Machiavellianism

In psychology theory, Machiavellianism is a trait of the dark triad of personality, accompanied by narcissism and psychopathy. It is part of the dark triad because it is marked by emotional coldness, aggressiveness, and manipulation- traits that can also be found in narcissism and psychopathy.

What is Machiavellianism?

The term of “Machiavellianism” is derived from the Italian philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli. More specifically, this personality trait is named as such because of Machiavelli’s best-known work, published in 1532: Il Principe (The Prince), in which he states that “the end justifies the means”.

Such a phrase is really suggestive of the values of Machiavellians, as they lack affective empathy and don’t relate to how other people feel (hence the emotional coldness). Moreover, Machiavellians are willing to undergo any process in order to get what they desire, regardless of how said process might affect others.

Despite their lack of affective empathy, Machiavellians do have the ability to understand another person’s mental state. They can benefit from this capability in order to manipulate others to get what they want. They exploit weaknesses to their personal interest, and do so without any sort of guilt.

Another important trait of Machiavellians is their cynical worldview. They are very likely to break rules, as the ideology behind their actions is the one I mentioned above: “the end justifies the means”. They are willing to undergo any process- no matter how harmful to others- to achieve their goals. They have a strong urge for power, and their cognitive intelligence combined with their impulse control and lack of ethical rules works in their favour.

The difference between Machiavellianism and the other two dark triad traits

Judging by the previous pieces of information in this article, one might say that Machiavellianism is the same as psychopathy. However, these two personality traits can be distinguished through their impulsivity and spontaneousness. While psychopaths tend to act without thinking ahead, abandoning friends and family in the detriment of their social and possibly professional status, Machiavellians are more calculated and less impulsive. They put a lot of thought into each and every decision, and they try to maintain a good reputation. If abandoning a certain friend does not seem beneficial to his career/ reputation/etc., a Machiavellian will not proceed in doing it, unlike a psychopath.

When it comes to narcissists, they are manipulative and deceitful , just as Machiavellians. However, we can distinguish the two by their emotionality. Indeed, both lack in empathy- but narcissists tend to get angry whenever they don’t get what they want. Machiavellians have better impulse control, and they do not act in raging outbursts as the narcissists tend to. Because each of their move is calculated and well thought-out, Machiavellians are more strategic and calmer than narcissists.

All in all, the the belonging of Machiavellians in the dark triad is, overall, justified. Unlike the other two personality traits (narcissism and psychopathy), Machiavellianism is not considered a mental disorder, despite being part of the same cathegory.

sources:

Colón, S. (2023, May 2). Machiavellianism | Definition, Politics, Psychology, & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/Machiavellianism

APA PsycNet. (n.d.). https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2009-12071-007

With Cold Blood- The Dark Triad of personality- by Alina Chiracu