Introduction: The main purpose of the present study is to determine the role of the dark triad traits of personality, competitiveness and moral intelligence in students' schadenfreude using the descriptive-correlational research method.
Method: The statistical population of the study included the students of Meshgin Shahr universities in the academic year of 2022-2023 in the number of 2520 people, of which 200 people were determined as a sample and were selected by quota sampling method. Jenison and Wister's dark triad traits of personality (2010), Franken's competitiveness (1995), Lenik and Kiel's moral intelligence (2005) and Yeganeh et al.'s schadenfreude (2023) questionnaires were used to collect information. The collected data was analyzed in Spss-24 software and using Pearson's correlation coefficient and multiple linear regression tests
Results: The results obtained from this study showed schadenfreude in students with narcissism (r= 0.378), antisocial behavior (r= 0.406), competitiveness (r= 0.260) and moral intelligence (r= - 0.260) has a relationship (p < 0.05). Also, the results of the regression analysis showed that moral intelligence (β = -0.268), competitiveness (β = 0.254) and antisociality (β = 0.234) played the greatest role in predicting students' happiness (p < 0.05).
Discussion and conclusion: Based on the findings of the research, it can be said that the three dark traits of personality, competitiveness and moral intelligence are among the most important predictors of schadenfreude in students, which should be considered in treatment and assistance programs