Searching for Machiavelli but Finding Psychopathy and Narcissism

Machiavellianism is a psychological construct reflecting individual differences in manipulative and strategic thinking, pragmatic morality, and a cynical outlook on life. A recent stream of research has shown that Machiavellianism and psychopathy seem to be redundant constructs and that measures of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Personality disorders 2019-05, Vol.10 (3), p.235-245
Main Author: Persson, Björn N
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Antisocial Personality Disorder - physiopathology
Consciousness and Cognitive Neuroscience
Cynicism
Dark Triad
Factor Analysis, Statistical
Female
Hierarchical structure
Human
Humans
Individual Differences
Kognitiv neurovetenskap och filosofi
Machiavellianism
Male
Middle Aged
Morality
Narcissism
Personality - physiology
Personality Inventory - statistics & numerical data
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales - statistics & numerical data
Psychopathy
Test Construction
Thinking
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Summary:Machiavellianism is a psychological construct reflecting individual differences in manipulative and strategic thinking, pragmatic morality, and a cynical outlook on life. A recent stream of research has shown that Machiavellianism and psychopathy seem to be redundant constructs and that measures of Machiavellianism do not correspond well with theoretical expectations. In the present study, I juxtapose multiple measures of Machiavellianism against normal (i.e., the five-factor model and HEXACO) and abnormal (e.g., narcissism, psychopathy, impulsivity, and personality dysfunction) personality traits in an online sample (N = 591). Using Goldberg's (2006) Bass-Ackwards approach, I investigate whether typical Machiavellian traits can be found anywhere in the construct hierarchy by comparing the levels of the hierarchy with expert-rated five-factor model prototypes of Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy, and external correlates. Our results indicate that measures of Machiavellianism mostly reflect psychopathy and narcissism. The implications of these results are discussed, including what the future may hold for Machiavellianism.
ISSN:1949-2715
1949-2723
1949-2723
DOI:10.1037/per0000323