Machiavellianism

Steven S. Russell & Erin C. Swartout

Machiavellianism is a strategy of interpersonal conduct whereby others are manipulated and deceived in the pursuit of one's own interests. In the workplace, people who are high in Machiavellianism (referred to as high Machs ) regard coworkers as means toward personal ends. High Machs are characterized by four criteria: lack of interpersonal affect, lack of concern for conventional morality, low ideological commitment, and lack of gross psychopathology. Machiavellianism shares some common features with psychopathy (similar to antisocial personality disorder) but is more situation dependent and lacks the pathological lying and anxiety that are usually associated with psychopathic behavior patterns. Although Machiavellianism is not related to intelligence, it is arguably a component of social intelligence. Machiavellian behaviors tend to be highest in late adolescence and decline with age, suggesting that this interpersonal strategy strikes a balance between “state” and “trait.” The term itself is a reference to the 16th-century Florentine diplomat ...

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