The Psychopathological Consequences of Machiavellian Views and Tactics Conal Monaghan, Boris Bizumic, & Martin Sellbom, Australian National University
[email protected]
Introduction
The personality construct of Machiavellianism captures a tendency to exploit, deceive, and distrust
others (Christie & Geis, 1970)
Research has been inconsistent regarding Christie and Geis’ (1970) assumption that Machiavellians
must be free of psychopathology
Individuals who are higher in Machiavellianism tend to engage in interpersonal exploitation (tactics
The inconsistent relationship between Machiavellianism and psychopathology may be due to treating Machiavellianism as unitary, despite evidence of multidimensionality (Rauthmann & Will, 2011)
Psychopathology could result from their antisocial behaviours, rejection and alienation from peers,
dimension), hold a cynical view of human nature (views dimension), and lack the conventional morality
cynical view of humanity, and overestimation of interpersonal threat (e.g., McHoskey, 2001; Wilson,
that would condemn their actions (morality dimension)
Near, & Miller, 1998)
In the absence of clear and consistent dimensions, factor analytic studies tend to differentiate Machiavellian views from tactics regardless of the factor solution (Fehr, Samsom, & Paulhus, 1992)
Aims AIM 1: To develop a psychometrically sound multidimensional version of the Mach-IV (the most commonly employed measure of Machiavellianism)
AIM 2: To investigate whether psychopathology is associated with perpetrating exploitative behaviours and holding a cynical view of others
1. Scale Development I: Analysis of Items and Structure
2. The Relationship with Psychopathology
First, we developed a psychometrically sound multidimensional measure of Machiavellianism using a sample of US undergraduate students (N = 1,478)
Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) showed the Mach-IV factor structure (tactics, views, and morality) was poorly specified and could not be appropriately estimated because of a non-positive definite matrix
We identified six key psychopathology domains from the literature: depression, fear, anxiety, impulsivity, externalising psychopathology, and thought dysfunction (Kotov et al., 2011; Krueger & Markon, 2006)
Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to test the relationship between the latent psychopathological domains and Machiavellian views and tactics. Manifest
Item analysis compared each item’s corrected item-total correlation with its subscale to its correlation with the other two subscales and only retained items that
indicators were created from scales that have been widely used in both research and clinical practice, such as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2-RF,
discriminated between the subscales and strongly correlated with the Mach-IV. We retained four tactics items (α = .70) and six views items (α = .61)
Beck’s Depression Inventory – II, and the Barratt Impulsivity Scale –11 (see figure below)
The final scale was called the Multidimensional Mach-IV (MDM-IV) (α = .66) and
of Machiavellian tactics, predicts all areas of psychopathology (see Table 1 below)
correlated strongly with the Mach-IV (r = .90)
Findings indicated that holding Machiavellian views, even when controlling for effects
CFA showed that the MDM-IV’s two factor structure fitted the data well (see right)
Machiavellian tactics predicted externalising psychopathology and impulsivity
Table 1. Parameter estimates for the SEM models predicting psychopathology from MDM-IV views and tactics.
Machiavellianism consists of two dimensions, namely Machiavellian views and tactics
Psychopathology
Depression
Scale Development II: Structure Replication and Stability
Fear
We replicated the MDM-IV’s factor structure and estimated its temporal stability in a
Anxiety
second sample of Australian undergraduate students (N = 218)
Participants completed the Mach-IV on two occasions at a three-month interval
Supporting the original findings, CFA showed the MDM-IV fitted the data well at both
Impulsivity Externalising
phases
Thought Dysfunction
Pearson’s and intra-class correlations (ICC) showed that the MDM-IV and its subscales
Subscale
Estimate [95% CI]
p-value
Tactics Views Tactics Views Tactics Views Tactics Views Tactics Views Tactics Views
.07 [.02, .11] .41 [.36, .45] -.16 [-.17, -.05] .28 [.21, .31] -.02 [-.06, .05] .41 [.36, .45] .22 [.13, .27] .40 [.36, .44] .20 [.11, .30] .53 [.49, .59] .00 [-.08, .08] .56 [.49, .63]
.04 < .01 < .01 < .01 .66 < .01 < .01 < .01 < .01 < .01 .96 < .01
were temporarily consistent (r > .68, ICC > .67)
A longitudinal CFA indicated that there were equivalent factor loadings over time, CFI = .008, RMSEA = .002, and estimates of temporal stability between the latent variables
Above: CFA model of the Multidimensional Mach-IV (MDM-IV) tactics and views subscales. Ovals represent latent factors and squares represent observed indicator variables. Fit (Sample 1): (33) = 129.67, p = .04, CFI = .953, NNFI = .936, SRMR = .041, RMSEA = .045 [.037 - .053].
for the tactics (r = .84) and the views (r = .93) were very strong
References Fehr, B., Samsom, D., & Paulhus, D. L. (1992). The construct of Machiavellianism: Twenty years later. In C. D. Spielberger & J. N. Butcher (Eds.), Advances in Personality Assessment (Vol. 9, pp. 77–116). UK: Routledge. Kotov, R., Ruggero, C. J., Krueger, R. F., Watson, D., Yuan, Q., & Zimmerman, M. (2011). New dimensions in the quantitative classification of mental illness. Archives of General Psychiatry, 68, 1003–1011. doi:10.1001/ archgenpsychiatry.2011.107 McHoskey, J. W. (2001). Machiavellianism and personality dysfunction. Personality and Individual Differences, 31, 791–798.
Acknowledgements We would like to thank Yossef Ben-Porath for giving us permission to use the US university data. A grant from the University of Minnesota Press, the publisher of the MMPI-2/MMPI-2-RF, supported the original data collection.
Machiavellianism is best viewed as a two-dimensional construct consisting of views and tactics
Christie, R., & Geis, F. (1970). Studies in Machiavellianism. New York, NY: Academic Press.
The MDM-IV captures the multidimensional structure of Machiavellianism
Conclusions
Above: A structural equation model (SEM) of Machiavellian views and tactics predicting an endogenous psychopathology construct. Ellipses represent latent factors and rectangles represent manifest indicators. n = the number of manifest indicators for the psychopathology construct. All measurement and structural models had good fit.
The 10-item MDM-IV scale replicated the Mach-IV, was temporarily stable, and discriminated between both dimensions of Machiavellianism
Machiavellian views and tactics significantly predicted major psychopathological constructs, contradicting original assumptions. Holding Machiavellian views was highly conducive to psychopathology, whereas employing Machiavellian tactics was, although to a lesser degree, related to externalising disorders
Rauthmann, J. F., & Will, T. (2011). Proposing a multidimensional Machiavellianism conceptualization. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 39, 391–403. Wilson, D. S., Near, D. C., & Miller, R. R. (1998). Individual differences in Machiavellianism as a mix of cooperative and exploitative strategies. Evolution and Human Behavior, 19, 203–212. doi:10.1016/S1090-5138(98)00011-7
Individuals holding Machiavellian views are not free of psychopathology, but manipulate others amidst all dimensions of psychological distress
