Machiavellianism - Machiavellianity - a property of the individual, including cynicism, alienation, emotional coldness, disregard for conventional morality, allowing the use of others for their own purposes. With this kind of manipulation, the exploitation of the other actualizes his need for cooperation, the desire to have good relations and to look good in the eyes of others.
(For comparison: manipulation is the process by which a manipulator gets more of a certain type of reward than it would have received without manipulation, and someone gets less, at least within the current situation).
Instructions . Assess how far the following signs meet your attitudes about yourself and other people. The evaluation of each given judgment must be expressed using a five-point scale:
- 1 - completely disagree;
- 2 - do not agree;
- 3 - it's hard to say;
- 4 - agree;
- 5 - totally agree.
Points on the scale:
- Never tell anyone why you are doing something, if it does not bring you a benefit.
- Most people are good and kind.
- The best way to get along with other people is to tell them only nice things.
- You must do something only if you are absolutely sure that this is correct.
- The best thing is to believe that any person will cheat, if only a suitable occasion is presented.
- You must always be honest, no matter what.
- Sometimes you can hurt others to get what you want.
- Most people will not work diligently if they are not forced.
- It's better to be ordinary, ordinary person and honest than famous and dishonest.
- It is better to honestly tell a person why you need him to help you, than to invent some fiction and to deceive him by helping you.
- Successful people are mostly honest and good.
- He who believes everything, puts himself in great danger.
- The offender is the same person as all of us, only he was so stupid that he was caught.
- Most people are truthful.
- To be kind, good to people important to you, even when you do not love them, is clever.
- You can be a good person always and in everything.
- Most people do not deceive (they are not easily deceived).
- Sometimes you have to cheat a little, deceive you to get what you want.
- To lie, to deceive is always wrong.
- Losing money is a much greater trouble than losing a friend.
Processing of MAC-SCALE results
Processing consists in summing the written scores in all points included in the corresponding scale. PM (the Machiavellian index): 1, (2), 3, (4), 5, (6), 7, 8, (9), (10), (11), 12, 13, (14), 15, (16), (17), 18, (19), 20.
The paragraph numbers in brackets have an inverted five-point scale. On these points in the total score of the scale are not the points written to the test subject, and the difference that is obtained after subtracting the score (in the answer form) of a score of six.
That is, it is necessary to use the formula: S = 6 - M, where M is the score written by the subject, S is the score that will enter the total score for this scale.
Interpretation
A low level of Machiavellianism (up to 50 points and below) suggests: shyness, politeness, the absence of rude expressions in speech. Compassion, kindness, cordiality. Empathy, empathy, compliance, understanding. Feeling of joy from the process (creativity). The need for help, trust, recognition from others, the desire for close cooperation, friendly attitude to others. Truthfulness, trustfulness, sincerity, conscientiousness.
A high level of Machiavellianism (from 50 points and above) implies: the desire to speak the truth, criticality, straightforwardness, perseverance in achieving the goal. Dominance, leadership qualities, aggressiveness, assertiveness, personal strength, love of competition. Neglect of social approval, the tendency to have a dissenting opinion, different from the opinion of the majority, the focus on results, pragmatism. Confidence, self-esteem, independence, aspiration for rivalry. Self-reflection, the presence of internal conflicts, a general negative emotional background. Vanity, love of flattery, ambition, the ability to adapt in any situation.
People with high values on this scale (High Poppies - the term proposed by R. Christie) are the first ones where all are striving, competing, using others as a means of winning so that others thank them for this opportunity.
People with high scores on this scale are much more successful in negotiating, using manipulative tactics and receiving rewards than having average and even lower scores.
As D.B. Katunin (2006), Machiavellian manipulation occupies an intermediate position between imperative and manipulative influence, having common characteristics with both one and the other.
Below is presented Machiavellianism among other strategies of social behavior, describes the characteristics and distinctive features of the strategies.
- Overwhelmingly imperative . Coercion, aggression, orientation and reliance on status, strength and power. Rituality. Readiness for violence and repression. Confrontation. Criticality.
- Imperative-alienated. Dominance, pragmatism, rationality, determination. Initiative, perseverance. Self-promotion, aspiration for leadership. Independence, unfriendliness.
- Cynical-alienated . Cynicism, Narcissism. Skepticism, pragmatism, rationality. Neglect of social desirability. Nonconformism. Separation, a sense of superiority. Egocentrism.
- Aloof and mercenary . Mistrust. Social competence. Conjunctive behavior (charm, flattery, confidence, adaptation, attachment). Use of other people's weaknesses in their own interests. Extracting personal benefits from interaction. Hedonism. Insidiousness.
- Hidden-mercenary . The latent aspiration, the urge to influence to change the internal structure of another (motives, goals, values, beliefs, mental states, moods, etc.).
- Manipulative-dependent. A focus on relationships, interest in another. The desire to establish relationships, please. The desire to influence the other. Understanding the other.
- Empathic-dependent . Striving for cooperation. Trust, truthfulness, sincerity. Accounting for the interests and feelings of another. Compassion, empathy. Submission, the desire to receive approval.
Note that the first strategy refers to the imperative impact, the third - to Machiavellianism, the fifth - to manipulation and the seventh - to anti-Machiavellianism. The second strategy occupies an intermediate position between imperative impact and Machiavellianism, the fourth - between Machiavellianism and manipulation and the sixth - between manipulation and anti-Machiavellianism.
Manipulation and Machiavellianism are concepts that overlap one another, but are not identical. Machiavellian manipulation never has the purpose of influencing someone to change something or somehow. Its main goal is to get what it needs. In this case, another person is either a means to achieve, or an obstacle. The more the degree of Machiavellian personality is expressed, the less people are interested in her, in spite of the fact that she can seem charming and very interested in her interlocutors.
Expressive Machiavellian (Maki) often seem calm, confident, aimed at the result of joint actions and often cause sympathy among others.