Evaluation of the Dark Triad Personality Traits, Love-Hate, and Psychological Commitment of Football Fans

This research was conducted to examine the dark triad personality traits, love-hate, and psychological commitment of football fans. The study sample consisted of a total of 966 adult fans residing in the province of Adana who support Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray, Adana Demirspor, and Adanaspor. Participants were administered the Short Dark Triad personality Scale, the Love-Hate Scale, and the Fan Psychological Commitment Scale. Descriptive statistics, t-test, analysis of variance, regression, and cluster analysis were used in the analysis of the data. Galatasaray fans scored statistically higher in all sub-dimensions of the dark triad and in their levels of hate compared to fans of other teams (p < .05). Beşiktaş fans had the lowest average hate score. In the sub-dimensions of psychological commitment, Galatasaray fans stood out in personal identification and affective commitment, while local team fans stood out in regional commitment. In the comparison by gender, female fans’ hate and narcissism scores were found to be significantly higher than males, while male fans obtained higher scores in psychological cost and regional commitment. Regression analyses showed that the strongest predictor of love for the team was Machiavellianism, while hate was narcissism. As a result of the cluster analysis, fans were divided into three profiles. The vast majority of Galatasaray fans were concentrated in the passionate fans group. In conclusion, this study reveals that the psychological dynamics underlying football fandom are closely related, particularly to dark triad personality traits, and that the fan experience is shaped together with factors such as team preference, gender, and regional belonging.

Cite this article as: Bilir, İ., & Kesilmiş, İ. (2026). Evaluation of the dark triad personality traits, love-hate, and psychological commitment of football fans. Research in Sports Science, 2026; 16, 0014, doi: 10.5152/rss.2026.26014.