Machiavellianism

Personality Traits of Machiavellianism

The concept of Machiavellianism in the social behavioral sciences comes from R. Christie and R. L. Geis's seminal work from 1970. Using the philosophy and forms of manipulation described in The Prince and also in Machiavelli's The Discourses on Livy (1531), they created a 20-item personality measure called the MACH-IV test (there is also a MACH-V measure, which is a forced choice version of the MACH-IV). People scoring high on the scale (high Machs) would be likely to agree with the item, “Never tell anyone the real reason you did something unless it is useful to do so.” An individual scoring low on the scale (low Machs) would be likely to agree with the item, “There is no excuse for lying to someone else.”

Individuals high in Machiavellianism tend to manipulate more, win more, and persuade others better through deception. In addition, those high in Machiavellianism tend to be better liars and feel less anxiety when lying. Interestingly, there is no association between the liars' disposition and intellectual ability. Machiavellianism also has been found to be linked to specific Big Five personality traits, for example, being negatively correlated with agreeableness and conscientiousness, and positively correlated with neuroticism.

Dark Triad of Traits

Research on Machiavellianism was fruitful from the 1970s through the 1990s. However, in the 21st century there has been a growing application of Machiavellianism as part of the Dark Triad of traits, which includes three socially undesirable dispositions: narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism. Narcissism is seen as a subclinical or “normal” construct, which includes characteristics of grandiosity, entitlement, dominance, and superiority. “Normal” or subclinical psychopathy includes elements of high impulsivity, thrill-seeking, low empathy, and anxiety. Together, these three traits can be seen as a short-term exploitive social strategy that has evolved to be advantageous in social situations.

The elements of the Dark Triad share a number of features. The three dispositions are seen as socially negative with tendencies toward aggressiveness, emotional detachment, and self-promotion. In general, individuals with these traits are more self-serving and less involved emotionally and empathetically toward others, which facilitates the manipulation of others for their own gain with minimal remorse.

...