasizing the importance of individual differences and personality traits in shaping driving actions. In light of these findings, the role of belief in a just world appeared to be less influential than expected in reducing problematic driving behavior, suggesting the presence of other dominant factors in this phenomenon.