You may not always be able to spot people with dark personalities.

This is because they're highly skilled at hiding in plain sight.

They know how to mimic behaviour and suck people in.

Here's how narcissists, psychopaths, and sociopaths blend into the background.

Dark triad personalities — narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy — rely on manipulating other people as their source of power. They thrive off creating chaos for everyone around them, under the illusion of being a caring partner or friend.

Narcissists, sociopaths, and psychopaths are so good at hiding in plain sight, you'll have a hard time identifying them unless you know the signs.

There's also a problem with what we expect these people to be.

When you mention psychopaths, many people will imagine a murderer, rapist, or Hannibal Lecter type. The reality is a lot less dramatic. Someone doesn't have to have committed a violent crime to be diagnosed as a psychopath, and taking a lot of selfies doesn't make someone a narcissist.

They still cause harm to others, but it's more likely to be the emotional and psychological harm that doesn't leave physical scars. That's why they can hop from partner to partner without leaving much of a trace of their destruction.

Doctor of psychology and therapist Perpetua Neo spoke with INSIDER about how dark triad people slip through the cracks, and how our misconceptions can help them manipulate others.

Here are 10 reasons dark triad people are so difficult to spot: