Machiavellianism (psychology)

This article is about the psychology construct assigned the name Machiavellianism. For the political philosophy of Machiavelli, see Machiavellianism (politics).

In the field of personality psychology, Machiavellianism (sometimes abbreviated as MACH) is the name of a personality trait construct characterized by manipulativeness, indifference to morality, lack of empathy, and a calculated focus on self-interest. Psychologists Richard Christie and Florence L. Geis created the construct in the 1960s. They devised a set of statements to study variations in human behaviors and named it after Niccolò Machiavelli. The construct has no relation to the historical figure outside of bearing his name. Their Mach IV test, a 20-question, Likert-scale personality survey, became the standard self-assessment tool and scale of the Machiavellianism construct. Those who score high on the scale (High Machs) are more likely to have a high level of deceitfulness, exploitativeness and a cold, unemotional temperament.

It is one of the dark triad traits, along with the subclinical versions of narcissism and psychopathy.

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