Nick Simmons & Keaton Montgomery

Feb. 2010

Machiavellianism

History of MachMach DefinedCharacteristics of MachMach Instruments

Mach IV/VMach BMPS (new)

Overview

Derived from Niccolo Machiavelli’s writings in “The Prince” & “The Discourses”

Machiavelli’s common sayings:“The ends justify the means.”Belief that unethical behavior is acceptable

sometimes necessary

Brief History Lesson of Mach

Began as a concept of political leadership and economic opportunism

Most scholars have historically maintained a negative view towards Machiavelli and his work

Ex. - Berlin stated, “He is a man inspired by the Devil to lead good men to their doom, the great subverter, the teacher of evil,…the inspirer of St. Bartholomew’s Eve, the original Iago.”

However, Machiavelli felt that his beliefs were for the common good

More History

“Characterized by the manipulation and exploitation of others, cunning, cold affect, and a lack of sincerity or ethical concern”. (Christie and Geis, 1970)

“Conceptualized as one’s propensity to distrust others, engage in amoral manipulation, seek control over others and seek status for oneself.” (Dahling, Whitaker, and Levy, 2009)

Machiavellianism Defined

Construct of “Machiavellianism” originally coined by Christie and Geis (1970)

Dev. Mach IV based on studies of political and religious extremist groups

Specifically how leaders manipulated subordinates to meet their own desires

Mach Defined

Ability to handle both structured & unstructured situations (leadership)

Little consideration for interpersonal concernsAutocratic leadership styleProne to counterproductive work behaviors (only

stay with same job so long as they can manipulate others to gain rewards for their own personal benefit)

High theft ratesTypically dissatisfied with their jobExperience high levels of work-related stressSelf-select into management or law positions

Characteristics of High Mach

Might actually conduct OCBs to further their manipulations within the organization

Don’t trust anyoneAssume that others have same intentions as

themselvesLower performance, satisfaction, or commitment,

etc. demonstrated by their subordinatesSkilled at managing impressions (ingratiation) Typically have external locus of controlLack of job involvement Highly correlated with subclinical narcissism

Characteristics of High Mach

Dev. Pool of statements drawn directly from Machiavelli’s writings or considered to “tap the same syndrome”

3 Types of Statements Dev.Dealing with interpersonal tacticsDealing with cynical views of human natureDealing with abstract morality

Mach IV Christie and Geis (1970)

Item pool reduced to 20 item Likert-scale

Primary measure of Mach in adults

Measure of Mach IV

Mach IV

Inconsistent reliability across culturesand demographic groups (.59 - .88)

Reliability: Men (.73) Women (.39)Construct validity typically means of

measuring validity of the instrument – some evidence for divergent validity, none for convergent validity

Developed with 3 dimensions, scored as 1 dim. and abstract morality only has 2 questions

Mach IV - Critiques

Items are double-barreled Ex. “All in all, it is better to be humble and

honest than to be important and dishonest.”Major barrier to construct validity

Items may evoke defensivenessEx. “People suffering from incurable

diseases should have the choice of being put painlessly to death.”

Mach IV - Critiques

Concerns with socially desirable responses (Mach IV)Christie and Geis created Mach V10 item forced-choiceLow reliabilityNot commonly used, not highly regarded

Mach V

Machiavellian Behavior Scale (Aziz and Meeks (1990)

Uses scenarios designed to be behavioral manifestations of Machiavellianism rather than cognitive measurements

Reliability between .70-.88, but limited testing

Mach B

Their conceptualization of Mach includes dimensions of observed behaviors and internal beliefs/motivations.

Based on 4 dimensions:Distrust of othersAmoral manipulationDesire for controlDesire for status

MPS (Machiavellian Personality Scale)(Dahling, Whitaker, & Levy , 2009)

Distrust of others: “A cynical outlook on the motivations and intentions of others with a concern for the negative implications that those intentions have for the self.”

Amoral Manipulation: “A willingness to disregard standards of morality and see value in behaviors that benefit the self at the expense of others.”

MPS

Desire for control: “A need to exercise dominance over interpersonal situations to minimize the extent to which others have power.

Desire for status: “A desire to accumulate external indicators of success.”

MPS

First tested dimension structure with exploratory factor analysis & deleted items with poor factor loading

Retained 16 items: 5 amoral manipulation, 5 distrust of others, 3 desire for status, 3 desire for control (α = .82)

Convergent Validity with political skill, self-monitoring, and narcissism. Only narcissism supported (explained 26% variance)

Discriminant Validity from NAch-E scale and GMA

MPS

Confirmed dimension structure with hierarchical confirmatory factor analysis

First new Likert scale of Mach since Mach IV/V

Validated against a combination of self-report measures, performance tests, and supervisor ratings

MPS is unrelated to contextual performance

MPS

Questions?