A Machiavellian is someone who believes that the end justifies the means and who views other people as tools to achieve their own goals. The concept of Machiavellianism has attracted considerable...Show moreA Machiavellian is someone who believes that the end justifies the means and who views other people as tools to achieve their own goals. The concept of Machiavellianism has attracted considerable theoretical inquiry into the underlying processes that give rise to the construct. During this process multiple theories on the factorial structure of Machiavellianism have come into existence and many of the factor theories have found support. This thesis compares the factor structure of Machiavellianism using the original Machiavellianism measurement tool, the MACHIV. We utilized a large open-source data set (N= 73,486) from the Open-Source Psychometrics Project. We used structural equation modeling to compare a one-factor (Machiavellianism), two-factor (Views and Tactics) and three-factor (Antagonism, Agency and Planfulness) model. We found that all three of the models fit the data poorly but the one-factor model fits this data and measurement tool best, with no significant difference between the two- and three-factor models. The one-factor model fit best when using the original data, positively recoded data and when compared to uncorrelated (orthogonal) factor models. The poor fit indices on the one-factor model indicate that although the one-factor model fits better than the alternative models, alternative factor theories are needed to better explain the variance among individuals on the MACH-IV.Show less
The leader-member exchange (LMX) theory emphasises the relationship between leaders and subordinates at the workplace, suggesting that leaders quickly create in and out-groups with certain...Show moreThe leader-member exchange (LMX) theory emphasises the relationship between leaders and subordinates at the workplace, suggesting that leaders quickly create in and out-groups with certain subordinates which can lead to in-group bias, the act of favouritism of members of your in-group compared to members of an out group. An in-group is a social group which an individual identifies with, whilst an out-group is consequently the dissimilarity to an in-group. It has also been found that people who score highly on the Dark Triad are likely to hold leadership positions. The Dark Triad is a psychological theory of personality illustrating three dark personality types consisting of malicious qualities: Machiavellianism, sub-clinical narcissism and sub-clinical psychopathy. With leaders scoring highly on the Dark Triad and the plausibility of in-group bias occurring in organisations, it is important to investigate whether the Dark Triad influences in-group bias to remove in-group bias from a leader and organisation and cease LMX from forming. Therefore, this paper examines whether in-group bias is present using the dictator game and whether the Dark Triad (both traits individually and as a whole) accentuates in-group bias. First-year psychology students from Leiden University (n = 75) participated in a dictator game to measure in-group bias, before completing the SD3 questionnaire to measure levels of the Dark Triad. Three hypotheses were made: firstly, dictators will allocate a higher endowment to in-group recipients compared to out-group recipients. Secondly, participants scoring highly on either Machiavellianism, narcissism, or both will have a higher in-group bias. Thirdly, participants scoring highly on the Dark Triad as a whole will demonstrate higher in-group bias. Results indicate in-group bias, however, no significant results were found in the relationship between the Dark Triad and in-group bias. This is the first paper to directly investigate the relationship between the Dark Triad and in-group bias with many limitations obstructing the accuracy and generalisability of the results. Therefore, this study lays the groundwork for future research in investigating this relationship.Show less
Previous research on the connection between the Dark Triad traits and aggression is largely based on self-report measures. This paper examines how the traits of Machiavellianism, psychopathy and...Show morePrevious research on the connection between the Dark Triad traits and aggression is largely based on self-report measures. This paper examines how the traits of Machiavellianism, psychopathy and narcissism affect aggression in an experimental setting. Based on the previous literature, we hypothesized that Machiavellianism and psychopathy were positively correlated with aggression, while narcissism would be unrelated. We used the Attacker-Defender Conflict (AD-C), an economic contest well suited to study aggression. The incentivized AD-C was implemented in an online environment where attackers and defenders, who were matched afterwards, competed for resources. Attackers decided how much they would invest in order to beat the defender and gain money at their expense. If the defender successfully defended by investing more or an equal amount as the attacker, both parties kept their non-invested resources. Out of 301 participants, the attacker conflict investment of 132 attackers was used to measure aggression. Participants also completed the Short Dark Triad, a self-report questionnaire that evaluates Dark Triad traits. Our analysis showed a positive correlation between Machiavellianism and aggression, but only when the other two traits were held constant. Contrary to our assumption, psychopathy was negatively related to aggression. Finally, narcissism was not significantly correlated with aggression. These findings imply that, while the understanding of Machiavellianism and narcissism based on self-report measures of aggression are supported in our study, psychopathy’s connection to aggression may have either been misunderstood before or unknown factors played a significant role by confounding the results. Implications, limitations, and recommendations for future research are discussed.Show less
Machiavellianism is one of the three Dark Triad traits and entails a manipulative and deceptive personality. Previous research has shown that people with strong Machiavellian traits have a...Show moreMachiavellianism is one of the three Dark Triad traits and entails a manipulative and deceptive personality. Previous research has shown that people with strong Machiavellian traits have a preference for short-term relationships. If they do enter a long-term relationship, this relationship tends to last, partly due to manipulative tactics. A commonly used test is the MACH-IV, which contains three dimensions: Interpersonal Tactics, Cynical View of Human Nature, and Utilitarian Morality. In this study, these dimensions are treated as a three-factor model. The aim of this study is to see whether the three-factor model is appropriate for different marital statuses (Never Married”, “Currently Married”, and “Previously Married”). It was expected that “Never Married” would have the best model fit and the highest factor loadings and factor scores, followed by “Currently Married”, and then “Previously Married” with the worst fit and lowest factor loadings and factor scores. Tests were calculated with the use of a large, open-source dataset (N = 73,489). The goodness-of-fit scores of the separate groups were estimated and the results showed poor fit. An inspection of the factor loadings revealed that the group “Previously Married” obtained the highest factor loadings. The results of an ANOVA of the mean factor scores showed mixed results and no conclusive evidence for the hypotheses. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the interpersonal relationships of Machiavellian people and although the results of this study were inconclusive, it only further highlights our need for more research in this area.Show less
